Pixiq

So you’ve finally gotten in Google Plus (Google+ or G+) and you’re poking around and you feel a little lonely. You’re probably thinking “What’s the whole fuss about?” No one likes talking to a void. Don’t worry. That’s how every social network starts out. Even when there’s a rabid following right from the get-go if you aren’t connected to other individuals with similar interests as yourself it’s kinda boring and pointless.

STOP!!! Some people really think this is important for you to read first!!!

There are people who worry about whether or not Plus is a “good” place for photographers to share their photographs. Should you worry? You’ll want to read the terms of service for yourself and see if that aligns with your work. For me, it’s a no-brainer. I’m on there and I’m gonna share everything.

Look, even if Google plus doesn’t kill Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr you’re still going to join if you value networking with photographers and sharing fresh ideas. If you value solid feedback, witty banter, and a really slick photo presentation built right into an intuitive user interface, you’ll want to jump in. However, if you’re worried about privacy, terms of service, people sharing your photographs, etc then you’re either too paranoid or you’re too old! Don’t believe the hype!

Update: I'm not the only one calling FUD over google's TOS scare either.

In the end you have to decide if Plus is right for you and when you do...

We’re here to help.

Now, because you’re reading a blog on one of the best photography resources around the Internet, it’s pretty easy to guess that you are either a photographer or you’re way into photography.

Getting you connected to other photographers on Google+ is going to improve your experiences in this new social network by leaps and bounds. We’re gonna get you there, but first we need to go over a few things:

1. Set up your Google profile - This is really key to allowing other people of “like minds” to find you. Besides, you want people that already know you to be able to find you as well. Including your hobbies (photography duh) will help people know what circles to put you in so that you can get relevant information and conversations going. You like music as well, put that in. You knit? I’m sure someone is building circles of fellow knitters somewhere.
2. Set your privacy - I’m of the belief that you should use your real name, occupation, city, whatever else you think is relevant and that you’re comfortable sharing with the world. This is especially true if you are a professional photographer and you are looking for clients or work or whatever. This is your Google profile and it’s public so keep that in mind. Only you can decide what you want to share with the world. This is the Internet. Stuff gets out.
3. Start your stream - I know, no one is following you yet. You just started and no one has you in their circles so why would you share something to a void? Because every time you add someone to one of your circles they’ll get a notification. It’s highly likely they’ll click over to your profile to decide if they want to add you back and if so what circle. So if you’ve properly filled out your profile and added a couple of things that are photography related you’ll likely end up in their “photography” circle. That’s where you want to be. Go ahead and upload a couple of your photographs and maybe share a photography related article you found from the Internet. I know where you can find plenty of those ;-)
4. Add photographers to a photography circle - I’m going to list a slew of great photographers to start off with at the end of this article. You can also create other circles for other interests as they suit your needs.
5. Jump in the conversation - If you’ve set up a good photography circle you’ll be able to click on your photography stream and see what other photographers are talking about and sharing. Feel free to +1 a photograph, leave a comment, answer a question, ask a question, throw your two cents around, and don’t forget to have fun!

If you set up your profile, follow interesting people, and engage in conversation (don’t forget to share stuff!) then you’ll likely find that Google+ is one terrific place for photographers online to network, share information, and generally have a great time.

Now, to get you started, I’m going to point you in the direction of some really great photographers (pros, enthusiasts, amateurs) who are active on Google plus. Following them and engaging in the conversation will give you a huge boost in understanding how powerful and useful a tool G+ already is for photographers!

Awesome People To Put In Your Photography Circle!

Let’s start with a couple of fellow Pixiq contributors:

Dave Beckerman - Dave is a photographer based in New York who shares some of his wonderful black and white photography. He’s very active on Google Plus and a treat to follow.

planetMitch Aunger - Mitch is an HDSLR nut (and I mean that in a good way!) and he’s been posting some of his wonderful photography and re-sharing great content.

Here are some of the biggest names that have entered the G+ arena and they’re all making quite a splash!

Jim Goldstein - Jim of JMG-Galleries Blog is no spring chicken when it comes to web content and social media. You’ll get good stuff adding him to your photography circle.

Trey Ratcliff - I think Trey of Stuck in Customs has the most followers of any of the photographers so far. Which basically means if I didn’t list him here you would have run into some of his stuff anyway. Seriously though, Trey is an extremely social photographer who has been utilizing the “hangouts” feature to connect with photographers all over the world. Tons to love about this guy!

Paul R. Giunta - Paul is one of those people on the social networking scene who I keep running into. I can’t tell if he’s stalking me or I’m stalking him anymore. This isn’t a bad thing as Paul is a gentleman and a scholar. No really, the dude is a scientist and one hell of a photographer!

Thomas Hawk - Love him or hate him you knew the infamous Thomas Hawk would make the list. He’s one of the most vocal photographers in the social media, blogging, the whole damn Internet scene and he’s got a rabid following. It’s all well deserved. You’ll get tons of really great opportunities to see the beautiful work he produces along with the voice behind the camera.

Don MacAskill - Don is the co-founder and CEO of SmugMug so you know this guy knows his stuff. Watching him use G+ to engage the other SmugMuggers is an eye opening experience for anyone who’s running any sort of business. Super smart guy, and oh yeah, he’s sharing tons of great photography stuff of course.

All of the above should be in your photography circle. Period.

Now, if you only had those seven (eight if you include me) people in your photography stream you’d probably have enough content coming in to keep you pretty engaged and entertained. But if you really want to get a great experience of how G+ works for someone who has a large photography circle then I direct you to the following people who have made my experience on Google’s newest venture into social networking a remarkable experience. These really are in no particular order and I’m absolutely sure I’m leaving off some very talented folks so please forgive me in advance. Basically I just watched my photography stream for the past couple of days and picked out G+ users who I think are worthy of encircling because they share photos, articles on photography, or aren’t afraid to have conversations about photography or anything really.

Colby Brown, Nathaniel Smith, Beau Kahler, Seth Hoyle, Lauren D Rogers, Chris Loft, Daniel Schwabe, Neil Creek, Lotus Carroll, Mike Wiacek, Tracy Sloan, Victoria Leigh, Chris Scott, Zane Hollingsworth, Leanne Staples, Karl Lindsay, Sergey Brin, browneyes (qtbrowneyes), Greg Schmigel, Darren Humphries, Peter Bargh, Robert-Paul Jansen, Mark Esguerra, Giovanni Gallucci, Nicole S. Young, Chris Marquardt, Marvin Ryan Vista, Glenn Euloth, Quang Tran, Dave Powell

And if that wasn’t enough I decided to ask my followers to roll call for being put in a photography circle. So this is another great list of photographers you can add to your photography circle to make Google Plus much more interesting as a photographer. Feel free to place your name in the list if you’re interested in being put in more people’s photography circles.

I wasn’t the only one to do this BTW. I do believe that Trey Ratcliff may have been the first and created quite an epic list of photographers on Plus. Here’s the list for that one which had to be extended to a second list after reaching 500 comments!

And finally a Google employee and photographer extraordinaire Mike Wiacek started yet another great list of photographers and photography enthusiasts which can be found here.

So, that’s how I ended up with a photography circle that exceeds 1100 people and growing. It keeps me entertained, educated, and informed. I get to see some truly wonderful work by some of the most caring and sharing photographers on the Internet AND it makes my job so much easier.

A Closing Note: Now, just because these people are photographers or just love photography doesn’t mean that all they share is photography related stuff. But you knew that already, right?

Are you on Google Plus yet? If you think you should be in people’s photography circles feel free to leave a link in the comments section to your Google+ profile page.

Don’t forget to add me to your photography circle. Damien Franco