The blogs

[GSNfan]

Do you feel blogs are an effective means of promoting your photography? And if you're promoting your photography through a blog, what are your expectations?

I had thought about creating a blog for my photography but I decided against it. For one, I feel to use words along with photos pretty much kills the whole point of expressing yourself with photos, secondly I have no interest in reviewing products, posting test shots and any other such stuff. But what really finalized my decision was that a blog is an ongoing medium, so you have to post something in it whether you want to or not in order to keep the traffic going and hopefully make some cash with adsense.

Anyway, since we get constant threads in RFF where members promote their blogs, I guess its time we actually find out if a blog is really the right way to promote your photography, that is if your intentions are promoting your photography and not adsense cash flow.

 

[hipsterdufus]

I don't really understand the point. People are so self-involved, it takes either someone who is great at marketing or has really outstanding work to capture anyone's attention.

I guess I can understand it from a "diary" perspective, but I think that people who generate photo blogs with the hopes of fame and fortune are sorely disillusioned.

 

[sar-photo]

I use my blog to show images that don't fit on my website - such as documentary stories, ongoing projects etc.

I only update it when I have something to post - which is probably about every two months.

Simon

 

[franswa]

For me, it is, and it works. Then again...I shoot weddings 😉

 

[Paddy C]

Depends a lot upon what sort of photography you're trying to promote.

If you're talking about commercial (ie wedding, corporate, architecture, portrait, editorial, etc.) then I say yes without qualification.

Every so often I get a chance to work on a project where I need to hire a photographer. Though a traditional web portfolio is critical for evaluating whether the photographer is going to work for the assignment, I love being able to see a blog. The blog helps me get a feel for who the photographer is. I also think it is an easier way to keep you portfolio really current and to continue to keep in touch with clients after a job is finished.

You don't have to post all sorts of deep articles, just photos with, at most, a brief note on what you're up to and what the photos are about.

I should mention that I like blogs in part because so many photographers have such horrendous web portfolios. As a web designer/developer I look at/try to use these things and find them frustrating. A blog is something, from a usability standpoint, that's hard to screw up.

 

[Thardy]

I think blogs can give the viewer a good adea of the style of a photographer. As said above, it is something a professional photographer should make time to develop and for upkeep.

In time it gives the viewer a glimpse into the personality of the photographer, for better or worse.

 

[jsrockit]

But what really finalized my decision was that a blog is an ongoing medium, so you have to post something in it whether you want to or not in order to keep the traffic going ...

This is my opinion as well. I only go to a few blogs and they are the ones in which I like the person's work AND they update it frequently. If they don't update it frequently, I eventually stop going.

Also, hipsterdufus' quote sums it up well...

it takes either someone who is great at marketing or has really outstanding work to capture anyone's attention.

I guess I can understand it from a "diary" perspective, but I think that people who generate photo blogs with the hopes of fame and fortune are sorely disillusioned.

 

[chrismoret]

For this moment my blog is the main stage to promote my work. I should create a website but that is still in a design-stage. I find that maintaining a blog does get me some exposure, but having a proper builds website is a must for self-promotion and a professional appearance.

 

[Chris101]

I do random and oddball projects. In 2002 I began a blog and put a lot of stuff in there, which has morphed into a static website (in my signature) because I began just posting photos and rarely updating the blog a few years ago.

I never posted because I thought I had to, and never put any ads on it, nor did I use it to drive a business. Oh, and at it's peak (maybe 2005), I had thousands of unique visitors a day. Then my server broke, and the service I used went under, and the effort became expensive to the point that I quit for a few years.

Now I have a projects page, which I update occasionally. Whenever I publish a new project.