While there are loads of photo communities to begin with for many of us photographers, some are different from the others in that they’re slightly more geared towards those of us who create rather than capture. For many years, Flickr was the king of this. Go there and you’ll find surreal project after surreal project and with lots of them being very solid. But for the most part, this has changed. New communities like Instagram have popped up; but they’re not always so well aimed at those of us who strive to create vs capture.
EyeEm
EyeEm is a community for the serious photographer. You won’t find many curators on there the way you will Instagram, Tumblr and others. Instead, it’s all about people who shoot photos. While most of the community tends to capture images, those who create tend to really put forward only their best work.
For example, you should check out all the cool strobist stuff on there. There are also some surreal projects and I was a judge for the EyeEm awards with their Illusionist category that was all about editing in some ways.
Not only that, but you’ll also encounter truly positive people. Even if your work doesn’t make it in front of the editors who run things, you’ll feel like you’re actually a part of a community.
VSCO
VSCO is a different platform from both Instagram and EyeEm. It’s more inward focused and a platform where you promote your work through effective tagging. At the same time, you find work that inspires you by actually going out there and finding it.
In a way, that’s kind of how the industry works. It’s all about networking.
What you’ll find are some very meticulously constructed food photos, some strobist portraits that are pretty solid, and even some cool experimental stuff. It’s fun, and requires embracing and understanding a different thought process. Many folks don’t like the interface, but it’s honestly not that bad.
Behance
My absolute FAVORITE community for creative photographers is Behance. This is a community owned by Adobe and where photographers can collaborate with other artists, get found by those looking to hire for gigs, and show off genuinely the best of the best of their portfolio. Because the emphasis is on collaboration and always putting on your game face, it makes the photographer think differently about the type of work that they’re putting up there.
Here you’ll find loads of editorial, advertising, conceptual, and loads more photography genres. In fact, I tend to just sit there and get lost in it on a weekly basis.
Of any of the communities on this list, this is the one that I’d tell you all to leave our website and go to right now. Then explore, and get inspired.