Flattr buttons can be placed on any website; Tomas van Houtryve reached out to several photography platforms that had previously highlighted his work, particularly the project titled "Secrets and Lies." He provided them with HTML code to integrate his Flattr button, which makes it easy for users to contribute.
On August 20, 2007, an attendant was seen near the tracks as a metro train arrived at the station in the subway of Pyongyang, North Korea. This captures a moment from the "Secrets and Lies" series, with credits to Tomas Van Houtryve/VII Photo.
Emphas.is
Launched in early 2011, this platform focuses on crowd-funding photojournalism. Emphas.is seeks creative proposals from photojournalists, evaluates them, and selects the most compelling works to promote for financial backing from the public.
Founders Tina Ahrens and Karim Ben Khelifa note on their website that the audience for Emphas.is extends beyond photography enthusiasts. They aim to engage individuals concerned about the issues highlighted by photojournalists. The success of crowdfunding in other sectors suggests that photojournalism also has a significant base ready to support it financially with the right encouragement.
The concept of effective crowdfunding revolves around a broader interpretation of ownership and building lasting, engaging relationships between creators and supporters. Ahrens and Ben Khelifa offer exclusive access to top photographers selectively chosen by a panel of industry experts. Initially, images will only be available to supporters, while photographers retain the freedom to share them as they wish. Emphas.is will not claim ownership of any photographs.
The founders aim to provide funders with direct involvement in the photographers’ experiences and images.
“Supporters will have a private communication channel with the photojournalist while they travel and work in real-time,” Ben Khelifa explained via email. “This introduces new innovative elements to journalism, including transparency. Instead of simply reading about an event later, Emphas.is allows you to understand the thought processes involved before the work is published. This empowers the public to act as gatekeepers of news.”
Emphas.is is refining the more general crowdfunding models for journalism initiated by nonprofits like Spot.Us, tailoring it specifically for photojournalism. Dave Cohn, the founder of Spot.Us, supports this adaptation.
“Having worked alongside photographers, I’ve realized they consider themselves a distinct category of reporter,” Cohn remarks. “Their artistry is closely tied to their medium, which directly influences their business strategies. While connecting text articles or videos is straightforward, photography presents its own unique challenges.”
The issues photographers face in the digital landscape often stem from a sense of powerlessness once their images are shared online. A single photograph can be mischaracterized by its caption or the context in which it’s placed, a situation not as prevalent with video content. Platforms like Vimeo and YouTube enable video creators to control the embedding of their work.
“Emphas.is must ensure that its presentation is user-friendly for the audience,” Cohn advises. “While creating scarcity can be important, there’s a delicate balance between making content appealing and overly restrictive.”
In conclusion, both Flattr and Emphas.is are still far from generating income comparable to a sustainable living wage, but they do hold promise for complementing the diverse income strategies that journalists and creatives may pursue in the future.
How do you perceive these emerging funding models impacting the financial landscape for photographers?
In a separate note, pilgrims gather at the airport in Dushanbe to welcome friends and family returning from Hajj. © Carolyn Drake, an award-winning photographer who supports Emphas.is.