Release Issued by Bonusprint:

Putting the amateur back in the picture

~ Anthony Ward, managing director of Bonusprint, discusses how social networking has inspired a resurgence in digital photography ~

Social networking has had a huge and well-documented effect on the way we communicate – inspiring us to share our views and cultivate an online presence. Before the advent of Web 2.0, few could have predicted the popularity of user-created content and comment. Facebook alone has seen an 89 per cent rise in membership in just one year (1).

Now, we can all publish exactly what we want – from blogs and comments to pictures and videos. But the rise in ‘we-dia’ and social networks has had its most dramatic effect in the sphere of digital publishing. Recent research shows that YouTube attracts over eight million users a month(2) and is set to overtake the BBC’s webpage as the UK’s most visited online destination (3) – a shift unthinkable a few years ago.

Social networking in the frame
Digital images – and photography in particular – are becoming an important way to communicate online, particularly on social networks and sharing sites. Taking pictures is no longer just about holiday snaps consigned to a dusty old album or to the back of a cupboard. Now that our pictures can be published globally at the click of a mouse, amateur photography is taking off in homes around the world.

Publishing photos online isn’t just about copying and pasting, either – it’s fast becoming an art form, with amateurs using tools traditionally reserved for the professional. Taking a quick look at Facebook or MySpace will show you how much amateurs have come on during the past few years – with montages, slide shows and more creative shots forming the basis of many network profiles.

Essentially, our social networking profile pictures are designed to sum up who we are (in a single image). So it’s no surprise that people want to look as good as they can. Many are even investing in professional photo tools and editing suites, such as Photoshop and Picasa. Rather than posting any old snapshot, people want control over their images. And with prospective employers and bosses using these sites as a matter of course, who can blame them?

From MySpace to photo ace
Precious photos, once something quite personal, can now be shared instantly – without any boundaries and sometimes with an ambiguous level of personal control. Once, we could take a film or digital shot to be printed, resized or converted. Now, anyone with whom we share out pictures can do the same. So are we losing control over our privacy and images?

There is no simple answer to that question. Perhaps we should think twice before posting our photos – or at least consider that, without the right privacy settings, our pictures can and will be viewed around the world. But for a generation born into a computer-literate world, it is hardly surprising that digital imaging has overtaken even email as the most instant way to communicate.

With membership of social networking sites increasing by the day, it looks like the social network photography phenomenon is unlikely to be a flash in the pan. But whilst these sites are changing the way we consume photography – with a clear trend showing people want to do more with their images electronically – we continue to see a rise in people printing digital photos. After all, true social interaction only comes when sharing images face-to-face – and people still want to show their holiday snaps over a coffee, decorate their walls or remember a special day with friends and family.

1 As of July 2007, as reported by Comscore
2 According to Nielsen/Netratings, July 2007
3 Hitwise research conducted July 2007

Further information about Bonusprint can be found at www.bonusprint.co.uk

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