Last week I wrote an extensive post on the state of play in online photo sites & services. I made the point that sharing is one of four key activities, when it comes to photos online.
But, while curating and commenting are important, sharing is the most important of all.
So, I was thankful to see the latest eBook from Craft & Vision, Shoot & Share by Stuart Sipahigil, is all about photo sharing. And, I was even more thankful when I dove into the book and realised it wasn’t simply about sharing photos online.
The Sharing Mindset
Digital cameras and online services have made it easy to share images. But, it’s a good thing to step back and ask, why are we sharing? A great photo on 500px can make people go “wow.” But, if wowing people is our goal, then a large format print will have even more wow built into it.
Or, if our goal is to make people feel special, then tagging them on some images in Facebook or Instagram might be nice. But, making a photo book for them might well be even nicer.
The Sharing Workflow
What Stuart Sipahigil does really well in Shoot & Share is help us think about how and why we share photos, devise some goals for sharing them more effectively and, in turn, become better photographers by listening to everything we hear from the sharing experience.
We are not given a one size-fits-all template, but rather, through a series of questions and examples, we are encouraged to think about approaches to sharing our photos that will help us reach our own goals as photographers.
The Value of Sharing
Online galleries, prints & even exhibitions are not the whole story when it comes to photography. There’s a lot we can do to share the experience of photography; from writing, teaching to participating in photo walks.
What I found most helpful about Shoot & Share was the book’s breadth of focus. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest widget or website, the journey of becoming a “better” photographer or the whole commercial thing. It’s good to take a step back a little and think about the relationships, passions and emotions connected to photography and why we bother to lift a camera to the world in the first place.
How To Order
I heartily recommend Shoot & Share to photographers of all sorts. After all, it is only $5, which is a lot less than most photography magazines. You can pick up Shoot & Share from Craft & Vision and for the next couple of days you can get a discount by using the code SHARE4 or a 20% discount on five or more eBooks with the code SHARE20.