The NFT ecosystem has expanded significantly since it first became public knowledge. In addition to its use as a PFP, individuals and companies have used NFTs for a variety of purposes, including bringing us closer to full virtual reality. Similarly, NFTs help promote and protect the rights of creators.
One of the reasons for the rapid rise in popularity of NFTs has been their uniqueness in relation to ownership. In particular, owning an image. It could even be argued that NFTs have benefited photography more than any other industry. We share photos every day for different reasons and purposes. Unless you are a corporation or an individual with a large following, you can probably get away with using an image downloaded from the Internet. After all, the owner is not there to object to the use of the image.
One way NFT creators use to protect their intellectual property and revenue is by photographing the NFT. This guide examines NFT photography and how it can be used by photographers and collectors. Let’s dive in.
What exactly are NFTs?
For starters, what are NFTs? NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. An interchangeable asset is an asset that can be replaced by another object of the same type, meaning that it is not unique and can be used interchangeably with other assets of the same type. For example, five 10-dollar bills can be exchanged for 50-dollar bills, and one ounce of gold is equal to another ounce of gold. These are assets that can be traded. Non-fungible assets, on the other hand, are one-of-a-kind assets.
Due to their nature, NFTs have been used as digital representations of assets on the blockchain. These assets can include music, movies, artwork, or physical assets such as real estate or diamonds.
NFT photo
Simply put, a photo NFT is a digital representation of an image on the blockchain. This makes it easier to identify the owner of the image at any point in time. In addition, it allows the author to assign multiple functions to the image. If that doesn’t make sense, maybe our auction system analogy will.
Buying and selling NFT photos is easier to understand when compared to something that has been around longer – art auctions. If you’re not familiar with an art auction, it’s a public sale where original works of art are displayed and sold to the highest bidder, who also gets bragging rights.
NFT photography is similar to this, except the materials are digital and the prestige of owning something unique and authentic is emphasized. The most important detail to consider when purchasing NFT photography is how they protect the creator’s rights and originality. Unlike art auctions, NFTs simplify the transfer and protection of ownership rights.
For example, if a work of art is not well known, it is difficult to determine who owns it. However, with NFTs, ownership can be easily verified and tracked. In addition, the owner can use the NFT for many different purposes, such as lending it to others.
What makes NFT photography different?
In our increasingly digital world, originality is hard to come by. A simple screenshot can send a photo or painting around the world. For example, if you see a beautiful image on Instagram and you like it, interact with it and get inspired by it, you can take a screenshot of it. This does not make you the owner of the image; you are just a consumer.
As a photographer who has worked hard to capture a great shot of something rare, you can share that image with your audience. Once you publish this image, it will be difficult for other users to track this image. This is usually because someone has picked up your work and republished it without crediting you. The originality of your hard work is lost and there is no real evidence of ownership to track. It just becomes another one of those photos floating around and you’re just another photographer.
NFTs help solve this problem by allowing the photographer to claim full ownership of their work. Photographers can easily tokenize their work by minting NFTs of their images. This will make it easy for them to be properly rewarded for a job well done, and allow those who want to upload and publish their work without claiming ownership to do so.
As mentioned earlier, blockchain technology, which functions as a public ledger, supports NFTs. This allows ownership and transactions to be digitally tracked and protected, making them immutable. Blockchain eliminates duplication and counterfeiting, ensuring authenticity.
Is an NFT photo different from a regular photo?
NFT photography is not very different from regular photography; it is essentially the same thing. The difference is that your photos are tokenized on the blockchain and can be traced back to you using NFTs. You get this benefit regardless of whether the customer buys the NFT photo or not. This is made possible by the fact that NFTs have a track record.
In other words, when an NFT is viewed, we can see who purchased it, when they purchased it, and who the creator is. This ensures greater transparency and honesty in the art world. It also means that NFT photographers get their fair share regardless of how many times an NFT is sold or bought on the NFT market. There will always be a link to its original creator. Thus creating a chance for the NFT photographer to be handsomely rewarded for their work.
Types of NFT photos
There are several types of NFT photos, but here are a few examples:
1/1 NFT
This is an individual work of the artist. Because they are the digital equivalent of limited-edition paintings or other tangible works of art, they are often the most valuable items in an artist’s collection.
Collection
NFT collections usually consist of several different works of art. They can contain two, three or as many as the artist wishes. Their number can be counted in tens, hundreds or even thousands. Mike Winkelmann’s (aka Beeple) Everydays, which consisted of the artist’s daily creations, is an example of the NFT collection. Its collection, the first 5,000 days, is one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold.
Open edition
Open versions of NFTs are usually available to collectors for a limited time (usually 24 to 72 hours) set by the artist. Their number is not limited. Isaac Wright’s well-known NFT First Day Out is a great example. For a prize of 0.2 ETH each, he sold over 10,000 units, with 15% of the profits going to The Bail Project.
Limited edition
Unlike an open issue, this type of NFT issue has a limited number and time limit. Once their designated limit is reached, they can no longer be collected.
In the NFT market, some types of photo NFTs perform better than others. Here are just some of them:
- Artistic photography
- Documentary photography
- Landscape photography
- Conceptual photo
- Black and white photo
How to sell your NFT photos
Selling NFT photos as a photographer is quite simple. But if you are new to the NFT ecosystem, it might not be easy. However, here are some steps you should take:
Get a crypto wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet that you can use to manage your trades and store your balance is one of the first things you’ll need to start trading, buying and selling your NFTs. Among the best cryptowallets for NFTs are AlphaWallet, MetaMask, and TrustWallet. If you are new to the NFT photography community, you should start with MetaMask; it is extremely convenient and popular among creators.
Carefully study the market for your assets
Before minting your first photo NFT, it’s best to take your time and consider a number of factors. As a creator, it is very important that you represent the type of art that users want in the market.
Most art collectors are interested in the visual appearance of images and, at the same time, the story behind them. So having quality images and stories behind your NFT photos will help promote your brand and drive sales.
Join the trading platform
An NFT marketplace is a platform where a collector and owner trade NFTs. You can sell NFTs as a photographer on several of these platforms. Some are open to anyone who wants to sell digital versions of their work, while others are by invitation only.
OpenSea, SuperRare, and Foundation are three of the most popular NFT markets running on the Ethereum blockchain. These platforms support NFT photos with dedicated sections on the platform for this. It is important to remember that there are many alternatives to these NFT markets, each with a unique selection of illustrations, features and operating protocols.
Create/mint your NFT
Many NFT markets allow users to create/mint NFTs on them. “Minting” refers to the process of registering this image in the blockchain using a unique token. That’s when the images become NFTs and take advantage of the blockchain. After minting, the photo NFT is listed on the platform.
How and where to buy NFT photos
The first step to buying any NFT is to create a cryptocurrency wallet. The next step is to buy cryptocurrency, which can be done quickly by going to an exchange. Once you have some cryptocurrency in your wallet, the fun begins: browsing the NFT markets until you find what you need.
You will then need to look at the NFT listing data to see if anyone has previously bought them. You can take if they haven’t and you can afford it. In most cases, if someone already owns it, the opportunity to make an offer is to see if they are willing to sell it.
NFT images and photos can be found on most NFT markets. However, some of these markets are dedicated exclusively to photos. One such is Quantum Art, which is one of the most popular and authoritative. The platform has a section dedicated to digital art curators, and NFT photographers can even get jobs in the platform’s main photography department.
The best artists in the field of NFT photography
Contrary to what many may think, there are many artists in the NFT photography space. Before the PFP boom, photography dominated the NFT ecosystem. But it’s hard to see right now because of the many NFT use cases. Nevertheless, the space remains active with established artists known for their unique and compelling work. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Leave Simard
Kat Simard is one of the leading pioneers of NFT photography. The Canadian-born photographer is a leading digital artist in the NFT ecosystem. Her artistic style combines reality and imagination in composite photography. She is particularly known for the effort put into creating her photographs. According to details on her website, the effort includes walking 250 kilometers, trekking for 18 days and filming at an altitude of 5,900 meters. No wonder she releases 5-7 pictures a year.
Drifting
Drift is an NFT photographer known for his daring photography that often involves zooming in on bridges and skyscrapers. A more interesting fact about the photographer is that his photography is a way out of the post-traumatic stress disorder he suffers from. The photographer, a veteran of the Army’s special operations forces, began work after his discharge from the service in 2020. However, his daring exploits led to his arrest in Cincinnati, Ohio, for over two months. After his release, the artist channeled this episode in his life to release works such as First Day Out in 2022. His other NFT photo collections are some of his most popular work.
Justin Aversano
Justin Aversano has a reputation not only as an artist, but also as a creator, having co-founded Quantum Art, an NFT marketplace dedicated exclusively to NFT photography. In addition, Justin is the co-founder of SaveArtSpace, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing public art to public spaces. His NFT photo collections have fetched millions in the primary and secondary NFT markets.
Guido Di Salle
Guido Di Salle is one of the most successful artists in the NFT ecosystem. Many of his works have sold for over 50 ETH (about $72,000 USD) and have been featured in famous magazines such as Playboy. The artist described his art style as simply capturing moments, people and memories. His photographic style, however, is reminiscent of that of the 80s and 90s – sensual, bold and intuitive.
Conclusion
For both amateurs and experienced photographers, NFT photography is undoubtedly a new frontier. This ensures that the photographer gets proper credit for a job well done. With that recognition and credit comes validation, as well as a well-deserved financial reward.
NFTs have gained popularity over time and plan to do so repeatedly as word continues to spread about NFTs in general and photo NFTs in particular. So, both NFT photographers and collectors are smart to take advantage of the growing interest to get what they both need.
Frequently asked questions about NFT photography
- Can you sell photos as NFT? So. Remember, NFTs are tokens that represent assets. Such a resource can be, for example, audio, video or photo, as in this case. So if you mint your photo as an NFT, you can put it up for sale on any NFT market.
- How to create a photographic NFT? NFTs are created through a process called minting. When minting occurs, the photo is represented in the blockchain by a token. This token, in addition to representing the image, also contains some metadata. For example, if the image is a GIF, the NFT can be programmed to repeat what the GIF does.
- Can any photo be an NFT? Certainly. There are no standards for what an NFT photo can be. You don’t have to be a professional photographer or have a huge following on social networks.
