Perspectives

Demystifying Photo Book Crowdfunding

with Amy Touchette

Online registration for this program has closed. To check availability, find out about future dates, or if you would like further information, please call 505-983-1400 ext. 111. Also, get the SFW E-Newsletter for updates!

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Course Description

Designing and creating a photography book is no easy task—especially when you consider the funding it requires. Whether you’re self-publishing or partnering with an established publisher, the costs can add up quickly. Amy Touchette, a New York City-based photographer known for her captivating street portraits, brings a unique perspective to this challenge, having navigated the complexities of book production herself.

Crowdfunding presents many compelling reasons to take on the financial challenge. The exposure you and your book receive during the campaign is invaluable, and the supportive community that forms along the way is both empowering and rewarding. But, before moving ahead with a crowdfunding campaign, having a clear and well-planned strategy is crucial.

In these two live online sessions, photographer Amy Touchette explains the essential steps to running a successful crowdfunding campaign for your photography book. She covers key topics such as choosing the right crowdfunding platform, identifying and reaching your target audience, planning your timeline and creating a schedule, setting your budget, optimizing your video and campaign page, selecting appealing rewards for backers, developing a social media and press strategy, avoiding common pitfalls, and much more.

Amy’s own successful Kickstarter campaign for her book Personal Ties: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn is a great example of what’s possible with the right planning and strategy. She was fully funded just two-and-a-half weeks into her 32-day campaign, and she shares insights from her personal experience. You can check out her campaign here: Kickstarter – Personal Ties.

This seminar is for anyone who wants to learn how to successfully crowdfund a photography book, whether you’re already planning a campaign or just exploring your options.

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
All are welcome
What You Should Know:

The workshop is open to all who have an interest in finding and creating your photography marketplace. No level of photographic technical ability is required since this is not a workshop to make new images.

Policies:

View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.

Categories
Book Making, One-of-a-Kind, Professional Development
about
Amy Touchette

Amy Touchette is a photographer based in New York City, who specializes in street portraits. Trained at the International Center of Photography, where she now teaches, her photographs have exhibited and been published internationally, including at the MoMA-Moscow, in The New York Times, and in The Guardian. One of 100 photographers profiled in the book Women Street Photographers (Prestel, 2021), BuzzFeed called her a “master of street photography in the busiest of concrete jungles, New York City.”

Amy’s latest monograph, Personal Ties: Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn (Schilt Publishing, 2022), was short-listed for the Lucie Photo Book Award 2022 and garnered a Critical Mass 2021 Top 50. Photographs from the book debuted at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England, as part of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition and subsequently exhibited at Lincoln Center in New York City. Her first monograph, Shoot the Arrow: A Portrait of The World Famous *BOB* (Un-Gyve Press, 2013), was featured in various media, including la repubblica, Esquire Magazine, and Vogue Italia. She’s represented by Clamp in NYC and Little Big Galerie in Paris, France.

Website: amytouchette.com

Instagram: @amy_touchette

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