Social Media ???
Peter’s previous tutorial about social media is quite old now and things have changed a lot with how we use the online world. This updated talk about Peter’s thoughts on social media goes through how he uses certain platforms and why he prefers some over others.
18 comments on “Social Media ???”
I find that websites like Facebook and Instagram are hit and miss. I often reach out to models who say they are looking to do a shoot and get no response or when it comes to actually scheduling them disappear. Any thoughts on how to find people who are serious?
Having the same problems
That is simply going to be a problem regardless of where you look.
Well one thing to look for is how active the model is. Someone who posts pictures several times a week (selfies do not count) is obviously very active and serious about what she is doing, and will usually at least reply. Also she might be very busy, but several times a wait of a few months was worth it. Portfolios that had their last entry months or years ago are usually a red flag, maybe she logs into her account when she is bored and sees if she can get some “funny” replies from you. And, unfortunately. some platforms have patially turned into a marked for “other services”, and when you inquire about a photoshoot, well you are not the intended audience…
Great advice with checking how active the model is, although some models don’t post a lot so we usually check tagged photos too
Agree 100%. I recently revisited VERO and I think it is a waist of time. It is just photographers for photographers. Nothing “social” as far as finding talent or inspiration, sadly.
I did want to jump back on for a quick comment re Pinterest. I’ve collected 1,000 or so images there. My process is to direct talent there. I create a private mood board for them to pin from my main board before I even book studio time for a session ! It has helped eliminate no-shows entirely and significantly reduced last minute cancellations. I’ve found if they are unwilling take time to contribute to the mood board then they are really not interested in doing a shoot with me. Thought that may help other photographers out there. Cheers !
Great idea
I worked with a model who did something similar with Pinterest. She had a catalog of images of her wardrobe on a board. She encouraged photographers to reference that for desired looks, and she was able to better plan what to pack and bring, and I was able to better plan what to shoot.
I swear those posts from models saying they are looking to shoot are nothing more than click baits or part of some sort of marketing experiment….lol. I have probably responded to a dozen of those and only had one response. And she ghosted after 2 responses, never did shoot. Glad to know it’s not just me.
It will be interesting to hear your views on Twitter in a few months once Musk’s changes have sunk in.
So far I’ve seen no change whatsoever in my Twitter feed
Love your channel’s rants. I always learn something. Also, love the format where you have great slide shows going on in the background. It’s a chance to see photos that I don’t get to see in some of your other platforms. Very nice.
Thanks so much Jim, I’ll keep the slideshow for future rants
Twitter is under the radar good – and looks to get much better in time to come.
I’ve recently withdrawn totally from social media. I found that it was becoming very ‘tail-wags-dog’, similar to how competition photography had been for me many years ago.
Right now I’m focused on outputs that are purely for me and starting to look at a collection of prints as the end result.
For models I’m lucky enough to work with my partner for most of my recent work, but I’ve used sites like PurplePort in the past for direct access to models to are available to book.
That’s awesome, I wish I could get away from social media, I wouldn’t have it if I didn’t need it for my business. PurplePort isn’t as big in Australia but Bec used it a few years ago when we were in the UK
I still have my Flickr account. Although it’s mostly other photographers. Before Facebook and Instagram it was a great site to get inspiration from.