Gerd Moderates Crowdfunding Panel at PDN PhotoPlus Expo
In a time when media outlets are struggling for survival, and traditional funding sources are drying up, crowdfunding is a new tool creating great opportunities for photographers and entrepreneurs alike. This panel discussion brings together renowned photographers, Gerd Ludwig, Aaron Huey, and Jon Pack, with inventor Justin Jensen, and Karim Ben Khelifa, CEO and co-founder of crowdfunding website Emphas.is, who will all share their expertise about developing a successful campaign to fund your next personal project. Moderated by National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig, the panel discussion, entitled Crowdfunding Your Photography Project, will reveal the power of crowdfunding, and share the secrets of this new fundraising tool. Panel members will explain how to create a powerful pitch video to grasp the attention of backers and how to best spread the word via social networking sites and blogs. They will point out the challenges they faced, share with you how they overcame traps and pitfalls in their projects, (such as factoring shipping costs into the reward levels) and how to keep your backers engaged after fundraising is completed, thereby creating an audience throughout the lifecycle of your project.
The panel discussion takes place on Friday, October 26th from 1:30 to 3:30pm at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
For more information about the PhotoPlus Expo: http://www.photoplusexpo.com/seminars/seminar-schedule
PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo in New York City is the most important event in the photo industry. Designed for professionals and advanced amateurs in the photographic and imaging industries, PDN PhotoPlus Expo showcases the latest advances in photography. Attendees are able to explore exhibits and attend a wide variety of photography and imaging seminars.
ABOUT THE PANEL MEMBERS
GERD LUDWIG, photographer, moderator
Working primarily for National Geographic Magazine since 1989, Gerd Ludwig became one of the first internationally recognized documentary photographers to utilize crowdfunding for a personal project. His Kickstarter campaign raised $23,316 for a return trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to continue his coverage of the aftermath of the world’s worst nuclear disaster to date. The resulting images have been exhibited and published worldwide, and lead to his iPad App, The Long Shadow of Chernobyl. He is represented by INSTITUTE for Artist Management.
Homepage: http://www.gerdludwig.com Kickstarter: http://kck.st/eoyMM6
AARON HUEY, photographer
Aaron Huey is a Contributing Editor/photographer for Harper's magazine, and now shoots primarily for the National Geographic magazine. His work covering the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation rose to prominence after he was invited to give a lecture on the subject at a TED conference which went viral online, it was also published as a National Geographic cover story this August. Realizing his photographs were meant for something bigger than a book or exhibition, he teamed up with artists Ernesto Yerena and Shepard Fairey to create a billboard and street art campaign, funded through Emphas.is. Aaron will talk about using crowdfunding to extend a photography project beyond publication in order to affect social change.
Homepage: http://aaronhuey.com/ Emphas.is: http://www.emphas.is/web/guest/discoverprojects?projectID=305
JON PACK, photographer
Jon Pack is a Brooklyn-based photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries in the US and Europe, and has appeared on book covers from publishers including Simon & Schuster and Random House. His project with filmmaker Gary Hustwit to document cities after hosting the Olympics raised $66,162, the most of any photography project. The Olympic City, a 1,000 copy limited edition book will be published as a result in Spring 2013.
Homepage: http://jonpack.com/ Kickstarter: http://kck.st/KxGmoH
JUSTIN JENSEN, product inventor
In 2011, Justin Jensen and his team in Austin, TX launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the first production run of his invention CineSkates - small wheels that attach to a GorillaPod, creating a small dolly for iPhones, DSLRs and small video cameras. The campaign was wildly successful – Justin’s goal of $20,000 was surpassed by nearly 2,500%, raising a total of $486,518. Justin will discuss the advantages of utilizing crowdfunding as a presale to raise the capital needed for product design and initial production.
Homepage: http://cinetics.com Kickstarter #1: http://kck.st/oofJ2F Kickstarter #2: http://kck.st/PI4d4j
Karim Ben Khelifa, Emphas.is
Karim Ben Khelifa is the co-founder and CEO of Emphas.is and a freelance photojournalist. For the last 12 years he has covered conflict in the Middle East. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Time, Le Monde, Stern, GEO. He is a Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University for 2012/2013.
Launched in 2011, Emphas.is is a crowdfunding platform for photojournalism projects, offering a unique bond between photographer and their audience. Karim Ben Khelifa will discuss the challenges of funding documentary work, and how the advent of crowd-funding has created a new financial model for photojournalism in the 21st century
Website: http://www.emphas.is