A new Australian online event photo sales platform, GeoSnapShot,  has been making a splash in the event photography industry, having recently ‘gone global‘.

GeoSnapShot has been live for just over a year, and has amassed over 1000 photographers in that short time – the majority of whom are Australian enthusiast/amateurs.

Andy Edwards, the founder of GeoSnapShots and an enthusiast photographer himself, said he came up with the idea for the platform after he saw an area of the photo market yet to be tapped.

‘I was at these events taking photos and I found more and more people saying “have you got a photo of me? Can I have it”, and I was spending so much time after the event e-mailing photos it became a burden for me,’ Edwards told Pro Counter. ‘So I decided to build a website would enable me to share those photos with people for a small dollar value. And I built the site so multiple photographers can upload to same event.’

The platform works by having event organisers register an event with GeoSnapShot, which attempts to find local photographers to shoot the event, with the lure of earning a few dollars on the side. Events can range from a birthday or wedding, a local community event, through to the largest multi-sport event in the UK. Edwards said GeoSnapShot photographers will be capturing the Australian Masters Games and British University College Sports national finals later this year.

‘British Universities wanted to have mass coverage from student photographers, and that’s what our platform has enabled them to do. Up-and-coming student photographers will be able to cover a whole range of events with student athletes.’

The photos are sold as a digital copy and the photographers, who takes 70 percent of sales, can name their price, with the default set at $8.95 (and from our observations, rarely exceeding $10). The buyers are generally the attendees, as the licence is strictly for personal use – not commercial.

Similar event photo sales platforms have been around for a while. Snapped4U, an American-based company, sells digital event photos taken by amateurs for around US$5-15. Instaproofs, which started in 2005, takes more of an online ‘portfolio’ approach to event photography, with personalised domain names and customisable features on offer. There’s plenty more out there, but the common theme is the marketing and sales tools on offer, which have previously been a barrier to entry for a keen enthusiast or budding amateur.

The growth and success of sales platforms like GeoSnapShot shows just how the supply and demand for event photography has changed. And let’s not pretend this isn’t the case for other fields of photography!

On the one hand, amateur photographers attending will gain experience photographing a small community event, say a rugby match, which Edwards points out may otherwise not be photographed. The event organiser can then use a number of the images for promotional use, and point attendees to a page where people can find and buy photos. Additionally, photographers can funnel money back to the event organisation or a charity. In this case everyone wins.

The majority of events GeoSnapShot covers aren’t likely to have working professional photographers in attendance.

Can amateurs and professionals play in the same sandpit?

But on the other hand, the service devalues professional event photographers work as a whole, and can directly affect a professional photographer’s sales when GeoSnapShot photographers attend the same event. Of course, it’s entirely up to the buyer to discern the difference between a $35 professionally shot digital image and an $8.95 amateur snap.

A professional event photographer Pro Counter spoke to emphasised that their experience isn’t just behind the lens, but also covers various health and safety risks, as well as variety of ethical issues an amateur may not be so familiar with. Simply staying safe and ensuring competitors aren’t placed in danger can be a consideration. (Witness yahoos with iPhones leaping out in front of Tour De France contestants!)

However, Edwards said his business offers a variety of free online training videos to prepare photographers for an event, and GeoSnapShot has public liability insurance.

Edwards says professionals are welcome to use GeoSnapShot as well, but appreciates many may not find the service useful. He doesn’t believe professional photographers should feel threatened by his service, as what professionals cover and what GeoSnapShot photographers cover is different, he said.

‘No professional is going to cover a local rugby match. We go for completely different events,’ Edwards said. ‘I really rate professional photographers. Professional photographers are looking for gigs where they are going to be paid. They’re going to cover the highest quality games or weddings or whatever, and ‘s what they’re going to do. I don’t think (professionals) should be threatened.’

However, that’s not always the case. One professional photographer said he noticed GeoSnapShot photographers were increasingly present at events he covered. Whether GeoSnapShot photographers were taking a share of income he might normally make from the event…well it’s not unlikely. He said he thought the service, along with others of a similar nature, ‘cheapens the whole business’ of photography.

These are changing times, and it’s fair to say that the public’s (ie, potential customer’s) perception of the value of professional photography has decreased, with amateurs entering the market only part of the issue. It’s not uncommon to hear about brides and grooms hiring a relative with a DSLR  to shoot their wedding.

Microstock agencies have been selling amateur photos for cents for well over a decade; and has there ever been more companies running photo contests to source images for an ad campaign? Don’t even start on photojournalism!

– So while disturbing, it’s hardly surprising that event photography is experiencing similar challenges.  We live, as the Chinese curse goes, in interesting times.