Introduction
In the recent years social media has taken hold and become a lot more popular among people and in the world of photography as a way to self-promote and market themselves. Social media started out as something where you could share ideas, connect, and occasionally share a picture here and there with platforms such as Facebook and twittered. Then in 2010 came a platform called Instagram where it was strictly based on the idea of sharing photos. As Instagram began to and develop more and more people began to tailor their profile and accounts to say something about them. The details that go along with this are the concept of selfies, what affect this platform has on the world of photographers and their photos, and what it says about you if you are an influencer on a platform in which you can share your photos. Overall social media has taken a strong hold in the recent years as it has become more widely available to an audience of all ages. Much of this comes from the fact that, “the availability of mobile technology has further fueled the importance of social media in mobile learning” (Shen 2017). We live in a world of mobile technology and going to have to accept the fact that things in the realm of social media and photography for better or for worse. This Lit review will look at understanding of social media, the types of people and how they use it, and how photographers today are using it and what they think is says about the future of photography.
Understanding of social media use
Social media is nothing new relatively speaking and research suggests that the most popular models are Twitter and Instagram. Their use revolves around “The four suggested modes—Broadcasting, Redistributing, Interacting, and Acknowledging” (Larsson 2015). It is also found that in recent years that “social networking sites (SNS) have become the major communication tool by which people develop their personal online network” (Lee 2015). This leads on to say that Instagram is also out to prove the phrase that pictures can speak louder than words in terms of a communication plate form. It also goes without saying that this quick grew in popularity to about 300 million active users (Lee 2015). It has also become apparent that users are using platforms such as Instagram as a persuasive practice in terms of sharing themselves. Obviously, this was something that that creators of the platform knew when starting because that is the philosophy behind the app. Its intent was to create something that allowed expression and that’s exactly what it did (Zappavigna 2016).
Social media Influencers and Photographers
In recent years social media had become a good platform for sharing information and collaborating with others allowing for what is called mobile learning and this is what “influencers” use to help grow themselves (Shen 2017). This idea of influencers is all based on the interactions that these people get and how they can interact to strengthen their enjoyment with the audience (Shen 2017). It doesn’t take a pro to be an Instagram expert but what someone posts do say a lot about them. People can be categorized based on what they post and how they display themselves and this changes based the types of photos they post (Hu 2014). Another aspect that has been added that seem to be grabbing the attention is the “selfie” because it adds what is called personal photography. It gives a new perspective that Influencers and photographers alike have seemed to be grabbing onto (Frosh 2015). It has also been noted that Influencers and Photographers are joining forces to make the best of both worlds. This allows for the influencers to get the best shots while the photographers can use this to grow their reputation (Peterson 2012).
Making a living Via Social media
In the age of social media, we in what a lot of people are call an era of image overload and there is fear that it might be taking way for authentic photography. Yet it has also been noted that we are in the biggest boom of photography yet thus leading to the fact that if you really put effort into it is possible to make your living via social media (O’Hagan 2018). People are also taking to this because it is a way to network and connect while not having all the stress. You are on your own schedule do what you want without the pressure of the real world on you. It also gets you out of the office and the world becomes your office (Faust 2019). The biggest thing is patients when becoming an influencer and expecting to make a living off of it. yes, it is possible, but this is not something that will happen overnight, you need to build a reputation and have a roadmap to follow. And a key thing is to stay professional, it’s your business and you trying to build it (Lansat 2018).
Conclusion
Yes, social media platforms have had an effect on the way we look at and promote ourselves and our photography but honestly it was in a sense for the better as the world develops in today age of technology. The point behind this review was to dig out and analyze that yes social media can be a way of self-expression and a way to market you and your work. The areas of focus were simply, to understand social media i.e. what Instagram tends are, social media photographers and influencers and what their intensions are, and how these people make a live today via social media and what this says about them. Based on what these sources had to say on the subject it can be said that there had been an alteration in the general way that we view and think about things based on social media, but it seems to be for the better. This change has allowed people to really showcase who they are and use a type of self-expression that they haven’t been able to use in the past. The research provide suggests that while we have a good understanding of what direction this is going this is still something that is not understood completely because it still growing and changing.
Work Cited
Larsson, A. (2015). Comparing to Prepare: Suggesting Ways to Study Social Media Today—and Tomorrow. Social Media Society, 1(1), Social Media Society, 29 April 2015, Vol.1(1).
Shen, C., Kuo, C., & Ly, P. T. M. (2017). Analysis of social media influencers and trends on online and mobile learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(1), 208-224. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1135923.pdf.
Frosh, P. (2015). Selfies| The gestural image: The selfie, photography theory, and kinesthetic sociability. International journal of communication, 9, 22.
Hu, Y., Manikonda, L., & Kambhampati, S. (2014). What We Instagram:
A First Analysis of Instagram Photo Content and User Types. International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM14/paper/view/8118/8087
Lee, E., Lee, J.-A., Moon, J. H., & Sung, Y. (2015). Pictures Speak Louder than Words: Motivations for Using Instagram. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 18(9), 552–556. Retrieved from https://doi-org.du.idm.oclc.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0157
Zappavigna, M. (2016). Social media photography: construing subjectivity in Instagram images. Visual Communication, 15(3), 271-292. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357216643220
Petersen, A. (2012, Jul 05). Don't forget to pack a photographer --- travelers book professional to photograph best moments of a vacation; services offer thinner thighs, bluer skies. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://du.idm.oclc.org/login?Url=?url=https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1023286370?accountid=14608
O’Hagan, S. (2018, October 14). What next for photography in the age of Instagram? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/oct/14/future-photography-in-the-age-of-instagram-essay-sean-o-hagan.
Faust, A. (2019, September 6). How I Went from Family Photographer to Successful Instagram Influencer. Retrieved October 4, 2019, from https://petapixel.com/2019/09/06/how-i-went-from-family-photographer-to-successful-instagram-influencer/.
Lansat, M. (2018, August 25). I asked 3 social-media influencers what it takes to make real money on Instagram, and they all pointed to the same trait. Retrieved October 7, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/influencers-explain-how-to-make-money-on-instagram-be-patient-2018-8.
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