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There's a deep discussion here, which I'd like a bit more time to dive into if possible, as I don't have all my thoughts fully formed on it.
First off... the old way that we maintained the wallpaper section was just inefficient. Physically putting them on the site was just a PITA, and therefore got ignored from time to time. I guess its more like got ignored for massive and unthinkable periods of time.
In terms of rights, we used a mixture of paid photographers and shots from guys that were not going to get in magazines and were simply going to be discarded. I'd say though that really more like 85% of them were simply free photos looking for exposure.
So if you want a photo on the cover of newschoolers, simply email Schmuck if you have a cool photo, and he might be down to put it up. We usually won't pay for one photo though, we only pay if we're doing photo coverage of something, and we get an entire set of photos from someone.
Is this old system perfect? Hell no. However, compared to the system of submitting shots to magazines, it at least offers a separate outlet.
We often deal with photographers who want to sell their work at a few hundred dollars per photo... which is fine for magazines that have monsterous content acquisition budgets, and the quality of photos makes or breaks their product. However, on the internet, the economy of content just does not work like that. Since on the internet people consume massive quantities of different types of content, there isn't the same value to a single web photo as is in print.
Its super easy to say "well fuck the internet and its shitty treatment of photographers" - which from one point of view is pretty true. Of course, the other point of view which is "Go ahead submit to magazines, and see that 95% of all photos and photographers are going to have their work thrown in the garbage." could be argued.
We have on this site an immense pool of Am talent. I use the word am simply to give difference between a set of photogs who do not regularly get published in magazines, or find themselves on retainer for various companies.
I for one do not believe though that the level of the best of these "AM" photographers actual skill is much if any lower than many of the "Pro" photographers out there. I believe that there are plenty of you out there who deserve more of a shot than being a random person mailing photos into a magazine, or sending .jpg files to "info@magazinecompany.com".
When we talk about pivotal changes that we've launched here at Newschoolers, its all based around this idea. Myself and the rest of the newschoolers staff believe it in our heart that as a community, we probably have some fucking crazy unrecognized talent lurking in our midst. Hell look at the pro roster that has come out of Newschoolers.
If you ask me - the future of the ski industry is lurking within the depths of Newschoolers.com.
So that is why we've started to introduce things like Photo of the Day, Photo of the Week, Photo of the Month - along with the entire gallery system and general beginnings of major upgrades to the photo system. We want you to submit your photos to Newschoolers, and help gain exposure for yourself.
Do we pay en masse for photos yet? Sometimes. We hire photographers all the time to cover events or go to photo shoots for us. When we don't pay, this is a great place to get recognized for your work. Hell, we're owned by the same company as Powder magazine, and basically every person in this industry drops by Newschoolers at least once in their winter.
We want Newschoolers to be a platform for you to show your work. We want you to gain recognition for what you do, and be able to use your work here (which in the previous landscape of media would have never gone anywhere) as a platform to get contracts and build a solid portfolio.
So yes, you'll give some of your work away for free. Then when you're good, we will pay you some money when you've proven yourself. So will other people.
Hell this industry is built on the shoulders of volunteering to prove you deserve a break. Pro skiers when they first start get almost nothing from a company. When I first started working at Newschoolers I made zero money. When I worked as a digger at High North, I made zero money for 3 years. Hell... in the real world you often have to intern at a company in order to prove they should hire you.
Having said all of that, I want to develop a fair balance. So know that we here at newschoolers are committed to developing a fair and equitable ecosystem for the content that will come out of this commmunity. I'm curious to hear your thoughts, objections, ideas, fears, successes.... hit me. Lets figure this out together.
