(At right, the tools of the photojournalist's trade are on display on a tour of the Arizona Republic. In the story below, photography and fundraising meet in one high school program.)
With seemingly everybody and his brother armed with some sort of high-end photographic device these days, many photographers find it harder to make a buck. Plus, there’s the economy, which doesn’t make it any easier. But at Zenfolio, the twain do meet.
Our discussion of staff organization got sidetracked when I asked about photo management in the realm of high school journalism. What is a teacher to do with all those photo requests that are a natural consequence of a highly positioned and reliable photojournalism staff?
Denice Westover of Arizona’s Snowflake High School suggested Zenfolio, an online photo hosting site where she and her staff post the best of their photographs for purchase. For a yearly premium plan fee of $100, which Westover pays herself, the school can upload unlimited photos.
The public can purchase prints for $.29 to $24.99, and mugs, keychains, and other novelty merchandise are also available.
Zenfolio and rival SmugMug differ from image sharing sites, such as KodakGallery and Photobucket, in that the user receives a portion of the sales price of each posted image.
Out of the purchase price, Zenfolio takes fees of 4 percent to12 percent, plus a $3 fee for PayPal check payment-on-demand service, if requested, and the rest goes directly back to the journalism program.
Since January, Westover said that the profits were in the range of $200 to $300, enough to buy a new camera for the program.
Watermarking of photos to prevent theft and taking care of all Web page, photo processing and sales-related needs are advantages to using the service, but the venture raises some questions.
What about safety issues with posting images of minors online? What about proprietary issues of the school? Of the students pictured?
Westover said that this fundraiser was signed off on by her school’s business manager, and she also had it approved by the school board. A rumor that the Arizona Interscholastic League might claim proprietary privilege proved groundless.
Each case of fundraising through sites like Zenfolio or SmugMug would surely be determined by the individual circumstances of journalism programs, schools, and governing boards, but for those advisers who can pass these gatekeepers, this could be one answer to both photo request and fundraising challenges.
Our discussion of staff organization got sidetracked when I asked about photo management in the realm of high school journalism. What is a teacher to do with all those photo requests that are a natural consequence of a highly positioned and reliable photojournalism staff?
Denice Westover of Arizona’s Snowflake High School suggested Zenfolio, an online photo hosting site where she and her staff post the best of their photographs for purchase. For a yearly premium plan fee of $100, which Westover pays herself, the school can upload unlimited photos.
The public can purchase prints for $.29 to $24.99, and mugs, keychains, and other novelty merchandise are also available.
Zenfolio and rival SmugMug differ from image sharing sites, such as KodakGallery and Photobucket, in that the user receives a portion of the sales price of each posted image.
Out of the purchase price, Zenfolio takes fees of 4 percent to12 percent, plus a $3 fee for PayPal check payment-on-demand service, if requested, and the rest goes directly back to the journalism program.
Since January, Westover said that the profits were in the range of $200 to $300, enough to buy a new camera for the program.
Watermarking of photos to prevent theft and taking care of all Web page, photo processing and sales-related needs are advantages to using the service, but the venture raises some questions.
What about safety issues with posting images of minors online? What about proprietary issues of the school? Of the students pictured?
Westover said that this fundraiser was signed off on by her school’s business manager, and she also had it approved by the school board. A rumor that the Arizona Interscholastic League might claim proprietary privilege proved groundless.
Each case of fundraising through sites like Zenfolio or SmugMug would surely be determined by the individual circumstances of journalism programs, schools, and governing boards, but for those advisers who can pass these gatekeepers, this could be one answer to both photo request and fundraising challenges.
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I'm not sure if any other school systems have similar things, but I believe in my county they have students and parents sign a waiver at the beginning of the year that asks permission to photograph students for school publications, including the internet. To be honest, I never paid much attention to exactly what it said, but I know it allows parents to decline consent for these types of things. Checking up on this might be a great way to use this as a fundraiser while avoiding any major issues that may arise from posting and selling the pictures.
ReplyDeleteAshley Barnes
Bel Air High School
Bel Air, Md.