exposure: how do you get noticed?

[pandrew]

just out of curiosity, i would just like to know different people's opinions on the matter.

 

[Retro_10s]

Deviant art is Pretty good for exposing your work (i just got featured!) - once you get pass the High amount of absolute TRASH that is on there (that thankfully doesn't get much attention)

Maybe try local art shops? In the UK we have lots of little art shops that will often put a picture up in the window for you if they think they can sell it - obviously this is privy to a charge for the window space,... but gets you noticed if the work is good enough.

Maybe start your own website/photoblog to showcase your work, you can link to it on forums with a signature below your posts - useful feature that

Always have at least one means of contact on everything you show the world - an E-mail address is probably the safest thing at this point.

 

[Flash Harry]

slowly walk down the main drag of your town, exposed, and you'll get noticed. H

 

[Petraio Prime]

just out of curiosity, i would just like to know different people's opinions on the matter.

Why do you want to be noticed? Why not just become good? People will notice you when you're good.

 

[pandrew]

slowly walk down the main drag of your town, exposed, and you'll get noticed. H

tried that, works great

 

[pandrew]

just out of curiosity, i would just like to know different people's opinions on the matter.

Why do you want to be noticed? Why not just become good? People will notice you when you're good.

like i said, just curious. i'm not concerned or anything, just wanted to know.

 

[KmH]

just out of curiosity, i would just like to know different people's opinions on the matter.

It takes knowledge of marketing, promotion, and advertising. In short, it takes business knowledge, not photography knowledge.

Most "overnight" successes, have been working at it diligently for years.

It takes commitment, perserverence, good communication skills both verbal and written, and an ability to project professionalism.

It takes the right attitude and the determination to not take shortcuts that could convey to potential clients that you're lazy or that you might do slipshod work, like typing posts on a public online forum without using the shift key to make the appropriate capital letters.

 

[g-fi]

It takes knowledge of marketing, promotion, and advertising. In short, it takes business knowledge, not photography knowledge.

^^ X 15,000,000. There are thousands of great photographers out there. There are significantly fewer "successful" photographers because everyone underestimates the importance of business and marketing knowledge. If you want exposure, you need to know how to approach the right people to make the right connections, and how to market yourself professionally. It's never enough to take good pictures, you need to be a good businessperson.

 

[IlSan]

Can't agree more about the business side of it all.

Just one personal remark on the side - find your market. Find what you do best. I know, this limits the possibilities, but in my experience it is better to have limited possibilities in which you have a lot of experience and potentially some credentials than just having bits and pieces of everything flying around.

Was looking for a photo-assistant a few months back, and decided it would be a nice thing to have an open audition instead of just receiving tons of e-mails. Friend of mine who runs a studio was kind enough to let me use it for that purpose and off we went.

Most of the people that came in though were your point&shoot self acclaimed photographers who never ventured out of the auto function on their expensive DSLR's and "shined" by having a few portait pictures of their girlfriends in front of some random landmark in Hong Kong. Not very impressive...the equipment was, but haven't seen a camera before that takes pictures by itself.
The other half of the people that came in had a massive portfolio, but as I said, it ranged from landscape over wildlife to attempts in glamour and fashion. Not in depth in any of the fields and thus lacking the understanding of any single genre.

Finally - after almost giving up, one girl walks in, nice portfolio on Urban Photography, and yes, she had no prior experience in fashion / glamour but seeing how devoted she was with her urban art, we took her. Never regretted that decision.

All I want to say with that is, that in my opinion focusing on 2-3 genres will be better in the long run...just my honest opinion here

 

[caveman]

It obviously takes longer if photography is not your day job as you have to work at the promotion in your spare time. It is possible but just takes longer.

I agree that although your blog is about marketing, it does need some images to spice things up.

 

[Alpha]

shouting.

 

[Scorehound]

just out of curiosity, i would just like to know different people's opinions on the matter.

Why do you want to be noticed? Why not just become good? People will notice you when you're good.

Where I live there are a lot of people (mainly girls who are bored at home who have a camera) who are advertising on Facebook for local photography, undercutting the actual photographers who are trying to market a real business. Not that competition isn't good, but when you charge for a superior product and someone comes along and charges half for a substandard product, sometimes people just go with what's cheap instead of what's good.

So the challenge for someone who knows they have something to offer is what to do to get noticed above and beyond the substandard "picture takers" that try to take advantage of the market by flooding the market with a cheap product.

With the boom in digital photography it is harder and harder for people with real talent and passion to get noticed when everyone who owns a camera thinks they are a photographer.

Sometimes being good just isn't good enough. :mrgreen:

 

[IlSan]

when everyone who owns a camera thinks they are a photographer.

I shall not rant, I shall not rant - but YESSSSS, that is exactly what is happening.
Every kid on the block with a camera that goes click is all of the sudden a pro...all of the sudden knows what ppl take years to gather up...so what, if I were to get a Hasselblad would that make me Ansel Adams?

Sorry...I shall not rant...

But I have to agree - being good nowadays might not ensure you business, simply because the large mass might not even be looking for good, but rather for quick and cheap...or not at all, and they only realize that they might need it if it hits them in the head (a.k.a. Facebook Advertising...borderline spamming...)

 

[Petraio Prime]

when everyone who owns a camera thinks they are a photographer.

I shall not rant, I shall not rant - but YESSSSS, that is exactly what is happening.
Every kid on the block with a camera that goes click is all of the sudden a pro...all of the sudden knows what ppl take years to gather up...so what, if I were to get a Hasselblad would that make me Ansel Adams?

I hope not.

 

[Scorehound]

so what, if I were to get a Hasselblad would that make me Ansel Adams?

There is a local girl who happens to be on my Facebook friends list who, I might add is very open about her inexperience with a camera. One day she was bragging about being offered a wedding to photograph, and to my shock her Facebook status said something like "I need to read my manual and learn how this camera works before the wedding"... OMG I almost hit the floor.

Then, after the wedding she posted the joke of the day: "So since I have a camera and photographed a wedding does this make me a professional?" (gag)

I have resisted the urge to go all Facebook crazy with my photography, preferring to advertise in the traditional way. But with all these Facebook photography groups and people listing point-and-shoot cameras as their only equipment for their "photography", or people owning SLRs and have no idea what SLR means let alone how to use one - makes me wonder if I should start waving my arms around the Facebook scene.