Ourspot Helps Amateurs and Enthusiasts Monetize Their Photographic Talents
The advent of smartphone photography and the drop in price of entry-level SLRs have, together, introduced many people to the wonderful world of photography. Ourspot, a new marketplace for buying and selling photographic talent, is targeted at this growing population of enthusiasts and amateurs.
If you live in San Francisco (and soon Los Angeles and New York as well) and you count photography as one of your pursuits, you can create an account with Ourspot, upload a portfolio, and start signing up to shoot events that people are posting. For a limited time, photogs that sign up will even get free business cards:
The idea was put together by co-founder (and seller) of ad mediation start-up AdWhirl, Sam Yam, and is meant to create a marketplace for clients who want to hire someone to capture more casual events (e.g. picnics) and the amateurs and enthusiasts who would be interested in actually doing that work.
As Yam puts it:
There are a lot of people who are into photography, but they might not have the means to be a professional or market themselves. I just wanted to create an opportunity for them to put their work out.
Prices for events will range from “free” to a few hundred dollars and beyond, with Ourspot taking eight percent of the profits.
On that note, Yam has made it clear that he doesn’t want Ourspot to undercut the (justifiably) expensive high-end photography segments. He simply sees a hole in the market: professionals wouldn’t be interested in doing a $50 “fun” shoot of someone’s picnic, but an enthusiast with an entry-level SLR might not mind the practice.
If you’re interested in signing up, you can do so using either your e-mail or Facebook over on Ourspot’s website. In addition to free business cards, you’ll also get access to monthly meetups where pros will come teach Ourspot members the tricks of the trade.
For now, the site is still Yam’s baby, but a seed round is in the works to get the project some financial leg room.
(via TechCrunch)
