500px insufferable?

Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes

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Ben
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Apologies in advance if this would be better elsewhere on TP.

I started putting some photo's up on 500px today, about 18 iirc. Within 5 minutes I had countless likes and people commenting trying to get me to look at their shots, most of which were foreign I'll add!

Is 500px like this all of the time? I'm going back to flickr for the time being, as you actually have to go looking for these people there rather than them coming to you!

Has anyone else had a similar experience to this?
 
It's just a pointless likefest. Then again, so is Flickr.

I'm not sure why them being "foreign" relevant though.
 
Pookeyhead said:
It's just a pointless likefest. Then again, so is Flickr.

I'm not sure why them being "foreign" relevant though.
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I was suggesting that there must be a different style of promoting yourself outside of the UK. I think most of us would find it very rude when you just put "Nice shot, go and check out my new picture"
 
Cleisthenes said:
I was suggesting that there must be a different style of promoting yourself outside of the UK. I think most of us would find it very rude when you just put "Nice shot, go and check out my new picture"
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Happens everywhere online, with people from all countries. Thing is, the vast majority of people aren't from the UK.
 
Flickr and 500px are awful ways to promote yourself.. always have been. You're just one faceless image maker drowning in a sea of hundreds of millions of others just like you. The only people who will see your work are other users of the service, and even then they're only going to tell you how cool it is and want you to joint their group, or like their work back. Only if you're doing something truly exceptional will you get noticed on Flickr.

It's just one great big circle-jerk.

If you want to get your work seen by anyone that matters, then follow those that matter on Twitter. Watch for opportunities such as high level competitions you can enter, portfolio viewings and workshops. Joining organisations like Red Eye or the AoP. Network with REAL people, get galleries and publishers interested by following them on Twitter, and posting intelligent, well thought out work on Twitter. It's hard work! Never rule out just taking your PRINTED portfolio to show people either. Network and set up meetings with people you really want to work with. Intelligent and relevant blogging can help too, but not if you're just going to blog a load of crap about cameras etc... no one cares abut that.

I've no idea where this idea that you can just post stuff on Flickr, sit back and get noticed comes from, but it's a million miles from what you actually need to do.
 
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Flickr is very useful for sharing photos with people you want to share with e.g family and friends. I would have thought for promoting your work as a photographer your own website, blogging, twitter, FB, winning competitions etc would be the way to go.
 
I guess it's how you use the site. I love 500px, not for displaying my wonderful work :oops: :$, but for inspiration and information. I find it a very useful tool when looking for photography ideas and also for doing location research.
 
/\ What he said.

It's a great site to get inspiration, I find the overall quality (and amount of PP interestingly) is much higher on 500px, possible just because it's smaller and is more aimed at photographers, rather than just being an photo hosting site.

It's not a great place to sell stuff, and a lot of the feedback is of the annoying "This is great - now look at my photos", but I find the Flickr equivalent of "Vote 2, add 1" just as tedious.

Depends what you want out of it really...?
 
Durbs said:
/\ What he said.

It's a great site to get inspiration,
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Everything on there just looks the same to me. If you're inspired to produce more of the same stuff that's already on there, then yeah, I suppose, but I never did understand why anyone would want to do that.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Everything on there just looks the same to me. If you're inspired to produce more of the same stuff that's already on there, then yeah, I suppose, but I never did understand why anyone would want to do that.
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Are you seriously stating that there is not some wonderful photography on 500px :eek: Or is it just the case that because someone said white you feel the need to say black :rolleyes:
 
Does this mean that there'll be a ' my most popular pic on 500px yesterday' thread as well as the Flickr one now?
 
johnnypanic said:
Are you seriously stating that there is not some wonderful photography on 500px :eek:
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I'm sure there's all manner of stuff on there that's great... but you have to wade through so much other stuff to find it I can't be arsed. It's just the same old landscapes, hipster type stuff, travel, kids, animals.. bores the pants off me. It's all the same, and everyone is just copying off everyone else. Maybe we have different ideas of what wonderful photography is. If you like the eye candy stuff you're well catered for though I suppose.

johnnypanic said:
Or is it just the case that because someone said white you feel the need to say black :rolleyes:
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Just my opinion. You OK with that?
 
I've met and keep in touch with lots of local photographers through Flickr and sold a few images (although that isn't what I use it for)

500px I had the same experience as the OP and really couldn't see the point in wasting time with it but each to their own
 
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I like 500px accept for having to pay for albums. That's one reason I started a flickr account. I also liked that people couldn't copy your photos but have found out now that you can through the back door. I use 500px to help me gauge how good my photos are, especially if that photo gets no feedback on here.

Flickr is much easier for hosting stuff on tp though, than 500px and Photobucket.

David I found your first post very interesting, although I don't have twitter

When my photography finally gets good enough though I think the best thing is to have my own site. Then use a few images on flickr,500px, facebook etc to promote the site.
 
If you have your own site, you won't really need to use Flickr to promote your work. You can however use social media to promote your site, as you can fine tune your audience to suit your needs. The chances that anyone of any importance will notice anything you do on Flickr is negligible. Depends why you want people to look at your work I suppose. If it's just to collect likes... then Flickr is great, as is 500PX, but if you want t sell work, and perhaps even get work, then it's pretty crappy.
 
While I don't disagree with what you say David I wouldn't entirely dismiss Flickr, a lot of organisations count it as one of their social media platforms and it can be used as such to get your work in front of the right people (but not as effective as twitter and facebook)
 
Oh don't get me wrong... Flickr is the word's free picture library these days.. Getty use it after all (although they pay... pittance that it is). It's just too saturated to be used seriously as promotion though.
 
I use flickr for image hosting only really, that and some of the groups I participate in occasionally. It's also useful for research sometimes.

There is some good stuff on flickr, you just have to look hard for it. And some photographers have been 'discovered' on it e.g. Natalie Dybisz aka Miss Aniela is one that springs to mind.

500px - I joined some time ago and agree that while the standard of work is undoubtedly higher and nice to look at, it is largely derivative eye candy IMO.
 
i like flickr for the groups, if you can find a decent active one with some chatter then its fine, and at least its only your fault if you get tonnes of bot spam. You have to post to hundreds of groups yourself. 500px just sprays it out there to everyone.
 
I don't get many comments of 500px, usually get a glut for awhile after I put a new pic up, but when I do I rarely get the 'look at my pic' post though. If someone takes the time to comment on any of my pics I'll go and look what images they have out of curiosity anyway. :) I have so few comments it's an easy thing to do. :LOL:

Pookeyhead said:
If you like the eye candy stuff you're well catered for though I suppose.
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I do like 'eye candy', and there are also some unusual and imaginative pics too. :)

Pookeyhead said:
Flickr is great, as is 500PX, but if you want t sell work, and perhaps even get work, then it's pretty crappy.
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I had a Spanish Magazine ask to use one of my pics on 500px, :D and am awaiting two sales of the same pic to go through over the next few days. It is nice when people like your work, and very nice when anyone wants to put down money to buy your work. :) I put the pics I like on 500px. I like to see what reaction they get, if any, but I have some up there that hardly anyone other than me seems to like. Do I care? No. I like the pictures when I took them, I liked the pictures when I edited it, and I was proud enough put it on the internet for people to see. Does nobody else not liking it make it a worse picture? No, not to me. :)

Obviously those sales are not something I can live on, but I wouldn't want to (and know I couldn't) be a Professional Photographer. I enjoy my hobby and want to take pics of what I want to, when I want to, not what/when I'm being told to, which some Pro's do. Of course there are different types of Photographer, but I know where I stand in the World as far as my pics go. ;)

Pookeyhead said:
Just my opinion. You OK with that?
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The more opinions the better. Pretty boring, and short conversations if we all have the same opinion. ;)
 
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Raptor Mike said:
101 followers!! You're doing way better than me. I think I've got 2 lol
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I didn't realise you were talking about me. :rolleyes: :oops: :$

101 followers is more to do with a thread on here a few years ago when people were sharing their 500px addresses. It was good because you obviously saw other members pictures, but they are also part of my 'Flow' on 500px which is the section I look at the most. And of course other Photographers I've fo;;owed are part of my Flow.
 
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For the second time in a couple of weeks I've spotted a photo magazine with the work of Sean Archer on the cover. Sean Archer being the nom de plume of some guy from Russia who only picked up a camera a few years ago but seems to have started to make a name for himself off the back of 500px popularity.
 
I have found 500px quite a useful site insofar as sales.
For me it just sorts of ticks over, I don't get involved in any of the "awesome photo, please look at mine" comments.
I don't use it for posting on TP, flickr does it so much better.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Flickr and 500px are awful ways to promote yourself.. always have been. You're just one faceless image maker drowning in a sea of hundreds of millions of others just like you.

I've no idea where this idea that you can just post stuff on Flickr, sit back and get noticed comes from, but it's a million miles from what you actually need to do.
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This is pretty much the exact opposite experience I've had of Flickr. I've never gone out of my way to 'promote myself' in any shape or form until very recently (locally away from Flickr), prior to that 95% of the opportunities/sales/gigs etc have come directly through Flickr.

I use it terribly in terms of 'playing the game' (over half of my photos are not in any groups, my tags are basic at best, I upload large batches at a time which usually ruins the opportunity for Explore, and in 8 years I've only followed, liked and commented at a pace of about one thing every 3 months) but I've had two car manufacturers press depts contact me through there with work, numerous event organisers (most recently the Wilton House Supercar site is now full of my pics after direct contact through Flickr), tourist boards, a very enjoyable project for my local Canal Trust, a motor racing circuit offering me work, and images picked up for numerous publications.

I ignore a huge amount of messages where people are asking for free use of photos (nice of them to ask though I suppose), so I guess that could be considered an annoyance, but overall considering it's nothing more to me than a place to share and store my images, it's given me opportunities I would never have expected considering I don't believe I'm particularly talented compared to many on there.
 
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I think there's a difference of opinion about promotion. I've had tourist boards, and travel publications contact me all the time. I've had MOSI contact me about some science fair images I had on Flickr. Stuff like that. Most wanted images for free, and the ones you were paying were paying a pittance. That's fine. My point is, why sit there waiting for someone to find you on Flickr? Why not send these images directly to the kinds of people you would want to work for instead? Get on the phone, speak to people. Go visit with a folio. You'll have far more success. If you've no intention of working as a photographer, then fine, these one off things may seem brilliant, but in reality it's people trying to get work for PR and publication for free or very little, and always well below what they'd pay a working professional. Which is why the photographic industry is on it's arse. It's probably the least efficient method of trying to promote yourself there is, as you've probably realised, and possibly why you're now promoting yourself outside of flickr.
 
You could also argue it's a rather efficient way to promote yourself. Three seconds work uploading images every now and then. Zero cost. Zero time investment. Any work you do get out of it is basically free work. Just because you also market your services in the normal channels, doesn't mean you can't dump a few pictures on places around the web, forget about it and then take any work it may bring in.

I've picked up a few decent clients through 'folio' sites (not Flickr). Can't complain for the, probably less than ten minutes, that I've invested in them over the past 6 years.
 
Jayst84 said:
You could also argue it's a rather efficient way to promote yourself. Three seconds work uploading images every now and then. Zero cost. Zero time investment. Any work you do get out of it is basically free work. Just because you also market your services in the normal channels, doesn't mean you can't dump a few pictures on places around the web, forget about it and then take any work it may bring in.

I've picked up a few decent clients through 'folio' sites (not Flickr). Can't complain for the, probably less than ten minutes, that I've invested in them over the past 6 years.
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It is a fair point you make. As you're not really doing any work, perhaps efficiency was the wrong word. Maybe effective would have been better.
 
I know that as a whole the quality of my images is not consistently strong. Just seeing my images amongst the other images on 500px is enough to show me that. And that is predominantly other amateurs. I've no problem with that. I do have the odd very good image, and how do you market that? If you wanted to.

People who buy images are, I'm assuming, looking for a steady supply of quality images from trusted sources to deliver them images. They may see the odd image they need\want, on something like 500px, as happened to me. I know that the magazine that bought one of my images will not be back for any more, partly because of the quality, but also because of the kind of magazine it was and the range of images I have on 500px. I have sold two more copies of the same image from, (sales gone through now ) I'm assuming, by an average passing viewer on 500px which is very gratifying.

That said, I put my images on 500px to show them off, and to see how they compare with other images of the subjects I put up. A professional, or anyone who aspires to be a professional, has other motives to use 500px and the like, and may see it as only part of their 'marketing' and may not understand the amateurs motives, if it is not to make money. If any sales come from those images I put up it's a lovely surprise. It is not a plan to make a career out of it. As said earlier minimal outlay in time and money for potentially some financial gain, though that is not the primary reason I'm putting my images up there. It's just a nice bonus.
 
Cleisthenes said:
Apologies in advance if this would be better elsewhere on TP.

I started putting some photo's up on 500px today, about 18 iirc. Within 5 minutes I had countless likes and people commenting trying to get me to look at their shots, most of which were foreign I'll add!

Is 500px like this all of the time? I'm going back to flickr for the time being, as you actually have to go looking for these people there rather than them coming to you!

Has anyone else had a similar experience to this?
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I signed up last week. Only had one person ask to look at his photos. Didn't really bother me to be honest. I had a look eventually, and none of them grabbed my attention.

So you uploaded 18 photos altogether? Not sure if you should have done this as people wouldn't want to look at all the photos you uploaded altogether.
 
The website is annoying me now lol because I can't change the name of this photo
https://500px.com/photo/95507323/untitled-by-david-sunderland?from=user_library

Emailed and tweeted 500px and I followed the second half of http://support.500px.com/customer/portal/articles/381102
I cannot do it because I get some kind of error when I try to do the Console readout thing.

Besides that, it's not a bad website. I've had two photos that went to a high 'pulse' and I didn't think they would get so many hits.
 
I must be doing something wrong, i don't get these comments :lol: not that i actually post much up online any more :/

I liked following 500px on Facebook, they can sometimes have interesting blog posts from photographers, some not so good but there you go. It's always nice to get a good picture in your feed now and then rather than somebodies first profile pic, or no makeup selfies or whatever the latest craze is :lol:
 
Pookeyhead said:
Flickr and 500px are awful ways to promote yourself.. always have been. You're just one faceless image maker drowning in a sea of hundreds of millions of others just like you. The only people who will see your work are other users of the service, and even then they're only going to tell you how cool it is and want you to joint their group, or like their work back. Only if you're doing something truly exceptional will you get noticed on Flickr.

It's just one great big circle-jerk.
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I hardly do any work at all on 500px and comment very rarely but I have over 14,000 followers and have sold a lot of work through them as well as people contacting me about my Iceland photo tours, signed prints and galleries asking to sell my work. So as a social media platform/shop window, it works very well for me. Flickr used to be the lazy way to sell through Getty and some of those sales were quite lucrative, that has changed now but I still get work from there.
 
My experience is that the "like" phenomena is more prevalent on FLICKR than 500px. I do just love the FLICKR Groups though,
 
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