Some Unsolicited Advice about Posting a lot of Pictures on Facebook

Recently while checking Facebook, I saw that a friend had added 200 new photos to a gallery. I had to say something. So I messaged him with some unsolicited advice. I realized that there are others out there who need to hear this message so I am republishing it here as an open letter:

Dear Friend,

I wouldn’t bother saying this unless I was trying to be a friend, and not just a Facebook friend, but a REAL freind… And I don’t know how to say it other than just saying it… you need to be selective with the pictures you post. I really want to look at the pictures of your travels, but c’mon, 200 pictures!  When I see 200+ pictures in this gallery, I physically groan and either unhappily slog through the gallery or don’t bother at all–depending on my mood and general busyness. Because I like you. And like your family. And I want to keep up with what you are doing. But seriously, you should stop posting every picture you take.

Here are some tips you didn’t ask for:

  • Professional photographers take a lot of pictures and then choose only the best for publication. Take a cue from that. Pick a few that are truly representative of your trip. You don’t have to capture every moment, place or event. Select pictures that capture the overall feelings, impressions, beauty… from your trip. I use a max 10% rule. Only post 1 in 10. You will have to make tough choices. It is OK.
  • Do a little post processing. It isn’t so intimidating when you only have one or two dozen photos to work on. In iPhoto there is an auto-adjust that is very often all that is needed to improve the color and exposure on an ordinary picture to make it a lot better. To make it come alive.  This is important.  One great picture will leave a stronger impression on the viewer than 200 “meh” pictures.
  • If you are just using fb as a way to preserve your photos in the event of a disaster there are better ways to do it… Carbonite, Flickr, Phanfare, SmugMug…
  • If you have friends or family who really want to see every single picture from your trip, Phanfare or SmugMug are good options. You can create private galleries and send invites to those people, or you can simply include a “to see more follow this link” in the description of your galleries on Facebook. Then everyone who wants to see some highlights from your trip can see that and if they want to see more, they can go to the SmugMug or Phanfare gallery.

Of course you can just say “I don’t give a rat’s a$$ if Kendall looks at my galleries or not. I’m gonna just keep doing it this way.” That would be fine and I won’t think any differently of you. Just trying to be helpful.

KG

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