fotocommunity.de
| fotocommunity | |
|---|---|
| www.fotocommunity.de | |
| description | Online community |
| languages | German , English , French , Italian , Spanish |
| owner | fotocommunity GmbH |
| Published | February 2001 |
fotocommunity.de is a commercial web portal founded in 2001 for amateur and professional photographers , photo editors, photo artists and photo models. In contrast to the international Flickr that was created around the same time, fotocommunity.de saw itself as a medium in which German-speaking photographers could exchange ideas. Despite spreading to neighboring European countries, the focus always remained on Germany.
In recent years, competition from portals such as Instagram and discussion forums about photography in digital social networks has increased . According to the Cologne-based company, over 30 million photos have been uploaded and over 220 million photo comments have been made since the portal was founded.
history
Andreas Constantin Meyer founded fotocommunity.de in February 2001 as a private hobby project. In addition to the German-language website, English, Italian, Spanish and French-language sister portals with their own upload and forum areas were later added. In July 2012 the company was taken over by WEKA-Verlag and Andreas Meyer left. The second managing director, Axel Flasbarth, left the company in February 2013. The managing directors are Kurt Skupin and Wolfgang Materna.
Functions
Fotocommunity.de offers the possibility to upload photos in sections and subsections and to present them for discussion. The eight main sections "Motive", "Special", "People", "Nude", "Nature", "Digiart", "Youth" and "Travel" are subdivided into numerous specialist areas. There are photo sections on topics such as “manhole cover”, “infrared photography” or “dog sports”.
In addition to the photo annotation function, members of fotocommunity.de can get in touch via private messages, photo emails and an internal chat . A calendar function enables users to enter photo meetings they have initiated themselves, such as round tables, photo excursions, workshops or exhibitions, or to search for meetings in their postcode area. According to data from fotocommunity.de, its members organize around 100 self-organized meetings a month.
Fotocommunity.de has its own model database. Every member of the photo community has the opportunity to introduce themselves as a model. To do this, you create a sedcard online with meaningful photos and information on references, dimensions, area of application and fee expectations. With the help of the search function, photographers can find the right model for their purposes and send a booking request using the online form. According to fotocommunity, their model file comprises 5,000 sedcards .
Within the forums of fotocommunity.de with topics such as For example, “ DSLR cameras”, “ compact cameras ”, “analog photography”, “ image processing ” or “laws and contracts” allow users to share their knowledge and experience. An online lexicon on photography is available to all members and visitors of fotocommunity.de. Everyone has the opportunity to edit, improve and add to the lexicon.
A photo competition is almost always active on fotocommunity.de. Depending on the conditions of participation of the respective competition, users can upload one or more of their photos on a specific topic and have the chance to win prizes such as cameras, photo accessories, photo trips or photo books.
Buy / sell photos
It is possible to buy photos from fotocommunity.de and have them printed. In the online shop “Buy photos” you can find all the images that have been approved for sale by fotocommunity members. You can use the search function to filter by subject areas and motifs. Each user can share one or more of their photos for sale. The print-out is sold, the image rights remain with the photographer. The price for the exposures includes the margin for the owner of the photo.
It is also possible for editorial offices and private individuals to buy directly from fotocommunity members. That means, you acquire usage rights to the photo. The modalities will be discussed directly with the photographer. To do this, you can send a private email to the photographer. This is only possible if interested parties become members of the photo community themselves (free of charge and without publishing their own photos). This gives you access to the photographer's personal area. There are personal data under the profile photo (or number plate) and under “Contact” the interested party can “send a private message”.
In contrast to the purchase of pictures, the sale is reserved for German Premium members only, i. H. you have to become a paid membership first before you can register for the sale.
Image rights and membership
All photos are the intellectual property of the exhibiting members. Their use outside the portal therefore requires the permission of the photographer. This can offer a paid right of use or a written confirmation of free use. The terms and conditions warn members that online image theft is a difficult problem to solve.
The photos can either be published for everyone to see or saved in a "personal folder" for private viewing. The free basic membership includes limited display and navigation options. For more extensive functions, such as access to the nude photography area , a paid account is required. As with all cloud services , the data (photos, videos, texts, user data) are on decentralized computers, with the usual data protection consequences.
Photo community magazine
On April 30, 2009, the first issue of the magazine fotocommunity [plus] appeared with a print run of 28,000 copies. The quarterly magazine publishes, among other things, articles by members on everything related to photography. The magazine has been called “fotocommunity Magazin” since 2013 and is published by WEKA MEDIA PUBLISHING GmbH with the ColorFoto magazine.
Individual evidence
- ↑ WEKA takes over fotocommunity GmbH. In: fotocommunity.net , accessed on January 5, 2014.
- ↑ Axel Flasbarth. In: moneyhouse.de , accessed on May 31, 2016.
- ↑ Imprint . fotocommunity GmbH. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ↑ ColorFoto Aboshop | fotocommunity Magazin , accessed on May 31, 2016
Web links
- fotocommunity.de
- Website of the fotocommunity GmbH. In: fotocommunity.net