Adding a photo to a twitter post greatly increases the number of people who take the time to read your message, and reply or retweet it.
A good photo plus a good caption can produce a brilliant result.
And the two together can convey so much more than one or the other on their own (especially relevant, as tweeters only have 140 characters for messages.)
However, on the internet, illegal use of images is rife. Most people think they’ll never be caught or they don’t even bother giving it a second thought.
You don’t care? Consider this. Would you want your farm photograph used in an animal rights organisation’s campaign? Or in an overseas company’s ad campaign, without consent or payment?
These things do happen.
For these reasons, it is wise to always watermark images you’re putting online (unless of the most mundane nature. Eg I don’t normally bother watermarking the photos I tweet of supermarket fruit & vege signage and pricing.) Bear in mind that the message you wrote and tweeted in conjunction with your image, can be easily altered or ommitted altogether, by others. So include a fail-safe identifier on your image – ie a watermark.
Watermarking photographs:
- Photos can be watermarked via expensive photo management software such as Lightroom and Photoshop – but also via free mobile phone apps, such as ‘iwatermark’.
- Yes watermarks can be tedious to add.
- Yes watermarks detract from the appearance of great images; they are irritating.
- Yes watermarks are easy for thieves to remove.
- And yes, in Australia copyright protection is automatic (as soon as creative work is made, it is protected by law). So watermarking is not necessary for legal reasons, in Australia. (Although it is, in some other countries.)
But watermarks are not ego trips or just sales pitches for people wanting to sell their images. They help identify where an image was taken, when it was taken, exactly what it was taken of, as well as who took it. And unless deliberately removed, watermarks stay on.
Watermarks help educate those who see the photo, because anyone wanting more information can easily use Google to find you. Even if the photo has been retweeted around the planet days, weeks, months or even years later (it does happen), and your twitter account name long since disassociated with the tweeted image.
If you’re tweeting about agriculture, with the aim of providing information to help others unfamiliar with your industry and what you do, then enabling people to follow up for more information is eminently sensible.
Watermarks do deter image thieves; because it shows that the photographer cared enough to bother watermarking it and that there is a possibility the photographer would pursue illegal users. And the thief cannot claim they didn’t know the image wasn’t a ‘royalty free’ photograph or an ‘orphan work’ (untraceable ownership).
I recommend watermarking with your name & country; or website or blog address; or social media account name – so it’s very easy for people to find you. Bear in mind – your name alone is not sufficient, as there are multitudes of people worldwide who share the same name.
Twitter photo subjects:
- Before putting any images online, double check there are no details that could be misinterpreted. If you tweet a photograph of very poor livestock due to drought, for example, you may well receive tweets from animal rights extremists. And they won’t be asking for further details or offering you hay! They shoot first, and never ask questions. Obsessives can be hellbent on finding fault, so don’t make it easy for them to criticise agriculture and farmers.
- I never tweet photographs of family members. Twitter is public, it’s worldwide, and it’s instant. I wouldn’t have wanted my mother posting photos of me online at all, so I stick to the same “do unto others” principle with my children. Some people also use their kids in photographs because of a ‘cute’ factor; each to their own, but not my cup of tea, especially on a public social media account. (In fact I don’t put photographs of my sons online anywhere. I left it until they were old enough to D.I.Y. I believe it should be up to them – they have a right to privacy – and when young, they’re not old enough to make an informed choice, as they don’t understand the possible ramifications.) And be very careful if you’re putting photographs of other people’s children online (if they’re feature subjects, eg not unidentifiable figures in the distance). No matter how innocous it seems or how private you think your social media account settings are. You should at the very least seek the permission of the parents.
- As a courtesy, always ensure that any photographs you put on social media of other people, are flattering. It’s a good idea to check with other people before tweeting a photo of them, if there’s any doubt. Go beyond ‘do unto others’; because what mightn’t bother you, might bother someone else. It is surprising there hasn’t been more legal action, in this department.
Image subject & quality:
- Portrait (vertical) images can be effectively tweeted as well as landscape (horizontal). Just be aware that when images appear in someone’s tweet stream, they’ll only usually see the top and bottom of the image if they click on it. So, try as much as possible, to have the most important/most interesting part of the photo subject in the centre of the photograph, so that nobody misses it.
- Do try to ensure the horizon is dead straight. If your phone camera has the option to show a grid in the screen, then turn it on. It’s a great help! I often take photographs without my reading glasses on, so I use the grid’s line across the centre to try to keep my horizons level.
- Late-model iphones and some other phones have the ability to adjust the image exposure, by lengthening or shortening the exposure process. Being able to under or overexpose photos makes a huge difference to the end result. If your phone camera doesn’t have that option, moving the camera slightly to include more of a very bright or a very dark surface, can get the phone camera to adjust the exposure time so you get results more like what you’re aiming for.
Making the best of your tweeted images:
If you write a message in the twitter app and attach an image, the image will automatically appear in the twitter feed your followers see.
If you attach an image that is located in another app, such as Instagram, it will not appear in your followers twitter feed. Instead it will just be a link that has to be clicked in order to reveal the photo. Most people won’t bother clicking the link so will not see your photograph. I.E., the very best way to ensure as many people as possible see your photograph, when scrolling down through their twitter feed, is to take the photograph on your phone and attach it directly to the tweet, not via a 3rd party app that twitter is trying to discourage people from using.
Original photos:
If you value your reputation and want to have the best twitter account that you can manage, never tweet someone else’s photograph unless you’ve made it clear it’s taken by someone else – and name who the photographer is. I think people are becoming more discerning regarding valuing original content, rather than accounts which just trawl around looking for other people’s words and photos to tweet out. (Although I am an eternal optimist!). And it’s always best to credit sources, whether it’s images or words.
On a personal note:
When I’m on the job, the camera I use takes large-file, high resolution photos (for books, magazine and newspaper articles, framed artworks, commercial use, etc). These professional quality photos are not put online. Apart from a tiny number of photos on my website, the only photos I put online are those taken on my phone, which are relatively small files (simple to watermark on the spot; quick and easy to upload; and less likely to be used by anyone without permission); and not such good quality (hopefully one day phone cameras will have fantastic light meters – but not yet!).
Note: The majority of this blog post was written in February 2015. It has since been updated, and the above info is current as at March 2015.
Summary of blog posts with tips on how to best use Twitter:
- Why should farmers and other people in agribusiness, be on Twitter? Explanation of what farmers would get out of being on Twitter.
- How to get started on Twitter 1/4 Basic step-by-step information on how to set up a Twitter account and start using it.
- Using Twitter – the finer points 2/4 Once you have had a bit of a poke around Twitter, I recommend reading my second how-to-use-Twitter information blog post, as it has information on Retweeting, avoiding problems etc.
- Tips on writing tweets well 3/4 These tips help you to condense information, so your tweet message is clearer.
- Photos on Twitter 4/4 Tips on tweeting photos – watermarking photos, some issues to consider etc.
- Twitter policy re followers & following This outlines the thinking behind managing who I follow and who follows me, which many people in the bush would find useful. It has some important points – for example, the importance of ensuring you’re following legitimate accounts, and checking who is following you.
- Twitter – how to avoid dodgy accounts Some tips on how to identify – and thus avoid – fake and spam accounts.
- How to maximise Twitter use at rural events (a conference, congress, field day etc)