Remember how great Flickr was at its peak? It’s an active photography community to share and discuss images with other photographers around the world. While the site is still active, it’s not as popular and functional as it once was, and it hasn’t been refreshed in years. Oh, how majestic autumn is. Where can we share images with other photographers?
Who else remembers posting photos to Flickr, joining groups, taking part in weekly photo challenges? It was great for me at the time to be in direct contact with other photographers. I like a specific weekly challenge that involves submitting an image of a specific topic each week, as this forces me to go out and get creative with a topic I might not have chosen myself. Then there’s the enjoyment of viewing other entries from around the world and their interpretations, giving and receiving constructive visual feedback before the next topic is announced, and We did it all again. Sadly, Flickr didn’t get the attention it needed to become popular, daily users dropped, and the community wasn’t as active as it once was.
This video from Micael Widell discusses some of the major photography community sites and how they don’t function as effectively as a photography community the way many photographers would like.
Instagram is built on sharing images, nothing else. Instagram also introduced photo filters to the public; these filters only served the purpose of compensating for the low quality of cell phone cameras back then. Instagram has changed its focus since it started. Now, you definitely don’t need to take beautiful or technical photos to become popular on Instagram. Facebook-owned Instagram has found far more efficient algorithmic ways to engage users than simply sharing beautiful images. We have seen the rise of Instagram influencers, monetization and much more powerful image filters as mobile camera and processing power have improved year by year. . I would not say that Instagram is not a network that is still very popular in 2022; it’s not the photography-focused image sharing service it used to be.
An obvious choice would be Facebook groups for photography, but my experience with those groups often reveals a number of jokes that can offend novice photographers; perhaps, this is a reflection of the online community, as the same can be found on most social platforms. Facebook isn’t just about sharing photos, either, and their community standards can be restrictive for certain types of photography.
Many advertisers have turned to Patreon or other premium subscription services to share images and grow the community. Many paid subscriptions include access to Discord servers or other online community features. The cost of joining may put some people out of work in 2022, as we’re all used to using these types of services for free, even though Flickr had a premium membership tier in its heyday. its needle. I like Fstoppers . Community and regularly have some great interactions with other photographers on this site.
Now, in 2022, where can photographers share images with like-minded people? Where can we learn from others, help others and see great images? Maybe the best places for this type of community are real-life camera clubs and local photography communities?
What do you think of online photography communities? Do you have any suggestions? Anything to avoid? Let me know in the comments section.
