As dream jobs go, freelance lifestyle photographer has to rank just below astronaut in the coolness stakes; Clashot have just made it that much easier to sample this awesome career by allowing its users to earn cash from their daily snaps.
The concept of the app is fairly simple; an Instagram-esque interface allows you to browse through a selection of the latest snaps uploaded from other users, which you can then ‘Like’, ‘Favourite’ and ‘Comment’ on. You can set the filter to ‘Best’ to stream the most popular shots or ‘Latest’ for, well, you get the picture…
The camera has a batch of filters that can be uploaded within the app, so you can turn that regular ol’ coffee cup into a beautiful piece of cafe art with the flick of a button. So far, so good. But here’s where it gets interesting…
If your photos generate enough interest then they will get through to the Clashot’s photobank, which is essentially a showcase for the top snaps to be viewed and potentially purchased by magazines, websites and newspapers from all over the world. Happen to be passing Madison Avenue when a flash mob breaks out in a song-and-dance routine? Your photo could make it into Time magazine. Strolling down Oxford Street when a fire breaks out in Topman? Your snap could be the lead image for The Guardian’s front cover.
However, it isn’t just exciting, opportunistic photos that can be found on Clashot; scroll through the photo feed and you will see cute children playing chess in the park, beautiful gypsies posing at a Ukranian festival and grouchy lions staring at an iPhone’s lens somewhere deep in the heart of Africa. Clashot’s users are clearly uploading their snaps for fun and if they end up making some money from them, well, all the better.
What I really like about the app is the sheer variety of the photos on there; with users from all walks of life and dotted all over the globe, you get a real mix of content constantly updated to your screen. You can share the photos on other social networks, meaning that you aren’t limited to the Clashot user base; however, if you’re seriously looking to get a buyer for your snap, it may be prudent to restrict the photo to the Clashot clan’s eyes only.
For a free app that can actually earn revenue for its users, there’s very little stopping Clashot from being the go-to app for daily iPhotographers…and if any of these people are actually astronauts, then an aerial shot of earth would probably fetch a pretty penny.
Check out some of their snaps on their Facebook and Twitter pages or go directly to their website.
