Social Photo Talk

Another Day, Another Dollar: the oncemany Project

Aaron — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:30:42 +0000

I love it when I run into a photographer who is thinking in new ways with a social marketing venture. I recently noticed the oncemany project by photographer Shane Rich. It’s a 365 day project, and Shane is selling each day for its numerical value. January 1st is $1, the second is $2, and so on up through December 31st which is $365. In exchange for the payment, Shane tells your story through photography.

What is “your story”? It could be a business promoting a brand or product. It could be a personal brand. It could just be a crazy concept. He’ll create photography and then promote it via the blog as well as on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and his email newsletter.

It’s an interesting idea. Shane produces some great work as evidenced by the gallery of his January photos for the project. Petapixel compares it to the Million Dollar Homepage project and I can see similarities; looking at Shane’s booking calendar it appears the early dates are selling well, I can only wonder if the later dates will fill up as well. I’m definitely thinking about purchasing a date once I come up with the right idea.

We’ll be interviewing Shane as a guest on the Social Photo Podcast soon. What do you think of his idea? Any questions you’d like to ask him? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Photo by Shane Rich, used by permission.

Another Day, Another Dollar: the oncemany Project is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Social Photo Podcast #12: How Do You Learn? Twitter Contests, Barriers to Blog Comments

Aaron — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:30:34 +0000

Subscribe via iTunes: – this link will launch iTunes for easy subscription

Episode 12 of the Social Photo Podcast is ready. Hosts Aaron Hockley and Lyza Danger Gardner talk about how photographers learn their craft, contests on Twitter, barriers to blog comments, and more. This episode is about eleven minutes long.

Links to Things We Mention

Distribution and Feed

We’re now on iTunes – if you use iTunes, you can subscribe using this link: Subscribe on iTunes

You can also find the podcast as an attachment to the main Social Photo Talk RSS Feed. You should see a player at the bottom of this post if you want to listen directly, or you can grab the Episode 12 mp3 file directly.

Feedback

We’d love to have your feedback – technical, content, or otherwise. Leave a comment here or send mail to podcast@socialphototalk.com – thanks!

Photo by karindalziel, used under Creative Commons licensing

Social Photo Podcast #12: How Do You Learn? Twitter Contests, Barriers to Blog Comments is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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The Most Important Thing for a Photographer

Aaron — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:30:19 +0000

As I look at the various topics that I’ve blogged about (or am planning to blog about), there’s a variety of information being presented… but I want to make sure that nobody loses sight of what should be most important for a photographer.

Create beautiful photos. Lots of them.

Taking photos (nearly) every day, instead of only on special photography trips, is probably the number one thing I have done to improve my skill. Practice might not always make perfect, but it usually leads to improvement. Why aren’t you taking more photos? What might be a barrier to photography?

Impractical Photo Gear: When my only camera was my DSLR (and assorted lenses) it wasn’t always convenient to lug around my photo backpack so that I could easily take photos. I now also have a quality, point-and-shoot digital camera (Canon S90) that I try to carry with me everywhere. You can’t take a photo if you don’t have a camera.
No Time: Even when you’re not explicitly making time, you can take photos. Have a few minutes at a bus stop? Look around. Waiting for a friend or co-worker to meet you somewhere? Look around. Taking your garbage can out to the curb? Look around. Going out to eat? Look ar… well, you get the idea.
Routine Locations: If you’re tired of shooting the same things, try a bit of variety. Spend your lunch hour walking in a direction you haven’t explored. A lot of interesting things are often located just out of sight of your normal routine.

There’s an old photojournalism adage that states the most important thing in photography is “f/8 and be there” — you can’t take a photo unless you’re there with a camera. Be there, have your camera, and take more photos. Until that happens, the social media stuff is a low priority.

Photo by adobemac, used under Creative Commons licensing

The Most Important Thing for a Photographer is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Twitter Contests: I Now View Them All as Spam

Aaron — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:30:54 +0000

One of the posts I wrote the first month of Social Photo Talk’s existence was about what I thought was the right way to handle contests on Twitter. http://www.socialphototalk.com/contests-on-twitter/

I’d like to rescind that earlier opinion. I was wrong. Contests have no place on Twitter. They’re really damn spammy and it makes your followers look bad.

When you require folks to tweet about your contest as a method to enter said contest., you’re asking them to spam their friends and followers with an advertisement for your business or service. Would you ask them to send an email to everyone in their email address book? Would you require them to call every person in their phone listing and tell them about your contest? No… you wouldn’t, because that would instantly be seen as overly pushy.

Your followers have opted into hearing your message. Their followers have not. Asking your followers to spam their followers is, well, spammy. Don’t do it. Don’t be that guy.

Photo by freezelight, used under Creative Commons licensing

Twitter Contests: I Now View Them All as Spam is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Social Photo Podcast #11: iPad, Trust and Influence, and Workshops

Aaron — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:30:49 +0000

Subscribe via iTunes: – this link will launch iTunes for easy subscription

It’s time for episode eleven of the Social Photo Podcast, with Aaron flying solo in the hosting chair this week. He talks about the iPad, building trust, workshops, and more. This episode is about eleven minutes long. Apologies for a bit of echo on the audio… I used a slightly different software setup for recording (and won’t be using it again).

Links to Things We Mention

Distribution and Feed

We’re now on iTunes – if you use iTunes, you can subscribe using this link: Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback

We’d love to have your feedback – technical, content, or otherwise. Leave a comment here or send mail to podcast@socialphototalk.com – thanks!

Photo by leoncillo sabino, used under Creative Commons licensing

Social Photo Podcast #11: iPad, Trust and Influence, and Workshops is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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I Almost Left a Blog Comment

Aaron — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:30:18 +0000

I had an interesting experience last night where I almost left a blog comment (but didn’t). Here’s a short video I made to discuss what happened… I’d love to hear your reactions or thoughts if you’ve had a similar situation:

What do you think?

I Almost Left a Blog Comment is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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The iPad for Photographers: First Thoughts

Aaron — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:16:46 +0000

Today Apple unveiled the iPad. A quick recap of my thoughts…. what does it mean for photographers? Not much.

From an operating system perspective, it’s essentially a really big iPhone. It will show photos with a gallery application (that can be synchronized with a computer, including iPhoto data like “events” collections). While this might be neat for some hobbyists, pro photographers aren’t using iPhoto. Perhaps we’ll see applications developed that integrated with Lightroom or Aperture.

It’ll be a really neat way if you want to display some sort of “wow” digital portfolio.

The device doesn’t contain a camera, so you won’t be creating any new photos on it. Based on the various media website, gaming, and eBook demonstrations, the device has obviously been designed for consuming content (rather than creating it). In the last year or so, tech-savvy photographers have started offering iPod slideshows for their clients, and these types of products will still be relevant with the iPad. Whether or not spending time with an iPad-only solution makes any sense depends on whether one thinks the iPad will gain significant market penetration.

I kept waiting for some sort of innovation or exciting new thing… I didn’t see it. It’s a supersized iPhone. This is an evolution, not a revolution.

In short: take everything you knew about how a photographer might use an iPod touch, and that applies to the iPad.

The iPad for Photographers: First Thoughts is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Artists Gone Social: a Workshop on Social Media for Creatives

Aaron — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:30:20 +0000

I’m excited to announce the first Social Photo Workshop. On February 20th, I’ll be hosting Artists Gone Social, a three-hour gathering to talk about social media marketing for artists. We’ll be meeting near Portland, Oregon for discussion of real-world social media use by photographers, writers, and other creators to spread influence and generate revenue online.

I’ll be talking about:

An Introduction to Social Media Tools – a look at a bunch of tools with tips for which ones provide the most bang for the buck
How Social Media Marketing differs from traditional marketing – using traditional methods with social media will lead to failure. Learn the new way of reaching out.
Social Media Conversations – we’ll talk about the two-way aspect of social media
The idea of Hubs and Outposts – with so many tools, develop a strategy to reach many people but lead them all to your focused message and content.
Turning Social Media usage into Revenue – how can one make money from these fun social tools?
Ideas for Social Media Content Creation – a look at what mix of your existing/artistic content along with new content will play best to your social network online.
Your Questions – during registration, you’ll be asked about your pressing questions… and we’ll address those during the workshop.

If you’re in the Portland area, head over to ArtistsGoneSocial.com to find out more or register today (there’s a discount for registration before January 31st).

If you’re not in the area but are connected to a local artist/creative group and would be interested in me bringing a similar presentation to your area, send me an email and let’s see what we can work out.

Artists Gone Social: a Workshop on Social Media for Creatives is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Use Social Media to become the One to Call

Aaron — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:30:19 +0000

When someone needs to hire a photographer, how do they find one? Regardless of whether it’s for a wedding, corporate material, senior pictures, sporting event, or editorial need, they probably follow this path:

A photographer they have previously hired.
A referral from a trusted source.
Someone they personally know who is a photographer.
Someone they don’t know personally, but is known as being proficient as a photographer.
A cold call based on the photography results of a search (search engine, etc).
A cold call to a random search result.

Five years ago, your position on that list was dictated by your past clientele and your physical activities – what events and groups you’d travel to, and where you’d devote dedicated time to build your network a few people at a time.

Fast-forward to our current environment. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook can help you end up in the number two spot on that list. A few days ago at Beer and Blog, I had a conversation with a real estate professional, talking with her about using Twitter to build relationships. By following local folks on Twitter, learning a bit about them (and sharing a bit about yourself), you’ll develop some personal connections. If you’re also sharing some of your photography experiences, those people will get to know you as someone that produces great pictures.

This is the value in the casual conversations on Twitter and Facebook. While sharing about your family, your hobbies, or your feelings won’t directly sell any photography services, you’ll be laying the foundation to build relationships. When your contacts start thinking about photography, instead of picking a name based on a Google search, they’ll come to you. When others mention needing a photographer, your contacts will refer those people to you.

And then, after you’ve won the business due to the social media referral, you’ll end up at the top spot on that list. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Photo by Horia Varlan, used under Creative Commons licensing

Use Social Media to become the One to Call is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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Social Photo Podcast #10: Conversation vs. Broadcast, Twitter, and Cameras for Beginners

Aaron — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:24:17 +0000

Subscribe via iTunes: – this link will launch iTunes for easy subscription

Here’s the slightly-delayed episode ten of the Social Photo Podcast. Hosts Aaron Hockley and Lyza Danger Gardner talk about entry-level cameras, social media being used for broadcast vs. conversation, and more. This episode is about sixteen minutes long.

Links to Things We Mention

Which DSLR is Best for a Beginner?
Canon 50mm f/1.8 Lens
Canon PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot S90IS
Panasonic DMC-LX3K
Looks Like Antisocial Media to Me (conversation vs. broacast)

Distribution and Feed

We’re now on iTunes – if you use iTunes, you can subscribe using this link: Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback

We’d love to have your feedback – technical, content, or otherwise. Leave a comment here or send mail to podcast@socialphototalk.com – thanks!

Photo by Al Ianni, used under Creative Commons licensing

Social Photo Podcast #10: Conversation vs. Broadcast, Twitter, and Cameras for Beginners is a post from Social Photo Talk. Subscribe to the free Social Photo Talk e-newsletter

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