Dear Reader,

Here’s this week’s Featured Publication, with a new place to get paid for newsworthy photos. And speaking of newsworthy, tomorrow we’ll hear from two readers who are getting their travel stories published in newspapers. One even earned her own travel column.

-- Bonnie

Bonnie Caton
AWAI Travel Division

P.S. It’s exhilarating to make money from your photos... but then how will you keep track of it all... set yourself up as a pro... and get the best possible deal on your taxes? You take the photos, we’ll help you through the “numbers” stuff, with the Business of Photography. Get a discounted pre-press copy now, before the price goes up on the finished version, here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/bph/website

September 24, 2009

****************
Featured Publication: Wesay.com
Website: www.wesay.com
****************

Citizen Journalists: Your Photos Compete for Pay at Wesay.com

By Bonnie Caton in Portland, Oregon

At Wesay.com, which touts itself as an online news site, citizen journalists and amateur photographers can win money for newsworthy photos. The site’s goal, in its own words, is to “encourage online users to become involved in the news-gathering process formerly dominated by mainstream, conglomerate-owned media.”

Though the site’s editors ultimately choose the winners, votes from other members contribute to the decision. The more newsworthy your photos are, the more likely they are to win. Prizes range from $25 to $500.

To enter the monthly contest, sign up for a free account, upload your newsworthy photos, and add them to a category. Categories include News, Environment, Celebs, Sports, Far-Out (on travel), and Uncategorized. For a photo to be accepted, it needs to be at least 800 pixels along the longest edge and under 5MB. Since the emphasis is on newsworthy, no digital photo manipulation is allowed. (Simple cropping and color/exposure correction is ok.)

Viewers can peruse each category, voting for their favorite shots. Popular images include events such as protests, fires, festivals, sports games, and other breaking news. Celebrity spottings are always quite popular, as well.

Past months’ winners include photos of the World Rainforest Music Festival in Malaysia, a play at a Cubs vs. Nationals baseball game, a rare sea species, a chemical fire in Detroit, elephants swimming in India, Joe Cocker in concert, a solar eclipse in China, motocross racing, a backhoe that fell into its own hole...

You retain the ownership and rights to any photos you submit to Wesay.com but do beware that by doing so, you grant the site the right to continue publishing them for as long as it wants.

Keep in mind that many publications request first-time rights to publish your content. So if you have photos you’d like to send to a magazine along with a story, you may not want to publish them on Wesay.com. However, if you have multiple photos of a single subject, you may be able to publish some on the site and send others in with your story.

In any case, be sure to read all of the conditions carefully before sending in your stuff.

Here are the contest guidelines: http://www.wesay.com/Contest/Rules.aspx
And here are some tips on what to submit: http://www.wesay.com/What.aspx

[Ed. Note: You’ll find a section on submitting photos and stories to newspapers -- including how, exactly, to approach newspaper editors -- in the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Program, on close-out sale for nearly half off right now, here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/twr/cl/website

As a final note, the editors at Wesay.com choose the winning photos based on news value, emotional impact, photo quality (including composition, lighting, etc.), and the clarity and impact of the description, taking into account the number of votes from other users. If you’d like to win, just any snapshot probably won’t cut it.

TIP: To make sure your shots are technically perfect and well-composed, try carrying a set of Photo Tip Cards in your camera bag. That way, if you come across some breaking news -- an emergency, a sports game, a good story -- you can pull out the appropriate card and see how to set your camera to get the best shot right away. You can pick up a set of Photo Tip Cards here: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/tip/website]

*************************
(c) 2009 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
http://awaionline.com/contact/

To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com