Definition: Photoblog

I was just checking out some nice blogs over at Photoblogs.org, when the interesting question came up: What defines a Photoblog?.

And it brought up some very interesting points in my head, because I never really thought about what a photoblog was all about. And, contrary to those hippie anarchists that apparently dominate the comments over there, I don't fully buy into this "It should be whatever you want to define it to be" crap. If that were the case, why even bother calling it a Photoblog? Why not Fotoblog, BlogPhoto, FotoJournal, or TunaSandwich for that matter?

Because Photoblog carries a meaning, a generally accepted meaning, that is deep and ingrained enough to inspire flame mail (What is this, 1999?) should one even suggest articulating that meaning, or worse, defining it in a way that does not fit with your worldview.

But what DOES it mean? I think the article brings up some interesting questions.

1. Do you have to post everyday (or at least very frequently) to call your site a photoblog?

I think this is key. Perhaps daily posting is not necessary, but the biggest difference between a blog and a regular homepage (circa 1999) is the regular updates, in a continuous manner. The same rules that govern the definition of a weblog should be equally applied to a photoblog. Personally, I always strive for daily posting, but at the very least, monthly posting is a must. Otherwise it's just another dead site taking up disk space.

2. Should you take a photo a day and post it that day to call your site a photoblog? Or is saving up photos and posting them in other future days alright?

I had always assumed the latter was the case, but upon consideration, perhaps that is a bit disingenuous. Again, my guide is what would apply to blogs. While writing up quick stories of things that all happened in the past would be OK for a while, it would simply not hold up in the long run. There needs to be some current narrative, if only to place the posts into the context of daily life.
So now I've switched to trying to take a few pics a day, and posting one of the set on my photoblog daily. When there's nothing I'm really satisfied with, I'll pull something from the archive that somehow relates to what I was doing or thinking that day.

3. Are photoblogs supposed to show your daily life, or is the aim to take a 'pretty' shot daily that doesn't generally have anything to do with your day?

This was the most thought provoking question for me.

At first I came at this as a outlet for my photography hobby. A place to showcase the best crap I could come up with using my little point and shoot. But if it's all about the pretty pictures, it really doesn't have much to do about me personally. I suppose one can (and very often does) argue that a photographer's selection of pictures to take, and then to display, says something profound about his or her personality. But I've often seen that argument as more of a cop-out then a truely rational line of thought. And besides, it doesn't really provide enough of a distinction between a Photoblog and a portfolio is blog style. But then, who says a portfolio done in blog style isn't a photoblog?

I do. A photoblog, like a weblog, isn't a style, it's an expression of thought and emotion. So, much to my chagrin, I'm making subtle changes to my photo taking and selection methods. I'm not going to spend my life looking for cool things to photograph, I'm going to photograph my life, only in a really cool style. Sure, I'll occasionally post a pretty pic from my collection, especially on slow days, as this hobby is an important part of my life. But the main goal will be to keep the focus on capturing really nice shots of my life. If I want a portfolio, I'll build one of those later (probably using the same blogging tools, they're very good), and call it what it is: a Portfolio.



So there you have it. My thoughts on photoblogging. Agree or disagree, these will be the new guidelines of this humble little site.