Does facebook cheapen or enhance the photographic industry?

[I @ M]

OK, there are truckloads of people out there using facebook to promote their photography.
Many of those people actually have their facebook photographic page labelled as a professional service but a lot of those it would seem work a 9-5 job in an unrelated industry to photography.
Of course we see some pretty way out claims to greatness and equally disparate pricing structures from some compared to the mainstream photographic industry. Is it acceptable for them to do so?
Are those people who are using facebook as a convenient ( and currently free ) advertising board actually enhancing the spirit of competition and fair trade or are they devaluing the industry in general?

We currently see facebook trading shares at 1/2 of their release price and those who bought the shares asking when they will see a return on their investment. Any return on investment relies on income so the next logical question to me is what will happen when facebook start charging for commercial sites ( those who have labelled themselves as professional photographers ) in order to generate some much needed income.

[Nazz]

Facebook degrades all forms of business in my opinion !

[ricktas]

I have never 'done business' via facebook. I find I tend to use google, AP and other sites to do my research, then the product owners site, then I buy the product, then I 'like' the FB page (sometimes).

I see FB as part of a whole, but for those using it as their sole advertising stream, then they are both selling themselves and their customers short.

I too, see a time when FB will start some sort of charging model, not for private use, but all 'business pages' etc.

[Duane Pipe]

I know a chick who has picked up work through face book Andrew and I kicked her arse at my first wedding shoot.
I attended a friends wedding for practice and a few free beers the paid tog was the above chick and the brides best friend, so you would think that she would try her best for the shoot wouldn't you. I think if that happens we will see a big drop in wanna be togs advertising on there which will benefit fair dinkum people struggling to make a profit, and in the mean time Face Book sinks

[ktoopi]

It would be interesting indeed if a requirement of the above poll was to include your age as well as opinion on Facebook.
Just a thought....

[Duane Pipe]

I didn't realize that this was a poll. I only joined fb to find old school friends and nothing else. I did manage to find some too.

[Epoc]

I make my living from a form of photography perfectly fine without any involvement with Facebook whatsoever, have done so for 12+ years, and will continue that way until I retire/sell my business. That I'm 100% sure of.

[MarkChap]

How to answer this, hmmmmmmmmmm

The problem as I see it, or rather one of the problems, is that facebook gives all sorts of wannabes access to the hoards, and as we all know constructive critique on facebook is non existent, it is all ooh's and aah's, regardless of the quality of the photographic image. This then leads to the photographer having an over inflated view of their ability, so they decide that they must be good and set about charging $50.00 for a "photoshoot" that gets the client hours in-front of the camera and a kazillion images on a disc. That devalues the industry.
I know of a photographer up my way, that now touts how he is getting "international recognition" simply because somebody from an overseas country chose to like his facebook page.

[Xenedis]

It would be interesting indeed if a requirement of the above poll was to include your age as well as opinion on Facebook.
Just a thought....

My opinion about Facebook is that it's a solution to a problem I don't have. :-)

I know of a photographer up my way, that now touts how he is getting "international recognition" simply because somebody from an overseas country chose to like his facebook page.

That would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic.

By the way, I'm an internationally-published author.

(I have a blog.)

[Bloke]

I am only a Newbie, But have been around the block more than a few times, Facebook does not do a damned thing for me, and appears to be going backwards at a great rate of Knots, BUT One does wonder how much Plagiarism is going on with a lot of the photos that are posted ???? Hmmmmmmm

[Sifor]

I know several photographers who operate their business solely via facebook. Facebook certainly has its place in the modern world and I don't doubt its usefulness, however in terms of advertising it probably does "cheapen the industry". In saying that though, the photography industry in general has gone south and will probably continue to do so as cameras become more advanced in terms of image reproduction and easier to use.

[mechawombat]

I have set a page that I will use to showcase my own and a few friends images on FB. Essentially I see it as Gallery space. I wont be selling or asking for business. However if it generates interest that may change. I am still a beginner but considering the work I see of plenty of FAUXTOG's placing on their business pages, I think I can hold my own.

[Tikira]

Whilst FB does have many drawbacks it is a growing way that many of the younger generation are shopping (buying or selling). We recently looked to sell some surplus furniture and held a garage sale which sold nothing. We then went on to the local FB buy swap sell page and sold half of the furniture within a couple of hours. Since then looking at this forum I have seen a couple of togs advertising and a couple of people requesting information on who is a good photographer. There are now a growing a number of potential customers that use this medium. As such there are many in the industry that may need to consider whether to use FB as another advertising source. This area is evolving, in much the same way as the internet did. 15 years ago there would have been many togs stating they did not need to advertise on the internet, yet now there would be almost none that do not have a web page.

I don't believe FB is anywhere near perfect, but it is another advertising medium that does not need to be considered, especially for those in the industry that are still building their business.

I am 49 and whilst I have a personal FB page, this is more to keep in touch with my nephews and a couple of friends living remotely, so I am not an avid FB user. Hope this adds another perspective.


Wayne

[Xenedis]

In saying that though, the photography industry in general has gone south and will probably continue to do so as cameras become more advanced in terms of image reproduction and easier to use.

No amount of advanced features in a camera can turn a bad image into a good image.

Good photography comes from the 'CPU' inside the owner's cranium, not the electrical contraption held in his/her hands.

Buying the world's most advanced power tools will not turn you into a great furniture maker either.

One does wonder how much Plagiarism is going on with a lot of the photos that are posted ????

That problem is not unique to Facebook.

I know several photographers who operate their business solely via facebook.

IMO, the concept of investing one's entire business in a social networking site driven by popularity, plagued with rivolity, and riddled with privacy issues, just does not make any sense whatsoever.

If a business is to use Facebook, IMO, it should be just another channel, and not the core to the business's online presence. A business these days needs a proper Web site, and Facebook isn't it.

[bowjac]

It would be interesting indeed if a requirement of the above poll was to include your age as well as opinion on Facebook.
Just a thought....

A very valid thought.

Social Media is not only the way of the future for social and commercial activities, but it is well established now in the daily activities of the young and emerging consumers and leaders.

In my view Facebook both cheapens and enhances the photographic industry, mainly because it is the biggest social media forum available, and is fulfilling many purposes.

More targeted forums must surely emerge to remove the "cheapening" component.

[MJay]

We currently see facebook trading shares at 1/2 of their release price and those who bought the shares asking when they will see a return on their investment. Any return on investment relies on income so the next logical question to me is what will happen when facebook start charging for commercial sites ( those who have labelled themselves as professional photographers ) in order to generate some much needed income.

Facebook needs to look at charging for the app (or placing ads within the app, like so many smart phone apps do these days)

And also placing ads on it's site for those browsing the mobile site. (ie accessing the site via a tablet/smartphones browser)


I am not sure that facebook devalues the entire photographic industry. The photography pages I have come across on facebook seem to be mainly geared towards photos of people. (mums and bub, weddings)

[Redgum]

In a business sense the value of Facebook or any other communication resource is surely in its commercial value. The recent share devaluation from $US38 to $US19 on the first day of open trading is a good (only) indicator of Facebook value. Shareholders (who depend on revenues from its advertising to make a profit) plainly think its only worth half its original value. In November, staff of Facebook who were issued two billion shares get an opportunity to further invest or divest themselves of shares and considering in one day they have already lost half their value it isn't hard to guess which way that will go. This probably means that both shareholders and staff have a significantly reduced confidence in what Facebook can do and without this investment potential advertisers will be left in the lurch or without value.
Of course, most of the togs here who only seek free advertising won't be greatly disadvantaged but they're not really in business anyway and should take the opportunity whilst it lasts.
Local people generally buy local product and Facebook is of course multi-national. So whilst it may be attractive to advertise to several billion people worldwide you compete directly with tens of millions of advertisers offering similar products. It's a minefield which probably explains why Woolworths and Coles advertise in the local paper and by letterbox drop and not in Facebook.

[jasevk]

It's a minefield which probably explains why Woolworths and Coles advertise in the local paper and by letterbox drop and not in Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/coles

http://www.facebook.com/woolworths

They most certainly do use FB as a marketing tool. Most large corporations are.

[Dylan & Marianne]

What's facebook good at doing (whether you like it or not) ?
- quick talk that doesn't necessarily result in anything deep and meaningful !

So what do I do with our facebook page? - post stuff at lowish resolution and talk!
The numbers game is something I like playing around with in spare time (after all, I used to be a world of warcraft addict waiting for the next level up!)
Marianne and I don't do any advertising for services with that page and honestly, despite the amount of 'likes' and 'fans' we don't get work through facebook - Nearly all of that has come through people looking at flickr, 500px or our website from searches, or word of mouth.

My summary :
If you don't like using facebook, then don't! No one's forcing you to no one can make you.
If you like it and enjoy it, then go ahead! with moderation of course and the caveats that come with overuse/commercial use.
Good discussion points come of topics like this but I think trying to convince one camp to change their minds is probably just going to lead to unnecessary angst -
(I took my chill pill this morning after Charlie woke us up with a nightmare :P)

[swifty]

Facebook doesn't devalue the photographic industry. Bad photographers do.
Facebook just made it easy for them to get the word out.
Facebook is just another communication tool. It's stockmarket price probably just reflects the poor commercialisation of the entity.
Something that's great for communicating and sharing doesn't make it nevessarily great for generating revenue.
Its great for things like reaching old friends that U've lost touch with.