INSTAGRAM SUBSCRIPTIONS TO DEMIRAY ORAL PHOTOGRAPHY ARE NOW LIVE!
Location and composition guidance with enhanced bts footage, post processing videos and “edit with me” coaching and guidance, live Q&A sessions, exclusive access to new images and related content, discounts on prints, 121s and workshops, plus more…
Welcome to my subscribers offer, where I explain what you get, how it will work and the amazing value you’ll get back if you subscribe to my exclusive subscriber-only content via Instagram. Essentially I will be giving you access to all the behind the scenes information, tips, tricks, advice, guidance and knowledge that I’ve discovered and use to produce my work. The majority of this I do not share on Instagram but my work shows the art of the possible and I want to share with my subscribers how you can make it possible for you too!
How it works. If you’ve been with me this long, and enjoy the way I do things, then an IG subscription lets me bring all of this enhanced information to you via a subscriber-only tab on my IG homepage containing deeper and richer posts (including carousels or swipeys) plus more thorough narrative that I write, videos (up to 5 minutes in length) I record (posted as subscriber-only reels) focussing on processing techniques, recordings of live and interactive sessions I run only for subscribers. You will see stories I target just for subscribers too, letting you know what's coming ahead and what I will be posting next/ahead for the month, and there will be subscriber-only chat rooms and broadcast channels for me to communicate just with you. For as long as you're a subscriber you'll have access to all of this content on the subscriber tab. All the content will then help you learn and apply the knowledge and techniques I use to your own journey photography. Think of it as an interactive masterclass across the landscape photography spectrum and a place for you to learn and progress with your own journey, or just to dip in and out for help with a technique or location you’ve seen me use.
Here is a summary of what you will get by subscribing (scroll down further for a description of each and how often/how many of these content types or subscriber-only engagements I'll be running in a given month):
- Location & composition insights and guides
- Enhanced/extended ‘behind the scenes’ (bts) videos
- First/exclusive access to my newest images and related content
- Post-processing videos on tools/techniques I use
- Edit my raw and feedback
- Live Q and A sessions
- Weather/condition/seasonal alerts and guides
- Timetable for future subscriber-only content and thematic focus on content production throughout year (eg. autumn woodland, winter dawns, mist and temperature inversions)
- Regular ad hoc subscriber-only stories
- Better/extended engagement via comments on posts and DM enquiries
Why have I decided to do this? I have long wondered about why I am posting on Instagram now, does anyone really read everything I write, or watch all of the bts videos I post? I get great feedback saying my content is helpful and inspiring, but I also get asked a lot of questions I just don't always have time to answer, or that feel a little direct from someone just wanting an answer it has taken me quite some time to find out/work on/produce and create. A lot of photographers encounter this too. And we rarely give this information away. Questions like:
- Where did you take that photo?
- How did you process that image?
- Why did you choose to compose in that way?
- How do you bracket to manage exposure (and avoid use of filters)?
- What lens did you use/is that a focus stack?
- Where is it good to shoot the autumn colour?
- Have you got any good tips for shooting at the coast?
- Can you critique my images?
- What is your view on [insert topical photography subject]
- The list is endless...
As a subscriber I’ll try to answer such questions for you through the exclusive digital content I make available to you. In addition, you will get access to a growing library of information and knowledge drawn directly from the way I do things (rather than the more generic "7 top tips" regurgitated content like much of what’s on YouTube now) so you can produce similar results. I’m making this interactive too, and will be providing different ways for you to interact in person with me each month so I can give my subscribers a little bit of attention. I will give you the core information you need to solve the problems you encounter. I may provide maps that show you exactly what route you need to take that is otherwise impossible to figure out unless you’ve been there. Or I will upload short videos on post processing techniques I use, or deliver 'edit with me' sessions (sometimes live) looking in detail at my workflow in various genres. I will be working out how best to deliver post processing video content, this will never look like I’m in a movie studio but I will absolutely make sure you understand what I’m showing you in the processing programmes we all use so you can go do this for yourself afterwards.
In summary I’ll use and extend the digital content I already produce to provide you with the information and advice you need that you otherwise can’t figure out to help you get to the spot you saw me at, or take the shot you imagined, or process in the way you’d hoped.
What the subscriber service isn’t. Just to manage expectations, I am afraid the service I propose cannot become a 1-2-1 tuition service. The need to ensure all subscribers get a fair proportion of attention, and facilitated access to the digital content that will help them makes this the only viable way I can do this. I still offer workshops and 121 sessions where you will receive a truly personal and tailored experience. For subscribers, my expectation is that time and resources will facilitate occasional 3-4 message deep DM conversations but I will not be in a position for the subscription service to take the place of the workshop or 121s out in the field for particular individuals alone. The service is about making my existing unique knowledge and insight available to you through subscriber-only digital content in a way that lets you learn from it, after I have posted it, in your own time, with facilitation from me in the ways I have described.
WHAT CONTENT YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO AS A SUBSCRIBER
1. Location & composition insights and guides
For regular image posts, I'll provide more information about the location the shot was taken and other considerations that allow to try out similar compositions and techniques yourself. This will include framing considerations you may not have thought of, variations to try if the conditions or time of year are favourable, essentially a kick-starter to get you into a setting and composing new images you hadn't thought of or didn't know how. I will also supply a detailed map including parking info and hiking routes and if there are particular seasonal considerations, what weather readings to look for on given apps that make good conditions likely.
Frequency: once per month but increasing with frequency over time (and eventually most images I post will have a more detailed subscriber version all the information above included versus the very limited amount of info I put up on my current posts). I will slowly build up a library of location information and composition guides for many of my best images and as long as you’re a subscriber you’ll always have access to this, fantastic if you’re relatively new to photography and don’t know where to begin!
2. Enhanced/extended bts videos
Often, most of my IG posts have been accompanied by a short bts video to show you what it looked like to the eye for a shot I’ve just posted. It has been a become a useful way of recording shooting conditions for reference purposes and to confirm the authenticity of my images. Feedback suggests that followers find this useful to connect the image I’ve taken to the place I was at. For my subscribers you’ll get access to an extended version of the same bts where I talk through why I’ve used the settings I have, why I’ve composed in the way I have, whether I’m focus stacking or bracketing to avoid using grad filters etc and anything else that might be of use to you to take a similar shot.
Frequency: ad hoc as and when I’m out shooting but you’ll have access to the entire extended bts library (as long as you’re a current subscriber) that will grow over time as I will always record these for new shots I take and publish to my subscriber community. Finally, linked to 4 below, I will begin to record short videos also showing how I have edited images to complete the lifecycle. Be patient with me though, I tend to only process and publish my best work and this will take time to build up. Expect as a minimum one extended bts video, that also includes a 'how I processed this image' per month with the intention that most if not all subscriber-only images include this content in time.
3. First/exclusive access to my newest images and related content
Over time, I will bring my latest and best content to my subscribers first (and sometimes exclusively thereafter), with all my latest thinking on how I took the shot and processed it etc. Some of what I’d consider to be good images won’t necessarily get a huge number of likes and follows or be thus promoted by the algorithm. But I suspect in my subscribers there will be more people interested in these nuances/niche images. Indeed some of the images I get shortlisted and published in competitions and magazines are not ones if you looked at IG stats you’d think were that great! So the subscriber section might be the place for this kind of work.
Frequency: I will bring a minimum of one new image to you per month from places like Lofoten, Iceland, the Isle of Harris and the Isle of Eigg, Madeira and others I have been to but not yet processed and published images. The more the subscriber channel takes off the more I’ll bring these images to you first, and as per the other parts of the offer, with far more information and help surrounding them than I currently put up on my posts (for obvious reasons) which might help you in similar situations.
4. Post-processing videos on tools/techniques I use
There are many post processing guides and masterclasses and videos out there on all kinds of topics. I’ve found my own way through the post processing jungle, I’m not a huge YouTube watcher and I’ve never bought a masterclass or processing tutorial (apart from Greg Benz's Lumenzia). So I’ll be putting up content on specific things I do in a program, or generally on most images in short, focussed and effective content which gives you something to work with immediately. Now, I’m not trying to become famous for discovering something new, or the next luminosity masking guru, or preach to you about the technicalities of white balance or the colour balance layer in photoshop - there’s lots of people that do that already and some do it well, so go watch their videos! Sometimes I find whilst the theory sounds great, what I want to know is what does it do, does it work and how do I do it. I might not care about theory on why pixel luminosity differs from saturation. And that is what I’ll give you, the things that have worked for me, how and why, so you can try them and start using them too. Over time, you’ll get to understand my overall processing approach so you can adapt your own methods. Remember, these will all be things I do, use or have figured out, none of it will be regurgitated content from elsewhere. You’ve seen my work, so you can make your own mind up on my processing style and whether my way is one you’d like to discover more about with a view to applying it to your own work. I’ll also be asking for suggestions about which processing topics to cover next from my subscribers via polls and question box stories to understand what people struggle with the most. I can then tailor the content I post for subscribers to help you with the problems you are facing.
Frequency: once a month but increasing over time and as subscribers you’ll have access to the entire library of content.
5. Edit my raw and feedback
I’ll make available (via a download link) a raw file of a good image I’ve taken, and then 2-3 weeks later I’ll host a 40 minute live processing session where I’ll process the image and you can compare it to the way you process. I’ll open up the session to Q and A towards the end for more general processing help and tips. And you even get to keep the raw at the end of it 😃
Frequency: once a quarter.
6. Live Q and A
I’ll host a live subscriber only 40 min discussion session on IG live (sometimes on location) where you can literally ask me anything about photography and I’ll try and help! Content will sometimes be recorded and saved as a video in subscriber area as a video that shows up like a reel.
Frequency: Once every 1-2 months but far more often when I’m away on a photo trip or during high shooting seasons (eg. Autumn, heather, winter) when there’s exciting things happening and lots to talk about.
7. Weather/condition/seasonal alerts and guides
For those more local to the Peak District, or near another location I’m visiting, when I see potential weather conditions brewing I’ll also alert my subscriber group with details of what I’ve seen, on which apps, and where best to shoot it. Over time, as particular conditions present I’ll also put up guides to forecasting these events with a full breakdown on which apps I use, what specific readings to look for and how to triangulate between them. This can be applied to any location in the world where you receive weather forecasting information. Examples being temperature/cloud inversions, fire skies at dawn and dusk, misty and foggy conditions in woodland, stormy skies and associated phenomena like hail and lightening events. I have a lot of these already written and I would like to publish this useful content for my subscribers.
Frequency: ad hoc but as a minimum once a month I’ll provide a short commentary on the outlook ahead for a given week or next few days in a location near to me that gives you the heads up on interesting conditions potential I’ve spotted and crucially where best to leverage it.
8. Timetable for future subscriber-only content
At the beginning of the month I’ll put out a post or short reel talking about what’s coming up in the month ahead. What location and composition guides I plan to publish, if I’m heading out anywhere and whether you can expect some on location lives and Q&A sessions, whether there’s a theme I’ll be focussing on, what processing video ideas I have to bring to you, any requests I’ve had which I’ll try and respond to. In short it prepares you for some of the new content you’ll be getting from me that month to build on what you already have access to.
Frequency: At the beginning of each month.
9. Regular ad hoc subscriber-only stories
I will put up stories that only subscribers will see, alerting you to upcoming content, or polls to engage ask you about what content you want to see next.
Frequency: Ad hoc during the month, with similar regularity to the way I currently post stories only this time focussed on my subscribers.
10. Better/extended engagement via comments on posts and DMs
I have already talked about giving subscribers priority when I am able to reply to comments on content I post, or reply to the DM enquiries I get. We need to be realistic here, I am not offering a tailored 121 tuition service via instant messages and I will not be available all of the time to respond to such messages. Sometimes, the DM (or virtual message) medium is not best way to try and get help and what people might expect back as a quick and direct answer is simply not possible. However, whereas at the moment it is very difficult for me to justify the time needed to respond (with the level of sufficiency and quality I'd expect to receive myself) to all the messages I receive, I will try and prioritise the time I already put in to doing this for my subscribers first. So as a subscriber you will become my priority for the time I do already spend answering people in this way.
If you have made it this far, please accept my thanks for being interested and please know that I will channel my passion and love for photography into making the subscription service work for all you that are interested and support me in making it happen and keeping it going.
Thanks,
Demi.