does the world need another photo blogger?

Crispin

Photoblogs: a great idea or annoying spam? Discuss (please)!

I like the idea of it and have gone some way to starting one but I am just not convinced anyone would care. There must be thousands of photoblogs already in existence and I wondering if I would just creating another annoying spam email. I know there are a few bloggers on here so it would be good to hear from you but also the non-bloggers!!.

Tallon

They are a great idea but there also annoying spam!

Im currently putting mine together but mines more educational than personal praise, so hopefully people will enjoy it

MagicMarker

Blogs in general are just stupid.

Crispin

MagicMarker wrote: »

Blogs in general are just stupid.

at least explain that poin tof view if you don't mind. I intended this to be a discussion

vectra

Maybe i am past it but I could never see any sense in them

dazftw

Photo blogs are just like flickr & pix just with bigger descriptions on photos... or sometimes no descripitions at all..

I enjoy them.. does the world need another no? no. We already have loads

AnCatDubh

Self publication is a great idea. That isn't to say that everything which is published is a great idea.

If you were professional about your art you would have a studio, a shop front, and/or a gallery. Being amateur doesn't provide for those niceties. But a photo blog becomes all of these things and probably only cost you $10 to set up (not including time).

I don't think its stupid but you can get an awful amount of stupidity when blogging. Perhaps that why the media appear to be so averse.

I like the idea of photo blogs displaying your best to the world. Flickr or pix.ie can host the noise but your blog hosts your clear signal.

Does the world need another photo blogger ???? Of course it doesn't. But should you blog? Of course you should (says he without a photo blog in place - i am working on getting one mobilised). Look, if only your mother ever looked at it, then it would be worthwhile.

I think you've got to have a realistic expectation of what the photoblog will mean to you. Immediate fame and fortune? Highly unlikely. Absorb much of your precious time? If doing it right then it probably will. Make you happier? Probably can do. Make you sad? Yes, when some idiot comes along and criticises your work without understanding or caring to enter into a dailogue about it. It could indeed lead to better things but hardly expect that it will.

You may have a semi professional interest. If you shoot weddings then 2 of the best from each wedding will make an interesting alternate to a formal portfolio. If you shoot gigs then a fan base may actually follow your work from bands you shoot.

Why? why? why??? Well I think we all say that we do it purely for the personal enjoyment of it and indeed this is true, but don't we all get a massive kick out of it when someone goes "Wow, that is extraordinary", or "that is beautiful", or even "I like that". Do you not show your 3 hour masterpiece of post processing to your nearest and dearest - wife/husband/partner or the maybe even the cat? Anyone recognise themselves here.

Your photoblog gives another outlet, but to me it should be only images that are your best - perhaps the best from every shoot that you do. You may want to include a narrative about the images but often in what photoblogs i've viewed, the images should be left to do the talking. Words usually can't, won't and shouldn't express what is going on. After all it is a visual art.

All the above is complete opinion and may indeed be the stupidity of having open access to the boards forum publishing medium Thank God for kinda free speech in this country

trooney

AnCatDubh wrote: »

...Thank God for kinda free speech in this country...

Well, thats being slowly whittled away, what with the blasphemy law signed into law yesterday. But I digress. I don't like blogs either, per se.

nilhg

I have one, which I try to keep reasonably up to date helped greatly by the availability of tools (pixelpost and a Lightroom uploader plugin) which make it really easy to do so.


I started because I wanted to have somewhere I could put what I consider my stronger work, where I have more control than on flickr or pix.ie, call it a portfolio if you want, though not aimed at anything other than some self satisfaction.

It's out there now, open to anyone who wants to drop by, but if you want to pass on by that's fine too, I don't really see how it could be described as spam......


One of the best things about setting it up was the amount of fine photographers I stumbled across while I was "researching", aperture first for example.

theguy

I like them some real talent on coolphotoblogs irish section is not that great mind..

Fajitas!

If it provides motivation, then go for it. If you think you'll enjoy it, then go for it. If it pushes you to take more interesting photographs, go for it.

Who gives a flying f**k if someone else thinks there's too many of them, it's your photoblog, not theirs, and you're not forcing anyone to look at it.

My advice, try a different take on the idea of blogging, try and show a development across it, and make it varied and interesting.

Blogs in general are just stupid.

I'd have to disagree.

Crispin

Fajitas! wrote: »

Who gives a flying f**k if someone else thinks there's too many of them, it's your photoblog, not theirs, and you're not forcing anyone to look at it.

I am leaning more toward this point of view tbh. But I am starting it in the hope someone would look at it. And the aim is that I will produce images with appeal that reaches further than my mother (thanks ancatdubh ). I suppose the only way I can answer whether people want to look at it is by doing it and seeing if I get a response....

Fajitas! wrote: »

My advice, try a different take on the idea of blogging, try and show a development across it, and make it varied and interesting.

I think inevitably there will be some sort learning curve to the blog as well as my photography, as although I feel like I personally have made a lot of steps forward with my photography (alot of it through boards help) I am by know means at the standard I want to be at. So it makes sense to include a developmental approach to the blog that charts my progress.

ancatdubh wrote:

Your photoblog gives another outlet, but to me it should be only images that are your best

I was thinking this alright, I was going to restrict posting to biweekly. I dump a lot of stuff on pixie/flickr and I just feel picking out some really nice stuff might increase my self criticism of my own work and hopefully increase my chances of feedback from a wider audience. But yeh only the good stuff will make it there!

When I am a bit braver I might unleash it on ye boards folks......

*ducks out the way of abuse from the anti-blogger fraternity* :cool:

Fajitas!

Crispin wrote: »

I am leaning more toward this point of view tbh. But I am starting it in the hope someone would look at it. And the aim is that I will produce images with appeal that reaches further than my mother (thanks ancatdubh ). I suppose the only way I can answer whether people want to look at it is by doing it and seeing if I get a response....

Well, start off by linking to other blogs you like, bloggers you know, etc, and they'll start linking back (I'm terrible at that part.. terribly lazy that is). Put a link into your sig on any forums you post on, get involved in the Twitter community, or if you've an update you're happy with, put it into your feed on Facebook, and you'll get folk clicking. If you get 30 clicks, and it makes one person click back for another look in a weeks time, you've done it right. You've got to be ballsy about it.

I was thinking this alright, I was going to restrict posting to biweekly. I dump a lot of stuff on pixie/flickr and I just feel picking out some really nice stuff might increase my self criticism of my own work and hopefully increase my chances of feedback from a wider audience. But yeh only the good stuff will make it there!

It'll make you good at cutting out the chaff tbh. Limit yourself to one update a day. Unfortunately, you won't get much constructive feedback on a blog, it'll most likely be questions about it, or pats on the back, this is where having a community comes in handy!

Crispin

Fajitas! wrote: »

you won't get much constructive feedback on a blog, it'll most likely be questions about it, or pats on the back, this is where having a community comes in handy!

I hadn't really thought about it. I thought it might be the other way round. I feel sometimes on here because of the friendly community spirit when you ask for C and C hoping to get brutally honest feedback you end up with pats on the back (not saying there is anything wrong with the friendly feel to this forum!!!!) but I figured you would get more honest criticism from someone who wanders in your blog and dislikes it.
I bow to your knowledge/experience on this regard

I am not sure I feel more confident following this thread about starting a blog but I it could work for me as a way to put stuff out there so I think I am just going to say f*k it and do it.....

Fajitas!

Crispin wrote: »

I hadn't really thought about it. I thought it might be the other way round. I feel sometimes on here because of the friendly community spirit when you ask for C and C hoping to get brutally honest feedback you end up with pats on the back (not saying there is anything wrong with the friendly feel to this forum!!!!) but I figured you would get more honest criticism from someone who wanders in your blog and dislikes it.
I bow to your knowledge/experience on this regard

I am not sure I feel more confident following this thread about starting a blog but I it could work for me as a way to put stuff out there so I think I am just going to say f*k it and do it.....

Well, in my experience of looking and commenting on other peoples blogs, and my relatively little experience in running my own, it's very much complimentary, people just won't comment on photos they don't like or get! Unless they're d*ckheads... :pac:

I find if you really want good honest feedback the best way is to sit down with some like-minded friends and talk about it. Print out some photos or have'em on a screen (Prints are better though!) and have a few beers to get the conversations going.

Regardless, start a blog. It's easy, it's free (depending on what route you go down - personally though, I like hosting myself and using Pixelpost) and there's absolutely no reason not to. You'd never know who you might get talking to over it.

Crispin

I took the plunge (it's in the sig )!

dinneenp

Chris- I like your two pictures EXPECT your header image is WAY TOO big. I have to scroll down to view the images. What I'd like to see in a photoblog is the image without having to scroll.

I like photoblogs; obviously there are millions of them out there but you can pick what ones you subscribe to- I like to look at ones from areas I lived/live in (Cork, Galway) or topics I like.

With mine I was going to go for pictures from Galway but because I don't get around Galway as much as I'd like it's a mish-mash of everything.
Some say it's good to have a photoblog with one theme/topic but I get bored by looking at 100+ photos of the exact same topic.

Cheers,
Patrick.

Crispin

dinneenp wrote: »

Chris- I like your two pictures EXPECT your header image is WAY TOO big. I have to scroll down to view the images. What I'd like to see in a photoblog is the image without having to scroll.

I like photoblogs; obviously there are millions of them out there but you can pick what ones you subscribe to- I like to look at ones from areas I lived/live in (Cork, Galway) or topics I like.

With mine I was going to go for pictures from Galway but because I don't get around Galway as much as I'd like it's a mish-mash of everything.
Some say it's good to have a photoblog with one theme/topic but I get bored by looking at 100+ photos of the exact same topic.

Cheers,
Patrick.

Thanks for that, maybe I will have a mess around with the format. Quite liked the header but I guess it does take away from everything else. I'll fix this when I get the chance.