Breaking News: Announcing My 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk!

It’s official: I’m here to announce the dates for Scott Kelby’s 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk™ to celebrate the upcoming release of my book, “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it” and you’re invited to be a part of this amazing global, social photography event.

Here’s a quick Q&A with all the details.

Q. When is the official Photo Walk day?
A. This year leaders can choose to host their walk on either Saturday OR Sunday, October 1st and 2nd.

Q. Why two days?
A. We got tons of feedback from people who, for work, religious, or other reasons couldn’t participate in any walk on a Saturday, so we added the ability for leaders to host a walk on either Saturday or Sunday to give more photographers a chance to participate.

Q. But I don’t like this change!
A. I know. I know. There will be a few people who will be totally cranked that we added a day, but we did it based on feedback from people around the world, so it wasn’t just an arbitrary decision (nothing regarding this walk is, believe me). Besides, there are bigger issues in the world today than adding a day to the Photo Walk, so it’s OK if those folks just kinda let this one go.

Q. Why October? I loved sweating in the sweltering summer sun!
A. Again, we did it based on your feedback (well, maybe not your feedback, but feedback from lots of walkers who were drenched and exhausted at the end of their walk). We thought either spring or fall work work best, so we went with fall. If it doesn’t work out, we can always try Spring next year.

Q. What exactly is a Photo Walk?
A. Watch the short video clip above on and you’ll get the idea.

Q. Is there a fee to participate this year?
A. Once again it’s totally free—there is no fee to join this year’s walk—just come and have a ball!

Q. Do you have any cities signed up with Photo Walks yet?
A. Yup—lots of them all over the world!

Q. How did those cities gets walks already?
A. We always give the previous year’s Photo Walk leaders the first opportunity to lead a walk again this year (after all—they’re seasoned leaders).

Q. How many cities participated last year, and how many photographers did the Photo Walk that day?
A. We had:

  1. More than 30,000 photographers around the globe
  2. We had more than 1,000 walks worldwide
  3. More than 6,000,000 photos were taken on walks during that one day

Q. How can I find out if there’s a walk in my area?
A. Go to the official Worldwide Photo Walk website and click on the “Find Walks” link at the top right, then type in the city, state, and/or country where you want to walk, and if there are any walks already organized, they’ll be listed on the right side (and you’ll see pins on the map in your area).

Q. How can I lead a Photo Walk?
A. You apply over at the official Worldwide Photo Walk website and click on the “Lead a Walk” button (or just click here). While you’re there, make sure you watch the brief video I made for you to explain what’s entailed in being a Photo Walk Leader.

Q. What does it take to become a Photo Walk Leader?
A. We’re looking for people who have experience leading groups, so if you’re the president of your local camera club, or a college teacher, or photography instructor, or you run a local camera store, or you’ve lead Photo Walks in your area before, etc., you’re likely to get accepted to be a leader. We ask for your qualifications on the leader application, and that’s the type of experience we’re looking for.

Last year, we had some people put, “Well, nobody else signed up from our city, so I guess I’ll do it.” I gotta tell ya—that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in you as a leader. So, in short, we carefully read every Leader application and if you convinced us you’d make a good leader (and there are no other walks already planned in your city), then we approve you to lead a walk.

Q. What if my city already has a Photo Walk, but I want to lead a walk, too?
A. Some big cities can accommodate more than one walk, and so as soon as one starts to fill up, we add a 2nd walk if we have a leader apply and even a third or fourth depending on the response and city size. Also, if the walks are held geographically far from each other but technically in the same major city, we usually add those, too. (For example, New York City could have walks in Central Park, SoHo, Chinatown, and Times Square, and probably a half dozen other locations)

Q. What do I get for being a Photo Walk leader?
A. You get a free copy of my upcoming book, “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it.” Plus, you get to pick the best shot from your local Photo Walk group and award them with a free copy of the book as well. Plus, that person is entered into the grand prize competition for a bunch of insane prizes (or they could wind up as one of my top-10 finalists, and still win lots of cool prizes). I’m even trying to come up with some prizes for my “special category” honorable mentions which I post a few days after the winner is chosen.

Q. Isn’t it crazy-expensive to give all those printed books to leaders and local walk winners all around the world?
A. It’s insanely expensive (you have no idea), which is why we couldn’t do this without the help, support, sponsorship, and hard work of my book Publisher, Peachpit Press, and my publisher Nancy Reunzel (and the whole Peachpit team). They are making this all possible, so please show them some big love by checking out their book site, following them on Twitter, and checking out other Peachpit titles (they publish Joe McNally’s books for example, and Moose Peterson’s, and David Zisers, and mine, plus all the cool new Photoshop and Lightroom books, and all the best books on everything we care about as photographers). In short; they rock!

Q. Do I have to enter the prize competition?
A. Absolutely not. This is a totally separate part of the experience, and if you don’t want to enter your images, you absolutely don’t have to (it’s just to make the experience more fun). You can go and shoot for the day, and never let anyone see your photos. Ever. They can be your private “secret” photos.

Q. Did you get any complaints about how the winners were chosen?
A.
Are you kidding? Absolutely! People get pretty outraged if they think one of their images deserved to be the winner but wasn’t chosen. I have people send me angry emails because their leader picked what they (and their friends) think is the “wrong photo,” but hey—that’s the thing about art—its subjective. At the end, I pick one grand prize winner, and 10 finalists, and I catch some heat for that, too, but I’m OK with it. Surprisingly, I’ve never heard one single complaint about my picks from any of the winners. ;-)

Q. Are you going to have cool t-shirts for walkers and leaders this year?
A. You betcha! Each year, our friend Rob Jones from Towner Jones Photography, who came up with idea last year of selling t-shirts to raise money for (you guessed it), the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. 100% of the profits from the sale of these t-shirts will go to feeding and care for these great kids. Last year we raised over $7,000. This year, let’s make it $10,000!!!! I’m so grateful that Rob wanted to help us again this year. We’ll have a link to the online store where you can purchase your shirt later this week.

Q. So are you leading a Photo Walk again this year?
A.
You betcha! My walk this year takes place in Downtown Tampa, Florida near the University of Tampa. It’s a ideal place for a Photo Walk, with really great opportunities to shoot architecture and people, plus we have the river nearby, and of course we’ll end at a super-yummy restaurant where we can all hang out, grab some lunch, and look at each other’s images (I can’t wait to see how many people bring iPads and pass them around. I’m bringing mine!).

Q. What happens when a city fills up?
A. It’s full. But this year, we do have waiting lists, so if someone cancels, it automatically adds (and notifies) the next person on the waiting list.

Q. How many is full?
A. Photo Walks are limited to 50 photographers. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, you haven’t seen 50 photographers coming down the sidewalk at the same time, and later all converging at once on a restaurant or pub. It’s more like a scary bike gang (except without the bikes, or gang, or scariness).

Q. I want to know more about this PhotoWalk thing; what’s involved, how do I sign up, and all that stuff. Where do I go?
A.
There’s a detailed FAQ on the Website (here’s the link), and once you’re signed up for a walk, we’ve made it much easier for your Walk Leader to keep you up-to-date with messages on your local Walk page.

Q. Where do I go for the latest PhotoWalk information?
A. You can follow the official World Wide Photo Walk on Twitter (@KelbyWWPW) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/ScottKelbyPhotowalk). That’s where all the latest updates from me, and from official PhotoWalk Coordinator Brad Moore (and friends) will be posted.

Q. So when can I sign up to be either a walker or a Walk Leader?
A. Right now! Here’s the link, and I hope you join us this year as we make worldwide photographic history!

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58 comments
  1. Last year the PhotoWalk fell on the same weekend as the San Diego Comic con and the walk was awesome. We got to photograph super heroes, street musicians and zombies…. how can that be topped…

    Well, this year the walk falls on the same weekend as the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Air Show… I will be leading a walk there….

    It’s like you looked into my calendar and picked the dates with the most going on..
    it’s going to be awesome….

  2. Thank you so much for putting this event in October. As a resident of Savannah Georgia I can tell you that our October weather is usually much more pleasant than the scorching record high and humid days we are currently having.

  3. So very glad this has been moved to more tolerable weather!! Thank you!

    My city (Atlanta) has a walk on both Saturday & Sunday & I’d like to participate on both days. Looks like registration is limited to one day. Any way around that, please?

  4. I typed in my city/zipcode and only got a map. No listing on the right to show me if there are any photowalks planned. As for facebook and twitter, I don’t do them, so I’m not able to find any of the rules and questions about how this works. I would love to participate. will any of this information be listed on your blog so that the rest of us can read about it?

    If there is no walk near me, do I just walk around and take photos for the day? Then what?

    Thanks so much.
    Edna B.

    1. Hi Edna:
      That means there was no walks in your city. Yet. Today is just the first day for people to apply to lead a walk. Be patient a day or so, and you’ll probably see one. :)

  5. Looking forward to leading the Madison, Wisconsin photo walk again this year. We had the best time and the best people the last two years. It really was a great time. This is something that everyone needs to consider doing.

  6. I’m a bit disappointed. Last year there were several to pick from in Philadelphia and this year, none. :( Now to figure out how far I’ll need to travel.

  7. I’ll be on my holidays in Paphos, Cyprus during this years. I checked and there is no official walk there so I guess I’ll be doing it solo. Still, I guess I can’t complain about it all things considered.

      1. No. Just wanted to know how he created his image. He firmly stated that he would have a blog post explaining it.

  8. Scott,
    I’m really excited to hear about your new book! As for the Photo Walk, I have never participated in one but it sounds quite interesting and a GREAT way to get folks to interact and collaborate on their passion and hobby (and in cases of folks like yourself, their PROFESSION). You are clearly a gifted individual and your contributions to Photography and media are extraordinary. Keep up the great work and thanks for all your help!

    Robert G.

  9. I was a leader last year but because that day we had heavy rains and my house got 5 feet of water in the basement, I had to cancel the event. This year I noticed I did not get the leader e-mail that went out last year before the event asking if I would be interested in leading again. Was there one sent out? I have several places to do the walk in this year, should I just re-apply?

  10. Thanks so much for the date change! We are currently melting here in Texas. We are becoming just an ashy spot on the map. I think a summer date would have been impossible. October will be fabulous and looking forward to it. Many thanks!

  11. Last year I looked for a city I had never been to to participate in. Made some great friends and got great tips on their favorite places to shoot. I’ll be doing the same thing this year!
    Can we hear more about Springs of Hope and the job they are doing? Also, will the shirts be in Kelby black this year?

  12. Hi Scott,

    I wanted to find out how to attend a walk, if you are not yet 18. I am an upcoming photographer, and was wondering whether it is open for those under 18 (hope so). Also, can I lead a walk (submitting an acceptable application, of course)

    Thanks,
    Aditya

  13. Awesome news today about the WWPW, Scott! I can’t wait to go on my third walk (missed the first year). Hopefully, I can get more inspired pictures than I did last year.

    And don’t you feel like Nostradamus a bit with the moving of the WWPW dates this year? Record breaking heat all over the US this year, and I don’t see anyone complaining NOW that you moved the walk dates to October! 8)

    –John

  14. I was a leader from Thailand for two years. I’ve got email and signin already, but I can not publish my photo walk in Bangkok. I’m sure I’ve filled all required info for the walk, but still got “Please enter your photo walk location.” popup window.

    Please help.

  15. Great news! Can’t wait!!

    One question though, are model releases required if our pictures contain any passing pedestrians? That’s the one piece of information I cannot find. Would releases be required? Or, since these pictures will be taken in public places, and are not for our own monetary gain, is it all fair game?

    Really looking forward to this. Just want to make sure I do it right. ;-)

  16. I was looking sooo forward to this walk, but once again it conflicts with the Adobe MAX conference. Please keep this in mind when scheduling next year’s walk. There are many photographers that attend the conference that aren’t able to participate because of the conflict. Maybe next year. :-(

  17. Scott, I’ve had mine set up, since our newly formed club, The Spartanburg Photo Guild, has quickly grown to over 80 I’m sure mine will fill up. It’s great to have something to look forward to right after PSW!
    KT

  18. My dear Scott, Hi

    2 Questions :

    – Is there any chance for Leaders to submit their photos for Grand Prize?

    if it is not, Maybe you can add a special competition just for Leaders :).

    – When should the walkers send their Final Photos to the leader for Judgement? I mean

    the next day, 2 days later or next week ….

    Best Wishes
    -Ali

  19. Hi,
    great to hear about another edition of WPW!

    I did lead WPW twice in my hometime (Reda) in Poland. Was awesome and people loved it…But that was before I moved to Ireland. Now I’m considering to be leader for a third time (strange that as a previous leader I didn’t get any e-mail at all).

    I just would like to know (couldn’t find it anywhere) what’s the deadline for those who would like to apply for a leader?

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