Photographs © Eric Kim

 (A photograph from my ongoing “Suits” project. London 2011)

This is an essay I wrote addressing our obsession with “favorites” and “likes” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, 500px, Google+, photo blogs, and so on. If you have ever felt that you were photographing more for affirmation from others than yourself, give the essay a read.  I share my personal experiences and also make practical suggestions in the end how to overcome an addictions to “favorites” and “likes”.

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On Social Media and Street Photography by Eric Kim

Photographs © Eric Kim - Dubai, 2013

At the moment of writing this, I have over 30,000+ Facebook fans, 13,000+ Twitter followers, 20,000+ Google+ followers, and 12,000+ YouTube subscribers.

People have called me a bit of a “social media phenomenon” at times – and commend me for being so good at “marketing myself.”

I am certainly not the social media guru but I have learned a few things through social media through the years (especially when it comes to photography).

I wanted to write an article on some guidelines I suggest street photographers (and all photographers alike) when using social media: 

1. Build connections, slowly
2. Less is more
3. Promote others, not yourself
4. Use social media as a bridge to real-life communication
5. Disconnect
6. Conclusion

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