Critique Required 500px

Steve Dormer

Steve Dormer

Well-Known Member
What do you all think about a bit of self promotion on 500px. I appreciate some people like to promote their work and others not.

I was thinking that RPF 500px members could use the forum to help the initial promotion of an image on 500px by letting other members know they have posted an image and then RPF members could vote on 500px, but only if they think it is a worthy image of course. Just a thought may work in the initial promotion.
 
I have a 500px account - 500px / Rob MacKillop / Photos and also the Portfolio: Rob MacKillop - and have some experience with their voting system. Depending on which time of day I upload an image, I get either no comments and votes, or lots of them. When I do get comments and votes, 90% of the time people say a variation of "Awesome! Check out my images!" The comments appear within a couple of seconds of the image being uploaded. I get the strong feeling that most of the commentators are just desperate to get you to go to their images.

Occasionally, of course, someone says something genuine, and occasionally someone 'Follows' you. But for the most part, it does seem to be populated by a lot of desperate people. I don't wish to be unkind, and am probably doing some of them a disservice, but these days I just ignore 90 percent of the comments, or skim over them at best.

So, I question why it is so important to get voted? Sure, I've had a few images which become "Upcoming" and even "Popular", and it makes me smile for a second. But I don't feel the need to push to get that status, either by asking other contributors to come and look at my images (by telling them they are awesome) or generating votes via RPF.

I use 500px for the Portfolio, where I place images I invite people to view. But the false community voting system just leaves me cold. Sorry, Steve! The community here is much more meaningful to me.
 
Hi Rob

I totally agree with your comment about our community and the comments from you guys and girls for me are much more valuable and informative.

It was just a thought to break that initial surge but good points as always.

Rob MacKillop said:
I have a 500px account - 500px / Rob MacKillop / Photos and also the Portfolio: Rob MacKillop - and have some experience with their voting system. Depending on which time of day I upload an image, I get either no comments and votes, or lots of them. When I do get comments and votes, 90% of the time people say a variation of "Awesome! Check out my images!" The comments appear within a couple of seconds of the image being uploaded. I get the strong feeling that most of the commentators are just desperate to get you to go to their images.

Occasionally, of course, someone says something genuine, and occasionally someone 'Follows' you. But for the most part, it does seem to be populated by a lot of desperate people. I don't wish to be unkind, and am probably doing some of them a disservice, but these days I just ignore 90 percent of the comments, or skim over them at best.

So, I question why it is so important to get voted? Sure, I've had a few images which become "Upcoming" and even "Popular", and it makes me smile for a second. But I don't feel the need to push to get that status, either by asking other contributors to come and look at my images (by telling them they are awesome) or generating votes via RPF.

I use 500px for the Portfolio, where I place images I invite people to view. But the false community voting system just leaves me cold. Sorry, Steve! The community here is much more meaningful to me.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Rob

Just had a look at your 500px account and really no bull!!!! some great images there, I am sure I have not seen some of them before.
Rob MacKillop said:
Well, I'm not saying don't do it, of course. I'll vote for you all day long if it helps :)

BTW, your Rhino shot is amazing!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. For those whithout a 500px account, they have a Like button and a Voting button. If you get enough votes your image appears on the 'Up and Coming' pages. Get more votes (not sure how many are required) and you get promoted to Popular. Then there is the "Editors' Choice" - which I've never got on [banghead] LOL.

Rereading my comments above, I was probably being too serious. It's harmless fun, I guess.

I'm struggling with the whole self promotion thing. I recently got invited to submit three images to a European publication. The catch was I had to pay around £50 per image. Then I had to buy so many copies of the publication (at a bit of a discount). Only then could I submit to a competition, which also costs money per image. The whole thing seems a scam, yet someone is trying to persuade me that this is the price you have to pay to get people to see your images.

So, that plus the "Awesome! Look at me!!" stuff is just getting to me! Sorry again, Steve!
 
Me too. That and BJP are the last of the decent photo magazines left in the UK I think. Pro Photographer is dreadful now (I will not renew the subscription - I must have taken out a 3 year one last time, it seems never ending. The review in AP are good but the rest is pretty repetitive and I haven't looked at the rest for ages. Ag+ never re-surfaced after the editor died.
 
You know, I'd completely forgotten about Aperture. I recall being quite impressed with it when it first came out. Maybe time for a re-visit. There are some good online ones. I like f11 and Adoir Noir. I picked up a copy of American Photo in the airport in Athens once. It is one of the few times I have read a magazine cover-to-cover. I have never found it again so I don't know if that was just a fluke. Maybe I should try a subscription. Diffusion is another favourite. Right up your street too I would think.

Diffusion: Unconventional Photography | fine art photography print annual
 
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