Contributors

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How to Become a CurrentPhotographer.com Contributor

Thank you for your interest in becoming a CurrentPhotographer.com Contributor. Our site was created as a resource for photographers and provides information ranging from the latest product releases to how-to tips for making better images and running successful photography businesses. In an effort to broaden our resources we’re reaching out to the photo community asking them to share their experiences and knowledge with our readers.

We’re looking for contributors that have experience in specific areas of photography such as:

• Wedding photography
• Portrait photography
• Sports photography
• Landscape photography
• Commercial / advertising photography
• etc…

…or experience with technology such as:

• Photography gear including cameras, lighting, backgrounds, etc.
• Computer hardware
• Computer software
• Mobile devices including applications
• Electronics
• etc…

…to share their knowledge through how-to tips or even general interest stories. If you’re a wedding photographer who also shoots portraits but has a passion for iPad applications, then feel free to write about that. We’re very flexible and want you to be excited about the subjects you write about. We’re also open to video, so if you can create high-quality screencasts or can shoot and edit HD video feel free to submit those as well.

Our goal is to find contributors who are committed to creating articles on a regularly scheduled basis. We would love an article a day but know that’s not possible for most. One article every week or two is acceptable but we are looking for a consistent delivery date so we can schedule your articles for publication. If you’re unable to commit to a regular schedule we certainly understand and invite you to submit your occasional articles through our Guest Blogger program.

As a Contributor you’ll have your own login to our site where you can create and compose the articles yourself. You can control the look of the article by positioning images where you want and adjusting the fonts and color of the text. Your name will appear as the post author under the headline and will be a clickable link that will take the viewer to a page with all of your articles. At the bottom of each post there will be an author box that includes your headshot, bio, and links to your websites and online profiles. We’ll also have a dedicated author page that will list each of our Contributors along with their headshot, bio and links.

Something else that we’re offering you as a Contributor is the ability to promote affiliate products through TEXT links in your articles. By registering for an affiliate program with online retailers like Amazon.com and B&H Photo, you’ll be able to earn a commission from them on the sale of products purchased using your affiliate code.

Below are some guidelines to help you get a better understanding of what we’re looking for from our Contributors.

Guidelines

Topics: We’ll consider just about any topic related to photography including, but not limited to, shooting and lighting tips, software tutorials, product reviews, inspiration, photo business, social networks (as they pertain to photographers), etc. We also love articles/videos about computers, electronics, gadgets and new web technologies with a photography slant. Pick a subject area that you have experience in and are passionate about. We would like you to become our “Expert” in that subject, and the go-to person for more information.

Content: We’re looking for original content and are assuming your submission is exclusively for use on CurrentPhotographer.com. After your article goes live, we ask that you don’t publish it elsewhere.

Links: Links to other websites or your own website within the article are perfectly acceptable as long as they enhance the piece by providing additional information, examples, reference, etc. For Contributors we do allow text links to affiliate products with certain restrictions.

The affiliate links need to be relevant to your subject and worked into the flow of the copy. If your article contains affiliate links you will need to include a note at the bottom of the article that says…

“This post contains links to my affiliate partners. Purchasing products and services through these links helps support my efforts to bring you the quality information you love and there’s no additional cost to you.”

We don’t allow banner ads in the articles because we feel they detract from the viewers experience and conflict with our advertising partners.

Photos: As creatives, we love visuals; adding photos to your posts is a great way to attract readers. If you have original photos that support your article feel free to include them. Also, be sure to include a watermark on your image if you’re concerned about protecting your copyright.

Speaking of copyright, please do not use images without authorization. If you need an image to illustrate a point and you don’t have an original, please check stock photography sites like iStockphoto.com and purchase the small version. You will need to certify that you have rights to use the images.

Word Count: We don’t have a set word count for articles. In general, shorter articles that get to the point quickly have a greater likelihood of being read. Long articles may look daunting or push the limits of the average blog reader’s available time and attention span.

Editing and Acceptance: After your article has been created, it goes into a hold until it’s approved by the site administrator. We’ll review the images, links and copy to make sure they meet our terms. We may make minor edits to the articles such as grammatical changes, title changes and other small tweaks. Our intent is not to rewrite or change the meaning of your article. If we feel your article misses the mark completely or if it needs improvement, we’ll let you know and make suggestions on how to improve it.

The subject of photography is not as controversial as say politics, so for the most part I don’t think we’ll run into many issues. That said, articles that are written to be controversial for the sake of being controversial without any real point behind it other than to evoke a heated response from readers will not be published. The age old debates of Canon vs. Nikon and Mac vs PC are over. Our advice is to stay away from these types of articles.

We reserve the right to not publish articles, videos, etc. that we feel may be offensive or inappropriate to our diverse audience. We run a “G” rated website and do NOT allow vulgarities, nudity, sexual innuendo, hate speech or attacks of any kind in the content.

CurrentPhotographer.com was created as a resource for photographers of all levels. Our goal is to inform and educate by providing constructive information. Articles should be written in a positive tone that will help inspire photographers to make better images or to succeed in business. We do NOT want articles that are written in a condescending or demeaning tone, or that attack certain types or levels of photographers.

Videos: We love videos and so does the CurrentPhotographer.com community. Some of the most popular videos have been behind-the-scenes of photo shoots, but product demonstrations and reviews along with software tutorials have also proved to be very popular. Most creatives are visual people and learn easier by watching a video rather than reading an article. If you can create high-quality screencasts or can shoot and edit HD video feel free to submit those as well.

All videos should be hosted with a service that allows embedding like YouTube or Vimeo. Our preference is YouTube for the simple reason that they don’t require Flash to be viewed and will work on the Apple iPhone and iPad. If you have the ability to shoot in HD 720p that’s a definite bonus as many viewers like to watch them full screen on their computer or TV. Remember video is only part of the experience; audio is just as important, and a quality microphone can make a big difference.

Benefits of being a CurrentPhotographer.com Contributor

By now you might be asking yourself, “What’s in it for me?”. Here’s a list of some of the benefits you’ll receive by becoming a CurrentPhotographer.com Contributor.

• Expert Status: Becoming a Contributor is a great way to brand yourself as an expert in your subject. You may run your own successful blog and have already established yourself as an expert with your audience, but by posting on other popular blogs, it reinforces your branding and position as a trusted advisor.
• Full Credit for the Article: You are the author and your name is attached to every article you create.
• Bio and Contact Links: At the end of each article there is a bio and contact information section so the reader can learn more about you. You can share as much or as little information as you wish. We suggest sharing links to your websites, blogs, public profiles and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. The more exposure you get the better!
• Earn Money with Affiliate Links: This is an advantage CurrentPhotographer.com Contributors have over our Guest Bloggers. If you have a popular article that gets a lot of views, your chances of earning commissions greatly increases. By posting articles on a regularly scheduled basis our readers will become familiar with you and reach a comfort level where they will be more than happy to help you out.
• Quality Inbound Links: Links to your website from other quality sites is a great way to increase search engine rankings. We’re happy to link to your site and help you gain exposure.
• Free Social Media Promotion: All articles are posted to @TrevorCurrent’s Twitter account and our Facebook page on the day the article is published. I will tweet links to the article two more times the first day and then three times a day for the next two days. If an article really takes off, I will continue to tweet links every few weeks to keep it going.
• Popular Posts: If your article hits it big, we’ll reward you for it by placing a link to it in the right side bar of our site under the “Hot Topics” heading. It will remain there until another post passes it in popularity.
• Contributor Page Listing: All of our regular Contributors will be listed on our Contributor page. Your listing will include a headshot, bio, and links to your websites and online profiles. Each Contributor’s page will also contain a listing of their articles, displaying the headline, excerpt and a thumbnail image. This will make it easy for a viewer to find all of your articles without having to search for them.
• Contributor Twitter List: Once you become a CurrentPhotographer.com Contributor, your Twitter username will be added to our “Contributor” list. I encourage all of our Contributors to follow the list and help each other gain exposure through Mentions and ReTweets of their posts. Our Contributor and Guest Blogger lists are the first place I look at each day to find great information to ReTweet

Thank you for taking the time to read our guidelines, and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us through the contact form. If you are ready to get started, just fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you right away to discuss the details.