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Press Release: The Rise of the Image-Conscious Brit

Nikon research reveals desire for instant sharing of 'Personal Brand'

Amsterdam, 28 September 2009

Research released today by Nikon reveals that Brits are seizing control of their 'Personal Brand' - the way in which they wish other people to perceive them - as they are taking and sharing images online. The study shows that with a quarter (24.7%) of us taking between 25-100 photos per month, we no longer want to share these images purely in an intimate way - and now want to show them faster and more publicly.

Jeremy Gilbert, Nikon, comments: "Crowding around a photo book or a camera screen isn't enough for most of us anymore when it comes to sharing photos - we want to instantly share our personal brand in a bigger way. That's why Nikon has created a completely new form of showing photos - 'Projectography'. It's the art of immediately displaying images and thus, your personality, through projection. And we've just created the perfect way to do this with the world's first compact camera with integrated projector, the Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj."

Building a Personal Brand
The study of 12,259 people living in 12 countries shows that building and protecting our personal brand has become of paramount importance as we choose to share our photos in a wide and growing range of ways. Half (46.8%) of the pictures Europeans, and over a third (35.7%) of the images Brits take are now posted online, but we're choosing to be selective about what these photos say about us.

For example, 16.8% of us will ask friends to remove photos that we don't like and some even insist on approving any image of ourselves before it gets anywhere near the internet. And when it comes to the ultimate control of our personal brand, 7.1% choose to 'do it themselves' and take self-portraits.

Celebrated photography and culture scholar, Martin Lister, comments: "The camera screen is like a scaled down version of a photographic album page - always something only to be looked at by small groups of people clustered intimately together. On the other hand, there is a tradition of the projected photograph - indeed, the projected image which is altogether more spectacular with its enlarged luminescent images available to larger groups of viewers."

Becoming share-aware
It seems that people are turning to common sense when trying to protect how others view them. A third (33%) of Brits will only share a selection of their images online.

Lister explains: "The photographs that many of us take, especially younger generations, are no longer kept safe within the family or personal album, to be got out only in the presence of close friends and relatives. Now, once online, our photographs enter a semi-public space. Here it is not the family that is the consuming and viewing unit but extended peer groups and networks of loosely connected people."

The new rules
Nikon has linked-up with the etiquette experts, Debrett's, to develop some simple 'Photo 'Netiquette':

1.    Don't post embarrassing pictures of other people without their permission.
2.    Ensure that you are happy for the pictures you choose to be on the web for all to see.
3.    Remember that your boss, family and friends may look at your pictures, so don't post any inappropriate images.
4.    Don't endlessly post pictures of yourself - you'll come across as self-obsessed, rather than interesting.
5.    Think about the impact your photos will have on other people before you share them.

Jo Bryant, etiquette advisor for Debrett's, comments: "It is important to remember good netiquette when sharing your photos online. Always treat others with kindness and respect, so consider peoples' feelings before posting pictures - put yourself in their shoes before clicking 'upload'."

What are Europeans taking photos of?
•    Travel and landscapes are the most popular subjects, with 68.3% of Europeans taking images of the world around them. Poles (83.5%) and Greeks (80%) top the league with people living in the Netherlands (56.5%) and the UK (59.4%) least likely to choose this subject matter.
•    Closely following travel and landscapes are pictures of family at 61.3%. Three quarters of Russians (74.2%) and 67% of Norwegians favour the family photo. However, people living in the UK and the Netherlands aren't so keen, with 49.4% and 48.6% respectively.
•    Pictures of friends also come in the top three most photographed in Europe (55.9%). Russians and Norwegians also take the most photos of their friends (73% and 67.9% respectively) with people from the Netherlands (38%) and the UK (37.6%) taking the fewest pictures of their mates.

Weird and wonderful facts
•    Which nation is the most self-obsessed? According to the study, it's Russians who will take most pictures of themselves (34.2%) closely followed by Austrians with 24.9%. At the other end of the scale, only 8.6% of French and 5.6% of British people take self-portraits.
•    For 7.5% of Europeans, it's the intimate and erotic that appeals - with Russians (14.4%) and Greeks (11.9%) topping the naughty league by taking cheeky photos. People living in the UK and Sweden are having none of it though, with what could be considered a prudish 2.8% and 4.6% respectively taking intimate snaps.

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