I couldn’t agree more, and would love a return to where photography online was 10!years ago, blogs, websites, photobook groups, but I don’t see how we get back there.
I update and maintain my website on a regular basis. I always follow links from social media to see the websites of artists I admire or find interesting. I also get quite a bit of traffic to my website via my blog page. My website is a place I feel I have 100% ownership over what I create and share with the world.
You're right. I keep reading self-proclaimed online experts banging on about how blogs have gone the way of short pants and black-&-white TV, but I find a blog a really useful way to tell what other people, creators and users alike, are feeling, deep down.
For any business that’s “selling,” websites definitely still matter. They show seriousness and business readiness.
A quote I like:
“It’s better to have a website and a little social media than a lot of social media and no website,” he explained. The image quality on Instagram is poor and to many collectors and dealers, managing sales exclusively through the app appears unprofessional. “I’m not sending my clients to your Instagram. I’m just not going to do it.”
This sounds terrible, I know, but if a photographer does not have a website, I automatically figure that they are not professional. And that’s fine if that’s not their goal. And it has nothing to do with whether or not I like their pictures. But there is another level of thought that goes into a portfolio that is just never going to come through on Instagram. No matter how good their pictures are.
I hear you. It does give the impression of someone less committed or professional. And that's okay! I remember giving a talk at Syracus University years ago — like 2016, or so — and being shocked when I asked the students who had websites and who didn't. At the time, most did not. But I suspect that changes as artists mature. Those making a career as a working artist understand that your website is your portfolio, showroom, storytelling platform, etc. Thanks for the note, Megan. It's good to hear from you!
Feel exactly the same way. Now… I do have to update my own site, but it includes a store and easy online payment. It’s something I try and direct potential viewers and buyer towards so I should be keeping it current.
That’s all in the making and viewing photography on a big screen is so much better a way to promote the work or just browse a photographer’s talent.
Social media has a place but websites are a more discerning indicator or value and time well spent seeing and learning.
I couldn't have said it better! I do have a website and generally keep it up. I sometimes don't post photos to IG because I don't want it to be seen so small.
With you. I'm not sure it makes any sense, either — and then there's always the possibility they'll switch everything around on Wednesday. And today, it's Tuesday...
Also — and this is just my personal experience, mind — but I'm not a tech geek, and I often find IG far more trouble than it's worth to figure out, tech-wise, with no discernible payoff at the end from having to jump through Meta's constant — and constantly changing — hoops. At least with my own website (a lot of work, admittedly), I get to control everything from the ground up. I use Squarespace, which is neither here nor there I suppose, but while the learning curve with Squarespace is steep, I find they're not constantly changing the rules day-by-day. I always try to steer followers toward my website, and use social media simply as a way to stay in touch with friends and family, and the occasional follower.
Your website is like your portfolio back in the day. It's a presentation you design to showcase your greatest hits, as opposed to the flavor of the day. It provides more real estate to appreciate your images and a lot less distraction to contemplate them- should anyone decide to do so. You can draw them in through social media, but then you have to deliver...
Agree with this. I’m investing much more time on my website these days, posting blogs, adding my latest images…such an improved experience viewing on a website than on instagram.
Good points. I am old enough to remember the days when I thought IG would be a great alternative to maintaining a website. I am finding the time on Substack to be somewhat restful, compared to the constant feeding of the algorithm.
Websites matter, Andy. I always look at an artist's website. Also, I believe there is control from the simple fact of owning one's name / company for the domain so it can be found in an online search. One does not have such control on social media platforms.
Thanks, Andy. As someone who is definitely past one's prime, I have to agree that enjoying photos, or anything else visual, is better on a desktop. There is something intentional about sitting down in a specific place, to do a specific thing. Not quite going to a gallery, but then how many galleries are available for photographers to exhibit their work?
As for going to photographers' websites, I must say that I do not do that a lot. The main reason is that I do not know specifically which photographers I would like to visit, since I do not go out on social media. So your thoughts landing in my inbox are perfect.
I also think that it is good to space out one's intake of images, as the risk of oversaturation is real and present. It's the same reason I can only spend an hour or so in a museum, before my attention lags and my criteria crumbles.
So there you have it. Maybe we all need to slow down a bit, and give each other the space to slow down as well.
I still like both. I see new artists on IG, then go look at their websites. And honestly, I am in few shows and collections, so I like the idea of leaving a trace on my website. A friend told me it's too much, but I don't care: it's my museum.
Same here. I regularly visit a website and bounce over to Instagram and vice versa. I guess I'm writing this for myself because I know I should be spending more time on websites than on mobile apps. The struggle is real!
I recently wrote about this topic and feel the exact same way. I have a bookmark tab with all the photographer's websites that I like. Everything on your socials should direct people back to your website, that should be home.
Good to hear from you, Seth. I know you preach this gospel everyday. I'm still hooked on social, but I appreciate folks like you who made a clean break. I hope you're well!
It's just a newsletter, not a cult - not making anyone drink any Kool-aid! haha... if you like it, and it doesn't dominate your life, or make you sad, run with it! Just make sure to have that website freshened up haha
Or Zuckerberg decides he doesn't think you're pulling your weight and comes to you looking for more money, if you don't want to just shout into the void any more...
Some of the best interaction I've ever had with photography on the internet was via the photo forums that were so prevalent at one time. A community of photographers sharing photos; categories to find photos that you might be interested in; community through finding a number of photographers whose work you admired (and maybe admired yours too). It was a rather simple way to look at photography, enter into friendly conversation, and even give/receive some gentle critique. I even made some friends that I still communicate with many years later. I discovered photographers in my area. Attended meetups. Even went on some photo excursions to other cities. IG just does not promote that same feeling of camaraderie. Discussion is extremely limited. And of course a very tangible advantage was being able to see photography in a larger format than the size of your phone screen.
It's the phones that are the problem. Phones are why IG was created, which sucked us away from other platforms. And when Flickr changed the site interface to better accommodate phones, it suddenly became more difficult to interact in the groups.
I couldn’t agree more, and would love a return to where photography online was 10!years ago, blogs, websites, photobook groups, but I don’t see how we get back there.
It's true! The horse may already have left the barn.
But judging by people’s response here I guess some of us do still look at websites, which is encouraging me to update mine.
It's possible. Think vinyl. It can happen! Dates me, I know, but there it is. It's almost as if vinyl never went away...
I update and maintain my website on a regular basis. I always follow links from social media to see the websites of artists I admire or find interesting. I also get quite a bit of traffic to my website via my blog page. My website is a place I feel I have 100% ownership over what I create and share with the world.
You're right. I keep reading self-proclaimed online experts banging on about how blogs have gone the way of short pants and black-&-white TV, but I find a blog a really useful way to tell what other people, creators and users alike, are feeling, deep down.
I certainly enjoy writing this one!
For any business that’s “selling,” websites definitely still matter. They show seriousness and business readiness.
A quote I like:
“It’s better to have a website and a little social media than a lot of social media and no website,” he explained. The image quality on Instagram is poor and to many collectors and dealers, managing sales exclusively through the app appears unprofessional. “I’m not sending my clients to your Instagram. I’m just not going to do it.”
Source:
https://hyperallergic.com/842195/art-problems-those-artworks-arent-gonna-sell-themselves/
Indeed! I regularly find photographers who don’t have websites and only have IG accounts. Thanks for the link, Andrew.
This sounds terrible, I know, but if a photographer does not have a website, I automatically figure that they are not professional. And that’s fine if that’s not their goal. And it has nothing to do with whether or not I like their pictures. But there is another level of thought that goes into a portfolio that is just never going to come through on Instagram. No matter how good their pictures are.
I hear you. It does give the impression of someone less committed or professional. And that's okay! I remember giving a talk at Syracus University years ago — like 2016, or so — and being shocked when I asked the students who had websites and who didn't. At the time, most did not. But I suspect that changes as artists mature. Those making a career as a working artist understand that your website is your portfolio, showroom, storytelling platform, etc. Thanks for the note, Megan. It's good to hear from you!
A guy who shares the source! How novel. And there I was, thinking naming sources went out with verifiable facts. Thanks for sharing.
Feel exactly the same way. Now… I do have to update my own site, but it includes a store and easy online payment. It’s something I try and direct potential viewers and buyer towards so I should be keeping it current.
That’s all in the making and viewing photography on a big screen is so much better a way to promote the work or just browse a photographer’s talent.
Social media has a place but websites are a more discerning indicator or value and time well spent seeing and learning.
100% agree!. Not 95%, you'll note, or 110% (sigh), but 100%. No room for error that way.
I couldn't have said it better! I do have a website and generally keep it up. I sometimes don't post photos to IG because I don't want it to be seen so small.
I’ve only recently begun posting my own work on ig, refrained from doing so til now for just that reason. Still unsure it makes any sense.
With you. I'm not sure it makes any sense, either — and then there's always the possibility they'll switch everything around on Wednesday. And today, it's Tuesday...
Also — and this is just my personal experience, mind — but I'm not a tech geek, and I often find IG far more trouble than it's worth to figure out, tech-wise, with no discernible payoff at the end from having to jump through Meta's constant — and constantly changing — hoops. At least with my own website (a lot of work, admittedly), I get to control everything from the ground up. I use Squarespace, which is neither here nor there I suppose, but while the learning curve with Squarespace is steep, I find they're not constantly changing the rules day-by-day. I always try to steer followers toward my website, and use social media simply as a way to stay in touch with friends and family, and the occasional follower.
Your website is like your portfolio back in the day. It's a presentation you design to showcase your greatest hits, as opposed to the flavor of the day. It provides more real estate to appreciate your images and a lot less distraction to contemplate them- should anyone decide to do so. You can draw them in through social media, but then you have to deliver...
Good analogy. No, check that. Great analogy.
Some things just get obvious over time...
Agree with this. I’m investing much more time on my website these days, posting blogs, adding my latest images…such an improved experience viewing on a website than on instagram.
Good points. I am old enough to remember the days when I thought IG would be a great alternative to maintaining a website. I am finding the time on Substack to be somewhat restful, compared to the constant feeding of the algorithm.
Like 'Little Shop of Horrors.' "Seymour, Seymour, feed me now!"
Websites matter, Andy. I always look at an artist's website. Also, I believe there is control from the simple fact of owning one's name / company for the domain so it can be found in an online search. One does not have such control on social media platforms.
Thanks, Andy. As someone who is definitely past one's prime, I have to agree that enjoying photos, or anything else visual, is better on a desktop. There is something intentional about sitting down in a specific place, to do a specific thing. Not quite going to a gallery, but then how many galleries are available for photographers to exhibit their work?
As for going to photographers' websites, I must say that I do not do that a lot. The main reason is that I do not know specifically which photographers I would like to visit, since I do not go out on social media. So your thoughts landing in my inbox are perfect.
I also think that it is good to space out one's intake of images, as the risk of oversaturation is real and present. It's the same reason I can only spend an hour or so in a museum, before my attention lags and my criteria crumbles.
So there you have it. Maybe we all need to slow down a bit, and give each other the space to slow down as well.
For me, the only thing better than looking at someone's images on a desktop is looking at them in a coffee-table book. Now I'm REALLY dating myself.
I still like both. I see new artists on IG, then go look at their websites. And honestly, I am in few shows and collections, so I like the idea of leaving a trace on my website. A friend told me it's too much, but I don't care: it's my museum.
Same here. I regularly visit a website and bounce over to Instagram and vice versa. I guess I'm writing this for myself because I know I should be spending more time on websites than on mobile apps. The struggle is real!
Maintaining and reviewing my own website feels therapeutic, like self-care. Like tending a garden.
That's a nice idea.
And happy birthday, by the way.
Thank you!
And thank goodness for click-through links!
I recently wrote about this topic and feel the exact same way. I have a bookmark tab with all the photographer's websites that I like. Everything on your socials should direct people back to your website, that should be home.
https://theothersideofthebarrier.substack.com/p/finish-your-website?r=41so7m
www.marcroberts.xyz
Having a website matters when your social media account gets locked or hacked!
Good to hear from you, Seth. I know you preach this gospel everyday. I'm still hooked on social, but I appreciate folks like you who made a clean break. I hope you're well!
It's just a newsletter, not a cult - not making anyone drink any Kool-aid! haha... if you like it, and it doesn't dominate your life, or make you sad, run with it! Just make sure to have that website freshened up haha
Or Zuckerberg decides he doesn't think you're pulling your weight and comes to you looking for more money, if you don't want to just shout into the void any more...
And you can pay and pay and pay and reach.... 4 people.
Or just tell 4 people here haha
Always checking out websites!!
Some of the best interaction I've ever had with photography on the internet was via the photo forums that were so prevalent at one time. A community of photographers sharing photos; categories to find photos that you might be interested in; community through finding a number of photographers whose work you admired (and maybe admired yours too). It was a rather simple way to look at photography, enter into friendly conversation, and even give/receive some gentle critique. I even made some friends that I still communicate with many years later. I discovered photographers in my area. Attended meetups. Even went on some photo excursions to other cities. IG just does not promote that same feeling of camaraderie. Discussion is extremely limited. And of course a very tangible advantage was being able to see photography in a larger format than the size of your phone screen.
The community around photography is what made me love the early days of Flickr and what has kept me paying for my Pro membership all these years.
It's the phones that are the problem. Phones are why IG was created, which sucked us away from other platforms. And when Flickr changed the site interface to better accommodate phones, it suddenly became more difficult to interact in the groups.