Day 5 - Five in Five

[davidc]

Like many others, I have never felt comfortable posting large or watermarked images on-line; there are too many ignorant or just downright dishonest people around. I appreciate that this approach makes it difficult for those I do trust to view my images so I wonder whether it is possible to set up a private sharing mechanism, possibly using something like flickr or Dropbox? My objection to the latter is that it requires me to install an application which I would prefer not to do, so a totally web based solution would be my ideal.

I understand the fear/thinking behind it and both you & I have seen our images been appropriated without our knowledge/permission. Still, I think it's exceedingly rare that it occurs at all, partly because we're unknowns & partly because to be totally honest, our pictures are not worth stealing. It might be sad to admit, but it's true And those that HAVE been stolen usually at least have garnered us more attention than we'd otherwise have which could ultimately lead to something more beneficial in future.

I also went through a similar phase but decided the exposure I get from sharing, the valuable interactions it generates with other photographers, the free critique... all this and more are worth the odd occasion someone steals your work. So far only one of my images has been stolen and NOT taken down as a result of legal threats and I bet you can't guess which one it is It's like being terrified to cross the road in case you're knocked down - while you can't stop a nutter from hitting you if they really want, you can take sensible precautions that still mean you enjoy what's on the other side of the street (I'm wise beyond my years dontcha know...)

Anyway now I use watermarks on all the images I care about and make it as difficult as possible to obtain the originals while I still get the benefit of cloud storage of hi-res images (useful when you lose all your images, or your house burns down) AND get to share decent resolution ones in places like here, with clients/friends/family, exhibitions, critique groups & collectors etc. The benefits I see day to day of using flickr massively outweigh the probability of theft x the impact of said theft occurring.

I can recommend the pro account for Flickr for sure and if people want some advice/guidance on watermarking I'm happy to do so too.

[davidc]

This prompted me to do another image useage check... Turns out the Italian government has used one of my images without permission - no prizes for guessing which - so an invoice has been sent.

[Paul Heester]

Another macro shot (using Sigma 105mm) from me from the garden. The dew and the low sunshine was too tempting! Simple conversion to B&W plus a curves layer added. Its been an enjoyable experience and reminds me of my 52 Week Project of forcing yourself to get out there. Thanks David for suggesting this

IMG_4323a.jpg (106.45 KiB) Viewed 4598 times

[Mata]

@Davidc – I have just signed up with Dropbox to share photographs. The programme does want to get its tentacles into every file. I am only going to use the basic features of sharing photos or documents with a cut-off date for viewing then delete the folders to make way for new ones so I can stay within the 2GB free account.

I have started thinking about a new website and other access / storage areas for both displaying and sharing photos. I accept the odd photo will be taken for use. For displaying purposes I will use a low res image and I will only share high res with people I know and trust. I am embedding metadata into the images and will use a watermark once I start to go general online.

I have a number of ideas floating in my head about photography projects (4) for next year. An online outlet is going to be necessary.

@Davidc – The theme for the shoot was –Widow – as you probably guessed? I had the light set-up from the left with a foam divider between the soft box in front and flash behind, both angled at 45 deg. I asked the model to keep the body angled at 45 deg to the soft box, whilst her head was 45 deg away from her body. I asked her to turn her head back towards her body very slowly whilst I started shooting. I also asked her to lean to the left so I could add a little of the chair. I personally think the chair adds to the ‘feel of the photo’ rather than a distraction.

Having gone through the images I found this angled shot (on display), the best combination of light and contrast.

I have now done about ten studio based workshops including lighting techniques. Am starting to pay attention to the finer detail having got over the ‘information overload’ period.

The advantage of working within a studio environment is that you can fix the camera setting and control the light. These are generally – Shutter between 100 and 200. Aperture between F8 & F11 and ISO between 100 and 200. The rest is simply how and where you position your lights. A sharp lens is a must. I was using a 50mm 1.8, on a D5300. Autofocus is brilliant when there is contrast. It also has a manual override.

I can honestly say I am thoroughly enjoying it, like duck to water. It is an area I am going to explore further.

The Image below was taken on the South Bank before I got to the workshop yesterday.

[Mike Farley]

This prompted me to do another image useage check... Turns out the Italian government has used one of my images without permission - no prizes for guessing which - so an invoice has been sent.

Given the Italian government's generally poor record and financial woes, good luck with that one.

[Mike Farley]

The advantage of working within a studio environment is that you can fix the camera setting and control the light.

That's probably why I have never really been that interested in studio work; I prefer to get out and about to find my images. Not there is anything wrong with either approach, just a different set of challenges.

[Mike Farley]

Like many others, I have never felt comfortable posting large or watermarked images on-line; there are too many ignorant or just downright dishonest people around. I appreciate that this approach makes it difficult for those I do trust to view my images so I wonder whether it is possible to set up a private sharing mechanism, possibly using something like flickr or Dropbox? My objection to the latter is that it requires me to install an application which I would prefer not to do, so a totally web based solution would be my ideal.

I understand the fear/thinking behind it and both you & I have seen our images been appropriated without our knowledge/permission. Still, I think it's exceedingly rare that it occurs at all, partly because we're unknowns & partly because to be totally honest, our pictures are not worth stealing. It might be sad to admit, but it's true And those that HAVE been stolen usually at least have garnered us more attention than we'd otherwise have which could ultimately lead to something more beneficial in future.

I also went through a similar phase but decided the exposure I get from sharing, the valuable interactions it generates with other photographers, the free critique... all this and more are worth the odd occasion someone steals your work. So far only one of my images has been stolen and NOT taken down as a result of legal threats and I bet you can't guess which one it is It's like being terrified to cross the road in case you're knocked down - while you can't stop a nutter from hitting you if they really want, you can take sensible precautions that still mean you enjoy what's on the other side of the street (I'm wise beyond my years dontcha know...)

Anyway now I use watermarks on all the images I care about and make it as difficult as possible to obtain the originals while I still get the benefit of cloud storage of hi-res images (useful when you lose all your images, or your house burns down) AND get to share decent resolution ones in places like here, with clients/friends/family, exhibitions, critique groups & collectors etc. The benefits I see day to day of using flickr massively outweigh the probability of theft x the impact of said theft occurring.

I can recommend the pro account for Flickr for sure and if people want some advice/guidance on watermarking I'm happy to do so too.

Thanks for your comments, which are similar to those I have seen expressed by others. While I am happy to share my images with others, it is not something which is particularly important for me. For years, my "website" has consisted of a defunct members gallery at Edinburgh Photographic Society of which I was a member for a few years when I was regularly travelling to Scotland in the course of my work. Due to changes in the way which EPS has set up its website, the gallery cannot be updated and worse, could be taken down at any moment without notice. Even though I am aware of this and have plans to create a website over which I have control, I have never felt sufficiently motivated to bring those ideas to fruition.

Yes, I do know that the majority of my published work will only ever be seen by a few people, but that is not the primary driver for my photography. I shoot for my own enjoyment, do not rely on it for any form of income and others liking the results is a bonus. Having grown up in a less connected age, like many of my generation I have not embraced social media and the concept of sharing with those I do not personally know has little appeal. While I have registered on a few forums, this is the only one where I participate regularly. For now I will continue to post realtively small images, even though they are still larger than I would wish, but I will bear your views in mind should circumstances change in future.

[Mata]

@Mike - One thing I am finding with studio/indoor work is that you can actually create the shot you want. The only limit to your creativity is your imagination. Challenging your creativity inevitably opens doors that weren’t even there.

@Mike - Like you, I have never been a fan of social media but I know its marketing potential. I have always been reluctant to go with Facebook, but I am thinking about it for future possibility?

I have in the last few days signed up with ‘Dropbox’ and slowly undoing some of its tentacles so I only use it to share photos. Especially models who can download high res images after the shoot. Saves me having to put it on a memory stick /cd. Cuts down the workload.

I know I am going to take photography to a professional or semi-professional level. I am seriously thinking about how to use the number of projects (4) I have in mind for next year as a launch pad (use it to build a portfolio and improve my photography skills by doing a more in-depth study per-project). It is going to require huge commitment, study, discipline and financial outlay over the next 18 months to make it happen.

[davidc]

@Mike - One thing I am finding with studio/indoor work is that you can actually create the shot you want. The only limit to your creativity is your imagination. Challenging your creativity inevitably opens doors that weren’t even there.

I absolutely agree with this! Spot on! The simple act of setting the camera and taking the shot comes second to unleashing your creative potential. It's hugely challenging and I love it Learning how to light a scene is a really important and good fun in it's own right but it's ultimately another tool available to us when creating an image. I've always felt that ignoring any avenue of photography is bad, but especially for this kind of thing is ultimately self-defeating, learning about all types of light be it man-made/directed or "natural" can only make use better photographers right?

@Mike - Like you, I have never been a fan of social media but I know its marketing potential.

It depends what you want out of it. Social media is also a completely different kettle of fish to image sharing/hosting tools and opportunities to interact with other photographers You can utilise sites like Flickr without sharing to a single person you don't know, and flickr is not social media.

Like Mike, I shoot for myself 100% of the time and while "faves" or "likes" are flattering, at the end of the day they are worthless in comparison to a single nugget of useful criticism. That's what I learn from, that's how I see the single biggest improvement in my photography! Flickr has been immensely useful for this though finding suitable groups to get this kind of feedback took a while it has been the single most fruitful place for inspiring my creativity, improving my technique & ensuring I'm still learning. It also keeps me receptive of criticism which I think is really important; many people don't pull their punches online. I think the day I stop wanting or learning from feedback given by others will be the day I stop improving as a photographer Building online contacts/friends is definitely another tool you can use to be a better photographer!

I completely understand that others might not want the creativity/critique benefits from an online platform, to each their own! But considering places like Flickr are free, are pretty much as secure as you can realistically get online - though of course not as safe as never showing them to another living soul - it's a bit of a shame to discount them without fully understanding them.

The only reason I even brought up the notion of using sites like flickr to share higher quality images is that I think the quality levels from a 100kb or less jpg file do you guys a disservice. Much of the detail is lost and it makes photos less engaging to look at - people can't tell if a shot has a flaw or if it's just crappy compression. I find it's harder to learn from a low res image and I spend less time looking at it, particularly for things like record/macro/art work - I guess a parallel would be doing a print on loo roll! Sure, it means if someone stole your print it they can't really do much with it, but it doesn't make it particularly enjoyable for anyone to look at Again, if that's not an issue for someone that's entirely their prerogative of course I just question why post/share images at all if what people see is not a true reflection of the work you put into the shot? At worst, it could give people an impression you don't care about how your work is presented.

Really though, for me, we're all photo nerds and surely it's better to see quality photos?

@Mata specifically - dropbox is a more general online storage site and covers more than just images. If you're using it for backup it's fine, but for photo presentation there are better options like 500px or flickr. You can even create your own site so you have more control about how your "project your brand" if going pro is your goal. If you want to create something to show off skills/shots to prospective clients, or to host images for paying customers (like a client gallery) you can do that fairly easily with a range of solutions. I can PM you with what I've done/tried/experimented if you think it would help? I even know a couple of site hosting/building platforms that I have money off codes for

[Peter Boughton]

flickr is not social media.

Define "social media" non-ostensively, in a way that excludes Flickr.


Social media is basically a buzzword, by which I mean most people that use the term don't understand it, and are also misrepresenting what they are referring to with the term.

I don't have time to write clearly, but consider:
* social is interaction between more than one person
* media is a means of storing/communication information

i.e. social media can be any tool for multi-directional communication - pretty much anything that is not a soapbox or face-to-face.

It's not inherently about people you do/don't already know (it can be either/both), there's no limitations/requirements on what data is being communicated (shared), and it isn't limited to a specific set of shitty webapps.

However, most references to "social media" are basically saying Facebook/Twitter/etc, which can be more accurately defined as places where you unwittedly share personal information about yourself and those you [pretend to] care about with people you know nothing about, in exchange for the priviledge of being able to communicate with others using badly designed software which is optimised for the needs of those you're selling your soul to.

But that's not really concise enough...

Anyway, this is getting off-topic and I have to go now.


p.s Putting @ before someone's name implies they don't know what a name is and need it pointed out to them. This is true for some badly-written software, but not for most humans.