FocalPop announces launch of unique online photography marketplace

New Online Marketplace Solving the Frustrations of Buying and Selling Photography

Austin TX, Dec. 08, 2009. The launch of new photography website FocalPop brings photographers and photo buyers a unique new way buy and sell photography. FocalPop’s model is simple: 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.

For years, frustrations with current offerings have plagued both sides of the photography market. Photographers have seen revenues shrink with recent trends towards low-costs transactions on microstock photography sites. Photographers also have trouble estimating what type of images buyers are looking to purchase, and must invest in photo shoots based on what they guess might be needed. 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. They also stand to earn high revenues with a minimum of 70% commissions on photo sales and the price of photos starting at a minimum of $50. Buyers will be happy to finally get the exact photos they need without having to spend hours digging for the right photo.

FocalPop was founded in Austin, TX by technology and marketing experts Brian Romanko and Becky Parker. Formulated during the MBA program at the McCombs School of Business, FocalPop was winner of the Texas Moot Corp Competition and took home honors at both the Oregon New Venture Competition and the Global Moot Corp competition earlier this year. FocalPop launched a beta version of the site in September and has received an enthusiastic response from the photographer community. “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.”

During the beta period, over 2,000 visitors from 63 countries helped fulfill requests for photos like “Lonely Guitar,” “Greasy Plate of Food,” and “Happy Dog.” The winners of all completed requests as well as all the photos submitted can be seen at www.focalpop.com.

For additional information on the Launch of FocalPop.com contact Becky Parker or visit www.focalpop.com.

ABOUT FOCALPOP
FocalPop is a web-based platform that allows companies to finally get the exact photo that they need by allowing them to crowdsource their image requests via a community of photographers across the world. For more information on FocalPop, contact Becky Parker (becky@focalpop.com) or follow them on twitter: www.twitter.com/focalpop.