New online community to discuss photo pricing - Shakodo by Dan Carr

December 8, 2010

Prices for photo licensing and assignments are based on so many variables that it can seem like a dark art when you first make the transition from amateur to professional. “How much should I sell this photo for ?” is one of the questions that lands in my in-box a few times a week and the answer is never straightforwards. A new online community was launched today that aims to collect together the knowledge of professisionals and educate the less experienced photographers. It's called Shakodo!{C}

Shakodo appears to be an interesting concept to solve a growing problem. Cheaper DSLRs mean that more amateur photographers are producing work that they would like to sell. Unfortunately they often have no idea what the going rate for photo licensing is, and more often that not they seriously under-value their work. Or even worse, they give it away for free. The net result is that prices in the industry as a whole get driven down as clients seek out similarly cheap prices. To my knowledge there are no decent online resources to help with photography pricing. Until now, my suggestion to up and coming young photogs is to purchase the software called FotoQuote. A database of photo licensing prices for literally thousands and thousands of usages and a collection of tutorials on more complex negotiations. Its a great resource but it is quite expensive and that is certainly off-putting to people looking to make their first buck in the industry.

The new website Shakodo aims to offer a FREE online community where people can discuss assignment pricing and licensing questions with other amateur and professional photographers. Over time, the information will be compiled to create a resource of pricing knowledge for people to refer to. When photographers register for the community they are assigned a “reputation”. As you offer more advice, assuming it is good advice people will rate you higher and so your reputation will become higher. This hopefully will offer a way to distinguish the good advice from the bad advice. The photography community has been crying out for something like this so it will be interesting to see how quickly it takes off. I have spent some time on the site this afternoon and it seems to be a well thought out site. Right now it lacks a lot of content because the pricing information is only gathered when someone asks a question. If you have a pricing question why not give it a go and see what sort of response you get from it!

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Shakodo Web Service Launched – Empowering Amateur and Professional Photographers by sharing Knowledge and Experience to discover the Real Value of their Photos and Services

Tokyo, Japan (December 8, 2010) – Alive Co., Ltd., a Tokyo based consulting company, launched today a new innovative web service aimed at photographers at:

http://www.shakodo.com

Shakodo is a simple to use and innovative free service, designed to give a boost to the photography business by educating amateur and professional photographers through an interactive and open exchange of real business situations and real prices. While the demand for high quality photos is higher than ever, professional photographers are not satisfied with the decline of their income.

“Professional photographers have a lot more competition out there today and technology has made it possible for talented amateur photographers to take equivalent or sometimes even better pictures than professionals. The main difference is that amateurs are not aware of the true value of their photos and often give them away for free, undercutting the market and leaving, effectively, money on the table.” said Juergen Specht, a Japan-based German Photographer, partner in Alive Co., Ltd. and co-founder of Shakodo. Specht continued, “We've realized it's as much the fault of professional photographers – who like to blame these talented amateurs – by not sharing their knowledge of proper pricing.”

Ken Lee, the managing director of Alive Co., Ltd. and co-founder of Shakodo shares his personal experience and frustrations: “Being an amateur photographer myself, I often get approached about use of my photos for 'photo credits'. While asking around what would be a proper price for licensing of my images, the most common answer was an unsatisfactory 'it depends'. When researching online, most photography business web sites become very vague when it actually comes to pricing”

Lee further explains, “As a consultant and coach to Fortune 500 companies, I am often in similar situations and understand that 'it depends' is mostly a place holder for 'I do not know', or, 'I don't want to share'. Nobody is immune to the lack of business knowledge in the fast moving photography business market, where new ideas, licensing models and opportunities crop up daily. Juergen and I quickly identified the need for a new and flexible solution to share business knowledge based on real life cases when they occur.”

The Problem

Photography is one of those professions without any fixed prices; with almost everything being negotiated. Until recently, the photographic market was very isolated and the skill of price negotiation was one of the key success factors for professionals. With the influx of talented amateurs a market-shift began to take place. With their lack of experience and knowledge about current market rates and not understanding client's budgets and needs, these talented amateurs have settled for lower price offers. As a result, they have unintentionally undercut professionals while leaving money on the table because they are not aware of the true market value of their photos or services.

The Shakodo Solution

Shakodo has changed the conventional 'forum' standard by creating an advanced Question and Answer service, which integrates a unique Reputation and Award system. Members can earn Reputation points and Awards by asking good Questions and providing good Answers. Along with this, Shakodo also introduces a new Price Slider technology which allows members to set price ranges in different currencies with the ability to have real-time price conversions, enabling members from different countries to compare prices in their native currency. By using the free Shakodo service, photographers are able enhance their knowledge of the business of photography and are then better equipped to properly negotiate with clients.

In summary: Shakodo wants to put photographers back on the “Road to Profitable Photography”.

For more information please visit the Shakodo web site:

http://www.shakodo.com