We connected with some Hearts Apart photographers to learn more about why they got involved, what a typical shoot is like, and why even though it’s not always easy, at the end of the day it’s a service they’re proud to donate their time to.

Photo by Doug Howell/Hearts Apart

“As a country, we are calling for an ever increasing sacrifice from the men, women, and families that serve in our military,” says Doug Howell, who has been a Hearts Apart photographer since 2011. “I simply donate a few days a year to create portraits that help these family members stay better connected.”

But the task isn’t always that simple – shoots are often very emotional for the family, and the photographer. “Of course the worse case scenario is always in the back of your mind,” Doug says, “These might well be the last professionally created photos these families ever have.”

Photo by Doug Howell/Hearts Apart

As for the process, it’s not just a matter of getting the right angle or lighting. “These sessions take a good bit more time than the average family photo session, because the service member is required to have their BDUs as well as a dress uniform for photos,” says Doug. “I have come to learn that those uniforms take a quite a bit of time to make picture-perfect.”

But Doug enjoys hearing the stories behind the uniforms. “We play show and tell first, and I get to learn about different aspects of this particular uniform or ribbons and medals.”

Photos by Eric Adeleye/Hearts Apart

Eric Adeleye, another Hearts Apart photographer and veteran himself, heard about the organization through a co-worker and knew immediately how important these photos would be to service members.

“When I was on active duty, nothing like Hearts Apart existed. I’ve met many military families who say they have never been to a professional photographer before,” he says. “It means a lot to a service member to have a reminder of home when they are out in the field on deployments.”

But it’s not just about making those who are deployed feel good – the feeling is reciprocal. “Working as a photographer with Hearts Apart allows me to say thank you to the men and women who defend our country,” says Eric.

Photo by Eric Adeleye/Hearts Apart

After the photos are taken, Hearts Apart shares private galleries with the families through their PhotoShelter website. Families select their favorites to be printed on nearly indestructible vinyl that the service member can keep with them in combat, with the reassurance that the images will survive in extreme situations. The families back home get a CD of the images, and the photographers who shot them get a sense of pride and fulfillment from bringing these hearts apart together.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Hearts Apart and how to get involved, visit www.heartsapart.org.

Photo by John Hall

The biggest thing

“I had a flash website. It was just a portfolio, it didn’t have a blog, and it wasn’t giving me any SEO love. I knew I needed to completely redo my website architecture from the ground up,” Niall tells us. After performing a massive amount of research on the subject, Niall was sold on WordPress for its blogging capabilities, and Graph Paper Press, who builds designed themes for WordPress blogs, for the look and feel. But he knew he needed something more robust on the back-end — a platform that would allow him to archive all his work as he uploaded it, allow him access to these files whenever he might need them, provide him with a simpler image delivery system, and more. When Niall learned about PhotoShelter, and the fact that a PhotoShelter account/website could be seamlessly integrated with WordPress and Graph Paper Press, he knew he needed to look no further. “Just the fact that my PhotoShelter site mirrors and echos my Graph Paper Press design — I think that was the #1 selling point for me,” says Niall. “The ability to just have this really cool, custom, totally seamless website…that was the biggest thing.”

An individual image from Niall’s PhotoShelter archive on display on his integrated website.

The “Listed on Website” section of Niall’s Image Browser, which houses all of the collections he displays in the “Image Archive” area of his website (below).

Another major piece of the puzzle for Niall has been the SEO education PhotoShelter has provided him. A more learned and experienced SEOer these days, Niall attributes much of his success getting found online to PhotoShelter’s myriad of tools and guides on the subject. “PhotoShelter was with me from the ground up when I got serious about photography and my website, and I actually learned a lot about SEO through the advice I got from you guys,” Niall tells us. “I’m now super focused on SEO and proud to say — and this would not be possible without the WordPress architecture paired with PhotoShelter — that I bounce between page 1 and page 2 for the keywords I’m really going for right now in a Google search…such as music photography in San Francisco, or family photography in San Francisco, I’ve been #1. And I’ve been getting a lot more random organic inquiries from internet searches, sometimes through an image search. I actually just got an ad campaign with a major company because they found my music pictures online, through my PhotoShelter account first.” Niall makes sure to pay extra close attention to any field on the PhotoShelter back-end denoted with the little green “SEO” tag as these are the areas that can very directly affect one’s placement in Google searches — the “on-page factors” any photographer with a website should be keeping front of mind. “Honestly everyone I talk to is impressed with my knowledge of SEO,” says Niall. “I just tell them they should all be doing this!”

The green SEO tag displays next to any field on the back-end that may directly affect Niall’s SEO.

 

Brand consistency

While things like word of mouth, in-person visits, and consultations are still at the very top of the list for Niall’s business, he knows that without his blog, his design, and all of the tools and possibilities PhotoShelter has afforded him, he wouldn’t have been able to express his brand as consistently as he has over these past few years. “When I first started out I was just looking for a solution that displayed photos really well and was really good on the backend,” says Niall. “Now some of my biggest clients have found me on the internet, and that’s because I’m out there with this website. You guys helped me do that.”

Alexandru Vita can tell you a thing or two about designing a PhotoShelter website. An experienced web designer with a serious fervor for photography, Alex is one of PhotoShelter’s four “Certified Consultants” — a select group of PhotoShelter members who know PhotoShelter inside and out, and who can be hired to help you get your website launched, as well. We sat down with Alex recently to talk a little bit about his success as a Certified Consultant, what he feels are the biggest red flags for any photography website, and why he chose to work with PhotoShelter to truly hone his design skills.

“My passion for photography started it all,” Alex tells us. With a degree in computer science, Alex recalls spending many late nights studying things like lighting, composition, marketing, and of course, web design — anything to feed his combined passion for photography and design. He signed up for PhotoShelter in 2008 and hasn’t looked back since. “As a photographer you get the complete package with PhotoShelter: great image management, simple-to-use selling and pricing of images, and good customizable templates, just to name a few,” says Alex. But what really sold him on the service was PhotoShelter’s manual customization capabilities. “How a powerful structure can be modeled into specific designs… this is what really got me,” he says.

Since becoming a part of the Certified Consultant program, Alex has gathered experience working on over 100 unique projects, both small and large, solely dedicated to PhotoShelter members. But it’s his understanding that every project is distinct that has led him to treat his work with the keen eye and attention to detail his clients really want and need. “I’ve learned to not just create shiny websites to showcase images, but to make the needed compromises,” Alex tells us. “My experience has taught me to try to focus on the big picture — to solve any usability problems that may be stopping visitors in their tracks. That’s why collaboration has become such a huge part of how I work now, and I’ve gotten great results.” And with that in mind, Alex makes sure his clients come to him with their full vision, even if it may be accomplished in steps. “When my clients have very specific changes in mind, I recommend they take some time to gather a comprehensive list of everything they would like to see, and then send it over all at once. Batching always helps productivity and usually cuts down significantly on email time, as well as on time spent opening and closing files, software, connections, etc. to make minor changes.”

Alex helped portrait photographer Sven Doornkaat integrate his PhotoShelter portfolio with his WordPress blog in this striking example.

Given his experience as a consultant with PhotoShelter, Alex has also learned to quickly spot and diffuse some of the major photography website red flags he often encounters. It sounds simple, but one of the first things he looks at is whether or not the photographer’s contact information is available and easily accessible. “Making your contact info hard to find on the site, or missing altogether in rare cases, is a big one for me,” says Alex. “If the phone number and/or email address can be displayed on every page of the site, in the footer or sidebar, it makes it all the more easier to get contacted.” Another issue Alex will rush to correct is poor site navigation. Making sure visitors can easily find what they’re looking for is another seemingly simple tip, but one Alex finds many photographers overlook. This often comes up when a client is either stuck with an older design, or they’ve chosen a template that is too basic for their full body of work and what they want to do with their site. Again, what may seem like pretty elementary things to some — making sure customers can find what they need and that they know how and where to contact you — really can be the make or break for your site and your reputation.

For New Zealand based photographer Kelsi Doscher, Alex performed a full fleshed manual customization of the PhotoShelter template provided. He made sure her navigation was listed in both the header and the footer of the site, and her email address and location clearly listed in the footer, as well.

Today, Alex receives about 10-20 requests from potential, new, or current PhotoShelter members every month. Most of these are for full site designs from photographers looking for their first online “home”, or experienced users looking for a website overhaul — those who want to take advantage of new technologies and what PhotoShelter has to offer. But while Alex continues to excel at helping his clients cull that perfect look and feel out of a website, that’s not all they’ll get from him. Alex can be hired to help you with anything PhotoShelter — SEO, ecommerce, basic workflow, even recommendations on which specific PhotoShelter tool to rely on for your particular use-case. And an added perk to hiring Alex? The wisdom he has acquired as both a photographer and designer in his time studying, practicing, and working at both:

“You need a lot of passion to be in photography — it’s hard work! But I see many people very concerned about gear and technique, partly neglecting all the other required aspects: figuring out what their niche is, learning how to properly price, market and sell their images, etc.

This is a business, and I believe photographers need to treat it as such. Even if they’re not large agencies with huge marketing budgets, solo photographers should still learn basic business principles: planning, defining their unique selling proposition, market research, invoicing. This is really hard, too, and may be out of the comfort zone for many. It keeps photographers away from their cameras, but the benefits eventually outweigh the efforts. This is how they will get more and better opportunities to display their photography skills.”

Alex also makes sure to drive home just how important it is to get your site right when starting out. He says a lot of photographers feel like a flashy site with a lot of bells and whistles will help them succeed immediately and solve their problems, but that isn’t necessarily always (or even often) the case. “Photographers should always be armed with patience, of course,” says Alex. “But switching up the website to something that just looks ‘super cool’ isn’t always the right move. I feel minimalistic and clean really is the way to go, and it’s important to get a few things right as early on as you can: display only your best work, clearly explain what you do well, and make sure your contact information is front and center.”

Action Plus, a sporting images agency formed over 35 years ago, cultivates just the sort of sleek and straightforward design Alex recommends. They hired him to seamlessly integrate their PhotoShelter archive, client area, and ecommerce functionality into their existing site to achieve one single polished look and feel.

To see more examples of Alex’s amazing website overhauls and PhotoShelter integrations, or to hire him to help with your own unique project, check out the PhotoShelter Customizations page of his website. Alex does a stellar job of outlining his process and exactly what you can expect out of your time with him here.

Ilise Benun is the co-founder of Marketing Mentor, which provides guidance, practical strategies, and inspiring ideas for creative professionals. She has the tips photographers need to help grow their business in the right direction.

In this live webinar on Tuesday, February 19th at 4pm EDT, Ilise will share her best practices for talking money with clients for the first time. This talk is geared toward photographers who are relatively new to working with clients and their budgets directly. Ilise will discuss:

• How to find prospect clients and determine if they’re right for you
• How to begin broaching the topic of money
• Strategies for talking price and negotiating deals
• The importance of closing a deal with confidence
• Tips for making sure you get paid

Join us Tuesday, February 19th at 4pm EDT for this live webinar with Ilise Benun of Marketing Mentor!

Ilise is one of eight members of the Dream Team Advisory Board in our Jumpstart Your Photo Business Contest. Learn more >>

Mastering The Illusion with Photo Retoucher Amy Dresser

Amy Dresser is one of the industry’s leading photo retouchers and illustrators. Her clients have ranged from editorial (Playboy, TIME, Allure) to advertising (Barbie, Bacardi, Sony) to individual photographers (Jill Greenberg, Jeremy Cowart).

As we increasingly blur the line between photography and illustration, retouching has never been more important. But contrary to popular belief, Amy’s attitude is not to make any image perfect; her motto is to keep the character, but remove whatever might be distracting and help enhance the message.

In this live webinar on Tuesday, January 15th at 4pm EDT Amy will take us behind the Photoshop layered curtain of her work, and discuss her thought process, technique, and end result.

Note: Only the first 1,000 registrants will be able to attend this live webinar. After that, registration will close. We will post a video recording on The PhotoShelter Blog, but sign up if you want to attend on January 15th. 

I jumped at the chance to join Gene for two big reasons. 1) Since my promotion to CEO of PhotoShelter earlier this year, I’ve tried to take every possible opportunity to dig deep into how our members operate their photo businesses, both on and off our platform. This would be amazing on-the-job exposure to see how Gene gets it done. 2) Having attended more than 100 NFL games throughout my lifetime, I’d never once had the chance to be on the sidelines. As adults, I think we can all admit that there are less and less things that make us ridiculously giddy with excitement anymore. So this was one of those rare, “we’re going to Disneyworld” type moments. I knew that getting up close and personal on the field for a real NFL game would be an immense treat, and having learned that I was a big football fan, Gene extended the invitation.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Gene has been shooting for the Cardinals for over 12 years and there’s a good chance you’d recognize many of his best images, but none more than this iconic photo of Pat Tillman, the standout Cardinals safety who became a US Army Ranger following the 9/11 attacks, and was sadly killed in action. The Cardinals actually immortalized Pat by making a statue from this photo, which now stands outside their stadium in Phoenix.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Now Gene’s invite wasn’t simply “come hang out with me while I work.” He was looking for a grip to be at his side for the away game. His instructions were: “Wear comfortable shoes because we’ll be moving the whole game, and you’ll probably be carrying some equipment, calling out plays in my ear, and writing down codes throughout the game.” So, I promised myself not to get too starry eyed, play it cool, and try to make Gene’s day a little easier.

I arrived at MetLife Stadium two hours before gametime, picked up my media credentials (Yes, it did feel super cool to say “I’m with the Arizona Cardinals” as I asked for my pass.) And then I picked up my NFL “working vest.” While the media photographers were given beige vests, the visiting team photographers we were given fluorescent green ones to identify that we had a bit more access to the team in key locations on the field. You couldn’t miss us.

It turns out, gear-wise, Gene travels pretty light for away games. He had a Canon 5D Mark II with his 400 mm f/2.8 lens, which is pretty standard for shooting the action of a football game from the sidelines. In addition, he had his Canon 1D Mark II with a fixed 28 mm f/1.8 short lens for capturing individual player features and stories as they unfolded up close, like players praying before the game, emotional high fives and dancing players after big plays, and other drama that played out off the field. The short lens was also useful for capturing game details like equipment (i.e. balls and helmets) that could later be used in marketing materials and as stock.

I deliberately left my own camera at home, because as the assistant, I didn’t want my own gear to interfere with Gene’s job. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to snap a few iPhone pics for Instagram before the action started.

Photo by Andrew Fingerman

During pre-game warmups, Gene captured a few shots of players getting ready for the game, and it was a great chance for me to get to know him better and work out my own rookie jitters. I allowed myself a few minutes to appreciate the sheer size of these guys on the field. Even the quarterbacks are really big dudes.  And then I started riddling Gene with questions.  The first “client” in line for Gene’s game photos is the Cardinals team website. The website is updated throughout the game with fresh photos. As such, Gene must review his images at every break in the action and be prepared to hand his memory card off to a runner from the team. I helped by keeping notes – writing down the file number and player featured in the best shots. This helped the web team zero in on the right images to post quickly online. By halftime, Gene would have highlighted about 20 to 30 images ready to go online. Beyond this immediate need, Gene must be thinking about upwards of 50 different types of usages for his images following the game — from programs and other souvenirs, to Cardinals marketing, to stadium signage and environmental decor. Following the game, Gene will do a full edit via Photoshop on the plane ride home, and he then places the selects on the team’s PhotoShelter account in a new gallery, where all of the various Cardinals departments who need access to the images have permission to download the high res originals.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

The game moves really quickly – we would shift mostly from the endzone to the 20 yard line on one end of the field, then when the ball changed hands we’d quickly move to the 20 yard line and end zone on the opposite end. Watching Gene work, the number one talent that was obvious was his knack for anticipation. It’s the same reason NFL players and coaches watch film while preparing for a game — knowing the players, their habits, and knowing the game *incredibly* well enabled Gene to position himself properly and key in on individual players before the action unfolded. With the 400 mm lens, you’re pretty much committing to a tight shot of a specific player or expecting a play to unfold in a certain way, because it’s very hard to also keep track of what’s happening outside your field of view and shift quickly to elsewhere on the field. That’s another spot where I was able to help a bit — Gene asked me to continuously call out the play to alert him to shift his focus elsewhere. For instance, if Gene was focused in on, say, the Cardinals star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and the pass went to the opposite side of the field, calling it out would help Gene pivot in an attempt to capture the action.

I was very interested in how Gene approaches the game and how his perspective as the official team photographer varies compared to the editorial sports photographers I’ve spoken with in the past. It turns out, there are a bunch of very real differences. Because he travels with the team, Gene has developed close relationships with many of the players. They know when he’s around and clearly they like to entertain for the camera. He also gets special access, like being the only photographer permitted inside the team’s pregame huddle.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Another key difference was Gene’s chosen positions. For example, on a goal line play when the Jets were threatening to score, all the editorial shooters were clumped together near the endzone. Rather, Gene was in position on the opposite side of the play, in hopes of capturing a brilliant defensive stand by the Cardinals – the team certainly has no use for images of opponents scoring touchdowns. Also, for Gene, there really wasn’t any break in the action. Even when plays would end, Gene would frequently move back and forth from the sideline to the bench, equally as interested in the off-field interactions and antics. He was also deliberately mindful of other in-game storylines, like capturing photos of the Cardinals brand-new center starting his first game for the team.

Now, the game itself wasn’t exactly a barn burner — the final score was 7-6 in favor of the Jets and both teams suffered from less-than-stellar quarterback play. The crowd was small and relatively quiet too, many having given up on the hometown Jets. But despite this lack of intense action, Gene was able to produce some outstanding images showing the emotion of the day – from the pregame hope, to celebrations of big plays, to the disappointment with the outcome.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

And if you look carefully, no matter what the score was, you can see in my eyes the unmistakable giddiness of a little kid on the sidelines of an NFL game for the very first time. And for this I’m especially grateful for the chance to have spent the day watching my new friend Gene Lower do his job.

Photo by Gene Lower, Slingshot Photo

You can follow Gene on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to keep up with his latest work.

Photo by Laura Crawford/JDFrontline

Photojournalist, event photographer, seasoned campaign shooter and all around political photography guru only begins to sum up PhotoShelter member Shealah Craighead, who we had the pleasure of speaking with this month for our “Talking PhotoShelter” series. As one of PhotoShelter’s power sellers, we were eager to learn about how she uses our tools to support her business. From organizing to pricing to charming clients all the way through the sale, Shealah does it all with PhotoShelter…and a smile.

Staying Organized and Feeling Secure

Let’s start at the beginning. Before being able to work with any of the other PhotoShelter tools she depends on daily — tools that allow her to share, price, sell, and control the client experience — Shealah needs to make sure her house is in order. First, she uses Photo Mechanic to upload her images into her PhotoShelter archive, taking full advantage of the “Export to PhotoShelter” option built directly into the application. After that it’s all about back-end image organization, which is of the utmost importance for her, a self-described “organization nerd” who uses PhotoShelter for all of her offsite storage and archival needs. “I feel safe, confident, and comfortable that the images are backed up offsite in my PhotoShelter account”, says Shealah.

But it doesn’t end with her personal archive, where she is set up to catalogue over 2 terabytes worth of imagery. Shealah takes full advantage of the gallery nesting capabilities PhotoShelter offers to keep all of her direct client work highly concentrated in the “Listed on Website” section of her Image Browser, as well. “I’ll often have multiple events with one particular client, and I love that I’m able to organize it all with a high-level general collection, and then individual, more specific galleries underneath. At the end of the day, it really helps me to stay more organized on my side.”

The homepage of Shealah’s PhotoShelter website, which showcases all of the galleries and collections she houses in the “Listed on Website” section of her Image Browser.

Password-protection was another organizational game changer for Shealah; she’s a big proponent of our Visibility & Access tools, particularly our functionality for providing multiple passwords for a single gallery or collection. “I love being able to share a gallery or collection with different groups of people and still restrict the access exactly how I need to”, says Shealah. “It’s so great to be able to share the same gallery with the client and with others at the same time in possibly a totally different way.”

A peek at PhotoShelter’s back-end Visibility & Access controls.

Staying Mobile…and Still Making Sales

A highly sought after political campaign photographer and someone who has been snapping shots all over the White House for years now (did we mention she was an Official White House photographer during George W. Bush’s presidency, and First Lady Laura Bush’s personal photographer, too?), Shealah recognizes the necessity of having a service like PhotoShelter that lets her upload, access and sell images efficiently while on the road. It truly hit home for her when she picked up the role of sole tour photographer for Governor Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue book tour. “I knew immediately that I needed to organize my images in a capacity that would allow me to have access to them from anywhere, at any computer, from any location in the world. I also needed a way to sell images in a more convenient manner.”

And sell she did. Shealah has made thousands of sales through her PhotoShelter website, a feat she attributes to having access to our myriad sales tools and features, and the ease of use she found within. Pricing profiles were key to her process, providing her with the ability to set price points specifically for different groups of clients and their individual needs. “I think pricing profiles are one of the most awesome things about PhotoShelter”, Shealah tells us. “And giving a client their own set of prices makes them feel comfortable, too, because they know it’s not all just cookie cutter. Being able to tailor things for them goes a long way.”

Shealah mostly sells prints through her website, many of those buyers looking for that perfect shot snapped just when they shook hands with Gov. Palin. Needless to say, there was a huge demand for images from the tour, and Shealah feels she may have had a hard time keeping up if not for PhotoShelter’s automated fulfillment feature. Automated fulfillment gives Shealah the freedom to continue shooting while all of her print orders are automatically sent to one of our four integrated print partners (Shealah uses either AdoramaPix or BWC Photo Imaging, depending on the print or product ordered), who then print and ship on her behalf.

The inner-workings of a PhotoShelter print and product pricing profile.

Keeping it Clean

With at times upwards of 75 different print orders coming through on any given day, Shealah also made sure to stay keenly focused on her clients’ experience. “Clients would ask me, ‘How do you do all of this?’”, Shealah tells us. “And I’d say, ‘Listen, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of all of this. You just do what you do, and I’ll make it easy for you on this end.’ And I can, because it’s, well, just easy.” Shealah’s PhotoShelter website was designed with our “Farah” theme, the extremely simple yet polished look of which has helped keep things flowing smoothly for her clients. “I just think it’s a really clean look”, she says. “The layout is so smooth even my less web savvy clients can be directed easily.”

An individual image ready for sale on Shealah’s PhotoShelter website.

Giving Back

In addition to pricing profiles and automated print fulfillment, Shealah also relies on PhotoShelter’s sales tools for creating and managing coupons — another huge win for her business. “I think coupons are just brilliant because I do a lot of events surrounding the military, and I like to be able to give back and show my appreciation. I’m not always trying to make a buck. I would actually much rather the photos sometimes be used to somebody else’s advantage — as a keepsake, or a memory,” she says. “And I think that represents the client nicely, as well.”

Shealah often has a handful of different coupon codes at the ready for VIP clients, in-house staff, etc., and most of the discounts are pretty darn generous, too. “Sometimes the client or organization I’m working with doesn’t necessarily want to hand away images, but they’ll want to show appreciation to their volunteers or anyone working the event. So providing a discount is a courtesy on my part to say thank you for making the event great, because without the team effort, my photos wouldn’t be great.”

Straight from inside the PhotoShelter shopping cart! Shealah’s clients can claim their discounts here.

A Professional Brand All Around

For Shealah, one of the most essential pieces to this puzzle — using a service like PhotoShelter to ground her business in so many ways — has been pure ease of use. “PhotoShelter is super easy to use”, she says. “The design of it all, the ability to so simply sell your images, to connect on social media with clients, to share with clients… it’s just all so user friendly. And if there is ever anything I need, your team is amazing. Everybody that I talk to is incredibly patient and just so thorough and knowledgeable. I feel so comfortable with them. They’re awesome!”

Beyond that, Shealah says PhotoShelter has given her a security blanket through its professionalism, from the product itself through to its customer service. “PhotoShelter’s professional presence has been so important to me as a professional photographer. In this business you need to surround yourself with tools that really enhance your work but also continue the promotion that you’re a professional photographer and not just someone out there taking pictures and throwing them up online. PhotoShelter just adds that extra element.”

The possibilities are endless, but to help keep you focused, here’s some insight on how to use them to build and promote your photo brand.

The new kids on the block

By now you’ve probably heard of two “hot” visual-based networks that photographers are utilizing to grow their photography businesses: Instagram and Tumblr. A great advantage to these two networks is that you already have a lot of visual content that you can utilize in order to build your following. These networks are simple and easy to use, so they can be easily incorporated into your daily workflow if you decide that they fit with your brand and overall marketing strategy.

Instagram:

Let’s dive into Instagram first. This platform is exclusively mobile (unless you’re using a third party site to access Instagram feeds) and based around sharing only photos shot with an iOS device or compatible Android device. On Instagram you can apply filters to your photos to make them more appealing, so users feel like they’re putting a lot of thought into the entire experience.

Instagram is an example of the shift that we’re talking about – the app is based exclusively on visuals, social sharing, and social interaction. This formula has proven to be successful; Instagram was the fastest growing (and most populated) mobile-social network on iOS and is now one of the largest launches of an app for the Android platform, with roughly 6 million downloads in less than seven days. Not to mention that Instagram was recently purchased by a little company called Facebook for $1 billion and has 5 million photos uploaded on a daily basis.

Come on, who doesn’t love photos of sleeping puppies?

The point to having your photo brand on Instagram is not necessarily to sell your Instagram prints (which you can do), but to build the number of followers who could turn into sales or a viable sources of word-of-mouth marketing for your photo business. You can also link your Instagram account directly to your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more for direct uploads and provide your followers with a link to your personal website so they can continue to engage your photo brand.

(Read Allen’s opinion on the platform in: “Why Instagram is Terrible for Photographers, and Why You Should Use It“)

Tumblr:

You almost certainly know at least one person with a Tumblr blog (Tumblog) these days. Tumblogs and the Tumblr feed place a serious emphasis on visuals and sharing. That’s because the major function on Tumblr is to “reblog,” meaning to repost another user’s content onto your own blog with a backlink to their page. So when other users reblog content, the originator still gets the credit. You can also “like” posts on Tumblr by clicking on the heart icon that accompanies the post. The amount of reblogs and likes that you have together are called “notes” and are displayed on the top of each post for all to see.

What you want your notes to look like on Tumblr.

Using Tumblr, you can quickly grow your following because as you accumulate more reblogs and likes, your post move up in the Tumbl’s popular posts – thus giving you a greater chance of being reblogged and gaining more exposure. Tumblr feeds are grouped by category (animals, fashion, film, food, etc.) and if you give one a browse, you’ll notice that nearly all of the posts that have achieved substantial recognition are visually based.

It’s clear that building a following on Tumblr based on a visual talent is a great way to communicate the value of your photography brand. Be sure to watermark your photos that you put on Tumblr with your name, website or blog ID so that you prevent stealing or claiming credit for your work.

Takeaway:

It feels as if we see a new social media platform pop up every day, and the ones that already have an established network are constantly updating and reworking themselves in order to keep up (or, in the case of Facebook, acquiring new talent).  Given that these massive networks are adapting to the changing social media landscape, photographers have to keep up as well.  In order to keep their standing in the social web, they have to continue to adapt with the changing times, by improving on their visual content presentation.

The “old” favorites

If you need more proof of the the expanding and increasing importance of visuals in social networks, look no further than the established social web heavyweights: Facebook and Twitter.  Twitter lacks an intimate visual experience, while Facebook is constantly making improvements to make its visual presentation more interesting and engaging, which your photo business can take advantage of.

Facebook:

On Facebook we see a constant evolution of their visual aspects in order to deliver a more engaging experience for both you and the people who visit your page. The Cover Photo, Tabs, and larger image thumbnails on your Timeline are just a few of the ways Facebook is improving the network’s visual capabilities. We covered these (and more) in Facebook Timeline: 5 New Tools For Your Photo Brand.

Lets not forget Facebook’s photo-viewing interface, which is always changing so that your following can really experience your photos. Nico Morgan has a great shot of this jockey in a tranquil setting that his followers can’t take their eyes off of:

By bringing the photo to the foreground of the page, “mounting” it on a black background, and dimming-out the Facebook profile in the background, users have a chance to really see and engage with your photos without being distracted by other areas of the site.

Facebook very recently coughed up an impressive $1 billion to acquire Instagram. While the future of Instagram is questionable, this acquisition is no doubt an attempt to enhance Facebook’s photographic and visual potential. Who knows – maybe you’ll be Instagram-ing your Facebook photos in the near future, or perhaps we’ll see a dedicated tool for a Facebook “photofeed” or “photostream” develop out of this (maybe even an app?).

Twitter:

Twitter isn’t as visually strong as other networks yet, but they are clearly making their way in that direction. The “new Twitter,” introduced a few months ago, now allows you to access a “View [media]” link within your feed (think mostly photos and videos).

Visual content is becoming increasingly important on social networks and it will more than likely continue to grow because of its ability to quickly engage and draw in users. In the news, you often hear about the spread of viral videos or photos that have made headlines, and they often get their start on social media. Visuals are the key to your future success on social networks, so just be sure that you’re educated and prepared for the opportunity.

Without images, you slash your chances of making an impact online. And you can’t pass that up. For more info to help grow your photography business online, check out PhotoShelter’s recent two-part free guide, The Photographer’s Social Media Handbook.

What Photo Buyer Want: Forbes Magazine’s Senior Photo Editor, Michele Hadlow

Tue, Apr 17, 2012 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT

Mo’ money, mo’ photos! Ok, so that might not be the official slogan of Forbes magazine, but while other publications have downsized their photography, Forbes is one publication that continues to invest in high-quality imagery.

If you’re not familiar with their content, the magazine is famous for its lists: World’s Billionaires, World’s Most Powerful People, America’s Best Small Business, etc. Alongside those lists are in-depth feature stories on CEOs, entrepreneurs, business owners, and more.  So when it comes to photography, emotive, sharp, and engaging and portraits are essential to completing the story.

Our webinar guest will be Forbes‘ Senior Photo Editor, Michele Hadlow, who’s been at the magazine for over 14 years. Michele can speak to over two decades of work in the photography business, and she’ll discuss:

• What makes a stellar portrait, and what’s good enough to be featured on the magazine cover.
• Best practices for photographing high profile subjects.
• The most effective ways for up-and-coming photographers to get noticed by photo editors from top tier publications.
• How editorial photography has changed over the past 10+ years, and what photographers can do to keep up with their clients’ requests and needs.
• Plus more on what it’s like to work for Forbes.

It’s been a joy and an honor to serve our members and the photography community this year. Thanks to all of you for making the hard work worth while!