I don’t think I am alone in this - there is a definite burnout across all social platforms for many of us, particularly artists and creatives that are trying to do the work while showing up online and IRL. It’s all becoming overwhelming. Substack is a reprieve though and I love writing when I can here and sharing photographs more intimately.
Agreed Tommy. My experience in social media over the last 10+ years has left me burned out and not caring whether I post or not. I'm to the point where I'll share some images on my facebook account and walk away.
I think the purpose of connecting with creatives needs further clarification.
I saw people responding to your post with preferred platforms to about connect with audiences to sell their photography.
I see a local photographer who posts images daily of our city on Facebook and Instagram. He has thousands of followers, some who then choose to visit his website to purchase prints. He has high visibility, has won multiple awards for his photography. He has a full-time job and photography is a side passion. He is not focused on solely making a living from his photography work.
He is vigilant about daily posts and his cityscapes are professional quality. Consistency with daily posts and superior imagery sets him apart.
Substack could be an option if you simply want to post commentary. I am not impressed with interactivity with followers. Can people who reply even post images? It has been awhile but I don’t recall that option? Now Substack has live “meeting” options, a nice way to interact on occasion.
But to be honest, I am done paying five dollars a month for a slew of Substack newsletters. I get this is a way for creators to earn a meager amount that is surely deserved for time and effort. However, I only now subscribe if there is a “free” option. It feels more like a one-way street to me and I would rather have an artistic community where an exchange of creative inspiration can take place than a marketplace environment.
Sorry for the typos. Substack is not letting me scroll up this post to properly edit it.
Sigh…I took a screen shot to share but Substack won’t let me post a photo.
On Facebook he is Dave DiCello Photography. 163k followers. I am out and about but that will lead you to a link to his website and other info. Nice guy. He gets up before dawn and takes cityscapes and then goes to his full-time job. Talk about dedication!
Great idea on sharing the links here instead of a different place. And regarding platforms, I’ve been kinda done with Instagram for a few years now, but haven’t had the balls to finally pull the plug and get out of it completely. I’ve joined Substack during the pandemic but was mostly writing about music for the most part, until I decided to reboot my existence here and focus on my photography instead. So far so great!
Cheers, Leo! It makes a lot of sense for me to focus my energies here. I'm still on IG for the reasons I outlined here (https://www.flakphoto.news/p/five-photographers-photolucida), but I get why people leave. There are diminishing returns, to be sure.
I think it’s still somewhat fun to post there and occasionally connect with people, I just find that my energy and enthusiasm gets sucked up pretty quickly when I go there, it’s almost impossible not to feel jealous or competitive in some way. Here, in the way, I’m finding the content more inspiring and the exchanges more genuine. Hope it stays this way for a long time!
Spoiler alert: For viewing, organizing and discussing photography, it's still Flickr. If you seek thousands of Likes and Views, sure, the other services purport to fill that "need", but how many people can you comfortably discuss photography with at once? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Think about what it is you really want to do. Most people are suffering from the disconnect regarding the fact that what they say they want and what they actually want are two different things.
It also might be helpful to keep in mind that, outside a group of mostly developed, mainly white majority countries, Substack users cannot get paid for posting here because they're left outside the Stripe system.
I've been loving VSCO! Not to sound like an ad, but here's why: They respect copyrights. And if you buy a membership, they apparently exclude your images on the platform from AI training (to me, that's huge). I've always loved their editing tools, and recently they added new features like photo blogs and a portfolio website option, as well as contents to connect professional photographers with paid jobs, which is cool. I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but they also used to offer studio space to traveling photographers at their Oakland office. In a nutshell, I enjoy platforms that treat "community" like a verb and make real efforts to support the careers of the photographers on their platform, rather than just profiting off of them like some other apps do.
Love this Andy! I’m not sure what the best social app is. I find Instagram to be okay. I’ve started to spend more time with Substack. That’s just it for me though, time. I don’t have enough of it to explore and spend time on them all. I find social platforms a messy place to connect. I did attend the Chico review this year and have connected with many fellow attendees. I find those relationships meaningful and mutual, extending to Instagram and the like now. Maybe meeting and connecting more in person is key.
I'm so tired of Instacram. I haven't posted in month. Every post is met with a non-stop stream of spammy/fraudulent/sex-selling accounts messaging me. It is its own workflow of trying to root those out. Reporting is a waste of time. I've been using Substack to post the columns I write for The Crestone Eagle (I'm the managing editor) and lately been pondering posting more of my photography. And there's always Flickr...but...yeah...Flickr.
I'm easily interested in all platforms that feature photography. Each has its own identity. The redundancy can be tedious when the same content is repeated across the board. I haven't visited Flickr in a while, and now this topic has me headed that way for inspiration (today).
Wow! I'm really behind. I've not heard of Substack or VSCO. These things require a fee for subscription, is that correct? I'm overwhelmed AND burnt out. Plus I'm older. I've been posting on Instagram and Facebook my photography for about 3 years pretty diligently. And I haven't even broke over 300 followers. And I'm lucky if I have 20 people hit like on my work. Please see my photography Facebook page at Focus TLD and my IG focustld, and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Also I notice young people don't participate in FB anymore. I don't post all my work on IG because I've got 2 accounts and IG won't let me delete the one that will let me post from my computer which is not my more recent photography IG account. Smugmug is my way of sharing with my clients and others. I have been posting more photos from my city. I noticed the comment Frenchcreek Baker made regarding the gentleman that has gotten a lot of recognition. Helpful. From where I'm at right now, what would be the best avenue for me to take and the simplest to build my relationships with other photographers and recognition for my work in you all's opinion?
I don’t think I am alone in this - there is a definite burnout across all social platforms for many of us, particularly artists and creatives that are trying to do the work while showing up online and IRL. It’s all becoming overwhelming. Substack is a reprieve though and I love writing when I can here and sharing photographs more intimately.
Agreed Tommy. My experience in social media over the last 10+ years has left me burned out and not caring whether I post or not. I'm to the point where I'll share some images on my facebook account and walk away.
I think the purpose of connecting with creatives needs further clarification.
I saw people responding to your post with preferred platforms to about connect with audiences to sell their photography.
I see a local photographer who posts images daily of our city on Facebook and Instagram. He has thousands of followers, some who then choose to visit his website to purchase prints. He has high visibility, has won multiple awards for his photography. He has a full-time job and photography is a side passion. He is not focused on solely making a living from his photography work.
He is vigilant about daily posts and his cityscapes are professional quality. Consistency with daily posts and superior imagery sets him apart.
Substack could be an option if you simply want to post commentary. I am not impressed with interactivity with followers. Can people who reply even post images? It has been awhile but I don’t recall that option? Now Substack has live “meeting” options, a nice way to interact on occasion.
But to be honest, I am done paying five dollars a month for a slew of Substack newsletters. I get this is a way for creators to earn a meager amount that is surely deserved for time and effort. However, I only now subscribe if there is a “free” option. It feels more like a one-way street to me and I would rather have an artistic community where an exchange of creative inspiration can take place than a marketplace environment.
Sorry for the typos. Substack is not letting me scroll up this post to properly edit it.
I'm curious if your local photog gets hammered with spam on IG and would love to view his account. Can you share?
Sigh…I took a screen shot to share but Substack won’t let me post a photo.
On Facebook he is Dave DiCello Photography. 163k followers. I am out and about but that will lead you to a link to his website and other info. Nice guy. He gets up before dawn and takes cityscapes and then goes to his full-time job. Talk about dedication!
Hope this helps!
Anne
Thank you.
Fascinating! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Cheers, Harrison! Will do.
Great idea on sharing the links here instead of a different place. And regarding platforms, I’ve been kinda done with Instagram for a few years now, but haven’t had the balls to finally pull the plug and get out of it completely. I’ve joined Substack during the pandemic but was mostly writing about music for the most part, until I decided to reboot my existence here and focus on my photography instead. So far so great!
Cheers, Leo! It makes a lot of sense for me to focus my energies here. I'm still on IG for the reasons I outlined here (https://www.flakphoto.news/p/five-photographers-photolucida), but I get why people leave. There are diminishing returns, to be sure.
I think it’s still somewhat fun to post there and occasionally connect with people, I just find that my energy and enthusiasm gets sucked up pretty quickly when I go there, it’s almost impossible not to feel jealous or competitive in some way. Here, in the way, I’m finding the content more inspiring and the exchanges more genuine. Hope it stays this way for a long time!
Great discussion about the various platforms! I also enjoy using Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw/boards/ That has provided a great way to break out my work by topic.
I have posted on VERO quite some time ago. What about Threads
Spoiler alert: For viewing, organizing and discussing photography, it's still Flickr. If you seek thousands of Likes and Views, sure, the other services purport to fill that "need", but how many people can you comfortably discuss photography with at once? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Think about what it is you really want to do. Most people are suffering from the disconnect regarding the fact that what they say they want and what they actually want are two different things.
It also might be helpful to keep in mind that, outside a group of mostly developed, mainly white majority countries, Substack users cannot get paid for posting here because they're left outside the Stripe system.
I've been loving VSCO! Not to sound like an ad, but here's why: They respect copyrights. And if you buy a membership, they apparently exclude your images on the platform from AI training (to me, that's huge). I've always loved their editing tools, and recently they added new features like photo blogs and a portfolio website option, as well as contents to connect professional photographers with paid jobs, which is cool. I'm not sure if they're still doing it, but they also used to offer studio space to traveling photographers at their Oakland office. In a nutshell, I enjoy platforms that treat "community" like a verb and make real efforts to support the careers of the photographers on their platform, rather than just profiting off of them like some other apps do.
Love this Andy! I’m not sure what the best social app is. I find Instagram to be okay. I’ve started to spend more time with Substack. That’s just it for me though, time. I don’t have enough of it to explore and spend time on them all. I find social platforms a messy place to connect. I did attend the Chico review this year and have connected with many fellow attendees. I find those relationships meaningful and mutual, extending to Instagram and the like now. Maybe meeting and connecting more in person is key.
I'm so tired of Instacram. I haven't posted in month. Every post is met with a non-stop stream of spammy/fraudulent/sex-selling accounts messaging me. It is its own workflow of trying to root those out. Reporting is a waste of time. I've been using Substack to post the columns I write for The Crestone Eagle (I'm the managing editor) and lately been pondering posting more of my photography. And there's always Flickr...but...yeah...Flickr.
I'm easily interested in all platforms that feature photography. Each has its own identity. The redundancy can be tedious when the same content is repeated across the board. I haven't visited Flickr in a while, and now this topic has me headed that way for inspiration (today).
Wow! I'm really behind. I've not heard of Substack or VSCO. These things require a fee for subscription, is that correct? I'm overwhelmed AND burnt out. Plus I'm older. I've been posting on Instagram and Facebook my photography for about 3 years pretty diligently. And I haven't even broke over 300 followers. And I'm lucky if I have 20 people hit like on my work. Please see my photography Facebook page at Focus TLD and my IG focustld, and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Also I notice young people don't participate in FB anymore. I don't post all my work on IG because I've got 2 accounts and IG won't let me delete the one that will let me post from my computer which is not my more recent photography IG account. Smugmug is my way of sharing with my clients and others. I have been posting more photos from my city. I noticed the comment Frenchcreek Baker made regarding the gentleman that has gotten a lot of recognition. Helpful. From where I'm at right now, what would be the best avenue for me to take and the simplest to build my relationships with other photographers and recognition for my work in you all's opinion?
Veto is so much better. Blue sky Threads are a disaster!
Do you mean Vero?