Billed as "a platform to upload, share and enjoy gaming screenshots," ShareGamingHub is a burgeoning file sharing community, currently in beta, whose goal is to popularise videogame photography in the same way YouTube promotes 'influencers' and Instagram showcases selfies and food snaps.
Established by its creator Leopold earlier this year, ShareGamingHub was funded by Google's GCP for startups programme to the tune of $20,000 in server credits. Leopold sidestepped further education in order to commit to the project 24/7—which he feels could eventually rival the likes of YouTube, Instagram and Flickr while centering itself around videogame photography.
"I know that some people think that gaming photography is in no way art, that the world and the assets were created by the game devs, that the lighting is always optimally scripted by the devs," Leopold tells me. "In summary, they think you just push a button and that's it. But there is way more to it and some individuals truly are incredibly gifted at gaming photography. You will see shots of the same exact setting in-game that differ incredibly in terms of quality and what they express.
"Gaming photography works exactly the same as 'regular photography', you take a snapshot of a world that was not created by you to celebrate the beauty and the emotion that you feel in that moment. To me, that's art."
Leopold suggests the main reasons videogame photography hasn't taken off in the same way as, say, let's plays revolve around lack of awareness and that has forced visibility issues around the medium. He points to Dead End Thrills as proof that there's scope for making a living from videogame photography and that the absence of a so-called "rallying" point for the gaming photography community has hindered its growth. "Where was our Youtube, where was our Instagram, or even our Flickr?" Leopold asks. "ShareGamingHub solves that problem."
Looking to the future, Leopold hopes to mirror the design of the likes of Instagram but the business model of YouTube. He suggests that, while a ways away, partnerships with game developers are in his sights, whereby ShareGamingHub's users could sell their own prints and where devs would receive royalties.
"We want our platform not only to be a place for fun and beauty in gaming photography, but also a place that will kickstart careers and dreams," Leopold adds. "A place that will give birth to a new generation of gaming photographers and new forms of partnerships between gaming companies and the gaming photography community. There is tremendous marketing opportunities for those companies in gaming photography, and there is incredible growth to be found for the gaming photography community in the world."
More information on the ShareGamingHub, including how to sign up can be found over here. Details on its third Screenshot Competition, that boasts a $50 global Steam card prize, can be found in this direction.