How do you share your portrait sessions?

[Deleted member 21335]

This is something that has bothered me for a while so I thought I would ask you good people what your thoughts are, as a couple of my friends have one idea and I am kinda on the fence.

You book a model for a portrait session to try and get some of the ideas from your mind and inspirations into a photo or photos. You end up with a 'set' of photos from the session, let's say 20 that you deem good enough to share with the world from different locations, maybe an outfit change or whatever. So now, how do you choose to share them? Do you drip feed them into the world, one at a time over a long period? Do you share them all together? Do you perhaps do a blog post with them? Do you whittle them down even further to maybe the best 4 or 5 and only show those, with potentially 15 images never seeing the light of day?

I see photographers on model sites sharing like 30 images from a shoot in one big go and I always feel it is far too many, but then I can see why they don't want some to be hidden away on a hard drive forever. Or should I be even more ruthless still and just choose the single, very best image?

I welcome your thoughts.

 

[cowboy]

I usually put out two or three out together and then drip feed the others I deem good enough over a two or three week period.
I might add others at a later date after a revisit to the set.

 

[juggler]

This is something that has bothered me for a while so I thought I would ask you good people what your thoughts are, as a couple of my friends have one idea and I am kinda on the fence.

You book a model for a portrait session to try and get some of the ideas from your mind and inspirations into a photo or photos. You end up with a 'set' of photos from the session, let's say 20 that you deem good enough to share with the world from different locations, maybe an outfit change or whatever. So now, how do you choose to share them? Do you drip feed them into the world, one at a time over a long period? Do you share them all together? Do you perhaps do a blog post with them? Do you whittle them down even further to maybe the best 4 or 5 and only show those, with potentially 15 images never seeing the light of day?

I see photographers on model sites sharing like 30 images from a shoot in one big go and I always feel it is far too many, but then I can see why they don't want some to be hidden away on a hard drive forever. Or should I be even more ruthless still and just choose the single, very best image?

I welcome your thoughts.

Interesting question. The answer should depend on why we're sharing them. Is it brand-building, to keep you (us) in the consciousness of potential clients & collaborators? Is it to showcase your best work? Or just 'cos it's really nice when everyone goes 'wow, luvly pic hun [sic]'? Or is it because your customers / collaborators expect you to make a bit of a fuss with the results?

More than 3 images in one go won't help with any of those things.

For me - I don't do this for money, remember - it depends a lot on who I took the photos for and the quality of the results. Sometimes the people I work with will do all that social media stuff for me, and a fair bit of my work goes straight to my collaborators without me using it at all.

Left to my own devices I aim to share just one from each set / outfit / pose - initially at least. I'll sometimes add a few more in a batch or album at a later date, and then I might publicise the odd one at a much later date if I haven't bunged anything on social media for a bit and have the time for a bit of ego-massaging.

 

[Deleted member 21335]

I usually put out two or three out together and then drip feed the others I deem good enough over a two or three week period.
I might add others at a later date after a revisit to the set.

Thanks for the input.

Interesting question. The answer should depend on why we're sharing them. Is it brand-building, to keep you (us) in the consciousness of potential clients & collaborators? Is it to showcase your best work? Or just 'cos it's really nice when everyone goes 'wow, luvly pic hun [sic]'? Or is it because your customers / collaborators expect you to make a bit of a fuss with the results?

More than 3 images in one go won't help with any of those things.

For me - I don't do this for money, remember - it depends a lot on who I took the photos for and the quality of the results. Sometimes the people I work with will do all that social media stuff for me, and a fair bit of my work goes straight to my collaborators without me using it at all.

Left to my own devices I aim to share just one from each set / outfit / pose - initially at least. I'll sometimes add a few more in a batch or album at a later date, and then I might publicise the odd one at a much later date if I haven't bunged anything on social media for a bit and have the time for a bit of ego-massaging.

And in interesting reply. As to why I am sharing them? Well, I just feel having an outlet is better than them sitting on a hard drive. I shoot portraits with models because I love making photographs and trying to improve and shoot something in the same vein as the type of photographs I admire. I only book models whom I think will work with me to achieve this so it's not simply just shooting a pretty girl for the sake of it, but trying to actually create something. I don't really expect this work to attract clients as I only really shoot weddings and couples in exchange for money, but I do have some of the personal work on my wedding website as there is a chance it will attract clients who like what I am doing personally and see that this is something I love to do. I haven't really provided my models with many images either, although the last one has shared a couple of the Polaroid scans on Instagram that I sent her over.

So I guess I am still none the wiser. Haha. I welcome the replies though as it may help me get a clearer idea.

 

[Pitter]

I'm with you on the image posting overload on forums like this. I like to look at/consider one image at a time. Like many I often think I have several great takes but I always pick just one at a time to post.