Crowdbooks – The Future of Photo Books

Many photographers are interested in publishing an image books which will allow them to create a timeless work. However until recently publishing a quality image book was considered a complex and expensive task. A new international website tries to solve this problem in a unique way. Megapixel.co.il went to check and came back with an exclusive interview.

Photographers were interested in sending there were usually do this using the Internet (either on personal or public online galleries). Another option, although substantially more expensive than the physical exhibition in a gallery either alone or as part of the team. The third option only very few photographers choose is to publish a photo book. The main reason this is quite rare is the high initial expenses and general complexity of the process as well as the lack of professional guidance.

We have recently discovered a new service called Crowdbooks which offers a unique way for photographers to publish their work in much cheaper and easier way. How does the new service work? And is based on a combination between conventional publishing house for photo books and the crowd funding online websites allowing photographers to get finance. Wire published their projects anyway not possible otherwise.

Photographers interested in publishing footings of the work and selling them and send them photos to websites including formation which describes her front a special committee is appointed over proposals and choose the most promising ones and approve them. Those works are then displayed on the website allowing users to back them up (much like other crowds-based initiatives).

A project which received the required funding the appropriate amount will go forward and from this point onwards we received full cooperation of the crowd books publishing house. The decision starting from basic design page layout and printing will be taken together with the photographer in order to achieve the most professional results. In addition crowd books will also print the book (this will not necessarily happening friends were the publishers offices are currently located) and will also help in distribution sales.

Crowd books do not specify how will the revenues from the book sales will split between the publishing house and the photographer but they do mention that the end of each calendar year exact information about the amount of books sold will be forwarded to the photographer.

Interview with crowd books

To learn more about the project you recently conducted an interview the founder Mr. Stefano Bianchi.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for crowdbooks?

A: I’ve been working in the graphics and publishing industries since 15 years, as graphic designer, I’ve seen so many great book projects that had never have been realized (for mostly economic reasons), so I started to think of an alternative way to raise funds to produce all these interesting projects and decided to use the internet as a platform for artists from all over the world.

Q: Can you explain briefly how crowdbooks work?
A: Crowdbooks acts as a traditional publishing company, overseeing a project from its concept and design to its production, promotion and distribution.

people submit their works through the website, we select the projects and work on them before posting on the website ( artwork, materials and manufacturer research, dummy production, quote, promotion across our networks once the project is online and ditribution once the book is ready )
Q: Where does the the social aspect of crowdbooks come into play?

A: The concept is similar to other online platforms, crowdbooks is a hub that allow photographers to post their projects and book lover to fund the projects they like; by giving money to a specific project and having in return a particular reward people allow the project to be realized, Crowdbooks’ only difference from other platforms is that it’s not only a raising platform: we can provide a full range of services behind such as design, editorial advice, production planning, production follow up, distribution

Q: Do you do all the publishing work in France (including the actual print?) and what about photographers from other countries – will they have to come to France a few times to actually monitor the progress?

A: The main office is in Paris but there is a plan to open another office in another important EU country very soon ( we’re working on it ! ), photographers from all over the worlds are welcome, the platform is available online for an international audience, we also organize the production all over the world according to each project and its specificities, we select the manufacturer for each project according to their specialty to get out the most and have the best results on our product
Q: Do you take part in helping the photographer distribute or sell the book?

A: yes, absolutely but it depends a lot on the product and his quantity, we have a network and we can help the photographer to distribute the book
Q: Do you choose the photographers?

A: Yes, we choose the photographers, they need to make a submission where they selected images, a complete statement, a pdf with the rough artwork (we need to understand the project as much as possible from these elements).

Q: Can you say a few words about the first few projects you have?

A: The first project is from Daniele Dainelli, an italian photographer living in between Japan and China since several years already.
Through his work “GREEN” he photographied plastic walls that hide cities that are forging ahead. PVC landscapes offer us green lawns and blue skies.
Behind these ones, monsters made of concrete present us with an unsettling future. Behind these walls the past is erased. This may be the first and easiest interpretation of his pictures, but the goal, through the portrayed elements it to accentuate the ever growing complex and clashing relationship between the men, the city and the nature. His attention for these elements becomes almost an obsession, trying to blend together the three dimensions of reality and the two dimensions of fiction.

It’s a nice cardboard book that comes into 2 different editions, a regular one and a limited to 50 copies with print included and special PVC cover wrapped around, they are under shipping now i should have some copies n my hand very soon so i can send you some good pictures of the product if you’re interested in.

עידו גנוט

עידו גנוט הוא עורך ומייסד אתר הצילום מגה פיקסל. הוא מסקר חדשות טכנולוגיה מאז סוף שנות ה-90 וכתב וערך עבור שורה של מגזינים בינלאומיים מובילים. הוא עוסק בתחום הצילום מאז שנת 2009. עידו הוא גם מייסד שותף בחברת ההפקה Shooteat.co.il העוסקת ביצירת תוכן ויזואלי עבור חברות מסחריות.

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