The image of Suzzane Stein, participant of The Print Swap.
We share hundreds of images a year on Instagram, some with more or less success. Many of them go to a better life and are lost among hashtags , a perfect disaster drawer where you can spend hours diving and discovering how others see the world.
We still remember how the birth of instagram while we pseudo-photographers were posting photos like crazy, hundreds of professionals were throwing their hands up thinking that this social network would trivialize their work and destroy the skills of their sector.
How do you see the world?
Today no one is surprised that even the most erudite have opened an account on Instagram and use hashtags to get known. And not to mention the novice photographers who do not conceive a career without being present in this social network.
And that is the philosophy behind a project led by Alison Zavo , editor-in-chief of Feature Shoot and founder of The Print Swap , a competitive platform for emerging photographers to affordably share, sell and collect art.
HOW DOES THE PRINT SWAP WORK?
Its operation is simple, so much so that you will want to participate right now. Upload your photo to Instagram, although not everyone thinks that they must have an artistic or photographic line, and adds the hashtag #theprintswap .
The most popular categories are landscapes, nature, travel, cityscapes, architecture, animals or wildlife, abstract and figurative photography.
Since its launch in 2016, more than 7,700 photographers from all over the world have participated and they have risen more than 176,000 photos with this hashtag.
The Print Swap
WHY SHOULD YOU PARTICIPATE?
Here is the secret of the success of the project. The Print Swap has a jury working for select the best images and share them with other photographers around the world but in its oldest version: the printed one.
If you upload a photo and it is the one selected by the jury, the jury will develop it and send it to another photographer by conventional mail. “Many Print Swap photographers become repeat participants; they love the uncertainty of waiting for a photograph to arrive like in the old days , only in this case, they don't know what it will be until they open the package," founder Alison told Traveler.es.
" Our mission is to bring together photographers from all walks of life and backgrounds through a large-scale international printing exchange. I love the idea that someone in Ohio can get a surprise impression from someone in Pakistan, who in turn can get one from someone in Dubai…”.
Participate in the largest Instagram photo exchange!
Although for this to happen you have to pay $40 fee If not, it is simply possible that your photo is the one selected and sent to one who has paid for it. Do not worry, because if they choose it, they will notify you.
"Do you remember those times waiting for the photos to be developed? Send an image to #theprintswap and wait. You will receive a photograph, beautifully printed, on real paper, although not the one you sent. Images are randomly exchanged between participants . It is fun! ", explains the participant and photographer Beeke Bartelt on the web.
YOUR PHOTO AROUND THE WORLD
And there are still more. on a recurring basis The Print Swap organizes exhibitions with those same photographs all over the world. This fall they will be at Indian Photo Festival, Hyderabad, from September 6 to October 7, in Photoville, Brooklyn, from September 13 to 23; and at The Other Art Fair, London, October 4-7.
As its founder says, these exhibitions and sharing on instagram has helped launch the careers of many emerging photographers since then with awards every year and exhibitions. In addition some of those same photographers are later part of the jury selecting images or curators in the same exhibitions.
“I wanted to create something where people could experience a real connection with photography . We are getting used to giving likes and quickly moving on to the next thing, so seeing an image in print is a totally different and much more meaningful experience,” emphasizes Alison.
With which photograph would you like to participate?