Photographer induction program

Photographer induction program

Proposed, but not currently active.

Objective

Getting professional photographers or amateur photographers (who otherwise contribute quality images to various online photography competitions) to get involved in and to contribute to the free knowledge movement.

Rules

The images would have to be nominated by a Wikimedian with a minimum of 3 uploads on Commons or 30 edits in any of the Wikimedia sister projects in any language
The images should have been already entered into some competition on the web or should have been posted on some social platform (including flickr, instagram) as the author’s own work. However, the copyright of the image should still have been retained by the photographer.
The nominating Wikimedian would need to do the following:
- The nominator would need to match the image against Wikipedia article(s) that could benefit from the image he/she is nominating. Matching against Wikipedia articles having no image should be treated with priority.
- The nominator would need to check Commons for availability of similar images. The image need not be nominated if quality images of similar category are already present. The Wikimedian is encouraged to add the available image(s) to the relevant article.
- However, if the nominator still thinks that in spite of multiple similar images being present, the proposed image could be of utility to some Wikimedia sister project, he/she can still nominate the image.
- The nominator would need to contact the photographer and introduce him/her to the competition and tell him that his/her image (the one in particular) could be a featured image candidate. Thereafter the nominator should briefly enlighten the photographer of the prospects of the image being viewed by numerous people especially if the image is included in a Wikipedia page, Wikipedia being the 5th most visited site globally, and that the Creative Commons license would ensure that the credit or attribution for the image would be given to the photographer whenever and wherever the image is made use of.
- The nominator would guide the photographer to upload the original image (with EXIF data) to Commons and in a way would adopt this new user and encourage him or her to contribute to the Wikipedia movement.
The photographer would need to do the following:
- Upload the original file for the nominated image (with EXIF data) to Commons.
- Declare that image is his/her own work
- Use a Creative Commons License on the image.
- Add relevant description to the image (with assistance from the nominator).
The nominator or the photographer is also encouraged to:
- Name the image suitably.
- Add appropriate categories to the image.
- Enter the image into this competition as well as a candidate for featured image (if felt applicable)
The nominators are encouraged to form a taskforce and work in unison.
Nominations would be accepted between [allocated time period]. Based on the participation and impact of the competition it could be held every month, quarter or 6 months or on yearly basis.
Multiple images by the same photographer can be submitted by one or more nominators provided that they fulfil the above mentioned criteria.
The images would be open to discussions by fellow Wikimedians.
The images would be judged by a panel of qualified persons. Exact criteria to be subsequently discussed.
Voting rights - To be discussed.
Evaluation criteria - The images would be scored based on multiple criteria including quality of the image, relevance to Wikimedia page(s) and availability of similar images - Exact parameters and scoring to be set.
There would be cash or non-cash prizes. Exact denominations or items and number of prizes to be discussed.
Prizes would also be there for the nominator of the top x number of best images, for highest number of images nominated, highest number of images in the top scoring category, highest impact on Wikimedia projects etc. - exact parameters and prizes to be discussed and set.

Instructions for the photographers

Re-use your quality photos and participate in a competition that offers you dual benefits
- You get to participate in “X” competition
- Your image gets nominated for Featured Image on Wikimedia projects
Scope of recognition
- Your image(s) stand a chance of getting awarded among the top images in this competition
- Your image(s) get featured on Wikipedia pages and thereby get a wide viewership, Wikipedia being the fifth most visited site globally
- You would always be credited as the author of the original work vide the Creative Commons license used
- Your image(s) automatically become featured image candidates and stand a chance of becoming featured image(s)
- You get badges, barnstars and certificates recognizing your achievement
- Get featured on article(s) on Wikipedia blog which has a global viewership
- Get featured in official publications like ‘The Signpost’
- You get to display your achievements on your social profile, resume or personal website and thereby gain public appreciation
- You get to enjoy freebies, prizes, discount coupons and gift certificates

Utilities of the proposal

Mobilising regular editors to reach out
Encouraging wiki-outsiders to step in
Providing non-monetary benefits to encourage paritcipation on Wiki
A mentored approach to new comers
The project can lead to 100% or near 100% utilitarian uploads on Commons
Utilising already available resources productively to fill unfilled gaps on Wikimedia projects
Propagation of the significance of Creative Commons licensing
Use of social media to spread the message of Wikipedia movement

More details

Program document