We sat down with Christian from Pictrs to talk about his work and how he supports PICTRs photographers and the SPC Photo Awards. Read on to learn more—or, if you’re already convinced, skip to the end for a special offer.
Q: So what is Pictrs exactly?
A: We are a shop system offering services for all types of photographers. You can use Pictrs.com to create your own website to sell your images and photo products featuring your designs.
Q: And what connects you to Swiss Photo Club?
A: In short: people who love photography! Anyone who joins an SPC Photo Awards exhibition may be interested in our product. It’s always great to hear feedback from photographers who tell us that thanks to Pictrs, they now have more time to concentrate on photography.
Q: What role do you play in the SPC Photo Awards?
A: Pictrs and the Swiss Photo Club first came into contact in September 2024, when we crossed paths on LinkedIn and you had a great idea: why not choose one winning photo per exhibition, with the photographer receiving a bonus prize from Pictrs? Since then, we’ve been looking very closely at the submissions and choosing the photo that impresses us most in each exhibition as a team.
Here are some examples:
Munich: Barbara Kattner
The Pictrs jury: This extraordinary street scene immediately captivated us with its interplay of composition and color. The photographer waited for the perfect moment to take the photo. The light falling from the right makes the scene look like a painting. The photo is also interesting because of its authenticity: no one is looking at the camera, no one is posing. Really powerful!
Cologne: Nicole Urbscheit
The Pictrs jury: We were impressed by the photo’s perfectly captured lighting. It’s incredible how the dynamics of the subject, reflections, and sky come together to form a vibrant whole! Artfully staged.
Leipzig: Janin Hemmann
The Pictrs jury: We remember this image particularly well because we were at the exhibition in Leipzig in person and had the opportunity to meet the photographer. The photo motif really does look like something out of a fairy tale, and we could hardly believe how well the model was staged. Everything about it is just right: the play of light, the reflection of the water, and the staging with the costume. The highlight is the contrast between Melusine’s red hair and the emerald green water—it’s like a dream!
Zurich: Lars Diegel
The Pictrs jury: The structure of the motif and its enigmatic character scored highly in this photo. The mounted car rearview mirrors pose a puzzle in terms of their function and form a captivating structure. The longer you look at it, the more layers of meaning open up: the rear view shows the rear view, shows the rear view… Visually and in terms of content, this is definitely a photo that will stay in our memories!
Geneva: Florian Vaucher
The Pictrs jury: Looking at the photo immediately triggers emotions and feelings: coldness, loneliness. The eye-catcher is the only visible living creature in this inherently hostile environment, whose image planes merge with one another. We were also particularly impressed by the powerful effect created by the perfectly chosen image composition.
Q: And what exactly is the Bonus Prize that Pictrs awards to one photographer per SPC Photo Awards exhibition?
A: The prize is that each winner receives our most valuable subscription, the Ultimate package, free of charge – for life! This means that you can open a Pictrs shop and have 2 TB of storage space for your images, your own custom domain, and save on the monthly shop fees of 49.90 euros! It’s a great deal… All the winners have to do is contact us after the award ceremony and we’ll take care of everything else.
Q: Are your services specific to certain kinds of photography?
A: Yes and no! Pictrs offers a range of features useful for specific kinds of photography: Voting on photos, start number tagging for sporting events, sorting using the QR function for schools and daycare centers. But everything is optional, nothing is mandatory. We love the diversity of our photographers! You can find a selection of examples from our users here on our website: https://www.pictrs.com/fotografen-beispielshops/
Q: How long have you been around?
A: For 15 years. A small anniversary! The team is now in the double-digits, and we are delighted that word-of-mouth advertising is working so well. It’s great to see that Pictrs is constantly evolving and adding new products, features, and support. Most recently, for example, our free toolkit on “Optimal Image Resolution”: www.pictrs.com/dpi
Q: What have you learned these past 15 years at Pictrs?
A: Some things have changed, both internally and externally: our team has grown, and digital photos have become more popular in all areas of photography over the years. But some things have stayed the same: contact with our customers has always been very important to us. We want to support photographers and offer really good, personalized service. Communication has been very important to us from the very beginning and remains that way. And our customers like that!
Q: Do you need programming skills to set up and manage your shop?
A: No, not at all. There is a toolkit for shop design that helps you create your own look. Price management is self-explanatory, and you set the sales prices in the shop yourself. If you have any questions, we are of course happy to help by phone or email.
Q: And what’s next for Pictrs and Swiss Photo Club?
A: We are delighted to continue our partnership! We have already selected a winning photo from the next event and look forward to receiving many more impressive images from Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in the future. Your exhibitions are creating a new kind of community that we have never seen before in the field of photography. We are really happy to be a part of it.
Want to try Pictrs? We have a special rate for you: You can find all the information at https://www.pictrs.com/spc
