Hi All,

I’m new to this site but was told I should post my idea here (I’ve posted it on sportsshooter.com)

I’m pretty over the way the editorial industry is going and these ‘lock outs’ we are seeing at sporting events has been the final nail in the coffin for me. Not to mention WFH contracts etc etc etc. I pretended for years that if I just didn’t sign them they wouldn’t effect me, but alas, I was wrong they and effect all of us now and even more so in the future.

I’m proposing what I see as a very simple solution. We use the technology available to us to create a website for all freelance photographers, our own agency, bringing everybody together in one location. This is the big advantage the agencies have over the independent photographer, photo buyers don’t have time to search thousands of website in the hope that somebody has shoot XYZ. This way they can come to one place and find out. Told you it was simple.

You get to keep your copyright, resell your images and profit from it, fee’s associated with running the agency are payed by everybody according to how much your using (all these things are open for discussion). Apart from that its going to be like any other agency. A place to display photos and license usage. I think alot of photographers have lost focus of the big picture, we are the content providers, companies such as these agencies don’t even have a product without us let alone the ability to create contracts that lock us out. Without images these agencies that exist today couldn’t survive, why have we allowed them to turn the industry around so much so that alot of photographers think without these agencies they are nothing? Lining up to give your images to somebody to license for 1/2 what you would license them yourself just so you can get 50% of it seems alittle crazy to anybody but your average editorial photographer, why is that? Everybody else knows what our work is worth why don’t we?
Now of coarse there are a few teething issues and things to consider so a bunch of photographers have just started a group to discuss it and figure out how it will work and we would like to invite you to join if you share the same dreams and nightmares.

If your interested please email me at stefanp@dodo.com.au and I’ll send you an invite to the discussion.
Cheers!