Part 2 of this week’s 3 post series about social media case studies.
Tyson Crosbie is not your ordinary photographer. Since stumbling upon Twitter nearly two years ago, he’s ignored the norms and customs of commercial photography, and found a way to incorporate social media into every element of his work.
As a food photography apprentice, Tyson observed how closed and parochial photographers were about their work, and aimed to make photography an open and educational process.
Social Media Customer Acquisition
Shortly after moving to Phoenix, Tyson saw a tweet from the sublime @msherr a fixture in the Arizona social media scene who heads up social media for digital agency Terralever. She needed a new picture for use in social media, and Tyson said he could shoot it.
Crowd Sourced Product
Tyson took the best 15 photographs from the session, and uploaded them as a set on Flickr. Friends were then invited to view and comment on the photos, helping Ms. Herr determine which one to use as her avatar.
“I initially began the soft edit crowd sourcing process as a way to better educate myself and my clients about photography,” says Tyson. “Sometimes clients select photos that they probably would not have, but the positive feedback from the community can be influential.”
Building a Brand Community
Now, Tyson uses the soft edit crowd sourcing process for all business portrait photo shoots. Anyone can comment on the Flickr sets (as long as they have a free Flickr account), and the soft edit commenters have become an online community.
“There are dozens of people who comment on the photos. Some are professional photographers, but most aren’t,” says Tyson. “If they know the subject of the photo, they are more likely to comment, and some people just love the process and participate regularly.”
A Social Media Niche
Business portraits for use in social media and elsewhere make up a large portion of his commercial photography work, and he charges $500 for that service – including the soft edit crowd sourcing process. He is also an accomplished fine art photographer, and recently concluded a Local Home Exhibit whereby Phoenicians who tweeted about the project were eligible to win the opportunity to show one of Tyson’s large photos from the Phoenix 21 exhibition in their homes for one month.
When Tyson first began shooting avatars, few people were serious enough about their social media personas to consider professional photography. Now, interest in business portraits is surging. “I’ve done more than 30 business portrait sessions in the last year or so,” Tyson says. “That seems like a lot, but there are 600-700 heavy Twitter users just in Phoenix, so there’s a lot more opportunity.”
Tyson also says he has been hired for several jobs based on his name being affixed to the lower right hand corner of images he posts online.
Help Me Pick a New Me
Want to see how the soft edit process works? Since I’ve grown a beard, I recently had Tyson shoot new photos of me. The 15 candidate photos have been uploaded to Flickr. All that’s missing is your feedback. Please participate and help Tyson and me figure out what Jay Baer should look like on Twitter, on this blog and elsewhere in social media.
Good stuff. Now i feel bad, i need to get some pro-photo’s up and going.
*btw, speaking of photo’s. where do i add my avatar photo for my comment making ? Dont think this is Disqus, cause i have a disqus account
Hi Mark. Thanks very much for the comment. I use gravatar.com for this comment avatar section.
Twitter Comment
See? Greatest clients EVAR!!: [link to post] < --Check it. :)
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Twitter Comment
RT @tysoncrosbie: See? Greatest clients EVAR!!: [link to post] < --C ...
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I remember your first soft edit set, before I’d had the fortune to meet you. Now looking through this new set, I sense the growing trust between photographer and subject that opens up, and captures, deeper insights to your character and purpose. The beneficiaries are those of us who get to tap into that same trust through these images. Thanks for letting us participate!
.-= Ms. Herr / @MsHerr´s last blog ..social media connections are human connections =-.
Thank YOU for participating. Definitely you’re right. Having worked with Tyson before, I was more comfortable this time. Plus, being on my home turf helps a lot in that regard. And, I’m a lot more comfy in terms of what I’m doing and that I can do it well than I was 18 months aago.
Twitter Comment
RT @tysoncrosbie: See? Greatest clients EVAR!!: [link to post] < --Check it. :). <- Grea post from @jaybaer about the amazing Tyson!
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I like image #14. Didn’t you once tell me you kept the green shirt from your current avatar in a special place where the kids couldn’t get it dirty? What happens to it now? Does it go in a museum somewhere?
I still have the shirt. Even brought it to the shoot. Tyson convinced me to go blue. Blame him. I’ll wear the shirt for you next time I’m in NYC!
[...] Using social media to “soft edit” photos [...]
Twitter Comment
RT @MsHerr: this is open-sourcing awesomeness people! –> help the smart & engaging @jaybaer pick a new avatar [link to post] #fb
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Twitter Comment
this is open-sourcing awesomeness people! –> help the smart & engaging @jaybaer pick a new avatar [link to post]
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Niches and vision: good business !RT @jaybaer: Small business social media case study, starring photographer @tysoncrosbie http://ow.ly/Dfhc
Jay's crowdsourcing the beard photos! #mpdm RT @jaybaer Sm biz social media case study starring photographer @tysoncrosbie http://ow.ly/Dfhc
I need to pick a new avatar. Can I please count on you, the good people of Twitter, to help me choose a good one? http://ow.ly/DfjP
RT @MsHerr: this is open-sourcing awesomeness people! –> help the smart & engaging @jaybaer pick a new avatar http://ow.ly/DfjP #fb
I vote for this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tysoncrosbie/4110841887
RT @hkotadia: Crowd Sourced Photography http://bit.ly/3fwae7 #sCRM #PR #marketing #sales. I have said this to many photo sells you to buyers
Twitter Comment
The Art of Social Media – Crowd Sourced Photography
[link to post]
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Twitter Comment
he Art of Social Media – Crowd Sourced Photography [link to post] via @JoshSPeters
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RT @pattyfarmer: The Art of Social Media: Crowd Sourced Photography: Part 2/3 post series social media case studies [link to post]
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The Art of Social Media – Crowd Sourced Photography: Part 2 of 3 post series about social media case studies. [link to post]
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Hi Jay!
I’m a Romanian reader, and i found you’re blog on technorati… i must say: Great Blog man!
For the foto: I really love this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tysoncrosbie/4111608010/in/set-72157622696282747/
RT @jaybaer – Crowd Sourced Photography http://bit.ly/30l1vJ
[...] “soft” case study Interestingly enough, I read a recent blog post by prominent blogger Jay Baer, from Convince and Convert fame, on how one photographer has been [...]
Crowd Sourced #Photography – interesting post via @jaybaer : http://bit.ly/5V5TdG
The Art of Social Media – Crowd Sourced Photography | Convince & Convert News | Social Media Consulting – Convince … http://bit.ly/73VEqP
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
Crowd sourcing photography http://bit.ly/6lEZ7W
@tysoncrosbie Hey, @jaybaer pointed me to this nice proof of concept case study of yours http://bit.ly/dviPVR Have u seen continued results?