Daniel Arnold just got paid. Paid $15,000 by his Instagram followers for his street photography. Awesome.
For those that haven’t seen the articles yet, Daniel was running low on money last week so asked his Instagram followers if they would be interested in purchasing prints from his feed. $150 a pop for a 6″x4″, any photo you want, limited time birthday sale only.
Daniel’s followers were most interested. In a very short period of time this sale of his prints had brought in in over $15,000. The buyers included actor James Franco, and Matt Cauble who bought every photo of Daniel’s with over 1,000 likes.
That’s an epic response. Epic because it’s the first time that we’ve ever seen a photographer on Instagram get paid by his followers for his photos. No brands, no third party promotions, no #sponsored.
His sale is sparking debate online. Some couldn’t believe that people would pay $150 for a 6×4, others protested that it was a hoax. The most interesting discussion can be found on the Flak Photo Network Facebook group with commentors discussing whether or not the sale devalues his work. We don’t think it does, as the funds let him get back to what he does best.
MPN Co-Founder Oliver Lang went out street shooting with Daniel in lower Manhattan late in 2013 (see pictures above). Daniel walks fast for several hours a day with a small film camera hanging from his wrist and his iPhone holstered in his pocket. He senses a photograph, turns to follow an interesting person or scene and he puts himself in exactly the right place to capture the moment where it all comes together, or decays. Sometimes it’s a sad beauty, but mostly it’s his honesty that comes through his images.
Here’s a snippet of how Daniel views his work, taken for our MPN interview with him last year.
“I think the theme of the photos has more to do with the viewer than with my intentions. Some people see a thread of vulnerability or awkwardness or even cruelty. To me, the best of my photos show moments when recognizable, commonplace elements align to suggest something larger than reality.”
Note* The first photo in the post is Daniel Arnold’s. It’s the one he used for the promo sale.