In a digital era, everyone is a producer of their own content and it’s becoming increasingly easy to display your work online. For budding photographers, there’s the option to create your own website to display your portfolio of work, however this is usually a pricey method which requires regular maintenance. Picfair can solve this, by providing a free alternative where they do most of the work for you.
What is Picfair?
Picfair is a free online platform dedicated to supporting and encouraging new photographers by connecting them directly to potential customers. These include the global community as well as companies such as The Guardian, National Geographic, and even Google. It works in competition with Shutterstock and Getty images while providing less exclusive licensing for photographers. Therefore, there’s no need to be a professional to use their services; simply pick up your camera or phone and give it a try!
So, what’s the catch?
Surprisingly, there isn’t one. Picfair prides itself on believing that, regardless of skill level, everyone and anyone should be able to sell their images online. It’s simple to use and completely free, hence the 35,000 photographers using its global network.
How does it work?
After having signed up for an account – simply by using your email address and making a password, you are encouraged to provide basic details and a description of yourself in order to personalize your profile. Then, you can get started with uploading your images. Each image will need a title, a brief description and tags. The tags, similar to networks like Instagram, are the most important element. These are used to match up with the searches made by customers – they can use the tags to follow and view the themes of images they like. Once this is done, hit upload and ta-dah! You have your very own Picfair profile and a marketplace for your photos. You can even pick and choose how much you’d like to sell your images for, in both digital and physical form. It’s all up to you.
What images should you upload?
For obvious reasons, selfies and photos showcasing intoxicated nights out aren’t quite what customers will be looking for, but other than that, you have free reign over the images you choose to display. Whether it’s portrait photography, landscapes or nature and animals, Picfair welcomes new content with open arms. There are also regular competitions on the site, for example this month’s ‘Women Behind the Lens’ competition, highlighting the work of women to Picfair’s global audience.
Do you have to be a professional?
Not at all! Picfair is majorly built out of amateur photographers, so anyone can make an account and benefit from its services without the pressure of having years upon years of experience. It even accepts photos taken on your phone!
So, the next time you’re taking a stroll through Singleton Park, Swansea Bay or the Gower, keep in mind you could be profiting from your photos. You as students can benefit from the click of a button, and it’s really as easy as that!
Where can you sign up?
You can sign up on Picfair’s website: www.picfair.com.
For any further questions, visit their FAQ page: https://support.picfair.com/hc/en-us.
Want to be a contributor to the Photography section or even share photos you have added to Picfair, then please email the editor at: waterfrontphotography@swanseastudentmedia.com
by Amy Mitchell
