The Ultimate Free Travel
Advance Notes: As a stock photographer, you are in a unique position to benefit from a variety of "travel
PhotoSource International often posts information on "familiarization tours" (or 'famtours' as they are called in the travel industry). Destinations such as Rocky Mountain guest ranches, Vermont ski lodges, Caribbean snorkling excursions, Mexican beach hotel openings, Canadian Railways trips often will post a press trip in the PhotoDaily. Even if you are not primarily a travel photographer, you can sometimes utilize these trips to advantage, plus give value to the sponsors of the trip.
The aim of the sponsoring company or destination is to get publicity for their enterprise by offering qualified photojournalists free trips. 'Famtours' can be offered on a group basis (five to ten writer-photographers), or as tailor-made tours for an individual.
The aim of the destination company is usually to publicize the amenties of their venue through the objective eye of a photojournalist. In some cases, they use a famtour to mitigate a news event that might have rendered the venue in a poor light, such as a skiing accident, or price increases. Also, unrest in so many areas of the world creates challenges for the travel industry, to battle undeserved poor press or misguided impressions.
Sometimes sponsoring the companies combine with an airline or a railway to provide free transportation for the photojournalist. In the majority of cases, the company provides at least lodging, meals, and tickets to events.
The photojournalist has to show he or she has a track record in the field of magazine or newspaper journalism - either as a single photographer working together with a writer, or as a photographer who is also able to provide the article or copy.
The company benefits when the destination is shown in a good light in the article, but seeks balanced, not padded, reporting, for veracity. To make yourself eligible for invites, start by producing a few travel articles on a local hometown basis, then a regional basis, and then move into the big time of national magazines and newspaper features.
When you are at that level, you can usually pick your destinations because you are already on a first-name basis with the travel editor of the publication.
Other photographers who are not writers can pitch a 'portfolio' idea to a destination. Here's that method: You
Since the manager of the destination is always eager to update images of his venue, you and a 'significant other', and in some cases the entire family because the children can serve as models, may be invited for a three-day (or week-long) stay at the destination. The resulting photographs are entered into the files of the destination's publicity director (the old ones are tossed out), and the photographer is allowed to also retain rights to the photos for use in stock sales.
If a press trip invitation date does not match your calendar, you can always pitch an editor with a story idea because you know the famtour venue people you are working with are hungry for the promotion you can bring them. You can also pitch the destination itself with the above 'portfolio' idea to fatten their files with current photos that can be used in their company brochures, press releases and catalogs.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of "Sell & ReSell Your Photos" and "sellphotos.com," has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: "8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer," visit http://www.sellphotos.com
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