Hello my field daisies!
A couple weeks ago I posted an outfit from my shoot with my friend Ankur. Before posting it onto my blog, I posted it on Photo Forum to get some critique and make editing adjustments.
To view the complete thread click here.
The first comment was someone making sure I had the publishing rights to the photos because it was stated in the rules of the forum not to post photos we don’t own. Publishing rights was never something I considered. I always got friends and family to take my photos, and then I would edit them thinking the photos were my own. I never thought to ask permission because the people that took my photos were close to me. Another user corrected my thinking, linking to a page on the American Society of Media Photographers which basically stated the person who creates the image, owns it. So whoever takes the picture has the copyrights to it. It makes sense that the Photo Forum does not allow people to post photos that aren’t theirs. It’s just out of good principle. This interaction was a bit scary for me because it was the first time I ever got scolded on the forum.
In her book, Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Nancy Baym discusses how communities are formed online. She talks about how rules are formed online stating, “community norms of practice are displayed, reinforced, negotiated and taught through members’ shared behaviors” (Baym 80). The more time you spend in a community the more you learn how the community works. For example, I learned early on to number my images, so that people could easily reference the images in their comments. FITBMX demonstrates how the number system works in his comment below:
FITBMX mentioned I should touch up the first photo with the dodge tool, so I did my best! What do you guys think? The difference is so subtle I doubt it makes a difference.
Before:
After:
FITBMX decided to try editing the photo, using the lasso tool on Photoshop to copy the left side of my face onto the right side of my face.
I’m not sure if I like their edit. Perhaps I am just used to looking at my own face, but this face looks completely different. However I really appreciate the effort, and I’ll have to keep the technique in mind for the future. I’m going to call the technique “two faced.”
Also something that really interests me about the Photo Forum is how many lurkers are on the site. Baym describes a lurker as “the person who reads but never posts” (Baym, 87). On Photo Forum, posts get more views than replies, showing that people are still browsing the site even though they aren’t responding.
Love ya’ll and thanks for reading!
Hope you have a daisyish day!
I like before the model scowl is added.