Getty Images partnered with fiftyfifty (street magazine sold by homeless people), and worked with their homeless vendors as models for classic stock photography.

We filtered out the most in-demand motifs on Getty Images, and portrayed the homeless as common people in these different life and work situations. This way, we showed the possibilities of homeless people, and helped people to see the homeless as who they really are –– the same human beings as anyone of us.

The photos were uploaded to Getty Images and iStock. All profits from the downloads go directly to fiftyfifty to help purchase apartments and house the homeless.

More photographers worldwide are encouraged to join us, and create their own stock photo collection with their local homeless, which will also be integrated into the Getty Images database and generate donations for partnered local homeless NGOs. Like this, the project has turned into a global movement.

We first integrated the photos into the Getty Images database, and tagged them separately, targeting the users with different image needs. These images are purchasable for people worldwide on gettyimages.com and istockphoto.com.

Meanwhile, a microsite was launched, as a categorized portal of all images, and a project hub that leads people to explore the initiative.

While Getty Images began to promote our photo collection in their newsletter to the user community every month, we are promoting our message together with the powerful photos through various mediums: online films, social media posts across all platforms, a print campaign on fiftyfifty, a TVC on n-tv, films in cinemas across Düsseldorf, plus an exhibition in the biggest church of Düsseldorf at the town center.

The project started out as an initiative in Germany, but with more and more photographers and homeless NGOs worldwide joining us, it has already turned into a global movement.

With 155 million reach, and € 1.4 million equivalent of earned media, we are driving a narrative of hope and possibilities for the homeless community. The shift of public perceptions, and the change in the way people talk about the homeless, have been evidently reflected in the media coverage and people’s online discussion about our photos.

Up until now, the project has generated over € 50K donations in total for fiftyfifty. The number still keeps climbing, with stock photography as a constant fundraising tool over the long term.