A Change in the Social Photo Atmosphere

by Aaron on July 7, 2010

It’s been a fun 13 months of publishing Social Photo Talk. A year ago, a lot of photographers were still figuring out social media, trying to decide if Twitter was just a waste of time and whether or not Facebook was for anyone other than college kids.

Since then, I think that most of the photographers who are online have embraced social media in some form. In short… you guys get it. The attitudes around social media for photographers have changed quite a bit in the past year. Sure there are still some luddites, but if they aren’t on board at this point, they aren’t on board.

Partially due to the changing photo landscape and partially due to some other factors, I will no longer be publishing new content on Social Photo Talk. The site will remain online indefinitely, but you won’t see new articles about social media use or related industry news.

I’ve got something entirely new in store that will be of interest to photographers, and I’ll make one last post here when that launches in the next week or two.

Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, retweeted, or otherwise contributed to the discussions over the past 13 months. I’ve made some great connections and some new friends, and that’s going to last far beyond this website.

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Social Photo Talk is pleased to be a sponsor for this weekend’s 30 Hour Day, an encore to last December’s first-of-its-kind charity webcast. Hosts Cami Kaos and Rick Turoczy tie together 30 continuous hours of programming being broadcast live from Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square (during the day and evenings) and a secret undisclosed overnight studio. Looking at the schedule for the event I see they’ve got a bunch of great music, comedy, and variety acts lined up… it should be a nice set of entertainment.

30 Hour Day buttonsFunds raised during the event are being donated to three charities: p:ear (a mentoring program that assists homeless youth), the Red Cross, and the Oregon Food Bank (yes, it’s true… people aren’t just hungry during Christmastime). Tune in from 4pm (Pacific time) Friday through 10pm on Saturday, check out the entertainment, and perhaps donate a few dollars towards some organizations that do good work.

If you’re curious to follow the event via photos, photographers Aaron Hockley, Igal Koshevoy, and Kate Borst will be posting pictures to the 30 Hour Day Flickr group as it happens.

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Top 10 Camera & Photo Bestsellers – June 2010

Photographers are often a gear-obsessed bunch, and we occasionally talk about gear and products here, so I thought it might be interested to take a look at the best-selling items in Amazon.com’s Camera & Photo category as we reach the end of June 2010:
What’s interesting to me is that there are a couple themes at [...]

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Pro Photographers Won’t Use In-Camera HDR

Over the last couple of years, HDR (high dynamic range) photography has become more prevalent. Some photographers take it to the extreme and create pieces that are less photograph and more computer-generated artwork, while others use the technique in moderation and attempt to more accurately portray the colors, lights, and shadows as seen by [...]

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iPad: The Missing Manual – Book Review

After having used an iPad for a couple months, I can say that most things on the device are fairly intuitive, but there are a lot of things to learn. I was given a copy of iPad: The Missing Manual for review and I’m happy to say that for someone who wants a comprehensive [...]

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Flickr Unveils New Photo Page Interface. I Swear I Didn’t Know, Really.

I swear that when I tweeted this morning:

.bbpBox16865490771 {background:url(http://s.twimg.com/a/1277242272/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #9ae4e8;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}

Flickr is starting to look *really* dated.less than a minute ago via TweetDeckAaron Hockleyahockley

I had no knowledge that only a couple [...]

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Better Portraits Because of Social Media

Thumbnail image for Better Portraits Because of Social Media

For portraits, headshots, and other forms of “people” photography, one of the keys to great images is to get the subject relaxed.  Folks generally don’t look great when they are uptight and nervous, so whenever I’m working with a client I try to get the individual to relax a bit as I gray to develop [...]

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Flickr Enables Anyone to Make Commercial Sales… Sorta

Late last week, Flickr rolled out a change that widens the reach of it’s collaboration with Getty Images and allows anyone on Flickr to offer their photos for sale via the Getty program.
Previously, the Flickr+Getty partnership was essentially invitation-only, where selected photographers would be invited to have selected photos represented by Getty. Now, photographers [...]

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WordPress 3.0 is Released: New Menus, Theme Options, Better Help

WordPress 3.0 is the newest release of my favorite blogging software. The new release includes an all-new easy-to-use menu system, more options for theme customization, a lighter admin interface with more contextual help, and more. You can download it directly or upgrade your existing install.
I’m sure I’ll write more in depth about specific [...]

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