In my last post about where BOPB is heading in 2010 a long-time follower of the blog made a comment which I found quite interesting. Basically his point was that photoblogs are dead and that Flickr (has been) and still is the place to be when it comes to posting your images online.
Bob was one of the first people to comment on the blog, and I have always found his opinion to be thought provoking, this one included. While I can see his point, I tend to disagree with his feeling that photoblogs are dead, and here’s why
100% control
Running your own photoblog gives you complete control on how your work is presented. Sure, it takes time away from being behind the camera, but I feel in the end that a big part of how your work in interpreted depends on its display, and you just don’t get that type of flexibility in Flickr (or anywhere else)
Flickr in general
I’ve had a Flickr account for ages now, and it has always been an awesome source of inspiration and has busted me out of many creative ruts, but there’s something about running your own photoblog. Sort of like printing your own work, that gives you a feeling of creative control that you don’t get from Flickr.
Photoblogs 2.0
I hate when something is termed as 2.0, but I think that in the case of photoblogs, it really does apply. The days of simply posting a daily image are gone. People want more – tutorials, text, a story – it takes time, but in the end it’s worth it.
Online brand building
I’ve always felt that photoblogs much like regular blogs are nothing more than a means to an end. You shouldn’t for a minute expect to make any money (directly) from your photoblog, but I truly believe that if you keep at it, you can build a personal brand which in the end may translate to dollars.
Anyone care to share any thoughts?
11 responses so far ↓
The thing with flickr is that it is in need of a redesign.
It’s also annoying with the size of photos, In my opinion.
I have a totally new spin on “photoblogs” and I hope to one day be able to talk about the success. we’ll see though.
photoblogs are pretty tough to maintain these days. Especially when it’s so easy to shoot and go right to flickr. Not sure if Tumblr has a feature that would make it really easy though.
Hey Scott. Let me know when you’re able to talk about your “new spin” – love to hear what you have in mind!
I have been wrestling with this issue for a very long time, not only with my own photoblog, but also in recent times running a photoblogging community. When I started the community it was connected to photoblogs.org which was very vibrant at the time. The various city communities were the only way that photobloggers had to connect with others. This is where Flickr has replaced the photoblog. People used to visit each other’s blogs for community. On Flickr it is so easy to join groups, to organize locally and to get comments without having to visit a ton of sites.
I have been photoblogging for 5 years now and I love it and will probably do it for a very long time. I like that I have my own place on the internet. It is how I started and I will continue but it is in part because I finally figured out how to balance my photoblog with Flickr.
The only part I disagree with in your list is that I have to add a tutorial, text or a story, although I guess if I thought about it I almost always say something in my entries. Let’s just say no one is going to learn anything about photography by coming to my photoblog, but they will learn about me.
Flickr is ok, but I find it a little overwhelming sometimes. I like the freedom of having a photoblog. I’ve been thinking about putting together some collections of some of my photoblog photos and writing a story to go with them and posting it on my regular blog. I suppose you could integrate collections and stories into the photoblog itself, too, if you wanted to.
@laanba: Great comment, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! I would love to hear about how you’re balancing your photoblog with Flickr.
Your point about tutorials, etc. is also great…I was struggling with that point myself, and I think that you’ve hit the nail on the head, but I still think a story is key.
@David, let me know when you built your story, would love to see what you come up with!
It took me a long time to figure out the balance between the two. I wrestled with the idea of posting photos to the photoblog and Flickr. I felt if I was posting in both places then I was taking something away from my photoblog. The system that finally fell into place also came about because a.) I wanted to be able to tell some sort of story like some of my favorite photoblogs that posted multiple photos even though my template didn’t allow for that and b.) I had a large stack of photos waiting to be posted that just grew more unruly every day.
I eventually settled on my current set up. I post weekly themes to my photoblog. The themes are usually from a particular photo outing as photo walking and photo excursions are my primary form of photography. So for example I recently photographed a magic exhibit here in Houston. I processed the photos in Lightroom and selected my five favorite photos that I felt told the best story of the exhibit. Those photos were the ones that went on my photoblog Monday through Friday. All the other photos went onto Flickr.
So I’m still able to share photos on Flickr, but my best are for the photoblog. It also stopped me from having a big backlog of photos because I was uploading all those extras to Flickr. I also have a link to my Flickr account on my photoblog so I feel the two are well connected. I frequently link to my Flickr sets that has all those other photos on my photoblog.
I know that this just works for me. It is a very difficult balance and I struggled with the two for a long time. I am always going to be an advocate for a photoblog, but I think the most important thing is to take pictures. Many, many people start photoblogs and then abandon them after a few months because it IS work. You have to be willing to devote time to them. If you aren’t willing to do that then I recommend Flickr. Just as long as people are out there taking photos and sharing them.
I added a “Collections” page on my photoblog under Browse -> Collections, and then added a link to a story for the latest one.
I used Flickr before, but since the hosting is getting cheaper and cheaper, I start my photoblog this last month, and learn from other photoblogger, and you
The problem with Flickr, is that most industry professionals don’t take it seriously. If a photo editor is interested in your work, and you direct them to Flickr, or Photobucket, or a Smugmug site, 9 times out of 10, you lose them. As a professional, you need to be in control of your content.
Hi Brett,
My tardiness to this discussion, I suppose, is telling. That I continue to visit your site periodically is a testament to my respect for the exchanges we’ve enjoyed in the past and a recognition of your sincerity and tenacity rather than my renewed enthusiasm for photoblogging.
As you know, I’m strictly an amateur photographer and have no aspirations or intentions to ever become a professional. I also make no pretense to being the least bit expert on the subject of photoblogging.
When I first started my own photoblog and explored the postings of others I regularly noticed comments from familiar names. The more sites I visited, the more these familiar names and their comments appeared and, more to the point, contained links to their own blogs. I began to explore widely and found some people were visiting upwards of a hundred blogs a day and leaving a cursory, “nice colors”, or “great shot” comment on each one. Many of those people visited my blog and did the same. That dynamic leaves photobloggers (not unfairly) feeling an obligation to reciprocate. And so, for me, the eventual conclusion was that there were a great many people engaged in a form of comment seeking. And, early in this process, it started creeping in that this activity was, at its core, a popularity contest, with great potential for self-serving insincerity. Granted there were many positive experiences, comments, and a relationship or two forged during the time I was photoblogging. For that I’m grateful, but that seed of doubt was the beginning of the end for me, two and a half years later.
I know there are a lot of folks who look down on Flickr for one reason or another. I did too for a long time. But a few respected friends changed my mind and I’m grateful. That said, I’d never recommend that any serious amateur or professional make Flickr their sole venue for exposure or sharing. Those who argue for “control” are certainly correct; nothing compares to having it your way, if you’re talented enough to actually be able to accomplish that fact. But I’ve viewed thousands of images on Flickr and have found the images of the better photographers to be as good as any I’ve ever enjoyed on photoblogs or professional websites. I also live in a city with a very active photographic community where few have photoblogs, but nearly all are posting to Flickr and meeting up as a result. It’s also a fact that, within a short time and with no effort on my part, a well known book publisher contacted me and published two of my images, as well as did an architect who licensed an image for large scale display in an upscale, local restaurant. In three years of posting to my own “proper” photoblog, that sort of (paid) experience never occurred, nor did the mechanism exist for people to easily “discover” me on their own without my treating it like a full time job.
My love for owning and maintaining my own website and domain hasn’t diminished. It’s very self-satisfying to do so. I continue to post new images there, albeit occasionally, rather than daily. But I no longer think of it in terms of a photoblog, merely a gallery-organized showcase of my images to date. It’s worth noting that when gallery owners would visit my photoblog, they would be totally confused about the presentation due to the landing page displaying a single image. As I transitioned away from photoblogging, I simply made a redirect that now presents my site as a set of galleries rather than a photoblog.
I’ve additionally found a home at Jalbum, where I’ve posted my favorite 70 images in a Portfolio capable of being viewed as a (non-Flash) slide show. For anyone intent on sharing or showing off their work, I’d recommend finding as many different venues as manageable.
It’s still my view that photoblogging is dead, in the sense that the main wave is long over. Sure there are always new people discovering the genre every day, but it’s the “long tail”, for those familiar with the term. The critical failing of photoblogs will always be their inherent lack of connectedness or discovery. I mean that in no discouraging way. If you’re new to posting images and are just discovering photoblogging I know you’ll have a fun time of it, while it lasts…until one day when you don’t. All things must pass. There are simply many more choices available today for socializing, sharing, and exposure.
Like I’ve discussed with you previously, I’ll always contend that “monetizing” is the difference between work and play and I try to never mix the two. I can’t imagine myself ever in need of “branding”. But that’s just me. I always wish you the best.
Cheers and Peace, Brett!