Using New Media to Promote your Photography:

How can you use social media to promote your photography work?

Before the days of the internet, the way to get your photography or artwork noticed was by either knowing the right people or being in the right place at the right time.  This may have been good during the days of limited access to resources and technologies, but long gone are the days of scrounging for talented photographers, or artists in general. These days it seems you can’t throw a rock without hitting a talented photographer. The invention of the internet and the tools that go with it such as social media has created a new means of communication and promotion of work. This has fueled an entirely new marketplace to promote and sell your art or photos.

When the original Apple iPhone came out, taking photos on your phone and sharing them was not necessarily new but still cumbersome.  Something about the iPhone spurred on a new methodology for taking and sharing photos.  Instagram was such a product to come out of this new revolution.  What this allows you to do is take a photo, edit, add extra information, and upload it directly to your Instagram profile for all to see. If you see something you like from a particular photographer you can subscribe to their profile so you never miss a photo.

Many professional photographers post on Instagram because of its success and cult-like following.  While some have commented that slapping on a few effects to a pixilated poor-quality picture is no sign of talent, others would argue that a great shot can be seen through a poor-quality image and to turn a poor shot into something great on a cellphone is definitely a sign of talent.

In the end, the power of web services like Instagram is becoming the new media. Promoting your photography through social media allows you to network with people from all corners of the globe. Building a great following of people who like you and your work means you have more promoters working toward your success.

In these days of social media connections, it really pays to have a multi-faceted approach.

New Media & Social Networks for Photographers

Here are a few places that are well worth uploading some of your work to:

• Instagram – for your creative work taken with your iPhone and now with your Android phone too.
• FlickR– for your standard photographs. This link will take you to the professional photographer’s section
• iStock for selling your stock images. This can be a great way to make some extra money on the side but there are also a huge amount of articles on their well-resourced blog.
• Deviant Art for some of your funny, confronting work. All kinds of artists collaborate, communicate and post their work. Be warned it’s not generally a kid-friendly website.

Using these resources wisely can enable you to create a large profile and a huge following on various New Media Websites. Not only does this help to raise your profile but it also means you can be as creative as you like. Often artists and photographers get pigeonholed as ‘wedding photographers’ but you may also love taking photographs of wildflowers. Why not use social media to expand your market and let potential clients see another side of you?

After all you are your brand!

And people want to deal with brands they like and trust.