A Hard Act To Follow
Where do we go from here?
A 327% engagement increase in 72 hours. That's what happened after I dropped my last post...
I gotta be honest. I didn't expect that last post to take off the way it did. I thought it was going to be something folks didn't want to hear, so the metrics and the responses surprised the hell out of me. At first it was one positive response, then another, then another, and it seems to still be going. Don't get me wrong—it's not some crazy viral moonshot, but relative to the numbers previously, it's quite a jump up, and I want to make the best of the momentum. The left side is where I began and, yep, you guessed it, the right side is where we currently are.
I’m so appreciative of all the comments and shares. Here is what a couple folks said.
“Great advice ! Being a complete beginner, do you have any recommendations on where to build technical knowledge on lighting, composition ? Thanks !” - Caroline
“Well written and containing much truth. I've been photographing for over 40 years, and recognize all the things you mention here. I'd like to see more of this and maybe discuss things, so I subscribed.” - Vincent
Now I'm faced with a bit of a problem, and I'd like your help and advice. I'm not sure where I should take this from here.
I think it's best if I start with my intentions for this Substack I created. I wanted to create a place where I can share my photos and my ongoing journey as a photographer and eventually build to a growing paid subscription so that I can use some of the revenue to travel and create more work, stories, and lessons to share. I also know that it can't just be a "look at how great my work is" show, and that's not what I want either. I want to, at the same time, be able to help others on their path to creating pictures that inspire themselves to keep creating as well, and I want to share all that I have learned along the way with the community.
My goal is to deliver insights that will save you years of trial and error in your own creative journey.
That stated, I think this can go a few different ways.
What would you like to see next?
I can put together some technical pieces on how to improve your photography.
I can write some work about my ideas and theories of what makes great photos.
I can tell you about some of my celebrity or lifestyle projects.
I can put out some stuff about my inspirations.
Or lastly, I can just keep sharing my work and things as they come up naturally.
I though also I’d share my portfolio site now and see if there is anything technically or story wise that people would want to know about?
I’ve taught photography before and have stuff sitting in the archives but again what would you like?
Drop your vote in the comments with a number 1-5 corresponding to what you'd most like to see, or suggest something entirely new.
I want this to be a conversation, an interaction, something where we are all riding this wave together. My growth and your growth are interlinked. My hope is this can be fun, community building, and something we can all grow from.
My fear is that I'll create something that isn't what folks value, and that I will end up doing the same shit we did on social media, which is try to be a one-trick pony chasing algorithmic growth and locked into something I don't love and y’all don’t either.
So please, I would love to hear from folks on where you would like things to go from here and what I can provide that's interesting to you. I'll still keep doing my thing, but if I can help you as well, we all win together.
And if you’re a new subscriber or follower to my Substack I appreciate your interest and time. If want to check out my previous two posts you’ll find them below.
3 Reasons Why Your Photos Are Trash
4 Lessons I Learned While Photographing Snoop Dogg
That's it for this one. All the images in the post were taken by me. Thanks again—I hella appreciate y'all.
-Scott
Yeah man, I wrote an entire piece in a note a while back extolling what makes Substack unique (in my opinion) and what seems to be valued here over other platforms (again, just my opinion). The points I made then get proven out day after day in my own experience here as well with those I subscribe to.
The vibe is to just do you, be authentic and your crew will find you and rock with you. I’ve seen week over week growth the entire time I’ve been here, but I really try not to pay too much attention, I did that elsewhere and I was miserable. I came in with a plan of sorts, I think you have to to a degree, it’s a lot harder and more time consuming to put a newsletter together than throw a photo up and hope for likes so having a content plan helps.
Beyond that just keep doing what you’ve been doing, write what you feel, share what you want, that seems to be what people here wanna see more of time and again.
What Brain said.