September 5, 2025 • 42 mins
Episode Summary
In this episode, Damien Swaby sits down with Josiane Faubert, a photographer and creative entrepreneur who has built a platform to showcase authentic, diverse imagery of Africa and the diaspora. From her early life in Gabon to studying in Paris and building a career in London, Josiane shares her journey of redefining representation in visual storytelling.The conversation explores how cultural heritage, lived experience, and determination can shape a filmmaker’s and photographer’s perspective — and why authentic representation matters now more than ever.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Josiane is a Gabonese-born photographer and entrepreneur who founded PICHA Afrostock, a platform dedicated to showcasing diverse, authentic African and diasporic imagery. Her work has been featured in global campaigns, and she is passionate about bridging gaps in representation across media and visual storytelling.
Links & Resources
In this episode, Damien Swaby sits down with Josiane Faubert, a photographer and creative entrepreneur who has built a platform to showcase authentic, diverse imagery of Africa and the diaspora. From her early life in Gabon to studying in Paris and building a career in London, Josiane shares her journey of redefining representation in visual storytelling.The conversation explores how cultural heritage, lived experience, and determination can shape a filmmaker’s and photographer’s perspective — and why authentic representation matters now more than ever.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- 🌍 How growing up in Gabon and France influenced Josiane’s eye for photography.
- 📸 Why she founded PICHA Afrostock collection and the mission behind it.
- 🎥 The challenges creatives of color face in the stock image and film industries.
- 💡 Tips for emerging filmmakers and photographers trying to build a sustainable career.
- 🔑 The importance of telling stories that reflect true diversity, not stereotypes.
Josiane is a Gabonese-born photographer and entrepreneur who founded PICHA Afrostock, a platform dedicated to showcasing diverse, authentic African and diasporic imagery. Her work has been featured in global campaigns, and she is passionate about bridging gaps in representation across media and visual storytelling.
Links & Resources
- Follow Josiane Faubert on Instagram
- Explore Afrostock on PICHA
- Damien Swaby – Filmmaking Conversations
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network. For more
amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Jos Anne Faubert, such a pleasure to speak to you
finally after learning so much about your work and all
the things that you do. So thanks for coming on
Filmmaking Conversations. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thanks Damien, It's such a pleasure to be on your platform.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Before we get started into the meaningful questions that I
hope and plan to ask, You're very well traveled, aren't you?
What made you travel all around the world and live
in the locations that you've lived in the first.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The first time I moved out of Gabon. So I
was born in Gabon and I lived there until I
was a teenager, and unfortunately, with my family we moved
to France and it wasn't a choice had to live
because of economic and stability in Gabon. So my parents
(01:04):
decided that in order for the kid to have a
better future, it was time to leave Gabon, so we
did that. So that was the first big move and
it was a little bit traumatic all of the kids,
because I have siblings. We really didn't like it, but
(01:24):
we got used to it eventually. So and when I
was living in France, I wanted to learn English. So
that was when I found the first opportunity to move
to the US. I grabbed it and decided to stay.
And here am I still in the US.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So what part of the US have you moved?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He? So the first time I moved to New York,
very it was do I stayed there a year, it
was really intense, and then I moved to San Francisco
to continue my studies. So I transfer. I was able
to transfer some of the credits that I had in
(02:09):
college in France. So I transferred to University of San
Francisco and lived there for about two years. Then moved
to Washington, d C. Because then I wanted to work
in international development, which I actually did. So my bachelor
is in international it's in economics with a minor of
(02:29):
international development. So I moved to DC worked in international development,
worked for an NGO called then Academy for Educational Development,
and I loved it. I worked with amazing people. I
worked on a health project that was trying to promote
(02:52):
exclusive breastfeedings in many countries. So it was really really
really cool. I love that. And then my husband got
an opportunity to move to the UK to London of
the I followed. And then but in London there's less
(03:13):
opportunity for international development. This is really big it for it,
So there was less opportunity for international development, and so
I ended up working in marketing research and eventually started
my own company as a freelance photographer portrait photographer. So
I stayed in London for about six years and then
(03:35):
moved back to Washington, d C. And that's when I
started Pitcher in Washington, d C. In yeah, ten years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So can you kind of slightly walk us through your
journey from freelance photographer to founding pick Stock. What inspired
you to make that leap and what challenges did you
face in building a business from the ground up?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, everything comes to story. I had a discussion
with a friend who was he's from Gabon. He was
a web designer, and at some point he's starting harassing
me pretty much. I said I need some images. I
need some images, and I would just send him off
(04:20):
and say, hey, go to the go to the go
to the website. There are platforms that are actually specialized
into stock photography, so if you're looking for special images,
to just go there. Because I didn't want to go
to my archive it wasn't organized, so I was like, okay,
just go to a stock follow platform and figure it out.
And he kept coming back saying that there was nothing.
(04:45):
There was nobody looking like you and I, and I
didn't understand it. Then I was like, what do you
mean looking like you? And I decide Jose, yeah, and
there are only images of people in tourism or poverty
related images. So I was like okay, So I went
(05:06):
to check it out and I noticed that it was right.
That's where I was like, okay, maybe there's something to
do here. And that's how I started Pitcher, just to
change the narrative and offer something to our community that
was not available at the time. And then it grew
(05:28):
as a platform that not just allowed us to change
the narrative, but also allow the creative, the contributors to
participate in the digital economy. Because when I was doing
my research, I also noticed that most of the images
(05:49):
coming from black communities were actually taken by foreigners. So
I was like, okay, that's also weird because I know
so many great photographers in black communities, so I was like,
that's weird, so we really need to have them also
involved in that project. So it was like a full circle.
But it all started with a story.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Why do you think or have you found out why exactly?
It's people that are not black that were taking the
majority of those type of photos.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So I think a bunch of reason. I would think
the first one is not knowing anybody on the ground.
So let's say you're a big ad agency and you
need some content, but you have no companies, you have
no network in let's say Africa, so you know of
(06:43):
a photographer that you've worked with before. Let's say you're
in London, so you just call you a photographer, say hey,
I have a budget. Here can you take the first
fight to legos? And here is the brief. So I
think it was as simple as that, like just make
it simple. But the reality is technology has opened up
(07:06):
barriers so you can find people everywhere, so now there's
no excuse like there if you're looking for someone in
a country, you can you don't have to send someone.
You can go to those social networks and you know,
spend a little bit of time and figure out who
(07:26):
you want to contact.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So, considering how technology has moved on, how do you
see visual media shaping perceptions of black and African communities.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I've seen that there are brands and companies who have
definitely tried to change perception and have been really intentional
into how they portray several or different ethnic people. So
(07:58):
which is good. And I think now the problem is
that now with the government that we have, especially here
in the US, things are a little bit slowing down
and sometimes going back to it seems like it's going
back to where it used to be. So it's a
(08:21):
little bit sad. But I think people understand that there's
a need for representation and positive representation because also we
talk about it, we complain about it on social so
people will see it. So people will see, oh, why
did you portray this person like that, This is very weird,
(08:42):
this is not how we are or I've seen I've
seen a post, for example, where there was an ad
where oh, it was a Christmas it was a holiday ad,
a Christmas ad, and they had several family is. Most
of the families had a father and a mother and
(09:05):
a child. And then when it came to the black family,
it was just a mother and a child and people
were like, wait, like, why are you always doing that? Yeah,
so people notice and then they were really loud about it,
which is great. So we have to we have to
say it when it's wrong so that they can correct
(09:28):
They can you know, think about it next time they
put together an ad. So we just have to, you know,
keep talking and make sure that we are seeing the
way we want. And also what I'm trying also to
do with the communities that I work with is to
(09:50):
make them understand that they have a power because sometimes
we also produce and we don't realize it. We produce
what we think is our right representation and we don't
see the damage that it could do to to how
other communities look at us. So yeah, so I tried
(10:12):
to open their eyes in saying that you have a responsibility,
Like every image that you take, you need to understand
that there are other people who are taking it looking
at it, and they will look at our community a
certain way because of the way you shut it. So
we had a challenge once at pitcha where I think
(10:37):
this if I remember well, the theme was what is
the future of Africa? And one person submitted that image
of a child in an underwear in the street, smiling
in front of the camera, and we had a talk
(10:59):
with the team, and we had to talk with the
photographer as well, saying, first of all, that child, he
probably didn't give.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
His consent, oh gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
And then imagine that child one day becomes the president
of your country and now there's this photo of him
very happy but vulnerable. So at the same time that
you've shot and you thought that it was the future
(11:31):
of Africa, I feel like we can do better than that.
I feel like this is such a simple representation of
who we are, so trying to push them into the
reflection of what they want to represent exactly. So yeah,
I think that's very important. Now just sometimes pause a
(11:53):
little bit and think about stuff like that. Consent is
really important. We also had an example of someone who
submitted an image of it was a I think it
was in Ghana, but it was a religious ceremony and
(12:15):
we'll see there was no consent form, no release forms,
and I say, yeah, this is kind of personal. I
don't think we will take that type of image like
it's it seems like the ceremony was very private. So
we tried to open their eyes to this type of thought, consent, representation,
(12:39):
what it means to the world, what it means to you,
so that they can also be in charge of creating
something that will make our community proud also.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
So what were some of the key strategies or turning
points that allowed Picture to grow from a niche idea
into aly recognized platform.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Seeing the vision because we started ten years ago and
obviously ten years ago nobody was talking about it, and
I think two three years after we had started, people
had started talking about representation, representation and then unfortunately George
Floyd happened and everybody was just talking about that. So
(13:31):
what you see, what we did was not necessarily to
start serving the outside world, but we wanted something to
serve us first, so to serve the web designers were
building stuff for the community, So we started by creating
(13:52):
a product for us first, and eventually it's a product
that everybody needs because the world is really a melting
You see black people everywhere, So every ad agency, every
we have clients. I've seen sometimes downloads from China because
they do business with you know, in the Caribbean, they
(14:15):
do business in Africa, so everybody in his image of
everybody pretty much. So I don't want to say it
was it just happened. It was luck, but we were there.
We wanted to serve our community, and eventually we realized
that by serving our community, we were serving everybody else.
(14:38):
So that really has helped us. The fact that the bigger,
larger communities the Western world understood that they needed to
be more inclusive really also helped us.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And how do you balance your creative instinct as an
artist with demands of running a business and lead in
an industry association.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It all helps one purpose of like growing as a creative,
but also understanding that also there are many ways you
can thrive as an artist, So creative needs to be
everywhere pretty much like unless you find your niche. But
a lot of time a photographer will do events, weddings,
(15:26):
portrait businesses, because you know, you need a little bit
of everything to thrive. For us, we realized that photographers
started to understand the user of stock photography wanted, so
(15:47):
they would always submit the same type of images gear
towards businesses and we could tell that it was limiting
their creativity. So we started a grant program five year
years ago. The Pisha grant gives an locasion to someone.
The grant program works like a fellowship actually, so we
(16:09):
give an allocationion to three people every year and we
worked with them to put together a concept that they
shoot and then we put in a book. So we
published our first book this year called Weaving Stories. And
Weaving Stories is that it's really creating something when we've
(16:34):
had any restriction, pretty much so, because sometimes you always
have people who tell you know, this is what I want,
this is what I want. But in Weaving Stories, the
photographers came up with their own topics and decided, Okay,
this is how I want to shoot, this is how
I feel like the story should be. Obviously we guide
them a little bit, but the story is theirs and
(16:58):
it's a beautiful way of seeing that with just a
little bit of support, you can come up with the
most amazing thing.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Very true. But other than that, what did you learn
from collaborating with photographers around the world.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
It's so weird because what I see all the time
is lack of confidence. I see really, yes, I see
many talented photographers, we don't even see that in them,
which is really sad, Which is really sad.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, I'm very surprised. You know, the freelancing world and
all we have to do to get the job. I
always maybe I've been naive. I always thought the people
involved would be confident. You kind of have to be
to win. But can you tell us an example of
someone lacking confidence?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, so I think, like what you say is right
at a certain level. So the people who already have
the creative who already have a foot in the commercial world,
so they create content for brands and oh, come on, yeah,
they're so confident. You can't even like you can even
(18:20):
find that. But the so we work with photographers who've
never worked, for example, with brands. In the Women Stories book,
we have one photographer that had started shooting the same
year she was able to get the grant. She's a
(18:42):
new photographer. There's another photographer that we followed. She's amazing
and she actually when we got in touch with her,
she had just started shooting. But she got accepted as
a contributor because her images were great, and we see
(19:02):
her growing and every time we tell her like, oh
my god, like you should have an exhibition at a
gallery or something like you should be out there. That's
that's your lie. Like you should find a purpose. She
should talk to galleries then and be there because she
has like a very conceptual eye when it comes to photography,
(19:24):
and whatever she creates is just amazing and the story
that comes up with it also is very poetic. But again,
like I don't lose faith because you know, everything that comes,
everything that's about the mind, takes time. So transformation takes time,
(19:49):
and we talk to her all the time and eventually
she will get it, but it takes time, and you
also have to build. Uh, there's a process also for
you to get there. So you need to to see
to grow with success and recognition before you can accept that.
(20:11):
So and I think also to be fair that she
still needs to go to that path, but eventually it
will come. But you can see, like for me, like
I can see right away, like with one image sometimes
I'm like, whoa, this is so beautiful. But I'm not
I don't have the network of the galleries or whatever,
(20:32):
but so I don't know how that world works, but
I'm like, wow, that's that's where it should be. So
it's it's just seeing the potential and the creativity also
of the youth in these black uh and afrocentric communities.
(20:54):
We just came from Brazil where we launched Within Stories
in Bayer and and again like very talented people over there,
very creative as well.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Nice Brazil. I've never been that one day.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I really am fulfilled, Like I this is a trip
that I loved a lot. I was really amazed by
how people are so nice, open, really welcoming, welcoming. And
then again representation I had and I don't know why,
(21:33):
because again it's the photo that you choose to show
through the world. So I had this perception of Brazil
that it was either mixed people or white people or
Asian people. And then when you go to Baia Starvador, Baya,
you see black people, you see black people, and I'm like,
(21:55):
oh wow, that's not the Brazil that that told me about.
So it was really exactly when you go to the
Caribbean or when you come here, you see all layers
of blackness pretty much. And that's what you see in Bayer.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
That's nice. Yes, definitely in the US and the Caribbean
that goes without a shadow over there. I know that much.
And the picture turns fifty percent of commissions to contributing photographers.
Why is this model important to you and how do
you see influencer in the broader industry.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
So when I told you at the beginning that one
of the reasons also that one of the reasons we
started Picha was to allow contributors from afrocentric communities to
be part of the digital economy. So I'm also a photographer,
so to me, it's very important that we have the
(23:01):
right relationship with our contributors that they don't feel that
Pisha is taking something away from them and saying that
we don't work for nothing, so we still have a
business to sustain. So to me, when I research everything,
a lot of the big platforms do twenty sometimes thirty percent.
(23:24):
But it was really important for me that you know,
when we approach our contributors, it was like fair fifty
to fifty. It works well because they need that money.
They need that fifty percent. Oh yeah, and it's a
lot of work, honestly, to be part of a stock
(23:44):
photo platform. It's a lot of work. So doing that
for twenty percent, and especially twenty percent when there's a
membership associated to that, so sometimes you receive sense. So
from the beginning, I was like, no, our contributors should
not receive sense. They need to receive dollars. So we
(24:07):
don't have a membership, so there's no subscription that brings
the price like Solow that people receive sense. So the
first the image, the first license you get is that
ten dollars. So that means that someone can get five
dollars as the first commission they can get. And I
think it's the minimum. It's not and it's not a
(24:33):
big deal. It's it's a company with purpose, So that's
what we want. We want everybody to get something, everybody
to win, and if we win, the contributors will win also.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
And as you said, you're a photographer, what type of
photos do you like taking and what informs the decision
do you make as a photographer.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
So I started by doing a lot of portrait and
then now I shoot for stock and I love shooting
for stock when I can because it's just fun. You
think of a theme and then you try to gather
people and you do that. To me, I find that
it's fun because also you're not there's no sense of
(25:21):
urgency stock is there. There's always a need, so you
can also shoot when you can, So I like that.
So yeah, so I still do a little bit of stock,
or when I travel, just take travel photography, travel photos.
I've just started this year to shoot film, and it's
(25:42):
so hard when you've shot digital. Yeah, there's a learning curve.
And I wish I had actually started by going to
a class or something like that, but I was like, Okay,
I'm just going to figure it out YouTube. Yes, but
my first role. I brought my first role and I
was so excited. And when I went to pick up
(26:05):
to pick it up, and the gentleman is telling me, sorry,
there was nothing in there.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Oh no, I was like no, no more than an agma.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Oh my god. It was like a total feil so.
But he was so nice. So he explained it's like, no,
you put the film completely wrong. And I was like,
oh gosh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
How much is a roll of film these days?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Oh it's expensive. I think it's by around twenty depending
of the film, but it's expensive. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, I haven't done anything like that in years. I
couldn't imagine. It's just it's the easy and simplicity of
digital camera work in all formats.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
For me, there is something with film that I actually enjoyed.
It's the it's the way it really teaches you. And
because also the role is expensive, so when you shoot,
you think about it. And I love that and I
(27:15):
love that I didn't have to take ten thousand, you know,
one hundred of the same. But like blah blah blah
blah blah bah blah, you're really intentional about what you
want to take as a photo, so you don't waste
the role the role, and you don't also waste your time.
It's just like because yeah, everything you still have to
(27:37):
clean up when you review that, So it's another it's
a it's a practice of learning to be patient and
being more intentional in your creativity that I'm learning to
enjoy again because as you said, yeah we've digital, you're
on the go and you're like, I'm ready to go,
(27:58):
and blah blah blah blah blah blah bla blah blah
blah blah. Everything is so fast. So it's a good
balance I think to have. So I'm gonna continue with that.
And you also have to be really patient, like if
you have like a twenty four role film, sometimes you
have to wait. Like especially I love to shoot people,
(28:21):
so if I don't have people around me, that role
could last forever. But I shot after I want to
see but now you have to wait until you finish
the whole film. So it's a different approach to photography
that I'm learning to enjoy again.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, nice one. And lens is what type of lenses
would you typically do your travel photography with when you're undergo.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I love the fixed lens of the eighteen millimeters, but
sometimes I use the good I use what the flexible
one that's twenty to fIF I don't remember, but at
my first one is the eighty one eighteen millimeters.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So is that like an eighteen to fifty five millimeter
or is it just eighteen millimeter?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Just eighty and I used to use it all the time.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
And what brand in particular is that?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Unfortunately Candon, I started with Cannon, and yeah, I do Canon.
I've last year I tried Sony and I love the
convenience of the smaller camera, lighter camera, especially when you
(29:43):
shoot stock and you travel. People don't get uh intimidated
or antimidated. I've been I've been in a place in
South Africa where they saw my big Canon camera, so
they they saw me as a commercial photographer. Oh yeah yeah,
(30:06):
and they were like, no, you don't have permission. And
I was just taking photos of friends and they're like, no,
you can't do that. Here. It was a it was
a pub or something. I was like, oh, that's odd,
that's very weird. And they say, no, you're you're shooting
and I'm like, no, I'm taking photos of friends and
(30:27):
They're like, no, you need permission. But with the sony
if you travel people finger tourists, definitely, and it's there
for you can put it, pull it in and out
of your bag. Yeah, canon is heavy, but I prefer
the rendering of cannons. Oh, the skin towns and the
(30:52):
quality images, the even the blurred Yeah, I prefer canon definitely.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
It's amazing you say that. I mean, I'm primarily well,
I am not a photographer. I'm a video guy. But
the choice of camera in what you've said in terms
of how people perceive you is an amazing eye opening
thing I found over the years. What are some of
the most persistent stereotypes you've encountered in visual media as
(31:21):
a photographer and how can content creators actively work till
to dismantle them?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
The main stereotype, I feel like there's different ways. So
there's the stereotype of people who are outside of our
community that for example, like black men are aggressive, women
are always in a bad mood. So this sentiment of
(31:51):
aggressivity also, that's something that I'm trying also to fight,
especially when our geographers shoot mail and every time I
see a black male, I'm like, I can't believe, like
how the world see us, Like they come a black
(32:13):
man walk on the street, and then someone is like, oh,
it's gonna rub me. I'm like, that's ridiculous. Come on.
We are so joyful people, fun helping people, We help
each other. So trying to change that and showcase us
in normal situations, normal lives. And there's also the unknown
(32:37):
realization that what comes from our community is worthless. So
the example I'm going to give you is on food.
For example, we had a breakfast challenge, and I know
that in many communities the breakfast is not necessarily sweet
(33:00):
food like we know in the Western world, like bread, jam,
stuff like that. Like some people eat differently, they eat
savory food, some it rise their local vegies, their local starts.
And I wanted to see that, and so we launched
(33:23):
the challenge and we start receiving images of burgers and fries, croissant,
nothing from whatever community they were representing. And I was like,
this is so weird. And we had conversation and they
(33:43):
were like, no, but this is what people want and
I'm like, no, but this is not like when we
ask you. We want you to be authentic also with yourself,
like you're not trying to sell yourself to the Western world.
So a lot of time we chat, we have issues
(34:04):
ourselves with what we think is worth it. So some
people will come, for example and say, yeah, but I
want to shoot talk, but my house is not beautiful,
And I'm like, you don't need to have a beautiful house.
You need to have a house yet and should people inside.
What we want is just for you to remove your
(34:25):
clutter and then that set. So every house has pretty
much the same thing, like a table so far, a
TV or whatever, and that's enough. We don't need you
to have like the pristine white walls. Just we want
a representation of who our community is and that mindset,
(34:46):
I think for our community also, we need to work
on that shift, that understanding that what we have and
who we are is who we are and period that
set and people need to accept it. So We don't
need to hide and say, Okay, I want to be better.
I want to be better looking that I think I am.
(35:09):
We're already great looking. We don't need to hide and say, Okay,
I don't like my house. Your house is what it is,
and if you have love in your house, this is
what matters. So trying to also allow our community to
understand that, Okay, we don't need to have what the
(35:33):
western world has, but we still can be proud of
what we have. So try to balance these two big aspects,
so the world that sees us and then our own
community how we see ourselves. So it's always a challenge.
But when we have these conversations, it's fun because you
(35:56):
see something and you know that you can change through
worlds and through the commission. When they see that whatever
fake photo they've tried to recreate isn't selling, but the
real one, the authentic one, is selling, then they changel
so they start realizing, oh okay, I keep telling them,
(36:16):
I said, nobody's gonna come to Pitcher to buy burgers
and fries like it's been done and overdone, it's well done.
And many times so people will come to Picha for
what is authentic to our communities. So and we need
to continue to share that.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Also and picture sources images from contributions contributor sorry across
the US, Europe, Brazil and Africa. So how do you
foster a sense of community and shared purpose among such
a geographically and culturally diverse group of photographers.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
That's something we always try to improve. We have we
hold we have workshops that we have community We call
it community sessions. So community sessions are teaching moments where
we can go through legal stuff, where we can go
through an updating our industry, where we can also bring
(37:18):
some more advance creative. We can also talk to the community.
And then in the past before COVID, we used to
have meetups also and then it came we stopped that,
but we haven't restarted. One thing we're trying to do,
especially as we have launch Living Stories, is to recreate
(37:44):
a bigger community that will come not necessarily as creative,
but to discuss the ideas of representation of being from
afrocentric communities and coming together. And so that's something that
(38:05):
we're trying to recreate for next.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Year probably and the growth and the consistency and the
quality of work that your company has offered the world,
where do you see everything in the next five years?
Speaker 1 (38:23):
And that's a tough question because of AI. When you
speak to people today, nobody knows. I mean, things are
going so fast with the AI technology that it's really
hard to know where stock is going to be in
five years. However, we are still committed to be the
(38:46):
platform for the creatives, so and that's why we're pushing
authentic storytelling. So we're pushing the book probably even more.
And we are also launching in a few weeks actually, yeah,
next month, we are launching a sub brand of Pisha
(39:10):
that will be called that's called Rhythom and Use and
Radom and Us will be selling fine art prints to
the public. So Pisha is mainly gear towards businesses, small entrepreneur,
small companies, entrepreneurs, corporations and Raedom and Use will be
(39:34):
to any user, any person who's looking for something beautiful
for their house. So it will be like fine art
prints that you can just get and then get a
beautiful frame and put it in your in your role
at home. So we continue to to promote beautiful imagery,
(39:56):
beautiful content in different ways through the book through a
fine art print we still continue with them with the
stock photo platform and we see how it goes in
five years.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
But yeah, and it is some of your work on
the platform, Yes, a lot of it. Oh great, great?
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Is there anything many years that was the I was
the photographer with the most content, But I'm glad I'm
not anymore.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
And is there a photo in particular that you're extremely
proud of that we can all go and visit and
look at there's.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
A photo of my daughter. She was probably two years
old and we were in Gabon and she's wearing this
straw hat and and she's holding a phone. But she's
so cute and funny. And I love that image because
obviously she did not know that she was on PISHA.
(40:56):
And one day the first time the photo license I
she was with me and say, oh, your photo just
got license. And she looked at me like what she
was like, you're making me work?
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Did you get a check?
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So that's a that's a photo because it has memory
of like this interaction that I had with her. So
every time I see it, every time it gets licensed,
I keep thinking about her, how she was so puzzled
that she would.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Good on understandable and thank you so much for coming on.
I really enjoyed speaking to you and learning about your
journey and the organization the company. Sorry, it's all it's done,
and it's done and where it's going, and please do
tell us. Is there any other kind of where we
can find it. Obviously there's a website, but where else?
What is it about? On social media? Links or anything
(41:49):
we can follow?
Speaker 1 (41:50):
Yes, we are on social media on mainly on Instagram,
it's picture stalk and on LinkedIn as well, stock LinkedIn,
and the website is pitch shot, stock p I C
h A Stock s T O c K dot com.
(42:12):
That's where we are mainly. And we are on YouTube also.
We have great content on YouTube. I share that with you.
We have We just posted last month a very cool
video of some of the photographers that are featured on
the Waving Stories book and it's a video of them
(42:34):
seeing the book for the first time.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
It's just a great, great video, excellent YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
Yeah, I'll tell it to you, Demien. You will love it, right.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
I look forward to to watch in Thanks so much,
great speaking to you, and I seriously hope to speak
to you soon.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Thank you, Demien, talk to you soon.
You are listening to the IFH podcast Network. For more
amazing filmmaking and screenwriting podcasts, just go to ifhpodcastnetwork dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Jos Anne Faubert, such a pleasure to speak to you
finally after learning so much about your work and all
the things that you do. So thanks for coming on
Filmmaking Conversations. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Thanks Damien, It's such a pleasure to be on your platform.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Before we get started into the meaningful questions that I
hope and plan to ask, You're very well traveled, aren't you?
What made you travel all around the world and live
in the locations that you've lived in the first.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The first time I moved out of Gabon. So I
was born in Gabon and I lived there until I
was a teenager, and unfortunately, with my family we moved
to France and it wasn't a choice had to live
because of economic and stability in Gabon. So my parents
(01:04):
decided that in order for the kid to have a
better future, it was time to leave Gabon, so we
did that. So that was the first big move and
it was a little bit traumatic all of the kids,
because I have siblings. We really didn't like it, but
(01:24):
we got used to it eventually. So and when I
was living in France, I wanted to learn English. So
that was when I found the first opportunity to move
to the US. I grabbed it and decided to stay.
And here am I still in the US.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
So what part of the US have you moved?
Speaker 1 (01:46):
He? So the first time I moved to New York,
very it was do I stayed there a year, it
was really intense, and then I moved to San Francisco
to continue my studies. So I transfer. I was able
to transfer some of the credits that I had in
(02:09):
college in France. So I transferred to University of San
Francisco and lived there for about two years. Then moved
to Washington, d C. Because then I wanted to work
in international development, which I actually did. So my bachelor
is in international it's in economics with a minor of
(02:29):
international development. So I moved to DC worked in international development,
worked for an NGO called then Academy for Educational Development,
and I loved it. I worked with amazing people. I
worked on a health project that was trying to promote
(02:52):
exclusive breastfeedings in many countries. So it was really really
really cool. I love that. And then my husband got
an opportunity to move to the UK to London of
the I followed. And then but in London there's less
(03:13):
opportunity for international development. This is really big it for it,
So there was less opportunity for international development, and so
I ended up working in marketing research and eventually started
my own company as a freelance photographer portrait photographer. So
I stayed in London for about six years and then
(03:35):
moved back to Washington, d C. And that's when I
started Pitcher in Washington, d C. In yeah, ten years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So can you kind of slightly walk us through your
journey from freelance photographer to founding pick Stock. What inspired
you to make that leap and what challenges did you
face in building a business from the ground up?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, everything comes to story. I had a discussion
with a friend who was he's from Gabon. He was
a web designer, and at some point he's starting harassing
me pretty much. I said I need some images. I
need some images, and I would just send him off
(04:20):
and say, hey, go to the go to the go
to the website. There are platforms that are actually specialized
into stock photography, so if you're looking for special images,
to just go there. Because I didn't want to go
to my archive it wasn't organized, so I was like, okay,
just go to a stock follow platform and figure it out.
And he kept coming back saying that there was nothing.
(04:45):
There was nobody looking like you and I, and I
didn't understand it. Then I was like, what do you
mean looking like you? And I decide Jose, yeah, and
there are only images of people in tourism or poverty
related images. So I was like okay, So I went
(05:06):
to check it out and I noticed that it was right.
That's where I was like, okay, maybe there's something to
do here. And that's how I started Pitcher, just to
change the narrative and offer something to our community that
was not available at the time. And then it grew
(05:28):
as a platform that not just allowed us to change
the narrative, but also allow the creative, the contributors to
participate in the digital economy. Because when I was doing
my research, I also noticed that most of the images
(05:49):
coming from black communities were actually taken by foreigners. So
I was like, okay, that's also weird because I know
so many great photographers in black communities, so I was like,
that's weird, so we really need to have them also
involved in that project. So it was like a full circle.
But it all started with a story.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Why do you think or have you found out why exactly?
It's people that are not black that were taking the
majority of those type of photos.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
So I think a bunch of reason. I would think
the first one is not knowing anybody on the ground.
So let's say you're a big ad agency and you
need some content, but you have no companies, you have
no network in let's say Africa, so you know of
(06:43):
a photographer that you've worked with before. Let's say you're
in London, so you just call you a photographer, say hey,
I have a budget. Here can you take the first
fight to legos? And here is the brief. So I
think it was as simple as that, like just make
it simple. But the reality is technology has opened up
(07:06):
barriers so you can find people everywhere, so now there's
no excuse like there if you're looking for someone in
a country, you can you don't have to send someone.
You can go to those social networks and you know,
spend a little bit of time and figure out who
(07:26):
you want to contact.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
So, considering how technology has moved on, how do you
see visual media shaping perceptions of black and African communities.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I've seen that there are brands and companies who have
definitely tried to change perception and have been really intentional
into how they portray several or different ethnic people. So
(07:58):
which is good. And I think now the problem is
that now with the government that we have, especially here
in the US, things are a little bit slowing down
and sometimes going back to it seems like it's going
back to where it used to be. So it's a
(08:21):
little bit sad. But I think people understand that there's
a need for representation and positive representation because also we
talk about it, we complain about it on social so
people will see it. So people will see, oh, why
did you portray this person like that, This is very weird,
(08:42):
this is not how we are or I've seen I've
seen a post, for example, where there was an ad
where oh, it was a Christmas it was a holiday ad,
a Christmas ad, and they had several family is. Most
of the families had a father and a mother and
(09:05):
a child. And then when it came to the black family,
it was just a mother and a child and people
were like, wait, like, why are you always doing that? Yeah,
so people notice and then they were really loud about it,
which is great. So we have to we have to
say it when it's wrong so that they can correct
(09:28):
They can you know, think about it next time they
put together an ad. So we just have to, you know,
keep talking and make sure that we are seeing the
way we want. And also what I'm trying also to
do with the communities that I work with is to
(09:50):
make them understand that they have a power because sometimes
we also produce and we don't realize it. We produce
what we think is our right representation and we don't
see the damage that it could do to to how
other communities look at us. So yeah, so I tried
(10:12):
to open their eyes in saying that you have a responsibility,
Like every image that you take, you need to understand
that there are other people who are taking it looking
at it, and they will look at our community a
certain way because of the way you shut it. So
we had a challenge once at pitcha where I think
(10:37):
this if I remember well, the theme was what is
the future of Africa? And one person submitted that image
of a child in an underwear in the street, smiling
in front of the camera, and we had a talk
(10:59):
with the team, and we had to talk with the
photographer as well, saying, first of all, that child, he
probably didn't give.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
His consent, oh gosh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
And then imagine that child one day becomes the president
of your country and now there's this photo of him
very happy but vulnerable. So at the same time that
you've shot and you thought that it was the future
(11:31):
of Africa, I feel like we can do better than that.
I feel like this is such a simple representation of
who we are, so trying to push them into the
reflection of what they want to represent exactly. So yeah,
I think that's very important. Now just sometimes pause a
(11:53):
little bit and think about stuff like that. Consent is
really important. We also had an example of someone who
submitted an image of it was a I think it
was in Ghana, but it was a religious ceremony and
(12:15):
we'll see there was no consent form, no release forms,
and I say, yeah, this is kind of personal. I
don't think we will take that type of image like
it's it seems like the ceremony was very private. So
we tried to open their eyes to this type of thought, consent, representation,
(12:39):
what it means to the world, what it means to you,
so that they can also be in charge of creating
something that will make our community proud also.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
So what were some of the key strategies or turning
points that allowed Picture to grow from a niche idea
into aly recognized platform.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Seeing the vision because we started ten years ago and
obviously ten years ago nobody was talking about it, and
I think two three years after we had started, people
had started talking about representation, representation and then unfortunately George
Floyd happened and everybody was just talking about that. So
(13:31):
what you see, what we did was not necessarily to
start serving the outside world, but we wanted something to
serve us first, so to serve the web designers were
building stuff for the community, So we started by creating
(13:52):
a product for us first, and eventually it's a product
that everybody needs because the world is really a melting
You see black people everywhere, So every ad agency, every
we have clients. I've seen sometimes downloads from China because
they do business with you know, in the Caribbean, they
(14:15):
do business in Africa, so everybody in his image of
everybody pretty much. So I don't want to say it
was it just happened. It was luck, but we were there.
We wanted to serve our community, and eventually we realized
that by serving our community, we were serving everybody else.
(14:38):
So that really has helped us. The fact that the bigger,
larger communities the Western world understood that they needed to
be more inclusive really also helped us.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And how do you balance your creative instinct as an
artist with demands of running a business and lead in
an industry association.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It all helps one purpose of like growing as a creative,
but also understanding that also there are many ways you
can thrive as an artist, So creative needs to be
everywhere pretty much like unless you find your niche. But
a lot of time a photographer will do events, weddings,
(15:26):
portrait businesses, because you know, you need a little bit
of everything to thrive. For us, we realized that photographers
started to understand the user of stock photography wanted, so
(15:47):
they would always submit the same type of images gear
towards businesses and we could tell that it was limiting
their creativity. So we started a grant program five year
years ago. The Pisha grant gives an locasion to someone.
The grant program works like a fellowship actually, so we
(16:09):
give an allocationion to three people every year and we
worked with them to put together a concept that they
shoot and then we put in a book. So we
published our first book this year called Weaving Stories. And
Weaving Stories is that it's really creating something when we've
(16:34):
had any restriction, pretty much so, because sometimes you always
have people who tell you know, this is what I want,
this is what I want. But in Weaving Stories, the
photographers came up with their own topics and decided, Okay,
this is how I want to shoot, this is how
I feel like the story should be. Obviously we guide
them a little bit, but the story is theirs and
(16:58):
it's a beautiful way of seeing that with just a
little bit of support, you can come up with the
most amazing thing.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Very true. But other than that, what did you learn
from collaborating with photographers around the world.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
It's so weird because what I see all the time
is lack of confidence. I see really, yes, I see
many talented photographers, we don't even see that in them,
which is really sad, Which is really sad.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, I'm very surprised. You know, the freelancing world and
all we have to do to get the job. I
always maybe I've been naive. I always thought the people
involved would be confident. You kind of have to be
to win. But can you tell us an example of
someone lacking confidence?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, so I think, like what you say is right
at a certain level. So the people who already have
the creative who already have a foot in the commercial world,
so they create content for brands and oh, come on, yeah,
they're so confident. You can't even like you can even
(18:20):
find that. But the so we work with photographers who've
never worked, for example, with brands. In the Women Stories book,
we have one photographer that had started shooting the same
year she was able to get the grant. She's a
(18:42):
new photographer. There's another photographer that we followed. She's amazing
and she actually when we got in touch with her,
she had just started shooting. But she got accepted as
a contributor because her images were great, and we see
(19:02):
her growing and every time we tell her like, oh
my god, like you should have an exhibition at a
gallery or something like you should be out there. That's
that's your lie. Like you should find a purpose. She
should talk to galleries then and be there because she
has like a very conceptual eye when it comes to photography,
(19:24):
and whatever she creates is just amazing and the story
that comes up with it also is very poetic. But again,
like I don't lose faith because you know, everything that comes,
everything that's about the mind, takes time. So transformation takes time,
(19:49):
and we talk to her all the time and eventually
she will get it, but it takes time, and you
also have to build. Uh, there's a process also for
you to get there. So you need to to see
to grow with success and recognition before you can accept that.
(20:11):
So and I think also to be fair that she
still needs to go to that path, but eventually it
will come. But you can see, like for me, like
I can see right away, like with one image sometimes
I'm like, whoa, this is so beautiful. But I'm not
I don't have the network of the galleries or whatever,
(20:32):
but so I don't know how that world works, but
I'm like, wow, that's that's where it should be. So
it's it's just seeing the potential and the creativity also
of the youth in these black uh and afrocentric communities.
(20:54):
We just came from Brazil where we launched Within Stories
in Bayer and and again like very talented people over there,
very creative as well.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Nice Brazil. I've never been that one day.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I really am fulfilled, Like I this is a trip
that I loved a lot. I was really amazed by
how people are so nice, open, really welcoming, welcoming. And
then again representation I had and I don't know why,
(21:33):
because again it's the photo that you choose to show
through the world. So I had this perception of Brazil
that it was either mixed people or white people or
Asian people. And then when you go to Baia Starvador, Baya,
you see black people, you see black people, and I'm like,
(21:55):
oh wow, that's not the Brazil that that told me about.
So it was really exactly when you go to the
Caribbean or when you come here, you see all layers
of blackness pretty much. And that's what you see in Bayer.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
That's nice. Yes, definitely in the US and the Caribbean
that goes without a shadow over there. I know that much.
And the picture turns fifty percent of commissions to contributing photographers.
Why is this model important to you and how do
you see influencer in the broader industry.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
So when I told you at the beginning that one
of the reasons also that one of the reasons we
started Picha was to allow contributors from afrocentric communities to
be part of the digital economy. So I'm also a photographer,
so to me, it's very important that we have the
(23:01):
right relationship with our contributors that they don't feel that
Pisha is taking something away from them and saying that
we don't work for nothing, so we still have a
business to sustain. So to me, when I research everything,
a lot of the big platforms do twenty sometimes thirty percent.
(23:24):
But it was really important for me that you know,
when we approach our contributors, it was like fair fifty
to fifty. It works well because they need that money.
They need that fifty percent. Oh yeah, and it's a
lot of work, honestly, to be part of a stock
(23:44):
photo platform. It's a lot of work. So doing that
for twenty percent, and especially twenty percent when there's a
membership associated to that, so sometimes you receive sense. So
from the beginning, I was like, no, our contributors should
not receive sense. They need to receive dollars. So we
(24:07):
don't have a membership, so there's no subscription that brings
the price like Solow that people receive sense. So the
first the image, the first license you get is that
ten dollars. So that means that someone can get five
dollars as the first commission they can get. And I
think it's the minimum. It's not and it's not a
(24:33):
big deal. It's it's a company with purpose, So that's
what we want. We want everybody to get something, everybody
to win, and if we win, the contributors will win also.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
And as you said, you're a photographer, what type of
photos do you like taking and what informs the decision
do you make as a photographer.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
So I started by doing a lot of portrait and
then now I shoot for stock and I love shooting
for stock when I can because it's just fun. You
think of a theme and then you try to gather
people and you do that. To me, I find that
it's fun because also you're not there's no sense of
(25:21):
urgency stock is there. There's always a need, so you
can also shoot when you can, So I like that.
So yeah, so I still do a little bit of stock,
or when I travel, just take travel photography, travel photos.
I've just started this year to shoot film, and it's
(25:42):
so hard when you've shot digital. Yeah, there's a learning curve.
And I wish I had actually started by going to
a class or something like that, but I was like, Okay,
I'm just going to figure it out YouTube. Yes, but
my first role. I brought my first role and I
was so excited. And when I went to pick up
(26:05):
to pick it up, and the gentleman is telling me, sorry,
there was nothing in there.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Oh no, I was like no, no more than an agma.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Oh my god. It was like a total feil so.
But he was so nice. So he explained it's like, no,
you put the film completely wrong. And I was like,
oh gosh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
How much is a roll of film these days?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Oh it's expensive. I think it's by around twenty depending
of the film, but it's expensive. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, I haven't done anything like that in years. I
couldn't imagine. It's just it's the easy and simplicity of
digital camera work in all formats.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
For me, there is something with film that I actually enjoyed.
It's the it's the way it really teaches you. And
because also the role is expensive, so when you shoot,
you think about it. And I love that and I
(27:15):
love that I didn't have to take ten thousand, you know,
one hundred of the same. But like blah blah blah
blah blah bah blah, you're really intentional about what you
want to take as a photo, so you don't waste
the role the role, and you don't also waste your time.
It's just like because yeah, everything you still have to
(27:37):
clean up when you review that, So it's another it's
a it's a practice of learning to be patient and
being more intentional in your creativity that I'm learning to
enjoy again because as you said, yeah we've digital, you're
on the go and you're like, I'm ready to go,
(27:58):
and blah blah blah blah blah blah bla blah blah
blah blah. Everything is so fast. So it's a good
balance I think to have. So I'm gonna continue with that.
And you also have to be really patient, like if
you have like a twenty four role film, sometimes you
have to wait. Like especially I love to shoot people,
(28:21):
so if I don't have people around me, that role
could last forever. But I shot after I want to
see but now you have to wait until you finish
the whole film. So it's a different approach to photography
that I'm learning to enjoy again.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Yeah, nice one. And lens is what type of lenses
would you typically do your travel photography with when you're undergo.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
I love the fixed lens of the eighteen millimeters, but
sometimes I use the good I use what the flexible
one that's twenty to fIF I don't remember, but at
my first one is the eighty one eighteen millimeters.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So is that like an eighteen to fifty five millimeter
or is it just eighteen millimeter?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Just eighty and I used to use it all the time.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
And what brand in particular is that?
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Unfortunately Candon, I started with Cannon, and yeah, I do Canon.
I've last year I tried Sony and I love the
convenience of the smaller camera, lighter camera, especially when you
(29:43):
shoot stock and you travel. People don't get uh intimidated
or antimidated. I've been I've been in a place in
South Africa where they saw my big Canon camera, so
they they saw me as a commercial photographer. Oh yeah yeah,
(30:06):
and they were like, no, you don't have permission. And
I was just taking photos of friends and they're like, no,
you can't do that. Here. It was a it was
a pub or something. I was like, oh, that's odd,
that's very weird. And they say, no, you're you're shooting
and I'm like, no, I'm taking photos of friends and
(30:27):
They're like, no, you need permission. But with the sony
if you travel people finger tourists, definitely, and it's there
for you can put it, pull it in and out
of your bag. Yeah, canon is heavy, but I prefer
the rendering of cannons. Oh, the skin towns and the
(30:52):
quality images, the even the blurred Yeah, I prefer canon definitely.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
It's amazing you say that. I mean, I'm primarily well,
I am not a photographer. I'm a video guy. But
the choice of camera in what you've said in terms
of how people perceive you is an amazing eye opening
thing I found over the years. What are some of
the most persistent stereotypes you've encountered in visual media as
(31:21):
a photographer and how can content creators actively work till
to dismantle them?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
The main stereotype, I feel like there's different ways. So
there's the stereotype of people who are outside of our
community that for example, like black men are aggressive, women
are always in a bad mood. So this sentiment of
(31:51):
aggressivity also, that's something that I'm trying also to fight,
especially when our geographers shoot mail and every time I
see a black male, I'm like, I can't believe, like
how the world see us, Like they come a black
(32:13):
man walk on the street, and then someone is like, oh,
it's gonna rub me. I'm like, that's ridiculous. Come on.
We are so joyful people, fun helping people, We help
each other. So trying to change that and showcase us
in normal situations, normal lives. And there's also the unknown
(32:37):
realization that what comes from our community is worthless. So
the example I'm going to give you is on food.
For example, we had a breakfast challenge, and I know
that in many communities the breakfast is not necessarily sweet
(33:00):
food like we know in the Western world, like bread, jam,
stuff like that. Like some people eat differently, they eat
savory food, some it rise their local vegies, their local starts.
And I wanted to see that, and so we launched
(33:23):
the challenge and we start receiving images of burgers and fries, croissant,
nothing from whatever community they were representing. And I was like,
this is so weird. And we had conversation and they
(33:43):
were like, no, but this is what people want and
I'm like, no, but this is not like when we
ask you. We want you to be authentic also with yourself,
like you're not trying to sell yourself to the Western world.
So a lot of time we chat, we have issues
(34:04):
ourselves with what we think is worth it. So some
people will come, for example and say, yeah, but I
want to shoot talk, but my house is not beautiful,
And I'm like, you don't need to have a beautiful house.
You need to have a house yet and should people inside.
What we want is just for you to remove your
(34:25):
clutter and then that set. So every house has pretty
much the same thing, like a table so far, a
TV or whatever, and that's enough. We don't need you
to have like the pristine white walls. Just we want
a representation of who our community is and that mindset,
(34:46):
I think for our community also, we need to work
on that shift, that understanding that what we have and
who we are is who we are and period that
set and people need to accept it. So We don't
need to hide and say, Okay, I want to be better.
I want to be better looking that I think I am.
(35:09):
We're already great looking. We don't need to hide and say, Okay,
I don't like my house. Your house is what it is,
and if you have love in your house, this is
what matters. So trying to also allow our community to
understand that, Okay, we don't need to have what the
(35:33):
western world has, but we still can be proud of
what we have. So try to balance these two big aspects,
so the world that sees us and then our own
community how we see ourselves. So it's always a challenge.
But when we have these conversations, it's fun because you
(35:56):
see something and you know that you can change through
worlds and through the commission. When they see that whatever
fake photo they've tried to recreate isn't selling, but the
real one, the authentic one, is selling, then they changel
so they start realizing, oh okay, I keep telling them,
(36:16):
I said, nobody's gonna come to Pitcher to buy burgers
and fries like it's been done and overdone, it's well done.
And many times so people will come to Picha for
what is authentic to our communities. So and we need
to continue to share that.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Also and picture sources images from contributions contributor sorry across
the US, Europe, Brazil and Africa. So how do you
foster a sense of community and shared purpose among such
a geographically and culturally diverse group of photographers.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
That's something we always try to improve. We have we
hold we have workshops that we have community We call
it community sessions. So community sessions are teaching moments where
we can go through legal stuff, where we can go
through an updating our industry, where we can also bring
(37:18):
some more advance creative. We can also talk to the community.
And then in the past before COVID, we used to
have meetups also and then it came we stopped that,
but we haven't restarted. One thing we're trying to do,
especially as we have launch Living Stories, is to recreate
(37:44):
a bigger community that will come not necessarily as creative,
but to discuss the ideas of representation of being from
afrocentric communities and coming together. And so that's something that
(38:05):
we're trying to recreate for next.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Year probably and the growth and the consistency and the
quality of work that your company has offered the world,
where do you see everything in the next five years?
Speaker 1 (38:23):
And that's a tough question because of AI. When you
speak to people today, nobody knows. I mean, things are
going so fast with the AI technology that it's really
hard to know where stock is going to be in
five years. However, we are still committed to be the
(38:46):
platform for the creatives, so and that's why we're pushing
authentic storytelling. So we're pushing the book probably even more.
And we are also launching in a few weeks actually, yeah,
next month, we are launching a sub brand of Pisha
(39:10):
that will be called that's called Rhythom and Use and
Radom and Us will be selling fine art prints to
the public. So Pisha is mainly gear towards businesses, small entrepreneur,
small companies, entrepreneurs, corporations and Raedom and Use will be
(39:34):
to any user, any person who's looking for something beautiful
for their house. So it will be like fine art
prints that you can just get and then get a
beautiful frame and put it in your in your role
at home. So we continue to to promote beautiful imagery,
(39:56):
beautiful content in different ways through the book through a
fine art print we still continue with them with the
stock photo platform and we see how it goes in
five years.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
But yeah, and it is some of your work on
the platform, Yes, a lot of it. Oh great, great?
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Is there anything many years that was the I was
the photographer with the most content, But I'm glad I'm
not anymore.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
And is there a photo in particular that you're extremely
proud of that we can all go and visit and
look at there's.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
A photo of my daughter. She was probably two years
old and we were in Gabon and she's wearing this
straw hat and and she's holding a phone. But she's
so cute and funny. And I love that image because
obviously she did not know that she was on PISHA.
(40:56):
And one day the first time the photo license I
she was with me and say, oh, your photo just
got license. And she looked at me like what she
was like, you're making me work?
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Did you get a check?
Speaker 1 (41:11):
So that's a that's a photo because it has memory
of like this interaction that I had with her. So
every time I see it, every time it gets licensed,
I keep thinking about her, how she was so puzzled
that she would.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Good on understandable and thank you so much for coming on.
I really enjoyed speaking to you and learning about your
journey and the organization the company. Sorry, it's all it's done,
and it's done and where it's going, and please do
tell us. Is there any other kind of where we
can find it. Obviously there's a website, but where else?
What is it about? On social media? Links or anything
(41:49):
we can follow?
Speaker 1 (41:50):
Yes, we are on social media on mainly on Instagram,
it's picture stalk and on LinkedIn as well, stock LinkedIn,
and the website is pitch shot, stock p I C
h A Stock s T O c K dot com.
(42:12):
That's where we are mainly. And we are on YouTube also.
We have great content on YouTube. I share that with you.
We have We just posted last month a very cool
video of some of the photographers that are featured on
the Waving Stories book and it's a video of them
(42:34):
seeing the book for the first time.
Speaker 2 (42:35):
It's just a great, great video, excellent YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
Yeah, I'll tell it to you, Demien. You will love it, right.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
I look forward to to watch in Thanks so much,
great speaking to you, and I seriously hope to speak
to you soon.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
Thank you, Demien, talk to you soon.
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