Street Photography, Social Media and Confidence.

Make a submission!

Many thanks to all of you who filled out my survey. It would appear the site is running fast enough and that I please some of you some of the time (but not all of you all of the time!). There were a few respondents who stated they would like to write a guest post. If you have an idea for a submission, then please get in touch at pagespics@outlook.com.

Follow pagespics.com

Secondly, some of you told me you were having problems following me. The easiest way is to follow me via email. Look to the right for the link. I would love to have you along for the ride!

Clothing Repair Man, Bangkok.

This week in Pictures

• ‘Keepers’ taken since last blog post             = 5
• Silly mistakes made while taking photos   = 2
  (Mistake number 1, I thought my new Olympus 17mm 1:8 lens was playing up. However, I had left the camera in continuous focus mode. Mistake number 2, the best sunset ever appeared from where I was sitting on the balcony. I ran to get my camera, set up the picture and took the shot. My memory card was still in the computer. Oops.
• Weight loss = 1.5kg (OK, I know that is not photography related, but good all the same).

Being Brave and Social Media

You need a degree of bravery to be a Street Photographer. Why? You are working with strangers, and you don’t know how they will react to having their photo taken. However, it is not the photography that I am choosing to write about here. Instead, I want to talk about social media and address the way that we all put ourselves out there for others to judge. When we post something to a site, we are not physically brave as there is no threat of violence. Instead, this form of bravery relates to personal vulnerability. When you post a photo, you ask the world to look at you. Here are some of my insecurities when posting online.

• Am I posting too much?
• Am I posting too little?
• Are these photos being posted on too many/ too few sites?
• Should I have included a watermark?
• Should I add my website URL when posting? (This really upsets some people. Why?)

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.” Coco-Chanel

Thinking aloud is what we do as artists. However, we are programmed to have self-doubts. How can we get over these thoughts? Here is what one author has to say on the subject.

“…to create you have to take a leap of faith; not just in yourself, but also in your fellow man. You have to trust the world to judge you fairly. Yes, you will receive criticism. And yes it will hurt. Sometimes a lot.”
(Gompertz, 2015, p.162)*

People are different and will have different worries when posting online. My advice here is to play to your strengths. I am fortunate in that I am confident in the photos I post. One way to gain confidence in your work comes from sharing and discussing your art with experts, who can provide relevant guidance and feedback.

Night Market, Bangkok

The Successful Artist

Remember, all artist have failed. When you get knocked back, you stand alongside The Beatles, David Bowie, and Claude Monet. Don McCullin, possibly the most famous war photographer ever, failed his photography theory exam for the RAF. Art establishments mocked Banksy for years, but now these institutions will pay a fortune for his work.

If you do feel anxious about posting to social media? Why not share your thoughts and experiences. Often these things are made easier through sharing. And remember, have faith in humanity to judge you well, as in my experience, most people do.

Keep Clicking, Chris

Finally – As part of my site re-vamp, I have added pages of photos taken in China and Thailand. Have a snoop, the links are below.

https://pagespics.com/china/

https://pagespics.com/thailand/

* Quote taken from Gompertz, W (2015) Think Like and Artist, Penguin