Many people have asked what’s going on with me professionally, so here is the announcement. On Monday, June 1, 2010 I launched my own company – GRT2 Studios, LLC.

GRT2 Studios is a Digital Marketing Agency that specializes in creating relevant digital content that gets brands noticed. We actually do more than that, we help brands rise above the noise and clutter of the digital world.

As part of our business model we offer Photography / Video Services. Commercial product photography, event photography, music photography and studio photography along with various video applications. Not everything is suited for my photography or video style, so I am partnering and collaborating with local photographers and videographers who specialize in different subject matters.

We are a conduit of creativity, collaboration and connection by being Digital Content Agents.

GRT2Studios.com is still in its infancy and will be up 100% by next week. In the interim, please email me any questions at grt2@grt2studios.com or leave them in the comments section. This blog is not going away and will continue to be a hub of photography information and observation. Thanks everyone for the support.

In my last post I touched on my use of Social Media as a tool to get my work out to the public. The next day I read a great blog post by Valeria Maltoni discussing how she participates in Social Media. (Complete article can be found on Valeria’s blog by clicking here) She wrote:

“You cannot be expected to know what my settings are on each network. If I don’t give you a reference point, you will likely use your own settings as context. It’s not fair to you, nor it is to me.”

I wanted to step back a moment and outline the five Social Media Networks that I use and let everyone know what to expect from me. Outline My Rules of Engagement in Social Media.

FACEBOOK: I have two facebook pages. I use one for photography and the other is personal. My Facebook Photography page is an outlet for me to interact with people who have questions or want to know a little more about me. Also like my blog, I try to highlight other artists, photographers and musicians. It’s a quick easy way for me to push out messages or to post a quick link to a photograph I just shot. My personal Facebook page is a place where I do whatever I want to do and the people I know have come to expect that of me.

TWITTER: My username on twitter is @grtaylor2 and it is the place where my messaging is the most inconsistent. I will push out shortlinks to my photos, my blogposts, my friends blogposts or my tweets will be conversational in nature. Sometimes, I will tweet something that I find amusing and sometimes I will tweet about someone who is making me crazy. The main themes for my tweets are: photography, music, marketing topics, current events and issues relevant to my city – Tempe, AZ. I try hard to add value with most of my tweets to my followers but I admit sometimes I do tweet the inane. If you follow me on Twitter please let me know if my tweets ever get too inane and I become “That Guy”.

(TWITTER Update 3/19: I like the #followfriday thing. Over the time I have used twitter I have started to follow many people who were recommended through the #followfriday phenomenon. My #ff policy is to push out only one follow friday tweet per week.  All recommendations will be from one vertical or with like interests. This way I feel like I am adding value to the conversation and to the folks who follow me.)

YOUTUBE: The videos I post on my blog are hosted on YouTube – I use this network mostly as a media library. If you subscribe to my You Tube Channel you should expect music videos, my FOCUS web series and maybe some travel stuff. I tend to not get very personal on YouTube. And of course I do love watching funny videos on YouTube- so if you know of any great one please send me a link. (Here is a link to my favorite)

FLICKR: I post my non contracted photography to Flickr. My photography typically falls in the categories of: Concert Photography, Landscape Photography and Portrait Photography (there is some architectural photography mixed in but that’s not the norm for me.) I brand almost all of my photos and I post them under the creative commons license. If you want to use any of my work for non commercial purposes please feel free to – just properly attribute the photo. I try to foster collaboration as much as possible and for that reason I make all of my EXIF properties public. Please comment with questions etc.

That pretty much covers My Personal Rules of Engagement For Social Media. I want to interact with everyone as much as possible but I wanted to let you know what your getting into. Please know that I will not be offended if at any time you decide to unsubscribe to my blog or stop following me on Twitter. (NOTE: I am an eternal optimist so please don’t expect a lot of Doom & Gloom from me.)

In a nutshell, my use of Social Media focuses on: making connections, helping others make connections, learning and staying informed. How are you using Social Media or maybe more importantly why are you using Social Media? Leave a comment, leave a question – let’s discuss…

Let me clarify…how do you get your photos viewed? Do you care about it?

I take photographs because I like capturing an image or moments. I’ve never been concerned about art for commercial sake but I do like people viewing my work. I’ve never had an exhibit (though I do have one planned) and I’ve never been in any photography shows but I have had my photos seen by the public. How? Through the use of Social Media.

I am a bit of a Social Media nerd…there I said it. Through various Social Media efforts I have had people whom I admire and respect view, critique, hate and/or compliment my work. I post photos to Flickr, tweet about them and I have my Flickr stream automatically update my personal Facebook page. To me as someone who is making a name for myself these are very powerful tools.

I guess I could have taken a more conventional route – I could have called a curator for photo exhibits and submitted my work. But why? The power of social media allows me to interact with people who in many cases I don’t even know their real name – but  value their feedback. Social Media has allowed me to “push” out my photographs to people in my virtual network and have them tell their circles about my work. Real people and many times to people I haven’t even met. The power of Social Media is amazing when put to proper use...

My Question To You…

Is Social Media an important tool for you to get your work seen? Do you care if no one ever sees your work? Is this a topic worth exploring here – Social Media and The Photographer?

To view my complete photography portfolio please visit www.grtaylor2photo.com