Is making a Facebook fan page for photography a good idea?

[Darin Heinz]

I think it's a great idea. If I shot more digital work, I'd be first in line to put one up.

The whole point of Facebook is for networking, and if you can manage to get your best work posted, total strangers will see it and may well contact you for a sale.

I wouldn't make the watermark too big, or too garish, as this ruins a photo more readily than anything else. I also wouldn't make the image too big, as a precaution against replication. The image size on Facebook is limited to 600 pixels on the long side. While I'm on the subject of appropriation, you should expect any pictures you upload to the Internet to be swiped. That's why I only scan and post about 1/1000 of my work, and anything I post has been cropped so that if by some chance I ended up in court, I have the bigger image on film to prove it was mine....

As far as Facebook's relicensing of your photographs, it just doesn't happen anymore. These days, they fully comply with copyright law, in the wake of past incidents which ultimately threatened to shut them down. Their privacy policies are increasingly stringent, and they acknowledge and recognize the copyright of the photographer. If one of their affiliates want to use your photo, you will get an e-mail from them beforehand requesting permission. Besides, with the way they mash up images, I wouldn't be too worried about "image theft."

So start your page. Upload samples, not the library. Join groups far away from your family and friends to maximize your networking ability. And above all, don't spend all your time online. You've always got new things to shoot!

I hope this helps! Good luck!
Darin