When you say you don't care, do you really mean it?

CalmNudes said

Orson Carter said 

 

 I do not care about any perceived status that goes with them. To me, the notion that an FPI gives one some sort of status is a load of spherical objects.    

I was going to draw a comparison with money (those who have a lot down play it), when your "tagged in" page lists over 600 that might be quite an easy thing to say to people who think there is status in getting them and crave a couple.  

I said perceived status. Some people seem to think that having an FPI bestows some sort of special status. I do not think that. Definitely not. As I said earlier, they're useful in that they bring a bit of extra traffic to one's profile for a little while. That's good. But my FPIs do not mean that I'm better than - or have a higher status than - anyone else in any way at all. No effing way.     

Orson Carter said

CalmNudes said

Orson Carter said 

 

 I do not care about any perceived status that goes with them. To me, the notion that an FPI gives one some sort of status is a load of spherical objects.    

I was going to draw a comparison with money (those who have a lot down play it), when your "tagged in" page lists over 600 that might be quite an easy thing to say to people who think there is status in getting them and crave a couple.  

I said perceived status. Some people seem to think that having an FPI bestows some sort of special status. I do not think that. Definitely not. As I said earlier, they're useful in that they bring a bit of extra traffic to one's profile for a little while. That's good. But my FPIs do not mean that I'm better than - or have a higher status than - anyone else in any way at all. No effing way.     

You may have your feet firmly planted on the ground, not believe your own publicity all of that.

But... when I pulled the stats a few days ago on any visit to the first FPI page in the last year there was 21%  chance of finding a picture from your portfolio there (and that excludes your tags in other ports;  this isn't your best year, and your not top of the tree - there's someone with a 47% chance). 

Perhaps it is only possible to truly appreciate how meaningless something is are when you have it in abundance, but then telling people it's meaningless makes them say "Well you can say that you've got plenty". (c.f. money). 

Not better than anyone in any way at away, forgive the pedantry but if amassing FPIs on PP is a way, then in that way I'm pretty sure you're better than the rest of the contributors to this thread. 

They must mean something to some seeing that 'FPI Count' is one of the filter options in the search tool.

Edited by StormBringer

Morph01

Quote:

"Thing is, in the great scheme of things, an FPI only really works if you are being paid, as its good advertising."

That makes sense

Margo Jost

Quote:" I think that for me I used to really care about getting FPIs but as my confidence in myself and my abilities has grown, I've less and less needed the validation from my peers that the FPI system offers so no, now I genuinely don't care, I only care about my own photographic growth."

Thanks for sharing with your honesty.

Margo Jost

Quote:" The only driving force for me is living upto my own expectations and standards of me and everything else is just noise that distracts me from my goal."

That's a great way to think.👍🏽

MaristarOxley

I didn't want to respond to this...but it was just so provocative. 🤣

I see the FPI as a vanity metric. no more than an Instagram like or

follow. When I was first here I cared about getting them. I felt that if my images were strong enough to be marketing for the site, then they would be strong marketing for myself in general.

I found myself frustrated seeing one particular photographer (and few models) getting them on a ludicrously constant basis while not seemingly having to do follow the criteria.

After talking to people my desire to get them has drifted. I'm a bit more focused on actually getting shoots...

The thing is...FPIs have given me a visual boost on my profile. After each FPI I get a variety of people viewing my port over the usual 6/7 guys that visit (no shade guys. I love that you do).

When this topic come up, the same guys come out without fail and basically state that the FPI is meaningless and folks shouldn't be bothered by them.

They're not wrong.

Yet, it's a "thing" that effectively gets more model eyeballs on my port. More than the groups. More than a casting.

They are something that don't have any value unless someone prescribes meaning to them. But the oddball nature of them means enough people attribute value to them.

And with that I gained the perfect amount to clean up my port recently...so don't give me any more.

Or do and I'll rejig my port or something.

Pies have made me rich beyond my wildest dreams ., (True) 

You know, there seems to be alot of trends happening with the rise of social media.

There was a major wave of young ladies trying to grow "big butts" because of the popularity with Nicki Minaj.

And then there's the "big lip" era , with the trends of Kim Kardasian.

And the "brows"...

What happens is you get a generation of people all looking very similar and adhering to this idea of beauty and attractiveness.

Social media is the drive.

Everything needs to look perfect and fake these days ...

I'm sure an era of individuality will follow, as once everyone becomes the same, they will all want to be different again.

The same thing happens when people strive towards the "FPI norm" ...

No doubt it will die out eventually

Edited by AshleyAshton

Edited by AshleyAshton

JonC 👍🏽

I do not care about FPI but I can understand why the models do.

And with that the models make money.

Afrofilmviewer

Glad that you decided to contribute.

Your viewpoint is valued.

You say that you have cleaned up your portfolio to show mainly your FPIs; I'm seeing more of that lately and I must say, that it makes the port look stronger.👍🏽

MaristarOxley

I had an abundance of images and didn't know what to cut.

FPIs did it for me. Managing to capture a varied range of models.

They're not necessarily my "best" images but they are the ones that supposedly work here. And people don't need to scroll for ages for refs etc.

Afrofilmviewer

It makes your Portfolio look a lot stronger and easier to get a feel for your photography style.

MaristarOxley yep. Definitely seen benefits.