Photographs of many products and locations can not be used for any type
of commercial purpose without a release. Blanket releases for images of
these subjects are almost impossible to obtain. It is sometimes
possible to get a release for a very specific, clearly defined use, but
not for an undefined “stock use.” Therefore, if the stock
photographer’s goal is to license rights to the images he or she
produces the photographer may be better advised to avoid wasting time
photographing this subject matter. In some cases such images may be
used for editorial purposes.
After great success at producing and selling traditional rights-managed and royalty-free imagery for more than 25 years, Ron Chapple started producing microstock in 2006. By 2008, he went looking for new opportunities, and in 2009 -- the year when many other photographers struggled to survive -- he doubled his income compared to the previous year.
Malaysia-based PhotoAsia has announced the addition of 22 image collections, which bring its total inventory to over 4 million images, all available online.
From Pantone to JWT Intelligence, experts are predicting trends for 2010. The color of the year is turquoise, and all things aquatic are expected to be in vogue.
Marketing Daily sums up the forecasts.
As 2009 wound to a close, so did several more stock-image companies. Most notable for a couple of firsts they introduced to the industry are royalty-free sellers Zymmetrical and BrightQube, which ceased to exist in December and November, respectively.
Though final advertising spending numbers for 2009 will not come in for another few weeks, the first three quarters of the year were nothing short of abysmal, at least according to latest figures from TNS Media Intelligence. The ad-measurement company reported a U.S. decline of 14.7% compared to the first nine months of 2008. Still, there are some bright spots, including Internet display, print inserts, and telecom and pharmaceutical advertising.
While stats for most economic indicators remain pitifully low in long-term comparisons, numerous sources are reporting short-term gains. Importantly, advertising and freelance job markets have perked up in recent months.
For much of the past decade, textbook publishers have licensed rights to print a minimum number of copies of the books they published and proceeded to greatly exceed the authorized press run, without informing the content creators. Only recently have photographers become aware of this problem, which we covered last month. Here is a summary of the settled and pending actions.
Despite the general state of the economy, falling advertising budgets and continued debate over the marketing usefulness of social media, budgets allocated to social media in 2010 are bucking the downward trend. For the stock industry, the channel holds dual interest: it is becoming an important collective user of imagery and video, and an equally important marketing resource.