So from now on, all my new images on social media will not be any of my photography at all! This is not a rant but my thoughts on social media, of why I don’t do a lot of it!
Long time now
For a long time now I have not posted at all much on social media platforms.
One of the big reasons is I am not good at all writing as my spelling and grammar not good at all! Partly this could be down to me been dyslexia as when I was at school it was known, so you cover it up or don’t do it! Luckily with the internet, I can look up words to try to get the spelling right and use other programs that may get my grammar right! Or as a friend said you have to learn Brian!
I thought that taking up photography there will not be much writing involved! Boy did I get that wrong!
Another reason I don’t post my images at all comes down to trust! How many of you read the terms you sign up to when joining a social media website platform?
Knowing your rights
As with any jobs, there are things you have to know and when you are a photographer one thing is knowing your rights! So sometimes this is a lot of reading and trying to understand what it all about!? This is getting harder for us creatives and more is happing that making harder for us!
A classic example is when I have taken I news photo and send it into the local paper! You get the editor asking you to give him the photo for free for photo credit! Ok, this may be good PR ( some photographer will do this)! But I know I can have a photo credit for my work anyway! So you have to ask your self can I work for free? Do you work for free?
So you have to make your own mind up is it worth it, like any business decision? So you have to make sure you read any terms and understand what there are saying the best you can!
The wording that I not over happy about are like worldwide license, royalty-free are some! You can see why they say this as what they like you to do is share your work and let others do so! This is always a Red hot topic! Is it a good or bad idea? That is down to you!
You do get worried when you hear of things going wrong! There was A court case in the USA where Stephanie Sinclair lost here case over a publish using one here photos on their website they had taken from her Instagram feed! (it not that strat forward for this case for this photographer) Not good!
Control
Control is part what you like to keep or give up is what you have to ask your self? How good is social media going to be for me or you?
Good points
- Shows your photography off!
- It could bring you some paying work in?
- Gets you a massive audience very easily!
- It can be free.
- Could bring traffic to your website.
Bad points
- It takes a lot of time to do.
- Some are only window shopping, so no paying work.
- Have to give up some rights to your photos.
- You may have to pay for it.
- You have to find a way to make it work right.
My plan
My plan will be to post something but using my photos where I have more control over them! This is a very big gamble and could badly backfire on me? So keep a lookout for my new images!
But the pint is that I feel that my work is important not to just give away! I hope you all like my new images i will be posting!