They are the sheriffs, tireless contributors of amazing photos and good spirits of Foap. A couple about which you hear from day one once joining the Foap Team. Today, we are thrilled to be publishing a story of this lovely couple.
If you haven’t met them yet, you should check their portfolios right away: @julieweiss10 and @gweezy10.
Ladies and gentlemen, please meet Julie and Noah Weiss!
Who are you? Where do you live and what do you do when not snapping great photos?
[Julie] I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, while Noah moved there from Arizona when he was 7. Though we only met / started dating when we went off to college at The University of Texas in Austin. Over the last 10+ years together we have earned degrees, adopted two rescue pups, and moved from Texas to Arizona to Germany. Oh yeah – we got married along the way.
We have called Munich our home now for over three years and absolutely love it here. I work as a financial analyst in the tech industry, and Noah is a chemist doing research and development. When we aren’t at work, we are either hanging out with our dogs or out exploring Europe (or both) – often with our camera at hand.
Guys, how did this whole adventure with Foap start? When and how did you learn about us and why have you decided to start foaping?
[Julie] I first heard about Foap through my mother (who is also a Foaper: @Jvlady). She knew that we both have always loved dabbling in photography and she thought we might have a few photos with selling potential. I was immediately hooked – especially after I made my first sale. I love that Foap is an outlet for us amateur photographers to sell our pictures and get to (virtually) meet others with the same passion.
[Noah] I started foaping a few months after Julie because it seemed like a lot of fun. Once I got going, the interaction with Foap inspired us both to take more creative pictures. Now we take photos not only to document our experiences but also to look for scenes that sellers might be interested in. Since joining, we have started a collection of really unique and fun photos from our travels that we would not have otherwise taken.
Altogether you both uploaded about 5000 images and you have over one thousand followers. What’s the most important part of Foap for you? And why is it so important?
[Noah] Clearly comparing our two profiles you can see that Julie is the more active one, but for me the most important part of Foap is that it is a platform open to anyone and all types of photos. I really like this aspect of it because this creates a lot of diversity and makes it continuously interesting to engage with.
[Julie] For me, I think my favorite part is getting a chance to put my pictures out there in the world – regardless if they sell or not. It is always fun to see how the photos you upload will be received – via ratings and comments. Don’t get me wrong though – I definitely get excited whenever one sells. Plus I don’t know what else I would do with all of my photos of dogs (of our own two and those of random dogs that I see).
You’ve managed to sell over 100 photos together. That’s an amazing result and I wonder if you could share any best practices or tricks on how to sell photos on Foap?
[Noah] We have found two main keys to selling on Foap: 1) consider what has marketing potential and would be interesting for commercial use and 2) be very thorough and detailed when tagging photos. Most of the “recently sold” photos have a very clear subject in them (for example a person or animal) and are tagged with specific keywords that make them more likely to show up in searches. Often the most beautiful landscape shots are the highest rated, but they are not what sell the most. And when they do sell – it seems to be because they are tagged with their specific destination.
You’ve been a part of Foap Community from the very beginning. How would you describe the Community? What does it mean for you to be part of it?
[Julie] There are so many incredible things that come with the Foap community. It never ceases to amaze me how supportive so many people are. You often see a mission winner receiving congratulations from the very people they beat. I also love interacting with other Foapers via the comments section. It is great to be able to give 5 stars to a photo you love, but even better to be able to write something on the pictures that really stand out to you. Foap’s Community gives me a sense of being more than just a user – I feel like we all are a part of the team.
Apart from the great photos you’re posting to Foap there is a very special thing that you’re doing that makes Foap Team call you ‚The Sheriffs’. You guys are helping us with finding the images that were posted to Foap by people other than their authors. Why are you doing that?
[Julie] As we reviewed pictures, we would come across some that seemed too good to be true. Many times this helped us discover a Foaper with a great portfolio. But sometimes a reverse image search would show that the user was not the true photographer. It is sad to think that one of the many amazing photographers on Foap could lose out on a sale to someone who simply uploaded a photo they found online. Once I even had another user upload one of my pictures! But with the wonderful Foap Community, I was told about it by a fellow Foaper who recognized the photo as mine.
What was the most exciting or cheerful situation at Foap that made you guys smile for a long time?
[Noah] It’s pretty easy for me to say my happiest Foap moment was when one of my favorite photos was selected for Foap’s online homepage. This is such a great honor! I definitely changed the homepage on my wife’s computer to www.foap.com just to remind her how awesome I am.
[Julie] For the record – technically one of my photos is also on the homepage. That tiny photo of ‘Photographer Gweezy10’?? I took that photo of him 😉
As you know Foap is changing together with its growing community. What would be your advice for the Foap Team on how to keep changing Foap?
[Julie] The changes you guys have made to curb people from uploading photos they didn’t take have helped – so I would say great job and keep improving that aspect of Foap. I also miss getting the emails when I sold a photo – I am looking forward to those coming back (hopefully!).
[Noah] It is always fun to find your photo being used online. Perhaps when the emails do return, you could add who bought the picture (assuming the buyer is ok with that).
Thank you Julie and Noah for sharing this amazing story!
It’s great to have such inspiring people on board.
As for the emails, we’re already working on that, so hopefully you’ll enjoy the changes soon.
Once again, it’s great to be having you as a part of Foap!
