Great News for Photographers
Finally there is some great news for photographers that is breathing fresh life into the photography world! It’s easy to see that video keeps gaining momentum as the preferred way to deliver content. Thankfully Motion Art is blowing up right now on Social Media, and advertisers are finally taking notice. Looping videos, also know as Plotagraphs as well as Cinemagraphs, are a great way to breath life into traditional still photos.
However, Plotagraphs are different than Cinemagraphs. For example, a Plotagraph starts with a still image that is animated and a Cinemagraph starts out with a video that is masked in certain areas and then made into a loop. Plotagraph was created with the mission to help photographers compete in the fast growing field of video, whereas Cinemagraph’s focus is on helping videographers create short form video.
With my involvement in field of Motion Art over the past several decades, I have lately been seeing a big trend from artists and brands who are now using these mesmerizing loops. This trend is definitely here to stay with a lot of room for future growth.
Photographers who already use these techniques are hesitant to give away their secret formulas because this has traditionally given them a competitive edge. Historically, Photographers have been hesitant to get involved in motion art because of the sometimes difficult learning curve of video files. Photographers sometimes have a hard time moving past .PSD’s, TIFS, and JPG’s.
The latest Plotaverse App now makes it easy to animate because the file formats are automatically done for you. Plotaverse tools help solve the long time big obstacle for photographers, which is now no longer an issue. Not all photos are meant to be animated but sprinkling in Motion Art into your website or Social media posts will definitely make your creative content stand out.
For instance, a lot of established wedding and portrait Photographers I know will include one or two Plotagraphs in their packages, which turns out being highlights that customers use in their social media. It can also be a lot of fun to animate old images and repurpose them to Plotagraph. Seeing that classic image you have brought to life can be exciting.
I have personally animated work for well-known photographers from around the world, with reactions to these loops ranging anywhere from surprise, to even a few tears when they see their images come to life. They note that the effects of the loops somehow evokes a mood identical to the original scene of the photo they shot. It doesn’t matter whether it was yesterday or fifty years ago. If there are organic elements, texture or hard lines a photo can be brought to life and animated in a relatively short period of time.
Another technique that can be a lot of fun morph multiple images together. This works great for portrait photographers as well as beauty and fashion photographers who want to stand out.
It has only been a few years since websites and social channels have begun to support short form looping videos. Today, Motion Art is now considered an industry standard and is supported by all the major platforms. Swiping or scrolling past still images is now easier than ever. The name of the game is dynamic content because it is the most effective way for photographers to catch the viewers’ eye and engage them. The next time you scroll through Instagram or Facebook keep an eye out for these dynamic images. They are sure to catch your eye.
For more information check out my recent tutorials exclusively for the KelbyOne Community. They are hands down the best and most detailed that I have ever done on the Plotaverse suite of dynamic apps. Check out the Plotaverse in MAC, PC, or iOS with over seven hundred thousand samples of some of the worlds best motion artists.
You can see more of Troy’s work on Plotaverse, and keep up with him on Instagram and Twitter.
