Archive for the ‘blogging’ Category

New Media Photographer Podcast 116

Monday, August 30th, 2010

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Pascal Depuhl about the photographers Website and Customer Relationship Management  (CRM).

Social media and the incredible photograph

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Imagine it is 1995. You are sitting across from a prospect with your portfolio laid out. She flips through the pages of your book and stops at one of your beautiful images. “Wow!” she says. “This is an incredible photograph.”

At this point, she might call a few people to her office to see your work. Chances are, they will not be available. Imagine if she could have pushed a button and sent a copy of that incredible picture along with a big endorsement to all her friends in her business and beyond? In 1995, that button wasn’t available.

Of course, as you leave her office you bump into a familiar face. It’s one of the many photographers you know who is also presenting work that day. The next question you ask yourself is how do you follow up on a regular basis without being a pest?

What about the clients that disappeared, lost their jobs or moved? Where did they go? How could you keep in touch for future opportunities?

What about competing with the photographers on the coasts who always seem to know the latest styles and equipment in 1995? Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to that information without waiting months for the photography magazines to publish? How about easily accessible, in-depth how-to information from the top professionals — anytime or place – with the option to ask follow-up questions?

What about the ability to share your images around the world without a large marketing budget, or the power to monitor the local or international markets for people in need of your service? None of this was possible in 1995.

This is 2010 and what I’ve described is what social media does for individuals and businesses. The magic buttons for people to share your portfolio with all their friends is available. The ability to have buyers subscribe to your latest images, purchase select images at 3:00 a.m. at your price or view your photographs passively at their leisure is a reality. Access to the newest information and the world is here.

Are these stupid and a waste of time?

I originally posted the blog  to the ASMP strictly business site in July. I’ve referenced the post a lot in my recent talks, so I thought I would share it with the new media photographer community.

Fotobabble as a tool for photographers

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

There are a lot of gimmicks online for manipulating your photographs.

Fotobabble is no exception. Gimmicks aside, this application actually can be useful for a photographer.

Think of all the ways you could use audio as a tool with your photographs.  I’m not talking about a complete slide show or full video, just a little information to enhance the viewer’s experience. This application, for example, could be very useful in the area of education.

Fotobabble could be used to explain how an image was photographed, who or what is in the image, or where it was taken.

A picture with audio embedded could serve as a valuable tool for business and marketing.  Funny photographs with creative audio have the potential to be viral hits.

The process is easy.  Sign in to Fotobabble.  Upload your photograph. Hit the record button.

After you record, you can share your audio-image via social media or embed it on your blog or Web site. You also can choose to have the audio automatically play during the loading of a Web page or let the viewer press play.

How could you use this application?

Social Media Updates

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Twitter recently announced an easy-to-install tweet button for Web sites and blogs.  It has now added a bookmarklet for easy tweeting from any Web page. All you have to do is drag and drop the button to your browser tool bar.  You can find it here.

Facebook released its own geo-location application called Facebook places.  Although Facebook is being criticized for the move, I think if you are a business you should at least check in and make sure you are listed.

I thought it was interesting to note Facebook uses Bing maps.

Foursquare recently added the name-your-hometown feature. It is useful to help you find new friends and for new friends to find you.

Google and Verizon’s Net neutrality policy is creating a bit of a stir. Mitch Joel has a good post on the topic on the Twist Image blog.

If you are interested, read Google’s post on the topic.

If you see some good information related to social media, please share it in the comments.

New media photographer podcast 115

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Chris Sheehan from Shelter Studios

Evernote for photographers

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

I’ve had an Evernote account for a while.   I think it’s a excellent application, especially for smart phone users.

Since the announcement of the impending demise of Google Wave and my acquisition of an Android phone, I’ve been considering using my Evernote account as a default method to capture inspiration during my travels around the Web.

So far, I’m finding the application to be a winner.

The biggest help has been the addition of the Evernote button on my Firefox browser.  It simply allows me to click a button and save the Web page I’m viewing to my account, along with comments and tags.

It works great for the podcast.  I’ll usually write a highlight note, give it a couple of tags including “pod” for podcast and the link is automatically attached.  The tagging feature makes all my podcast-related notes easy to find.

I’ve also created multiple notebooks so I can keep topics organized.  I have separate notebooks for the blog, marketing ideas, clients and photography.

Evernote also is excellent for capturing great photography Web sites for future viewing.  I can tag fashion, business, food or interior photography for needed inspiration.

The ability to take notes is an added bonus.  Sometimes I’ll come up with a photography idea on the road. I’ll use Evernote to create a voice recording or written note so I will not forget the idea.  Trust me, I’ll forget.

Sometimes I’ll see a great location I might want to use later. I’ll take a quick snap shot with my phone and tag the photo with key information.  The software can read words within your photos allowing subjects such as signs to be found via search. I can even geo-tag my location with my Droid.

Tagging photographs, audio, video, links or written notes is becoming an important and common feature for many online applications. I believe Evernote is one of the best.

Tagging gives you the access to your information quickly. You can access your desired information with a simple search.  You can even save your common searches.

If you feel you are collecting valuable information and don’t want to create a blog,  podcast or tweet the information you can enable the share function so others many view your brilliant finds.

Evernote is a great tool for any photographer. Try it out.

Rosh

Thanks to http://www.damego.com for their review on the Droid application.

New Media Photographer Podcast 114

Monday, August 16th, 2010

This week: Rosh interviews photographer Don Giannatti.

New Media Photographer Podcast 113

Monday, August 9th, 2010

This week: Rosh Podcast’s from the new space at Synectics Media and shares his thoughts on the death of Wave.

New Media Photographer Podcast 111

Monday, July 26th, 2010

This week: Rosh shares a few thoughts  about the new Google images, digg and Facebook.

Be like Lindsay Adler

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

As I stood in a bookstore the other day, I suddenly became overwhelmed.  Not as a customer trying to find the right book, but as an author trying to sell a book.

Wow, there are a lot of books on the market.  Two floors of books vying for the customer’s dollar. How do authors and publishers get the book buyer’s attention?

My next thought : There are far more blogs online than books in a bookstore competing for readers’ attention.  How do you get noticed?

I know this: If you are an author, you will not attract new readers by standing in a bookstore thinking about your book. The same goes for your office. You will not accomplish much if you sit at your desk waiting for the sales to happen.

The only way to develop a following is to get out in the world, knock on doors, and look for new opportunities online and offline.  You also can inquire about speaking engagements, opportunities to write articles and exchanging blog posts to introduce yourself to new audiences.

I’ve been very impressed with my co-author, Lindsay Adler, who got our first book deal The Linked Photographer’s Guide. She earned the first book on social media for photographers not because she was the most well-known social media expert. The opportunity came to her because she asked.

She writes for major photography magazines not because she has two decades in the business. She gets published because she asks.  She speaks at conferences and workshops about fashion photography and social media not because organizers were knocking down her door after she graduated college. She presents because she asks for the opportunity.

As I spend more time working with small companies making a big splash, I’ve found they all have something in common: they are active in their communities.  One three-person team is selling its wares on QVC. They have an excellent product but the TV shopping network didn’t find them.  How did they get on QVC?  They asked.  A photography client had its first product (using my photos) reviewed on The Today Show a couple of weeks ago. How did they get on The Today Show?  They knocked on the right doors.

If you have a blog, product, book or business and want to grow your audience, be like Lindsay.  Knock on doors. Develop relationships. Don’t wait for world to discover you.