LomoPrints - A dream ?

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The recent change in piggies spending rules (http://www.lomography.com/magazine/news/2011/08/12/changes-to-piggy-spending-rules) is the sign of a problem that needs to be solved: whether if the amount of piggies distributed to users needs to be (1) constant or (2) proportional to the increase of users, lomography needs to find a way to compensate for a loss of money. We live in a capitalistic world and there’s not much to do about it.
But we can at least forget about it for a few /125th seconds every day.

Here’s a possible solution. And your reactions could help this idea become a reality.
The only question becomes: ‘How much money would you be ready to spend on a nice print?’

I have billions examples in mind. Take this one, for instance, I would be ready to pay 50$ to have a big enlargement of it in my living room. I would.

If a lomoPrint section was available on this website, I would click on it, and order an enlargement of the shot (by entering its url). A direct link from the picture would be even better.

Then, I would spend 50$ (MAX, huge enlargement) to order a print from lomography (who deals with the printing and shipping) and 5 to 50 piggy-points that would go directly to the author of the picture. In that case michaelback . The price of the picture being at the discretion of the author.

This would be a nice addition to the website, and to my living room.

A custom framing option would be nice too. Or I’ll never find a frame for this one:

This would solve the initial problem: the number of total piggies circulating remains constant, just flowing between users, and, lomography makes more dough. And maybe later, the amount of dough will be such that lomography could increase the amount of piggies distributed.

Now, I would love to hear what you think about this. I am sure your reaction will be heard at the highest spheres of lomography headquarters. Namely a kine of Dr Evil with an Austrian accent and a fury one-eyed cat on his lap…
Just kidding.

écrit par stouf le2011-08-21

32 commentaires

herbert-4 · 2011-08-22 02:52
Good idea!! Applied capitalism (small "c")!!
russheath · 2011-08-22 03:06
I have no problem supporting Lomography, I feel like this community is well worth the time, effort, and money. And I see your point -- if they don't change something they just won't make enough sales. Would this specific suggestion change things? I'm not sure. There are a LOT of photos here that I would, in theory, pay good money to hang in my house. But I have trouble getting anything printed and up on the wall. I'm not sure why, it's just that last step seems to really be a bear. Maybe the ability to order directly from here would help . . . . (They would have to remove all upload size restrictions, however!)
aralucia · 2011-08-22 03:30
My experience is that images are so ubiquitous with people being used to be able to click and download images for free that I would be surprised if people would actually pay the money for prints. That said, I like the idea and would love to support the photographers whose work I really love.
stouf · 2011-08-22 03:55
Thanks for the positive inputs !
@herbert-4 ..., for a good cause : )
@russheath Or, there would be an image bank, in which we would upload the shots requested for prints. These High-res files would be ONLY used for printing. Nothing else.
@aralucia Your last sentence justifies why this will work.
analogmonolog · 2011-08-22 04:54
do agree with you
superlighter · 2011-08-22 10:39
I like the idea, unfortunately by my side at the moment I'm not in the condition to buy anything from anyone..but it could be nice if someone will buy some of my photos.
pyromonkey333 · 2011-08-22 11:30
i like the idea, a printing service would be fantastic! but a lot of factors go into printing when you send for it online, maybe one day lomo will do it tho
ipdegirl · 2011-08-22 14:55
Great idea, stouf. I sell some pictures on Etsy.....www.etsy.com/shop/Lofiphotography...but would LOVE to have a place aimed at the lo-fi audience. People come here because they LIKE this style of photography and it can be hard competing against digital photos (read:photoshopped) in a larger marketplace. It would be great to see if this idea worked.
On the subject of piggies, would it be possible for LSI to cut down on the amount of packaging of it's items to save some money? As beautiful as the boxes and books that come with my cameras are, they don't do anything but collect dust and become recycled stuff. I'd MUCH rather have minimalist packaging and a nice, simple brochure than boxes, posters and books. I really only want the camera not the paraphernalia that goes along with it (as well-done and pretty as it is). That alone should pass on some cost in savings AND save a few trees at the same time.
And again, no expy date on the pigs would be a decent solution, too :)
antibiotyx · 2011-08-22 15:32
fantastic idea. there's really a market for ordering photo prints online, take for instance sites like snapfish and kodakgallery. offering this service in the future would be great.
yochan · 2011-08-22 16:59
Great idea Stouf, we could spend the piggy for help someone, it's nice thing ;D
freckleface · 2011-08-22 17:02
I think this is a brilliant idea. There are quite a few masterpieces on here that I would be willing to pay for. I think the biggest hassle is getting a high quality image and then printing it, but if that was part of a packaged deal then I could see myself paying for a print. It also gives the people on here a chance to make something of themselves, if they aren't already selling their prints that is. Being able to sell your work on here gives worth to what originally just started out as a hobby for most. It's a cool idea :)
kdstevens · 2011-08-22 20:43
I like the idea but "big enlargement" equals big files and that might be an issue.
trw · 2011-08-23 05:17
It's a great idea and like most of the folks who frequent this site, I see photos here everyday that I would love to have in my home. Here's another spin on the idea, the lomographers who choose to offer their photos for use could also just donate the images with any profits going toward maintaining the site. My guess is that while it is reasonable for people to expect to be paid for their work, many lomographers do it for the sheer joy of taking pictures and knowing that others enjoy them. That is reward enough for many of us.
Thanks for getting this discussion going!
stouf · 2011-08-23 08:21
@superlighter: I'm sure you would receive a lot of orders ! : )
@ipdegirl: I completely agree about the packaging. 100%.
@antibiotyx: Mmm never heard of these, but thanks for the enthusiasm !
@kdstevens: ...hence my previous answer to @russheath, a secured image bank would be the solution.
@trw: I love your spin on the idea! and it's very generous of you. The option could be given indeed : )
And thanks a lot everyone for your comments, I'm really enjoying your reactions !
bravebird · 2011-08-23 18:51
love the idea!
russheath · 2011-08-23 21:01
I think it's awesome that these conversations now go to my notifications! Sorry . . . off topic. Yes, an image bank would solve the problem. It could even be part of the ordering process -- no large upload would be necessary to have people view and purchase your work, but once a purchase was made you would be required to upload a high res file to the image bank just for that purpose. Great discussion!
stouf · 2011-08-23 23:02
@mephisto19: Wow ! I missed that. Please save one mirrored cows for me : )
bsmart · 2011-08-23 23:09
Great idea. I think there will have to be an opt-in / opt-out option for each image or it'll drive people away from loading their images onto the site.
kylewis · 2011-08-23 23:14
Stouf it's a great idea, similar in some very limited fashion to what exists on Redbubble where you can order anything from a postcard to a wall poster. I have my work on that, it takes the strain out of getting prints and I would love it if the same applied here as well, especially if piggies could be used.
I fear LSI took a backward step when they changed the piggy handouts this time if you are going to take with one hand then you must give with another, at least by extending or removing the deadline.
As for packaging I love it but what on earth does everyone do with it, do you keep it, flat pack it, recycle or does it fill up a whole room and become some ridiculous colourful cardboard heap. Ecological it is not, it is clever, well engineered but completely over the top and I have only just come to terms with having to put a load of it in the bin(recycled)
Making prints is only one small step on from the existing Lab development we now have it would be appreciated. I do think that we must also all be aware of downloading others people work without permission, putting up big files is not a problem as long as they are protected!
natalieerachel · 2011-08-23 23:47
That would be such an amazing thing to have on lomography, I agree with the frames too because I won't ever be able to find ones for my spinner photos. It'd be awesome if this plan works!
jbrown363 · 2011-08-24 03:57
I could care less about piggies, I just want to be able order prints. There are some great shots on this website!
jbrown363 · 2011-08-24 04:14
I would also pay for Lomowalls www.lomography.fr/magazine/news/2011/08/22/lomowalls-of-the… This weeks top picks were great!
angelhaken · 2011-08-24 15:29
cool idea, but i think the size & quality realy is a problem when it comes to big - prints. If you blow up the file sizes - better quality scans - then u might get a storage problem, but i think that many people here are not able to deliver scans in the solution that would be necessary to make big big prints. I also think that int won't be possible to get some pics to the desired size - even with high quality scanners because it would just get too blurry.. But the idea is still cool - i work in a printing company (developing web2print applications) - so i also thought about how cool it would be printing these pics .. or your own lomography - picture book
huck · 2011-08-29 19:15
I would *love* the option of ordering prints of the photos I love. There would, of course, be logistical problems involved - but given that the ethos of this community revolves around sharing your work with other enthusiasts I'm actually surprised that this hasn't been rolled out already.
vgzalez · 2011-08-30 17:44
yes! love it!! would be so nice!!
carloscampos · 2011-09-01 23:01
Great idea! I would pay for some awesome prints!!
vicuna · 2011-09-09 03:47
That's a great idea! Specially for giving the piggies a kind of community share (mutualism), the piggies spent will reward the author of the printed shots. And yes, I would spent eaily some money on quality prints of some amazing lomographs! :))
bente-b-jenssen · 2011-09-10 22:12
A great idea. Both for the decoration of our homes, honor to the photographers and piggies to the people.
ocra · 2011-09-11 08:47
Hi stouf, you got a great idea.
Actually lomo already had a photo-lab to print and order your photos.
Since it hasn't worked out they closed it some years ago.
I totally agree with you that all the (quite nice) things that come along your order (books, posters, boxes etc.) aren't really necessary but – since lomo can't sell all their books as they wish – they give it to you for free with your order... and to some amount they just really like doing boxes and stuff...
I think The Lomography Society really missed some good opportunities to build a much stronger community and push their brand to economic heights (and further more make enough money to maintain all of what they are doing). At least you must realize that most of the people working for lomo aren't actually business-men or women, but photographers and friends. It all started as a small project of 5 or 6 people after a bottle of wine in austria. That's that!
tetrahexadecabyte · 2011-09-13 05:14
It would be a good idea. In deviantart.com there is something simmilar, people submit some photos as prints. It just have to be a VERY good organization and points system,
I would buy and sell (well when i became a beter photographer haha)
angelhaken · 2011-09-25 21:29
@mephisto19 that would be a great idea, i was thinking about something similar - based on the lomography.com SDK developing some post-card app is quite easy. as I said befor I'm working for an printing company ( a real one not a copy shop :D ) and I'm just working on things like that web2print and stuff... would not be that hard to start a project like that. We already working on / have a postcard solution for a different project and are in touch with Post (in Austria).. Might be worth to try to devlop a prototype ..
stouf · 2011-10-02 10:13
@mephisto19 @angelhaken That's a damn' sweet idea !

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