We’re not exactly sure what to do, but we’re pretty sure we’re supposed to be there.
The splash header of my Google+ home page
Trying to create a photographer’s presence on Facebook or Twitter is like shouting into the wind. Now along comes Google+, which many of my friends say is nothing more than a glorified Facebook and that there’s nothing to do there. Well, if you like photography and following the work of some amazing artists, then there’s plenty going on.
My Google+ gallery for Neon, Fuel, Pavement & Americana on Route 66
Currently, my stream is filled with constant photographic updates from Colby Brown, Jim Goldstein, Thomas Hawk, Gary Crabbe, Helen Sotiriadis, Trey Ratcliff, Tarah Gaa, Richard Wong, Brian Matiash and more. Every day I find more inspirational people to follow and have been having a blast putting my own work up there.
So what’s so cool about Google+ for photographers? First off, the gallery section is fantastic! It features rollover to slightly enlarge your image and a unique grid system of different sized images that resizes when you change your browser dimensions. Very cool!
Also a huge plus is that unlike the puny max width of Facebook, Google+ allows images to be up to 2048 pixels wide. Just be sure to watermark your stuff.
Some of my recent Google+ updates
Additionally, even with 20 million users, Google+ is still new enough that the photographer community is relatively small with a population in the thousands as opposed to the multi-millions on Facebook and Twitter. This means if you do it right, there’s a much higher chance for success.
Along those same lines, the Google+ directory sites are still relatively empty. Assuming you have taken the time to register yourself around them, they are another great way to be discovered.
Random fun fact: the #1 followed user on Google+ is currently none-other than Facebook’s founder: Mark Zuckerberg.
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The inspiration for this post came from a similar one I wrote for Dickerman Prints Photo Lab, where I am proud to work.
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Still not on Google+? Just send a message and an invite will be on its way.
On Google+ already? Then be sure to +Greg Goodman.
I agree Greg, I’m really lovin’ Google+. I love you can see a thumbnail preview of photos before clicking to enlarge so you can tell if it’s even a photo you’d care to view unlike Twitter where you are blindly clicking links based on a very brief description filled with hashtags. And I definitely love the ability to group people in Circles along with the ability to isolate the feed/stream from each Circle. As you mentioned also, I love scrolling through my never ending stream of photos in my Photography circle.
Thanks for the comment Brad. I can’t wait to see what changes they make next…it feels like every day they are implementing something new. The one I’m waiting most for is to be able to resort a gallery without going to Picasa