Say you created an awesome photograph and you wanted to share it with the world, what would you do, post it Instagram and Facebook and wait for the like and shares to roll in? Unfortunately, social media doesn’t work that way. Sure there may be in influx of likes and share at first, but without the legwork, it will be lost in the sea of visual media.

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When it comes to people finding your work, some think having the right hashtag or posting it at the right time of day will get the most interaction; those methods can achieve short term success. Simply creating it and putting  it out there for itself doesn’t make you successful. Putting your images out in the world in only half of the work required. Chase Jarvis knows a thing or four about the conundrum and answers the question that many struggle with, “How Do I Network?”.

Jarvis explains that photography, like anything worthwhile, is a long game and overnight success is not going to happen. Every “overnight success” story you ever heard of probably has at least five years of hard work behind it. Persistence, patience, and hard work are the key to success.

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Actively participating in forums and online communities helps gain your credibility with others – when you post work to say the SLR Lounge Photography Community on Facebook, explaining how you got the shot helps others know what you are talking about is on such. You can’t do it for a few day and stop; it can take years to build up that community and following.