For the average person out there, the most used device that is taking over from the desktop and the laptop is the mobile phone. Most business, as well as online e-commerce, is conducted from this device. Leading social media apps have been created solely for this device due to the increase in the number of people using a cellular phone as a tool to interact in their daily existence in the big wide world of the internet. We have the like of Facebook and Instagram, on to mention two of the giants that dominate the social waves with content and visual news. There is the more current video dominated apps like Tiktok, which seem to be growing their online share of space, as Google algorithms indicate, video content leads the way in attracting followers, new clients and improving business rankings. Even bloggers have become vloggers, as this proves to provide a more lucrative and regular income stream than stills photography in this genre.
My question to you is where is it all going, and is photography dying as a medium? My answer is very simple, photography will never be dead. From the view of consumerism, photography brands are introducing new models and lens all the time, the prices are not becoming cheaper, nor is what is being invested in the technology drive to stay ahead. To keep this simple, there are consumers out there who are buying camera gear all the time for either commercial genres or for hobby purposes. Note that most of these cameras also have great video capabilities.
So, although I initially suggested the mobile phone in society is the leader, I back this up with the fact that it it is not only a form of convenience as to size and portability, but serves as a communication device, that is visual, as well as verbal, and provides the user with camera and video capabilities to snap, edit and send to a friend or colleague, or add to one of your photo libraries or social platforms that you follow in an instant. There is a huge difference between an actual DSLR and a mobile, but that is all dependent on your purpose as a photographer or videographer, neither can be criticised. The other reason, people are drawn to use the mobile device, is that there are so many great free editing apps that one can download and use with ease to make your image “pop”. Again, let me emphasise there is a huge difference between taking photographs with a mobile phone, verses understanding how a DSLR works and shooting using the manual settings. My suggestion is attending a short photography course before deciding on what you want to use as your camera of choice.
Pointers to help Photographers shooting for online.
Take note and understand that different devices have settings for different crops and aspect ratios, so learn and use the correct aspect radio according to where you intend to post the image. If you ignore this and just snap away, you might find either your images are too large in size, or they get automatically get cropped when posted, or even they might need to have been composed portrait, rather than landscape.
Today there is a trend for photographers to compose in portrait, as images are being loaded and viewed on a mobile. The likes of Facebook and Instagram also have their upload sizes and aspect ratios. Know the file sizes these sites require, as well as the file type before taking the photo. Often your photographs will be rejected when posting larger images to certain sites, or the images will be optimised, meaning that the image will lose quality, as the file size is reduced. This is not something you want to happen when posting your images. A general rule for square or rectangular photos is to make sure to maintain an aspect ratio between 1:1 or 1.91:1. For portrait (4:5) photos, the recommended dimensions are 1080 x 1350 pixels.
I have attached a card which I hope will assist those posting to their favourite platforms:
