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Fine Art
Alamy has launched Alamy iQ, a service designed to help customers better manage all the visual assets they own or have licensed rights to use. Alamy iQ will be particularly beneficial to global organizations that have people sourcing visual assets from many locations for a variety of uses. It will complement or replace existing asset management systems, help speed decision making and eliminate risk.
Bigstock, a subsidiary of Shutterstock, has announced a new API program along with two world-class partners:
CafePress Inc., The World's Customization Engine™, and
Emma an email marketing provider. These partners will utilize Bigstock's recently released API to provide their customers with access to Bigstock's expansive library of professional, commercially licensable
photographs and illustrations.
In March 2011 we published
a brief story about how Noam Galai’s picture of his screaming face had been used extensively all over the world without his permission. The image has gained a reputation as the “Stolen Scream.” But, was it really stolen or did the photographer effectively allow the uses.
Bridgeman Art Library has introduced an iPad app called Bridgeman Art Doodle Live that is a fun way to introduce adults and children alike to the joys of art. The app is available at the
AppStore for £1.49.
The second annual
PDN Outdoor Photo Expo (OPE) will be held in Salt Lake City August 1-4, 2012 and
registration is now open. Outdoor Photo Expo is the only educational conference and trade show dedicated to outdoor photography, including adventure, landscape, nature, outdoor sports, travel and wildlife.
Fotolia has added 3128 fine art
images from the deviantArt (dA) collection to its offering. (
Click here to see the images.) The images are available exclusively at Fotolia.com.
Andreas Gursky’s photograph called “Rhein II” has just been sold for
$4.3 million at Christies making it the most expensive photograph in the
world. However, Gursky won’t see a penny of the money since the
transaction was between two collectors.
Some in the stock photography business will wonder, “whatever happened to Jeff Burke?” Jeff was the creator of the FoodPix, Brand X and Botanica brands and sold his company (PictureArts which also owned Nonstock at the time) to JupiterImages in 2005. (Jupiter was later acquired by Getty Images.)
PhotoShelter, has released a 44-page e-book entitled 'How to Sell Prints'. This is the latest in a long-running series of free and comprehensive e-books designed to equip photographers with the tools needed for success in today's marketplace. The guide outlines basic and intermediate business strategies designed to help photographers get started selling prints. This free book includes a variety of insightful case studies and action plans, as well as expert recommendations and can be requested here:
http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/how-to-sell-prints
Today, press release marketing presents the artist with another low cost
opportunity to promote their artwork. If done properly, press release
marketing will bring traffic to the artist’s website, help in building
and maintaining an artist’s brand and will eventually create incoming
links to the artist’s website, thus, enhancing it’s SEO and gaining a
higher page rank too.
Artists who want more exposure and sales for their art will develop a
marketing program to promote their work. When that marketing does
not produce the results that were hoped for, the artist becomes
discouraged and gives up their marketing efforts. The Rule of Seven may
help to explain why an artist’s marketing effort does not create the
results that were envisioned.
Everyday artists are being instructed by experts how to promote their
art business online, in social media and in all ways digitally. The
experts espouse these “must do’s and must have’s” on how an artist
should market themselves virally. Yes, digital marketing is extremely
important, but artists should not forget to market and promote
themselves offline as well. Marketing offline is another way to drive
traffic to an artist’s website and help to create new business
opportunities. Overall, offline marketing helps to make sales and to
brand the artist and their artwork.
PicScout’s Image Tracker software has helped Glen Carner’s Hawaiian Art
Network dramatically grow revenue in less than a year by locating
infringements and assisting in the collection of appropriate fees for
unauthorized uses. Currently, revenue recovered from infringements
accounts for about 50% of Hawaiian Art Network’s income.
Photographers marketing their images through online web sites should be
alert to common art scams that seem to be growing in frequency. This is
particularly true for those trying to sell physical works of art (fine
art prints).
If you are not familiar with, or have not used Google Alerts to monitor
your art niche, this article can be a very important new tool for you to
use on a regular basis. Google Alerts will help you monitor very
specific sections and segments in your area of expertise or it can be a
great research tool for areas and subjects that you would like to be
involved with in the future.
If you have decided on a career as a freelance photographer, your
vocation will be marketing and your avocation, or sideline, will be
photography.
Today, a lot of businesses get marketing and branding mixed up. They
are confused as to what the differences are, what they both mean or they
try promoting their business with one and without the other. Simply
put, marketing is how you reach your target market with advertising,
promotions and public relations. Marketing is showing the world with
what you do. Branding is who you are or what the world thinks you are.
Every time a prospect or a potential customer makes contact with you in
person, print, virally or by other means, they are formulating an
opinion of you as a brand.
Fine art photographs are an expression of the artist’s creative vision, perceptions and emotions more than a realistic rendering of a subject. Peers may admire such work and judges may occasionally award a dollar prize, but in most cases such images are not deemed to have commercial value. Actually profiting from the creative effort is rare for most photographers who produce such images. They produce them because they feel compelled to do so, not for the money. However, John Math is proving that it is possible to profit from selling fine art images if you take a business approach and develop a marketing strategy.
There is a reason why it is called “social” media and there are rules
that you should follow when it comes to employing “social media” to
market and brand yourself and your art. Every day I see small businesses
that are ruining their brand by abusing social media. Artists are no
different, as they are a “small business” too! Here are some quick rules
of social media that you should follow.
With more and more art galleries and art organizations using the internet and email as a way to receive and administer their art show entries, an artist needs to follow the rules more closely than ever. I see at least 30% of the artists every month who ignore the rules and prospectus requirements for a particular art competition. The artists will send in their entries in the wrong manner, incompletely or in the wrong form. Failure to follow the rules of an art call is the number one reason why artists fail to get into their share of art exhibitions and art shows.
Street vending your photography is not for everybody. But if you can live within the income limits, are innovative, like the outdoors, and truly enjoy people- you can have a lot of fun. Experience and suggestions from NYC.