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Adding Visuals to Your Communications
Links and ideas for professional graphic designers and photographers who want to share their work online
Photo-sharing, or the process of publishing digital photos online both privately and publicly, can enhance your business and social relationships. In this article, Linda provides links and ideas for professional graphic designers and photographers who want to share their work online.
It's a Bit Different with Professionals...
Photo-sharing sites originated somewhere in the late twentieth century with services that ranged from online print orders to the ability to upload digital photographs to email to share with friends and family. The maturity of the photographic display began around the beginning of the twenty-first century, and amateur photographers leapt to the task of sharing their photographs with viewers through Web logs and sites such as Flickr, SmugMug, Webshots and other venues.
But, it's a bit different with professionals, as photo-sharing for these folks means much more than sharing birthday parties, weddings and other life events with friends and family through online photo-sharing sites. The ability to share photos online publicly also means that a designer or professional photographer could display a portfolio online or even sell photographs through sites such as iStock and Shutterstock to thousands of viewers rather than a select few at a local gallery. But, this ability to sell to thousands of potential buyers also defines the photographer or designer, as personal work – basically, artwork – also bares the artist's character and perspective as well as skill levels to thousands of viewers.
It can become an obsession – to share only the best digital image.
This obsession makes the difference between amateurism and professionalism in many instances. But, how much time should you spend on building that professionalism compared to building a fan base and, in the process, a buyer base?
Designers and photographers might need to think differently
TechCrunch published an article in April this year that illustrated the most popular photo-sharing sites. At that time, ImageShack hosted the most images, counting 20 billion. Facebook came in next at 15 billion images and PhotoBucket was third at 7.2 billion photos. Flickr, acquire by Yahoo! in 2005, came in at 3.4 billion photos this past spring.
The numbers of photos uploaded to these sites is overwhelming. But, most of those photos are personal photos rather than professional images meant for sale. Even at online galleries, however, the response has been overwhelming – and many more venues are opening every month to accommodate those images.
Since a response of ten percent is expected from most mass sales efforts, you might wonder why you aren't selling 200 images per day when 2000 people are viewing that image at an online gallery. The current economy might provide one theoretical answer to that question, and a gallery's poor efforts to promote its artists might provide another answer. The last answer is "trust." Out of those 2000 viewers, how many really know you and trust you?
As long as you help your fans, friends and family know where to find your work, you can being to build a solid buyer base. That is the base that trusts you and who knows you, but only if you put yourself out there mentally, physically and emotionally. The most well-known designers are not afraid to develop their persona online, as they know that this is how brands are developed – through constant exposure.
Before you get to that point, however, there are other tools you can use to build your visual communications online and to increase your viewers in the process.
Linda Goin
Linda Goin carries an A.A. in graphic design, a B.F.A. in visual communications with a minor in business and marketing and an M.A. in American History with a minor in the Reformation. While the latter degree doesn't seem to fit with the first two educational experiences, Linda used her 25-year design expertise on archaeological digs and in the study of material culture. Now she uses her education and experiences in social media experiments.
Accolades for her work include fifteen first-place Colorado Press Association awards, numerous fine art and graphic design awards, and interviews about content development with The Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, and L.A. Times.