Getting Paid for Street? What the deuce? Is that a typo Adam?
Well no. Apparently not.. Let’s take a closer look.
I promised a bit of soap box ranting here in Adam’s Street, well OK I alluded to the possibility of a bit of ranting… hey I’m not very tall, I’m allowed to stand on boxes sometimes 😀
As I’ve mentioned before… Street photography has little to no commercial application. Sure you may score a show, and sell some work (I’ve done this), perhaps you’ll build a brand and sell e-books and/or workshops (I’ve not even tried to be honest), but frankly if you’re looking to cash in on your street work, don’t expect to dine out on the proceeds very often.
Instead we all tend to share our work on social media, or we start our own blogs/websites. On the one hand social media and personal web space is a fantastic way to connect with a colossal number of people around the globe, a true platform to share your visions and ideas…
….but in another equally real sense these outlets are making the owners of Instagram (etc) and WordPress (etc) into very wealthy people, while you’re stuck at home putting up the content that helps bring in their money and paying off your last GAS attack from your credit card.
It is what it is. (I say that a lot in real life btw!) That’s how it works hate the game, not the players / sup it up buttercup or whatever phrase you wish to use to describe such things!
But there’s a person (hopefully more than one) out there doing something a little different…
I encountered Alex Coghe (Personal Website) on facebook, via his group Street Photographer Notebook Community
The mission statement is:
Welcome, street photographer! Feel you free to share your street photos here. This is the embassy on facebook of THE STREET PHOTOGRAPHER NOTEBOOK, the magazine that since 2014 is the international showcase for street photographers worldwide and the only editorial project paying the street photographers featured on the issues. We are building a worldwide community of street photographers sharing photos and experience. Thanks to be here!
That’s a big, huge thing in my opinion….
Someone soliciting content and offering to pay a cut of the sales to the folks that actually took the pictures.
If you’d like to find out more, please click on this link: Street Photographer Notebook
I’ve been speaking with Alex, who was gracious enough to share a couple of copies of the magazine, he sent me the first issue and the very latest. This helped me to see the growth of his format.
To begin with the magazine was a fairly standard format with ad content from companies. But lately the magazine has become devoted to image content. If you can imagine going to a photography exhibition at a gallery, then the magazine follows a similar dynamic.
Text content is at a minimum and photo content is at an maximum. The work of the featured photographer(s) takes all the page space. Virtually anything that’s not a street photo or a brief piece of text about the photographer is conspicuous only by its absence.
OK Adam, I get it – I know how the world turns, so you post this and in return Alex features you; quid pro quo and all that right?
No, not at all. Alex made a general request for exposure via Facebook and having visited his website I was immediately engaged by his quirky concept of actually paying people 🙂
I am seriously considering making a submission, and so should you after all, why the hell not…?
I think we can’t have an Adam’s Street with no photo…. So here’s an old fav of mine (you of course may hate it) that I think ties in with todays post.
A Closer Look
Until next time!
Cheers
Adam
======================================
See more of my work on Instagram and Flickr
======================================
A lot of time and effort goes into this site.. Hopefully it’s helped you? Perhaps you’d consider helping me?
One way you could help me is if you want to buy from Amazon, if you do so using the links below, then I will receive a small percentage of your expenditure, and you will pay NO MORE than you would have paid anyway.
Shop at Amazon USA
Fujifilm X-Pro2
Shop at Amazon UK
Fujifilm X-Pro2
If there’s a different product you’re considering, then perhaps you’d drop me a line and I can send you an associate link for it?
Another way you could help, is by making a donation. The donate button can be found on the link below
Thank You Very Much!
======================================
Adam Bonn Fotografia 