Two Face

When I was a kid and I had a new toy that I liked, I wanted to show it. Today, if I had a car, and it was new, I would want to show it and even brag about it. And those are things I didn’t even built myself. So just imagine if I had something made out of a perfect combination of my imagination and my hands ?

You couldn’t make me shut up.

That is what photographers do almost everyday. They take pictures and want to share them with others. And they do. They post them on their website and try to sell them. Because the more they get for them, the more it means other people like them. And if published more see it.

So what’s the boohoo about Pinterest ? It’s a photographers dream. You can post images and actually see how many people like it. It’s not like a magazine since there is no editorial and no advertising. Just pure simple sharing for the sake of sharing.

Furthermore, it does nothing more than what Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr have been doing for years now. No one sued them or question their copyright ethics. In fact, a lot of image professionals use them actively. Some actually call themselves gurus and give lessons to other photographers on how to master them. So what’s the fuss about Pinterest?

Photographs even get posted with URL so that interested users can explore some more.

We had written here before that the photo industry has to grow up and stop being ignorant and resistant to the changes happening online. They have to embrace it and adapt. It is offering huge opportunities that no photographer ever had before. There is nothing wrong with wanting to share photographs, especially since they come with url.

Recent numbers show that Pinterest leads to more referral than Twitter and in some cases, Facebook. Yet, a lot of of photo industry pundits will tell you to consider suing Pinterest, or they users, for copyright infringement. Yet , the same people will urge you to tweet or Facebook like insatiable addicts.

Already some photographers are showing elevated levels of interest just by creating Pinterest boards mixing their images with others that they like, exposing a more clear vision of their taste. If you don’t think that art directors, art buyers and photo editors, all visual people, are not going to use Pinterest, you are greatly mistaken. It is a great discovery engine and a great tool to feel the visual gestalt. In fact, if its success keeps growing, we wouldn’t be surprise to see Google acquiring it or making a clone, like they did with Facebook.

Use it or don’t use it but whatever you do, don’t fight it. It will be a waste of time, energy and resources. Like all other social media past and future, learn to live with it and adapt accordingly. Those who do will have no trouble achieving success.

Update: here is everything ( almost) that you ever wanted to know about Pinterest and more : Techcrunch

About the author

This business has too many Surveyors and not enough Bohemians”  Roger Therond, legendary photo man, once said to a good friend of mine, Eliane Laffont. This blog is about restoring the balance and letting the Bohemians talk.

Paul Melcher has been named one of the “50 most influential individuals in American photography” by American Photo. He is currently senior vice president of the PictureGroup. He writes the Thoughts of a Bohemian blog