New online photography marketplace; Focalpop

Focalpop is a new online marketplace for photography. It works like an inverse auction where imagebuyers fill out a request for images, a budget and deadline and photographers submit images for selection. Or in Focalpops words:

“… image seekers create a request describing the photo they need, photographers upload shots that meet the request, and then the seeker selects a winning photo. Using crowdsourcing as well as a reverse-auction approach to selling photography is proving to be the fresh new approach needed in the market. ”

The company hopes that their model will help take away frustrations in the market; on the one hand those of photographers that have seen their revenue shrink, on the other hand the time lost on the side of the buyers to findhe right images. Focalpop says: “Photography buyers often have a very specific shot in mind when they search for stock photography. They spend hours searching through databases of photos and often settle with for a shot that is not quite what they had in mind. FocalPop solves the needs of both photographers and buyers. Photographers can sign up for notifications of new requests and participate in those with the style, price, and licensing that best works for them. ”

Commission for contributors is 70% at a minimum price of $50,-

 “Our research coupled with the initial response from both photographers and buyers has validated the great need for this type of solution” says Brian Romanko, president “We collected valuable feedback from photographers throughout our three month beta period and look forward to continually optimizing the site based on customer needs as we continue FocalPop’s growth.”