Click play for slideshow:

To get started using Platial, here are the basic setup steps.

1.  Sign up for a platial.com account here: http://platial.com/register -After you sign up they will give you your url for your own map as well options to enter in your profile info/avatar etc.

Note: If you are on your own personal map, this will not place your locations on the place your shutter map so me sure to go to www.placeyourshutter.com to start entering on the correct map.

2.  Now that you are on Place Your Shutter, you can either start entering locations, or browse what is already there.

3.  To add a location, click  the add a marker button at the top of your page

A small menu will pop up with four options for placing your location.  By exact address, by latitude and longitude coordinates, by search, and by simply clicking on a location on the map.  All three options are very useful for our purposes, and many      locations may have more than one marker added for them in different ways.  For example, I have already placed a marker for the exact address of Disneyland in Anahiem California, but someone else may want to point to a more exact location on the grounds like a spot with the California Sign or a spot with the castle in the background.  This more exact placing will require you place the marker exactly on that spot on the map.

4.  After specifying your location, you will then need to pick an icon for the location.  I have been making the photo icon the main choice but any you wish to add will be fine.  The photo icon is the purple one highlighted here:

5.  In the next window, you will add all the information about your location.  You will give a title (i.e. Disneyland, or Princess Castle at Disneyland), a website(if any, with more specific information for the location).

You can also upload a photo to show this location.  I know there may be some hesitation to put a client photo, if that is all you have of the location. For any with this concern there is an alternative to posting a photo.  Right below the section to upload a photo is a Description section.  In this box, you can post a link to your blog post showing the pictures from the location.  This is actually my favorite aspect of the site.  Not only sharing the location information with others, put providing picture examples!  Any other location details can also be put here, like a entrance fee or permit fee, or any location tips.

Directly below the description box is a section to apply tags to the location (i.e. Garden, Park, Art)

6.  Finally click next and your location will be placed on the map!

Important question #1 Oh no, my location is already on the map and I have really important info to share about it!  What can I do?

Great question Mom!  For every location, there is a info box that pops up to the left (same spot where you entered all the location info above)

<–Here is all the location info, name address, poster, and a rating system.

<—-Next, there is a simple way to say “Hey, I’ve been here!”

<—-Description can only be altered by the original poster

<—-Anyone can upload a photo to any location, there may be a photo limit, I will have to check.  Also please be advised they are limited to very small size!

<—Next here is Comments.  This is the answer to your question!  Under comments anyone can post anything about this location.  Tips, warnings, or links to your own pictures of the site.  I hope    any photographer out there doesn’t pass up a location simply because it’s already there.  Add your photo link to the mix!

<—At the end of this menu is also an option to add more tags.

I hope this answered questions and I would love to answer more!  Please if you are into this idea, spread the link to all your photographer friends!  As I have said this is only as good of a tool as our community makes it.

WWW.PLACEYOURSHUTTER.COM

Thanks for reading,

Jen

Of course, because I think I can just do anything myself, I was set on actually creating the site and maintaining it. Crazy!  First of all, I don’t even know how do something like that.  I would spend all my time learning to create it, and no time shooting.  Yes I could have hired someone and tried to go at it that way, but I really always saw this project as very grassroots and something simple that everyone would come together to make happen.

After doing some research I came across a couple of sites that basically do all this work for you, the best of those being Platial.com.  This site provides everything from comments, tags, picture uploads, to even an Iphone app.

And thus, Place Your Shutter was born!

The actual site url is http://platial.com/map/Place-Your-Shutter-/633411, but since that name is not very catchy…I’ve directed the domain name WWW.PLACEYOURSHUTTER.COM which is much easier to remember.

I started to input locations on my own to get it started, but the real potential of this site is yet to be seen.  It is all dependant on you, my fellow photographers who love to share info and network, to take this community tool to the next level.

So now what?  Spread the link like wildfire!  Forward to your facebook, twitter, and any other photographer networks you are a part of.  If everyone were to post one location for every shoot they did, this site would grow very nicely.

I will soon be posting a tutorial and FAQ on how to use Platial.com and it’s features, and how I see it being utilized.

If you are still reading this, THANK YOU!  I truly hope this becomes a tool that every photographer can love and use.  If you have any question, suggestions, or criticisms, please comment or email me at jennifer@jenniferelainephotography.com.  Like I said I don’t see this so much as “my site” as a community site.

-Jennifer-

For our shoot, Marissa was up for anything, even climbing dirty old abandoned trains.  Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

My favorite of the day…

Thanks Marissa for letting me shoot you!

-Jennifer Elaine-