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Use your personality to stand out amongst the sea of photographers

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Today, more than ever, everyone is a photographer. From your pocket phone to your full frames, cameras are so accessible and everyone is using them. For many, it is just to document their life and then share it with friends and family. However, there is a large group of people, all around the world, that are wanting to monetise their art. In order to do this, they must exceed the competition, which is an extremely difficult thing to do as there is such a high standard in the field.

With this in mind, having a strong portfolio more often than not isn’t enough to set you apart from the rest of the pack. In this post, we will explore how you can use your personality to help reach your goals and get to the standard you are working hard towards.

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Women’s suit company reverses gender roles in this advertising campaign using naked men as props

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This advertising campaign is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Suistudio, a company which makes suits for women, has decided to do something a little different with a familiar theme for their new marketing. A total role reversal. Women in suits and naked guys sprawled around as props. Personally, I think it’s pretty awesome.

I’m going to say it because I have to say it. Some of you may find the images below NSFW. I suppose, though, that will depend on where you work. I don’t like that I had to censor the image above to appease the social media gods, either.

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The “Chosen Ones” on Instagram – Do they have an unfair advantage?

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Instagram is one of the key platforms I use for publishing most of my latest works and I have to say, it is a community where I have come across some of the most talented and amazing photographers. Some of them have inspired me too.

However, like other social media platforms, it has its own flaws too but these flaws are more man-made than Instagram algo-made. Instagram is a platform where there are two ways you can grow your following genuinely. One is by promoting your posts by paying Instagram and the other is by having hubs promote your works too. This post will be mainly discussing the latter.

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This is how I promote my YouTube videos on Facebook

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I’ve only been putting content on my YouTube channel in its current incarnation for a relatively short time. I had a channel years ago that did rather well, but YouTube (and the rest of the web) was a much simpler world back then.

Social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter had only just launched. Instagram hadn’t even been thought up. There wasn’t really a whole lot of creators out there publicly on the web, either. Today, it’s all very different. So, this is how and why I market my new YouTube content on social media.

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The basics of branding for filmmakers and other visual creatives

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When you say “branding” to most photographers and filmmakers, all they think about is how their logo looks. Branding, however, is so much more than a pretty logo. It’s what you want people to feel when they hear your name or see your work. Branding sets up a level of expectation to potential clients and customers. It’s what separates you from your competitors.

But how do you even begin to think about how you brand yourself and your work? This video from filmmaker Kris Truini helps to explain the basics with some tips to get you started. This is by no means a complete guide, but a good starting point to get you up and running. These tips will lead to more questions, but that’s a good thing. Questions make you think and push yourself. There are no shortcuts.

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This is why you’re getting nowhere with your work

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The goal for just about every photographer is to become respected for what they do. They want to be looked up to and admired. Sometimes that’s by their peers on social media for a little ego stroking. But much of it is more practical. They want their work respected and admired by potential clients. I mean, let’s face it, we all have bills to pay. For those just starting to try and make money from their photography, it is a great struggle.

In this episode of the Daily Creative, Chase Jarvis answers a question from photographer Jason Teale about this very topic. “I’m doing everything to get noticed, but it’s not working.” It’s something all of us have faced or will face at some point. Chase talks about what we can do to get over it.

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Instagram cracks down on stealth advertising with “Paid Partnership” feature

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Instagram’s been trying hard lately to clean up its act. It’s shut down several popular botting services. The so-called Instagram pods also seem to have been sort-of thwarted. And, for better or worse, they’re constantly tweaking their algorithm to help us see better content. They also took steps to help prevent misrepresented paid content on the platform, too.

To help add another layer of transparency to that, Instagram are making it obvious when sponsored content shows up. Until now, many Instagrammers have been adding hashtags such as #ad and #sponsored tags in the description. But they largely go unnoticed. A new “Paid pernership with” tag on posts and stores lets creators clearly communicate paid posts to their followers.

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Random Photo Marketing Generator promises “old-world craftsmanship” for forum warriors and cat photos

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When a new piece of gear is released, it’s accompanied by a press release. This press release is often filled full of jargon and tech speak. Details that 99% of customers either don’t understand or even really care about. But big numbers and words that are difficult to pronounce look impressive. So, manufacturers include them.

Savvy manufacturers, though, can save a little money on their marketing budget, and the new Random Photo Marketing Generator instead. Created by Roger Cicala and Seb Pearce, you’d swear you were reading the website of one of the well known lens manufacturers. Of course, the text it generates is complete nonsense, but it does sound very good.

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Tim Tadder answers the questions you didn’t know you needed to ask about the photography business

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Everybody knows that all the most important business discussions are made on the golf course. Even if that gold course is sometimes just a back yard putting green. This is exactly the setting used for RGG EDU’s series of shorts with world renowned sports & commercial photographer Tim Tadder. In the videos, Tim talks about several different aspects about the photography business. Fantastic information for newcomers, but also some good tips for those who’ve been at it a while.

The focus is more towards commercial, but much of it can also apply to other types of photography business, too. Breaking into a new market, figuring out pricing, what to do with downtime, should you specialise? It’s a fantastic series of topics. It not only answers some questions, but helps you start figuring out which ones you need to ask yourself next.

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How Photographers Should Use Instagram Stories

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Well it’s here, and whether you like it or not, Instagram’s new Stories feature is taking direct aim at Snapchat and the minutia of our daily lives. I, for one, am loving it. Stories allows us to share things with our followers that we might never post, humanizing our digital personas and connecting with the community in a totally new way. And even if you refused to join Snapchat, there’s no denying it that Instagram is where the people, and the brands, already are. So take advantage of the built-in community of Instagram with Stories, or you and your CD collection will be left in the digital dust.

Here are a few ways that I’ve been using Instagram, and some ways I think photographers can add value with the new feature, for themselves and for brands.

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