Things have been quiet for Hockley Photography both here on the blog and in general over the past couple of months. I’ve been involved with a few conferences that have taken a fair amount of my time although I’ve been working a few small events and jobs such as headshots. I’ve also been spending a fair amount of time on Social Photo Talk, an arm of Hockley Photography that focuses on social media for photographers.
Things should be picking up with the regular photo business soon. I have a few events coming up that should provide some good opportunities for new venues and experiences.
Here’s a photo I took last weekend while killing some time on a Sunday morning following WordCamp Seattle:
I’m excited to announce a new workshop – the Digital Photo MOB (that’s Management, Organization, and Backup). In this two-hour event I’ll discuss techniques for managing digital photo collections, including storage, organization, keywording, cataloging, and backup techniques.
Who is the audience?
- serious photo hobbyists
- film photographers making a transition to digital and wondering about file management
- anyone with a hard drive full of photos and no way to quickly search them
- anyone who knows their spouse would be very angry if they lost their kids’ digital baby photos
We’ll talk about general image management and organization, as well as looking at specific software (both Windows and Mac) to keep track of photos. We’ll talk about hardware and software backup solutions that don’t cost an arm and a leg.
I’ll be holding the workshop in Portland at souk from 6:30-8:30pm on Monday, April 27th. The fee for the two-hour event is only $25; register now to reserve your seat for this educational evening (advance ticket purchase is required).
Recently Facebook was in the news over a change to its terms of service. Specifically, Facebook removed a clause that explicitly stated that their license to display and use content would expire if a user removed their content from the service*.
Photographers have a dilemma when it comes to using Facebook to promote their business. Facebook is a major social network, and having a presence on Facebook is a good marketing move to increase exposure to a wide audience. On the other hand, even after the recent public outcry over Facebook’s terms, the content licensing terms continue to give Facebook a non-exclusive license to use uploaded content in any form they choose, including resale, creating derivative works, and displaying the content outside Facebook.
This becomes a dilemma when one considers things such as uploading portfolio images. Displaying your work for potential clients = good. Giving Facebook the rights to do anything they want with your work = bad.
I made the choice to leave Facebook, at least until they move to more reasonable licensing. Other photographers love Facebook. It’s a personal choice, but one should know what is at stake.
Last week, I gave a presentation at Ignite Portland giving a quick overview of social media, social networks, and content licensing:
* I was actually the first to blog about the expiration clause being removed. See Facebook Terms of Service Change: Content is now Licensed Forever which was a followup to Facebook’s Rights Grab: I’m Out on another one of my blogs.
Seen at Downtown Disney in Anaheim:
Somewhat related to my post yesterday, Dan Heller recently published an excellent look at Stock Photography, the Consumer, and the Future. It’s a good (lengthy) read if one is interested in the market and where things might be going.
