Frequently Asked Questions

It’s simple: you get more value for your money when you purchase wall art at Photocircle. Not only do you get a premium quality art print, at the same time, we support a good cause with part of the proceeds - and you don't have to spend a single extra penny on your art print!

Transparency is a priority for us and it’s extremely important to us that you know what happens with the money we donate to our social projects.

When you buy an art print at Photocircle, a part of that money will be donated to one of our social projects: for example, when you print your own pictures at Photocircle, we forfeit 6% of the purchasing price and support numerous non-profit organisations that way. And when you buy a photo or illustration by one of our artists, we still donate 6% of the base price. Our artists then add their own mark-up, of which at least 10% will be donated to a non-profit organisation as well.

We want to emphasise that we - Photocircle and its artists - subtract the donations from our margins, and do not add it to the price our customers pay. In other words: you don’t pay more, we make less. Because profit maximisation is not our goal. Instead, we want to create a platform on which the subject is involved in the success of a picture, and thereby make the world a slightly better (and more just) place to live in.

We guarantee that 100% of the specified project support reaches the respective organisation. All related costs (e.g. transaction and administrative costs) are paid for by us.

It's Photocircle's goal to create a win-win situation for all parties involved. We want to create a platform on which photographers and illustrators can sell their work through their own galleries at no extra cost - so that they can increase their turnover and support social projects in the countries and regions they've travelled and come to love. Our customers get great wallart from us and also make a positive contribution without having to invest extra time or money.

No, just fairer. You often pay even less when buying premium art prints by top-notch photographers and illustrators, and at the same time we support non-profits for every purchase you make.

How's that possible? When you buy wall art by one of our photographers or illustrators, we donate 6% of the base price to one of our humanitarian or development projects, plus our artists also donate at least 10% of their proceeds. When you print one of your own photos, Photocircle donates 6% of the purchasing price to the organisation of your choice.

We want to to demonstrate that ethical consumerism does not have to be the more expensive alternative.

No, and that's because neither you nor our artists nor Photocircle act as donors. You buy a product – e.g. an art print, photo calendar or vintage frame – and get something in return for your money, while Photocircle and the respective artist both get a share of the sales price.

We do our best to make the cash flow as transparent as possible. Every customer and every artist can see what proportion of the sales price goes towards the project. Furthermore, you can also see on our website how much money is still needed to fund it. After we've transferred money to an organisation, we receive updates regarding our joint project, which we will be sharing with our community through our social media and blog.

Also: we have an open door policy here at Photocircle. Want to know more bout the way we work? Just drop by our gallery on Momnumentenstr. 1, 10829 Berlin, Germany.

The size of the donation depends on the price of the picture, as well as the percentage chosen by the photographer or illsutrator for his or her donation (10% or more of the artist’s profit margin). On top of that, we donate 6% of the base price (on top of which the artist puts their markup).

The relevant organisation will receive 100% of that amount, as all other costs - such as transaction costs or possible taxes - are paid for by Photocircle.

“I had the idea while traveling. I took a lot of pictures of people in their everyday lives, and often without them noticing. Back home, people would compliment me on my photos, and suggest that I should sell them. This felt wrong, as the subjects of my pictures weren’t part of the equation at all – despite them being the reason why my photos turned out so great!” (Thomas Heinrich, founder)

Photocircle founder Thomas loves photography himself. On his travels through Asia and South America, it never felt quite right to him taking pictures of people, often even without them even knowing. Talking to other photographers when he was back home, he found out that many of them shared this sentiment. That’s how the idea of Photocircle was born: the desire arose in him to give something back to the people in his pictures. At first, he wanted to do this by distributing Polaroids to the local population. However, when he began to get involved with the existing online platforms, he found that he wanted to do more and to change the way the system worked. He wanted to sell his pictures in a way that would allow him to give something back to the people who made them special; and as no such platform existed at the time, he created one himself.

On most other online galleries, the artists receive a mere 15% of the turnover from the sales of their pictures. The operators of the respective platform cash in the rest. Photocircle is an attempt at making the online photography and arts market a more just place. We want to honour both the subject and the photographer by giving back and paying a fair amount of money to our artists, who decide over their profit margins themselves.

Our vision is simple: for an exceptional photo, you need more than just a great photographer and the right moment. You also need an extraordinary subject. So it's obvious that the subject should profit from the sales as well, right? We think that's just fair, but normally that's not the case. We're here to change that. That's why for every art print sold, Photocircle and its artists donate part of the proceeds to a humanitarian, environmental or development project in the country or region where the picture is from. That way, we can give back to the people and places that make our images unique. As both Photocircle and its artists wave a part of the proceeds, you get beautiful art and the chance to make a difference without having to pay more yourself. The circle is complete. In October 2019, we started our afforestation project in Ethiopia, hoping to plant a total of 200,000 trees by the end of 2020. That's roughly equivalent to an area of 160 football fields. Within the next five years alone, these trees will absorb about 10,000,000 kg of CO2 from our atmosphere.

We offer a small choice of projects on all continents, rotationg through various countries. Our partners so far are, among others: UNHCR, CARE, Plan International, and many local initiatives.

At the moment you can pay by credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. And when you visit us at our gallery in Berlin Schöneberg, you can, of course, also pay cash.

Yes. We work with Ogone, a leading payment provider. All payment data and the payment flow proceed via a secure connection, which is protected from any abuse.

In the unlikely case that this should happen, please write us a short e mail or give us a call – we’ll sort out the matter as soon as possible.

You don’t need a customer account to purchase from us. However, having an account gives you a detailed view of which products you’ve bought and which projects you’ve supported. Also, the process of ordering further prodcuts in the future will be quicker and less complicated, if you have already set up an account. 

Our art prints are produced in Germany and intricately processed.

Because of our very high quality standards, we need several days for production - depending on the product and the season. Within Germany, delivery usually takes placce 1-3 working days after the picture has been produced. Here you find an overview over our shipping costs and delivery times.

Here you'll find an overview over our shipping costs and delivery times.

Smaller parcels with a combined length and girth of up to 360cm are sent in a climate neutral manner with DHL Go Green. All transport-related emissions are calculated and then compensated for via an external climate protection project. With large format pictures we work together with TNT. 

Yes, the parcel is insured.    

To put it in a nutshell: you can earn some money and support many good causes through your work. We turn your pictures into beautiful wallart and at the same time find worthwhile causes all over the globe.

Here is a brief summary of some of the advantages: 

1. You help people with your photos
2. Photocircle helps increase your turnover and your profile
3. You decide on your margin and the size of your donation
4. It doesn’t cost anything for you
5. You retain the copyright on your photos
6. We look after marketing and overall development
7. Quality is our top priority: your pictures will be produced and sold as premium-quality art prints! 

Yes, we provide you with an ICC profile for softproofing your pictures for each one of our products (poster, fine art paper, canvas, alu dibond and acrylic glass). The purpose behind softproofing is an authentic reproduction of your image as a print. You can download the ICC profiles here, and you can read here how to make your softproofing successful.

But: first of all it is important that you calibrate your monitor correctly. In fact, it often happens that display and printer report are not exactly matched. In order to ensure the highest possible matching of the monitor display with the printed product, accurate adjustment of the monitor display is essential. This setting is best done with a monitor calibrator, or using a reference image. The settings that are made during the measuring process depend on the brightness and color temperature of the sample environment and the working space used.

In most cases, the following settings should be used:

It’s really simple: first, you write an email to change@photocircle.net and show us a little bit of your work. You can send a link to your website or Instagram account, or send a couple of files, so we can get an idea. If we like what you do, we'll send you a link through which you can register and create a profile, so your future customers get an idea of who you are and what you do.

Then you upload your first pictures. Our jury will check your uploads for quality and suitability and let you know by email whether your pictures have been accepted or not. Please don’t hold it against us if we reject your photos or illustrations: as we want to limit the number of pictures we have in order to ensure high quality, and also have to take other factors into consideration which are less to do with quality than suitability, we have no choice but to reject some work (however much we regret doing so). So it’s possible that we might, on a private level, be enthusiastic about your pictures, but nevertheless won’t be in a position to offer them for sale.

Once your pictures have been accepted, customers can buy them in different formats as top-quality art prints on fine art paper, canvas or alu dibond, behind acrylic glass or as framed posters.

On Photocircle, we sell fine art photography and illustration art - we want to offer our customers high quality wallart. For this reason, we’re not looking for holiday snapshots from your mobile phone, no matter how lovely that beach was ;)

Send us ambitious and sophisticated photography with a strong motif that stands out, or high quality, one-of-a-kind illustrations - and you'll make our day! We’re also keen to learn about the story behind your picture, which can be written underneath.

You yourself decide on the proportion of the sales price you would like to receive: you set the margin. However, because a significant part of the proceeds goes to a social project, your earnings will inevitably be affected. This way, you're making money not just for yourself, you're also helping those in need with your work.

We work in RGB colour mode. When processing your data, we therefore recommend the integration of RGB, as we print your art print in this colour mode. 

We focus on high-quality fine art prints by talented international artists. Photocircle offers wallart as framed poster prints, on fine art paper, acrylic glass, canvas and alu dibond in different sizes and formats. We also offer high-quality photo calendars, postcard sets and beautiful vintage picture frames from South Africa, made from upcycled wood waste by formerly unemployed people.

If you're a business or enterprise and you would like to give your partners and clients special and meaningful presents for Christmas, anniversaries and the like - we have just the right gift idea for you: our customizable calendars.

And if you're a photographer, bring one of our karma-friendly camera straps next time you hit the road.

Absolutely! We deliver all our products including a mounting bracket attached to the rear. Unpack, mount on the wall, done! For our acrylic glass and alu dibond products, we send you either an aluminium or metal mounting apparatus with a spacer, depending on the size of the picture. Neither alternative is visible when looked at from the front, so that your picture appears to float.

We print all our products with top-notch printers from Epson - for maximum resolution even in the largest format! And in order for you to enjoy finest details and bright colours, we don’t settle when it comes to ink either: we only use original Epson ink. The printing process is always carried out by trained specialists and thanks to modern technology, your art print will be a lasting eye-catcher on your living room walls. 

Photos and illustrations behind acrylic glass are without a doubt among the most stylish and modern forms of image presentation. The acrylic glass sheet gives your art print unbelievable depth and lustre, and your colours are more vivid than with any other product.  Therefore, pictures behind acrylic glass are especially popular with artists and gallery owners.

At Photocircle, we laminate rather than using direct printing, as we always want to offer our photographers and customers the highest possible quality. Direct printing as a technology is currently not sufficiently developed in order to produce best results.

Acrylic glass lamination means that the photo or illustration is first of all printed on top-notch photo paper and then laminated on a 3mm aluminium composite panel - alu dibond - that serves as protection for the art print and gives it further stability. Without sufficient strengthening, acrylic glass pictures quickly lose their form and are therefore not that long-lasting.

The alu dibond (with the laminated photo print) is then joined to the acrylic glass sheet with high quality UV-silicone. Unlike adhesive film, this method protects your picture from dust, ripping and air bubbles, as well as environmental factors such as moisture.

You can choose between acrylic glass of either 3 mm or 5 mm density. The three-dimensional effect is heightened further by the 5mm alternative.

Wall art as it should be! Some important facts at a glance:

• Unpack, mount on the wall, done: our acrylic glass prints come with a mounting bracket attached to the rear
• High class lamination instead of inferior direct printing
• Top quality printing thanks to premium Epson printers
• Strengthening and stabilisation through 3 mm-thick Alu Dibond
• Composite panel with high quality UV-silicone instead of adhesive film
• A choice of 3 mm- or 5 mm-thick acrylic glass

Regardless of whether you want fine art photography for your home, print your own pictures or one of our stunning illustrations: our Alu Dibonds are proper eye catchers and create a genuine gallery feeling within your own four walls. We offer only the highest quality, therefore we laminate art prints on 3mm thick aluminium composite panels and thus avoid direct printing. We then enhance the appearance of your art print with high class UV-protective laminate. This also protects wallart from dirt, finger prints, UV-light and moisture, while colours gain in intensity and retain their radiance and brilliance over a long period.

The most important facts at a glance:

• High class lamination rather than inferior direct printing
• Brilliant colours thanks to high quality printing with Epson premium printers
• A polished finish with high class protective laminate
• Delivery including mounting apparatus

No matter whether you want our fine art photography and illustrations, or your sister's wedding pictures on canvas for your living room walls: even the best art print will lose its effect, if the canvas used is of low quality. That’s why we refrain from using synthetic materials and only use canvas from 100% cotton, which has an especially appealing structure and surface feel.

Our canvases are attached to solid wood frames, which are characterised by their stability and long-lasting quality. Of course we also pay close attention to the origins of our wood: we only use wood from sustainable forestry and avoid endangered species of trees. When attaching the canvas to the frames, we pay special attention to the careful folding of the edges, so that no disruptive swelling arises.

Last but not least, only skilled refinement of the canvas ensures the brilliance of your colours over time. For this reason, all our canvases are rounded off with a special UV-coating seal. This process, the so-called sealing varnish, protects your art print from scratches, dust, moisture and dirt. It also ensures that colours gain in intensity and radianc, and remain luminous over time.

The most important facts at a glance:

• Top quality printing with premium printers from Epson
• Brilliant colours and optimum protection through sealing varnish
• Stability through solid wood frames got from sustainable forestry
• Premium canvas from 100% cotton
• 2cm, 4cm or 8cm-thick frames

The idea behind Photocircle is simple: we want to give something back to the countries and people that make our pictures unique. That's why for every art print sold, Photocircle and its artists donate part of the proceeds to a humanitarian, environmental or development project in the country or region where the picture is from. That way, we can give back to the people and places that make our images unique. As both Photocircle and its artists wave a part of the proceeds, you get beautiful art and the chance to make a difference without having to pay more yourself. The projects aren’t carried out by us, but by our partner organisations, whereby projects and partner organisations change over time. This way we can, for example, support a project in India one time and one in Pakistan or Bangladesh the following time (once in Guatemala, the next time in Cuba etc...).

In October 2019, we started our afforestation project in Ethiopia, hoping to plant a total of 200,000 trees by the end of 2020. That's roughly equivalent to an area of 160 football fields. Within the next five years alone, these trees will absorb about 10,000,000 kg of CO2 from our atmosphere.

Many roads lead to a partnership with a new non-governmental organization: sometimes our artists point out a local initiative with which they themselves have worked on their journeys. In other cases, we are specifically looking for an institution that takes on a particular problem or which works in a certain country. In any case, our partner NGOs go through a quality check in advance, where we ask questions about transparency, sustainability and accountability-related criteria. Once a project is fully funded and the money has benefited its purpose, our organizations will submit a small evaluation sheet and send us pictures of the project work, too.

In order to keep administrative costs for both our partners and ourselves to a minimum, we transfer the money to our partners as soon as a project is fully financed. Deviations from this rule are possible when the realisation of a project occurs over a long time period. In this case, it can happen that a portion of the contribution will be transferred to the organisation earlier.

At Photocircle you can only print digital data. So either your photos are taken with a digital camera, or you have to scan your analog pictures first.

After an image has been uploaded, you will see (by means of little stars) approximately how good the quality of the print will be in the respective size and format. Please note that this is only a rough guess based on the resolution of the image. If you are uncertain, you're welcome to send us your picture before ordering, so that our graphic designer can have a look at it. We will then get back to you with a professional assessment and recommendation for the print.

Angela is our graphic designer and professional photo editor. If you want to have your pictures in perfect quality, but you have no time or the necessary knowledge to edit the pictures yourself, she's exactly the person you want to talk to. Just send us your pictures to change@photocircle.net. We will get back to you with a quote ASAP.

On our website you can upload pictures in the formats JPG and Tiff. If your pictures are saved as other formats, just send us the files via email to change@photocircle.net, as these file formats are not supported by our upload process.

We only work with calibrated monitors. So if you want to make sure that there aren't any color deviations in your prints, you would also have to have a calibrated monitor. You can then download the respective color profile here and edit your pictures accordingly. But don't worry if you do not have a calibrated monitor: just send us a short email with your file attached to change@photocircle.net and we'll have a look at it.