The joke in the photography community is that you can die of exposure — and that being promoted to many people doesn’t guarantee anything for you. How does it go? Something along the lines of the fact that you’ll die of exposure, right? Well, I think last week, we saw one of the worst photography prize contests we’ve ever seen: exposure. A very prominent company within the photo industry is promising exposure to 5 million+ people. Who am I talking about?
The company is one that most of us who’ve been practicing photography would know: 500px. They were a platform that built itself between the rise of Instagram and the degrading of Flickr. For many years, their best images were dominated by Eastern European photographers posting nudes and a few generic landscapes. Then folks just stopped paying attention to them.
You’ll be showcased on their social media platforms, newsletter, etc.
And now they’re doing a contest offering to expose your work to over 5 million people. To a specific type of photographer, this might be appealing. But let me bring you back to reality:
- No one uses 500px as a media feature of prominence on their websites or resume
- No one takes posts made on Instagram or social media seriously and folks aren’t guaranteed to see them
- If people see any of those posts, they’re not guaranteed to interact with them and dive deeper into who you are
Let me be honest and frank here: contests are also fleeting things that don’t have breed lasting symbiotic relationships. It’s far different than if a photographer is continually featured and shown off to many others. But that’s not the case here.
Now let’s come back to reality; the attention economy is meaningless without results to show for it. It’s probably nice to you that you got 7,000 views on TikTok. But what did it do for you? Why should I or any other photographer or editor be happy for you?
Did it help you make money in any way? Did it give you any more prominence at all? How has it helped your photography career?
Here’s the point: photographers need way more than just exposure to an audience. They need to be supported or given something that helps them in a gainful way. This is typically through given money, a camera, lens, lighting, or something else with prominence and promise that uplifts you and your career as a photographer.
The next time you try to pay your bills with exposure, let me know how that works out for you.