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Articles from November 2017

Entertainment Shooters Find They Don’t Need Stock Agencies

By Jim Pickerell | 636 Words | Posted 11/30/2017 | Comments
Given the low prices, royalty cuts and delayed payments, experienced entertainment shooter are finding they no longer need stock agencies – particularly microstock agencies. When a photographer shoots red carpet or other entertainment events all sales pretty much come the next morning, or not at all. Red carpet event photos have a VERY SHORT shelf life. The trick is getting your photos on the editor’s desk the next morning.

Tired Of Low Prices? Here’s A Possible Solution

By Jim Pickerell | 1068 Words | Posted 11/29/2017 | Comments (1)
Tired of low stock photo prices? Maybe you ought to license your images to customers direct. More and more customers are finding the images they need by searching Google. Sometimes the image may be one of yours that is represented by an agency. You may be able to get these searchers to come directly to you.

Can Customers Find You?

By Jim Pickerell | 1558 Words | Posted 11/28/2017 | Comments
When potential customers see one of your images they would like to use can they find you or your representative. More and more image users are finding the images they would like to use by searching Google or Bing. They also stumble on images that would be perfect for their next project while searching Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other social media sites.

RF, RM And Model Releases

By Jim Pickerell | 996 Words | Posted 11/27/2017 | Comments
“Must all Royalty Free photos be model released?” This question came from a stock agent who is considering converting his collection from RM to RF. The answer is NO. An increasing number of images are being offered under a Royalty Free License for Editorial Use Only. What the Editorial Use Only means is that “we don’t have a model release for this image,” and thus it can not be used for commercial purposes.

Is Drone Photography In Your Future?

By Jim Pickerell | 421 Words | Posted 11/22/2017 | Comments
Stock photographers operating drones may want to take a look at Skytango, a startup agency that specializes in supplying drone footage. Not only will Skytango license stock clip, but it will help those who need custom footage, that can only be shot from above. The company will help customers locate drone operators who have the equipment and skills needed for their jobs.

TT News Acquires IBL

By Jim Pickerell | 296 Words | Posted 11/21/2017 | Comments
The TT News Agency in Sweden has acquired IBL. Since its inception in the 1960s IBL has enjoyed a solid market position, in Sweden as well as internationally. Daily newspapers, weekly press, magazines and book publishers are the company’s main clients.

Adobe: Visual Trends For 2018

By Jim Pickerell | 153 Words | Posted 11/21/2017 | Comments
Adobe has identified six visual design trends for 2018. They are: Silence and Solitude; The fluid self; Multilocalism; Creative Reality; History and Memory and Touch and Tactility. In each of these areas they have created a gallery of Adobe Stock Photos that illustrate the concepts.

Explaining The Copyright Small Claims Bill

By Jim Pickerell | 54 Words | Posted 11/21/2017 | Comments
There have been many articles published about how the Copyright Small Claims Bill, H.R. 3945,  entitled, the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017” (the “CASE Act”) will benefit image creators. Here is a link to an excellent article that may make it easier for photographers to understand exactly how the Act will benefit them.

Is Shutterstock Benefiting Editorial Photographers?

By Jim Pickerell | 720 Words | Posted 11/20/2017 | Comments
The market for editorial stock photos is quite different from the commercial market. Shutterstock may be having a difficult time adapting. In January 2015 Shutterstock purchased Rex Features for $33 million. At the time it was believed that Rex’s gross 2014 revenue was about $7 million.

Is SilverHub Media Closing After Less Than Two Years? SEE CORRECTION

By Jim Pickerell | 236 Words | Posted 11/17/2017 | Comments
SilverHub Media is an editorial agency launched in 2016 by long time Getty senior executive Nick Evans-Lomb and Adrian Murrell. On 11/14/2017 Companies House in the UK announced that SilverHub Media will be dissolved within 2 months “unless cause is shown to the contrary.” Rumors have it that SilverHub is saying this was an administrative error.

Michael Jay’s Perspective On EyeEm As A Market

By Jim Pickerell | 272 Words | Posted 11/14/2017 | Comments
Last week I wrote about the Top Suppliers to Getty Image and pointed out that EyeEm has significantly more images in the collection than any other agency supplier.

123RF’s New Idea: Ask Users For Donations

By Jim Pickerell | 524 Words | Posted 11/13/2017 | Comments
Contributors to 123RF recently received a request from Eric, who heads the team that secures content for 123RF. He asked them to make their footage available to users via a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. The theory behind this strategy seems to be that some users may be so thankful for your footage and images that they will send you a “donation” to show their appreciation. Of course, they are not “required or obligated” to donate.

Top Suppliers To Getty Images

By Jim Pickerell | 1545 Words | Posted 11/10/2017 | Comments
It was recently called to my attention that EyeEm has 3,494,298 images in the Getty Images collection. Add to that the 2,755,731 in the Moment collection (from Flickr photographers) and these two collections represent 29% of the combined RM and RF collections currently on Gettyimages.com, and 41% of the RF collection alone. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the current number of images each brand has at Getty.

Are Getty’s Top Suppliers Providing What Customers Need?

By Jim Pickerell | 1972 Words | Posted 11/10/2017 | Comments
One of the interesting questions raised by the chart in the previous story and the chart below is the annual revenue each collection might possibly generate. Certain specialized collections may have provided very few images and thus generate much less than the larger collections. However, by using the attached chart brand owners may be able to get a senses of whether their images are selling as well as those of their competitors.

Getty Images Revenue

By Jim Pickerell | 514 Words | Posted 11/8/2017 | Comments
Moody’s Investor Service reports that total Getty Images revenue for the twelve months ended 30 September 2017 was $836.8 million.

Joomag Customers Get iStock Images For $2.99

By Jim Pickerell | 509 Words | Posted 11/6/2017 | Comments
iStock has done a deal with Joomag that allowed Joomag users to purchase as few, or as many, images a month as they would like to use for $2.99 each. Joomag provides a graphic design service to over “500,000 businesses across all sectors” that allows customers to create digital newsletters, magazines, catalogs, brochures, ebooks and more and deliver these products either online or in printed form.

What Stock Photos Are Most Frequently Used By Customers?

By Jim Pickerell | 810 Words | Posted 11/3/2017 | Comments
The GDUSA Survey of graphic designers provides a list of subjects in greatest demand by image buyers. The top 25 listed appear in more or less the following order. I searched the five major stock photo distributors – Getty Images, Shutterstock, AdobeStock, iStock and Alamy – to determine the number of images returned when each keyword is used.

Alamy Trends Since 2008

By Jim Pickerell | 713 Words | Posted 11/2/2017 | Comments
Alamy had a very good year in 2016 with total turnover up 31% to 19,185,668 £ compared to 14,627,376 £ in 2015. However, much of that percentage growth was due to strong sales in the U.S. and a declining exchange rate in the pound compared to other currencies. Based on the U.S. dollar rate at the end of each year the total turnover 2016 was $23,675,114 compared to $21,569,529 for 2015.

GDUSA Stock Visuals Survey Results

By Jim Pickerell | 828 Words | Posted 11/1/2017 | Comments
The results of Graphic Design USA’s 31st Annual Stock Visual Reader Survey are now available here. Ninety-two percent of the respondents use stock photos, 72% use stock illustration and 41% use footage and animation. This is a must read for anyone trying to produce imagery that the market wants.

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This stock photography news site focuses on the business side of photography with a special emphasis on stock photography. Our goal is to help photographers maximize their earnings based on the quality of their work and the commitment they are prepared to make to the trade. The information provided will be applicable to part-timers as well as full time professional photographers. We’ll leave it to others to teach photographers how to take better pictures.

Jim Pickerell launched his career as a photographer in 1963. In 1990 he began publishing a regular newsletter on stock photography. In 1995 the information was made available online as well as in print and was gradually expanded to a daily service. Click here for Pickerell's full biography.

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