Powerhouse

joan slavin

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A friend of mine was asked to publish his photography with this publisher, but he must contribute a substantial amount of money in order for the book to be published. Everyone says being published by this publisher will open doors for this young photographer and open doors for him. Is this true?? He has limited financial resources, how does he get the money? Is it worth the effort for his career? It seems a little strange to me.
 
.................... Everyone says being published by this publisher will open doors for this young photographer and open doors for him......................................

Who is the "everyone" you are referring to? The people trying to get his money?

To answer your question in one word: No.

I have been paid very well for usage rights for my images in magazines like Sunset, Westways and Playboy along with countless corporate brochures and highway billboards. Not one of those published images ever "opened doors" for another contact or sale. Effective marketing is the answer - and is even more important than fantastic photography. (I'm living proof of that!)

I am not familiar with that publisher, but the approach of conning people into paying for their stuff to be in a book "to become famous" is a really old scam that many folks have fallen for in the past.

Marc
 
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I agree with Ryan, photographers get paid for photos, not the other way around.

There are quite a few of these scams running around, like that contest from picture.com and the "International Library of Photographers", etc.

Im assuming that this "publisher" says that if he donates money to the cause, they will publish his photo in some kind of anthology or something. So whos gonna buy this book? My guess is just him and whoever else they duped into paying to print it.
 
How do you post a thread with so little details? At this moment in time I say it is a scam, but I really have nothing to go on. How about: Who is the publisher? What kind of work is being published? What doors will be open? Where (city) is this deal going down? What is your friend's experience? The list goes on and on. Photography should be about the details. Not the questions.

Love & Bass
 
The publisher is Powerhouse. The photographer is a young man in NYC. He went to Parson's School and he works not with digital film, but the film we used to use in cameras before digital and he experiments with it and uses it in new ways. I am not a photographer, so I may not be explaining this correctly. I did read an article from the newspaper that says that photographers contributing to publish their own work is not uncomman in the photographic world. I will post another reply and give you the link to this article.. Powerhouse is a photographic publisher also in NYC. I thought they were rather well known in the photo world, but maybe they are not. As I said, I am not a photographer. I just have concern for my friend. He has never published a book before and feels that publishing with this house would be a great opportunity and open doors for him. I don't know what doors and I don't think he knows either. Powerhouse asked him to contribute $40,000 towards the publication of the book.
 
Ok, I just tried the link I was given and it doesn't work to bring you to the article. If you just go to the photo district news site and search "Pay to Play Publishing", the article will come up in the search. J.
 
$40 grand is a lot of loot. Has his work done well in galleries? I think there should be some signs that it will take off before spending the money. I am sure a lot of artists have been in the same boat. Keep us posted to your (his) decision making process.

Love & Bass
 

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