Social Media Trends

The giant that is social media and the psychological effect it has on us all.

As a photographer sharing my work means everything. If I capture a beautiful moment or create an amazing piece than I want the world to see it for it’s innate beauty, and because I want to bring attention to my work. I’m sure that a lot of generations older than I am feel a bit disturbed with social media’s influences on the creative vision of our work. Let’s face it; we’ve all been caught up in trends at one point or another and photography is no different.

A few years ago the craze was HDR or high dynamic range. That sudden spike in over-processed images, which I have to say I was definitely a part of, has decreased. I am proud to say that a more realistic, but mechanically sound HDR process has taken over part of my workflow. There were trends in filter media such as analog efex from NIK, Topaz Labs, and VSCO filmpacks. You can not go a few images on Instagram without running into a VSCO-edited image anymore. The low contrast, high fade, and grainy filters are a huge success that allows them to stay competitive with the filters that come free with Instagram.

VSCO film- Great Smoky Mountains National Park

My payday follows the trends in photography through the use of social media. You want to make some dough selling stock or licensing images than be prepared to stay current with social media trends such as VSCO film packs. This article is for photographers like myself who work full-time elsewhere and fall back on photography as a means of fun and hobby. With that being said I’m not a full-time photographer, and I can barely call myself a part-time photographer, but I do write articles and take photographs. I don’t mind making some cash or taking in some royalties here and there. It’s a sense of accomplishment that someone is willing to pay for your work to use on their project. I don’t have to run through why selling and making money off your photography is great, but it does lead to a greater sense of what you could be doing to make more money. And let’s face the facts; money buys White Castles at 2 in the morning. To stay ahead of or with the trends you have to be active in the latest trending social media monster as well. If you would have been on Flickr seven or eight years ago you would have been killing it, but as we all know they missed their ticket when Yahoo! bought them over. Sites like 500px and Smugmug followed with great success for serious hobbyist and professional photographers, but again they are focused on the PC end of the spectrum. And rightfully so, they’re great sites to use for portfolios. However; all those sites lack the tenacity that Instagram has on their mobile platform. Instagram continues to grow because it’s clientele are young and current. They are the demographic that our businesses strive to influence because most of their purchases are vision based. It’s not quality or quantity with the young demographic. It’s vision-based. Does it look cool? Would I be cool if I had it?

I am on Instagram. I am not very popular. I did not write this because I’m angry or distinctively calling out other photographers, but I am here to say that your social media presence does influence the way people see your work. The more you like and comment the more another use will reciprocate. Your work isn’t being followed as much as your networking and communication skills are being followed. It’s not a bad thing! In fact; it’s quite genius. You see, the more users that follow you on any of these sites turns into more users sharing or talking about your work to friends, colleagues, and family members. The larger the network, the better chance of someone finding your work to purchase or license. And after all, that’s why we go out of our way to communicate back and forth with one another. Payday. Whether you like to admit it or not; a little bit of extra spending cash goes along way these days.

So get out there and start shooting. Start liking. And start making friends.

The Ceilings of the Vatican

When in Rome, we visited the Vatican city which houses tremendous collections of art. I'm not religious. I didn't have to tell you that, but I will because it adds to the idea of these wonderfully crafted ceilings in the Vatican Museum. You don't have to believe in anything to understand just how much hard work and dedication went into creating and building such a collection of ornate rooms at a time when power saws and scissor lifts weren't available. 

I think that's the great power of art. No matter what creed or culture you define yourself as; we come together in the name of art to showcase how far we've come as people. And that is great. 

Recommendations: I recommend bringing a wide-angled lens on this tour. If you have a wide angle lens with a f/2.8 or higher I suggest using that lens as it is very dark in most areas. Do not bring a telephoto zoom unless you want to carry it around with you. I used my Nikon D610 and Nikkor 16-35 f/4 and feel that I got great results, but if I had the 14-24 f/2.8 I think it could have been even better. Don't be afraid to use a high ISO while shooting indoors without a tripod. Especially in a crowded place like the Vatican. If you want to see some blurry images with a 55-200mm telephoto lens I can show you those as my wife mistakenly brought the wrong lens inside the Vatican. 

Note: You are not allowed to take photographs in the Sistine Chapel. There are guards everywhere. Also, it is basically one large crowd of people looking up once you get to that part of the tour. You can either do a self-guided tour like we did because we were short on time, or you can do a guided tour with a slough of other people. 

100% Crop

I'm Always Coming Home to You

My favorite slough has been shut down for the past few months due to some sort of construction. Well, not shut down. But, the road to access the sunset spot has been under construction. Other areas along the slough are still open, but offer obstructed views. I should get out there and try to finagle something new. Maybe a new perspective will help? 

I remember this night being really good to my viewfinder. It was like a perfect storm of splattered clouds and light. I loved it. I like this slough for all it has to offer and for all it doesn't have as well. You know I still want to petition for mountains in Illinois. But, through countless trips to this slough I've learned my cameras, lenses, gear, and I've found my passion in landscapes here. I made some contacts here as well with other photographers through the years. 

I feel like a regular here. You know? A place where you go and they already know your name. My own Cheers. 

Venezia

I recently visited the beautiful and enchanting country of Italy. I also like to call it the land of noodles, scooters, and popes. If I’m being honest Italy was kind of a blip my radar. Sure, I wanted to go, but I originally wanted to visit more State side National Parks to continue my bucket list. After visiting, I think it's safe to say that I love Italy and have a new thirst for international travels. 

We started off by flying into Milan (it was the cheapest place to fly into Italy.) I rented a little Alpha Romeo (car) to rome (pun intended) the streets of Italy. What I didn’t think of before departing the States was that I’ve never been to Italy and that I don’t know where I’m going. Maps, GPS, etc… would have been very helpful. Oh well, we trudged on to our first destination: Venice. Since, visiting Italy I have purchased a GPS. Lesson learned.

Venice was the reason we were in Italy. That’s the place my wife just had to visit. I guess we didn’t quite grasp the fact that over 15 hours of traveling and one night in Venice would be difficult. But, we kept our eyes wide open and with good reason. Venice is enchanting. Venice is mysterious. Venice is everything you’ve ever thought and more. It truly is one of kind. I can see why Clooney had his big day there. 

Now, I’ve played Assassin’s creed (video game). I’ve been to Venice virtually. After playing that game and visiting Venice I can definitively say that they did a tremendous job in creating that world.

If I had any complaints in Venice it was that I didn’t plan for a long enough stay. I wish I had another night or two to actually sit down and enjoy the hell out of this floating city. Out of all the places we stayed and visited in Italy throughout our journey we concluded that Venice was a must-see let’s go back again kind of place.