While it might still be called disrupt, it’s probably just by habit than real meaning. As we walked the aisles of TechCrunch Disrupt NY, we didn’t see, at least in photo space, a start-up that would fit this epithet.  Certainly some great ideas, lots of passion, and definite sense that the space still shows a lot of potential. Disruption? well, you be the judge.…

Held at the Manhattan center in mid- town New York, a space better suited for a stage performance rather  than a trade show, it is a yearly festival of noise, crowd, anxiety, stress and relentless pitching. The startups are jammed packed next to each other with hardly a table for their demo laptop, while visitors have to squeeze themselves between curious by-standers and founders pitching at them, hoping that each one will be that person that will finally make their business take off. The whole scene is covered by the incessant stage demos broadcasted live from a stage at the center of it all. While the atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed, it can be challenging to focus.  Nevertheless it remains an event not to be missed, if only for the quality of the surprises.

Here are few companies who caught our eyes in no particular order:

Shutta: This extremely well designed app does one thing and does it very well. Make high-quality stills our of your videos. Instead of desperately trying to capture the best shot of your dog catching a ball, you can simply film it, review it and just pull out that one perfect frame.

Shutta extremely simple and intuitive interface
Shutta extremely simple and intuitive interface

From there, you can edit it, add filters or emoji’s and share it, either on Shutta platform or any of the other main one. The interface of this app makes it extremely simple and agreeable to us. Mom’s, Gopro aficionado’s, pet owners, sport fanatics amongst other will love this app. We will have a deeper plunge into Shutta in an upcoming interview with its ceo. Stay Tuned.

Visual Vertigo : Sometimes you see something that you didn’t expect would blow you away. Visual Vertigo is a 3D app. But before, you move on saying “oh, here’s another one of those”, listen up. Designed initially for drone operators to view a live 3D feed on their screen, it does it without a need for an additional lens or color separation. No additional cost or weight added. The result is stunning.

You still need a goggle type apparatus to see the 3D, but when you are operating a drone, that is normal procedure. Since we are not all drone operators, Visual Vertigo has developed this technology for casual mobile phone photographers, so that you can take 3D images, again, no additional lenses needed. Just does it inside your phone, live. The best part is that this extends to a full 3D immersive photo where you can explore a 3D image by just moving your phone around. A portable Occulus Rift experience, if you want, that you can produce yourself. We will have a more in-depth look at Visual Vertigo in an upcoming article.

Related Noise: This company allows you to pull all related photos ( and text) from social media by just using a hashtag and create a  dynamic mini site you can publish anywhere. Impressive demo makes it look extremely simple and brands like Michael Kors are already using it.

Related Noise makes it extremely easy to create mini dynamic site with YGC content
Related Noise makes it extremely easy to create mini dynamic site with YGC content

Be ready to see more of this company offering in the near future as they expand their already very appealing offering.

Whichpic : Creating a new photo centric sharing platform is a daunting task. However, which pic offers and edge that might just be the right trigger for success. Using the A/B testing process familiar to any tech start-up, Whichpic allows you to upload 2 or more photos and ask your community which one they like best. It could be photos of your dress choices for tonight’s party to two menu items in a restaurant, to which stairs to take at the mall, electric or manual.

WhichPic is like A/B testing for your pictures
WhichPic is like A/B testing for your pictures

Unlike “likes” on Instagram, Whichpic offers the poster full analytics so that they get a clear and simple answer to their visual dilemmas. For brands, the usage case is obvious ( which of my products you like more) . Feedback and direct connection to fans is certainly a very powerful appeal. All this company needs is traction and if they manage to catch it, could be huge.

Tagillion could also be  brands’ best friend. Similar, at its core, to an Instagram, whereby you shoot and share photos, Tagillion also helps you cash in on it. Take pictures of your favorite cloth, tag them with the brand’s name and you might receive the brands endorsement by means of cash against clicks. In other words, the more your pictures gets clicked upon, the more you get paid by the corresponding brand.

The appeal here is obviously the monetization of your photos. Founders of this company are acutely aware that there is a rising discontent by Instragram ( or Pinterest) users hearing how much revenue these companies are making off their work and not seeing a penny in return. Tagillion can change that. Brands, on the other side, get to see, connect and reward their top influencers, allowing to directly communicate with their biggest fans. Like all other apps, with enough traction, this app could become serious business.

This should give you a good glimpse into what you missed if you couldn’t make it to the event. Photo:tech companies were not the majority of presenters  but were well represented in numbers. Refreshingly, only a very few were baseless attention grabbers. The majority, as the ones presented here, were seriously in active search of revenue with a sharp focus on becoming profitable very quickly. Until next year…

Photo by TechCrunch

Author: Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a highly influential and visionary leader in visual tech, with 20+ years of experience in licensing, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of MelcherSystem and has held executive roles at Corbis, Stipple, and more. Melcher received a Digital Media Licensing Association Award and is a board member of Plus Coalition, Clippn, and Anthology, and has been named among the “100 most influential individuals in American photography”

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