Technology Explained, Practice
Daniela Bowker
Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! ...

When you hear the term 'high-res' thrown about with such abandon when it comes to images for web use, have you ever stopped to think just how big or how high quality and image meant for the web needs to be?

Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! Saving images for the web
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring

There's an assumption that high-contrast images are more dynamic, more compelling, more inviting. Have a go at some low-contrast photography. You might surprise yourself with the results.

Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring
Feature Articles, Theory
Daniela Bowker
Seeking balance in your photos

Balance doesn't mean symmetry; it means an internal consistency and tension within your photos. And it's a vital element of composition. 

Seeking balance in your photos
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Training your photographic luck

Great photos might be down to a little bit of luck, but most of that 'luck' you make yourself. Don't believe us? Read on...

Training your photographic luck
Feature Articles, Practice
Daniela Bowker
The ups and downs and ins and outs of ...

Photographing buildings doesn't have to mean wide-angle lenses and fretting about correcting for the keystone effect. Any lens, and angle. Don't believe us? Let us show you!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of photographing buildings

photo editors

FocalPop and 'reverse stock photography'

There are a lot of reasons why photographers are interested in making some extra money these days. An obvious reason is the economy in general, which has left many of us without our day jobs and photographers with less work.

There’s also the shift towards microstock, which has made it easy for buyers to get very cheap photos while photographers’ commissions continue to get smaller. For many new photographers, it may be the case that you’ve never sold your photos and you’re not sure what kinds of things to shoot or how to go about selling your photos.

A new site called FocalPop is aiming to build an alternate marketplace for photography that that shakes things up a bit.

Here’s how it works:

  1. People seeking photos fill out a detailed request on www.focalpop.com
  2. Photographers are notified of new requests and can submit their photos if they fit the bill
  3. The seeker selects a winner and that photographer gets paid the request.

The idea is to give photographers more information about what buyers want, when they want it, and how much they’re willing to spend. It’s free to sign up and anyone can participate in the photo requests. Photographers can upload photos they already have or shoot new work providing just what they buyer wants. The best part is that the commissions are high, starting at 70%, and FocalPop has a suggested pricing tool to ensure the buyers are pricing their requests fairly.

FocalPop is celebrating its official launch this week, after a three month beta period that began this fall. Looking at all the photos uploaded to the site during beta, it appears that quite a few photographers are interested in this kind of solution. What remains to be seen is if the photo editors of the world have the time to wait for custom photos, or if they’d rather just get their photos off a regular stock photography site…