New Media - How it’s affected the professional photography game
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past decade you know how Facebook works. Another form of social media is Instagram. For that 0.5% of readers who aren’t sure what they just read, Instagram, it’s entirely photo/video based allowing people to share images of their lunch since 2010 #throwback.
(Reference: www.memecenter.com)
Photography. No I don’t mean selfies of you and your dog #dogsofinstagram but more so photography in the professional field. The photographers who actually make a living out of what they snap. These most common fields are wedding and event, and portrait photography. Isn’t it funny how the word ‘photography’ has almost developed a new definition throughout this last decade. Now when I think of photography other words that instantly come to mind are ‘Instagram’ and #filters. I’m not saying this is a bad nor a good thing, but just that its interesting how things change due to certain influences in todays society, notably new media.
The introduction of social media and other social sharing apps have created a whole new culture for photography, the main two standouts being Facebook and Instagram. Some more technical terms that I’ve researched and am going to use to help explain this particular shift are: the Digital Divide, the use of Convergence, Spreadability and Networked Publics.
Digital Divide -
First point of discussion is the ‘Digital Divide’. What is it exactly? From what i understand after reading through DiMaggio and Hargittai’s ‘From the ‘Digital Divide’ to 'Digital Inequality’: Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases’ article, it’s basically the gap between people who have access to the internet and those who do not. The ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. I found it funny to read that years ago ‘Digital Divide’ described people with /without access to telephones. I even now find it weird to read studies relating to internet access to be honest. Obviously there are still third world countries without internet access but you don’t exactly stop to think about it. I think because for most countries the internet has become the norm and part of our everyday lives. I personally couldn’t imagine going an hour without the internet let alone a lifetime.
(Source: www.memecenter.com) #nointernet
Researchers' are now catching on to these ideas and are starting to compare ‘Digital Divide’ studies with how people use the internet, their skills online and the general scope of online users rather than just the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
For professional photographers ‘Digital Divide’ studies could be used to determine the demographic market for their service. According to the Pew Research Centre’s ‘Internet Project’, a survey showing the percentage of online users performed in January 2014 with 74% of adults (18+) using social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram. Of this group, 89% of adults were aged between 18-29, compared to 49% being aged 65+ years. So its safe to say the demographic market majority for photography services should be aimed at the younger generation, also because this age group would be more likely to need a photography service either for a wedding, engagement, social function or portrait shoot. I find it hard to imagine someone aged 65 or older scoping Facebook to find a photographer, rather than just looking through a business directory or asking a younger family member for advice.
(Source: www.memegenerator.net)
#StruggleIsReal
Convergence -
The next topic contributing to the change in professional photography work over the years is ‘convergence’. Henry Jenkins describes media convergence as an ongoing process that should not be viewed as a displacement of the old media, but rather as interaction between different media forms and platforms (Jenkins, 2006).
So basically an example of convergence in this case would be how social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are used together to advertise users’ material to the public. These two social medias forms are also both available on multiple platforms including computer, mobile phone, and even gaming consoles. When you go to upload a photo to Instagram it gives you the option of also posting it to your Facebook page in one hit, probably because Facebook now owns Instagram. This use of convergence allows for an easier experience and encourages both platforms to be used together to increase visibility from fans or followers.
Although when you think about it most people running a photography business, or any design business for that matter, where displaying your work is a vital part of gaining new customers, have multiple social media accounts. So having the option to directly post images to both Facebook and Instagram saves times and encourages ease of use for designers which will make them want to post again and again.
I’ve included a link to a website that explains media convergence in more detail for those interested: https://mconvergence.wordpress.com/about/
Spreadability -
Before social media and the internet were introduced professional photographers had to heavily rely on ‘word of mouth’ to generate business. Getting a job shooting a wedding for example, would help advertise yourself to others that attended on the day who might also be in need of a photographer. So in this case you would rely on your name spreading between clients. Advertising yourself in the newspaper as a professional photographer, the ‘yellow pages’ business directory, television, wedding expo’s and bridal shops would’ve been the other main types of advertisement to find work in the field. Now in this tech savvy day and age with wonderful things such as ‘social media’, its much easier to spread the word. Its almost too easy now to advertise a business online through social media. Also the ability enabling customers to rate a business on Facebook and provide reviews/feedback for each is also a huge advancement allowing potential consumers to make their decisions based on previous customers’ experience.
In ‘Chapter 5: Spreadable Media’ of ‘The handbook of media audiences’ Henry Jenkins and Joshua Green describe Spreadability as seeking ‘to motivate and facilitate the efforts of fans and enthusiasts to “spread” the word.’ (2011) If I was looking for a wedding photographer right now the first step for me would be to log into Facebook and type ‘wedding photography’ into the search bar at the top of the page. This search would show the results in order of proximity and immediately allow me to view potential photographers’ sample images and the amount of likes they’ve gained, which demonstrates their credibility. It allows me to contact them directly and show which of my ‘friends’ have also ‘liked’ the page.
(Source: www.imgur.com)
A friend of mine recently tied the knot last month and they released their wedding photos on their profile page just recently with the wedding photography company they hired ‘tagged’ in the post. I imagine this would’ve been discussed with the company so that others interested could get straight to the company’s page with just one ‘click’. It’s basically free advertising, its genius!
So referring to the above quote on spreadability, this particular wedding photos post would motivate and encourage other family members and friends to ‘share’ this post to others online, which would in-turn generate more business for this photography company.
Networked Publics -
The final term to be explained are the use of ‘networked publics’ and their contribution to the re-shaping of photography in the professional field. ‘Networked Publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies.’ (Boyd, D and Marwick, A 2011)
Networked Publics are simultaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined community that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology, and practice. Facebook, for example, serves both as a networked public itself and as a site upon which networked publics gather. (Boyd, D and Marwick, A 2011)
Do we shape networked publics or do they shape us? I’d like to say we shape them but I don’t think this is the case. Twitter for example has a 140 character word limit when sharing information with one another. This would be an example of an ‘affordance’ which is a quality of an object, or an environment, that allows an individual to perform an action. (Boyd, D 2011)
Having this character limit shapes the kind of information we produce, encouraging quick and on-the-spot posts rather than well thought-out posts containing paragraphs of information. I think this would encourage a higher quantity of posts and increased traffic within the social media site.
(Source: www.memegenerator.net)
Networked publics in terms of professional photography would be those who ‘like’ or ‘follow’ a photography page. Those who invisibly come together to view, like, comment and share interesting content. Maybe ask a question or two relating to a particular photo that was posted and being answered by another like-minded fan on the page. Like for example when I find a cool photo on a photography page that i’ve ‘liked’ and I comment to find out what camera or lens was used for the shot, another person would soon follow with a response.
So social media, in particular Facebook, allows these fans to come together through the use of their business page options which create these niche networked publics and encourages social interaction.
Summary -
There is no doubt the use of new media has changed businesses considerably, in particular the photography profession. These four discussed terms have each played a vital role in contributing to this shift and continue to re-shape the online (and offline) community. Nowadays it seems detrimental not having related social media pages for your business. As technology continues to change and develop it’s important for business owners to keep up with the pack.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to answering your questions!
Trent Szmolnik
n9395253
References: Boyd, D, Marwick, A, 2011. Social Privacy in Networked Publics: Teens’ Attitudes, Practices, and Strategies. United States: A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society, September 2011.
Di Maggio, P, Hargittai, E, 2001. From the 'Digital Divide’ to 'Digital Inequality’: Studying Internet Use as Penetration Increases. 1st ed. United States: Russell Sage Foundation.
Green, J, and Jenkins, H, 2011. Spreadable Media: How Audiences Create Value and Meaning in a Networked Economy, in The Handbook of Media Audiences. ed V. Nightingale, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Imgur. 2015. Imgur. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.imgur.com. [Accessed 14 April 2015].
Jenkins, H, 2006. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. 1st ed. New York: New York University Press.
Meme Center - Largest Creative Humor Community. 2015. Meme Center - Largest Creative Humor Community. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.memecenter.com. [Accessed 13 April 2015].
Meme Generator. 2015. Meme Generator. [ONLINE] Available at: http://memegenerator.net. [Accessed 17 April 2015].
What is Media Convergence ? | MEDIA CONVERGENCE. 2015. What is Media Convergence ? | MEDIA CONVERGENCE. [ONLINE] Available at: https://mconvergence.wordpress.com/about/. [Accessed 15 April 2015].