Articles by Author

Onepixel: New Microstock Agency

By Jim Pickerell | 609 Words | Posted 10/23/2018 | Comments (1)

A few former Fotolia employees have joined forces to launch a new microstock site called Onepixel.com. While at Fotolia these people were able to learn the type of pictures that customers are most interested in buying and build relationships with many of the photographers who have been most successful in producing such images.

Shooting Down Private Drones

By Jim Pickerell | 319 Words | Posted 10/22/2018 | Comments

The U.S. Senate has passed the FAA Reauthorization Act that will give authorities permission to shoot down private drones that are determined to be “threats.” The proposed law has sparked an outcry from civil liberties organizations.

Agence France-Presse Cutting Jobs

By Jim Pickerell | 189 Words | Posted 10/22/2018 | Comments

The CEO of Agence France-Presse Fabrice Fries has announced a "transformation plan" which will cut the number of employees by 5% at the end of 2017 in order to bring net profit of the company into equilibrium by 2021.

Dilemma: Chasing Unauthorized Uses

By Jim Pickerell | 1194 Words | Posted 10/19/2018 | Comments (1)

Photographers trying to earn a portion of their living from the images they produce get very upset when they discover that someone has used one of their images without permission or compensation. But, pursuing and collecting from such users can be a very complex process and raise some difficult issues.

Shutterstock Editorial Available On eCommerce Platform

By Jim Pickerell | 345 Words | Posted 10/17/2018 | Comments

Shutterstock, Inc. has announced that Editorial content is now available for license on its eCommerce Platform. Shutterstock Editorial offers images that capture the world around us, including a live feed of curated news, sports, entertainment and royal family images, along with access to a multi-decade archive of iconic images. Previously available only to Enterprise customers with Shutterstock Premier accounts, this collection is now available to all Shutterstock customers through Shutterstock.com/editorial.

ACSIL Announces CLEAR Panel For Meet-Up

By Jim Pickerell | 938 Words | Posted 10/16/2018 | Comments

ACSIL, Association of Commercial Stock Footage Licensors, has provided more information about the ACSIL and CLEAR panalists for its West Coast Footage Meet-Up in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 20, 2018 from 2pm to 7pm. The event will be held at Getty Images, Los Angeles, 6300 Wilshire Blvd, 16th Floor. For more about Meet-Up see here. Attendance for footage buyers is free.

Is Marketing Changing?

By Jim Pickerell | 244 Words | Posted 10/16/2018 | Comments

One advertising trend to watch that could have a major impact on the demand for stock photography is the use of “customer stories” to market products and services. Recently at a Dreamforce conference Stephanie Buscemi, Chief Marketing Officer at Salesforce said, “We’ve eradicated stock photography. In the marketing organization, using stock photography is one way not to have a job. We always use customers.”

Are You A “Copyright Troll?”

By Jim Pickerell | 1258 Words | Posted 10/12/2018 | Comments (1)

Creators take note. Are you a “Copyright Troll?” For people in the tech industry and many Internet users this as a term of derision implying that the troll has no right to expect compensation for small uses of their copyrighted material. On the other hand, for those trying to earn a portion of their living creating the images that people need to promote their businesses and the services they offer, maybe this should be a badge of honor. Maybe you should be proud to be referred to as a “Copyright Troll.”

Subscriptions Or Individual Licenses

By Jim Pickerell | 844 Words | Posted 10/10/2018 | Comments (1)

Over the weekend on Stockphoto@yahoogroups.com Rick Boden said, “I was getting serious about (putting my images with) Adobe Stock Images and then I realized they sell images via subscription. I have a very bad feeling about getting into an arrangement like that based on experience where my present agency (that) has a tie in with Getty where I am getting many royalties of less than a dollar because of subscription sales.”

ACSIL Announces IDA Panel For Meet-UP

By Jim Pickerell | 137 Words | Posted 10/10/2018 | Comments

ACSIL, Association of Commercial Stock Footage Licensors, has announce the IDA panalists for its West Coast Footage Meet-Up in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 20, 2018 from 2pm to 7pm. The event will be held at Getty Images, Los Angeles, 6300 Wilshire Blvd, 16th Floor.

About Michael Masterson

Michael Masterson has a broad range of experience in marketing, business development, strategic planning, contact negotiations and recruiting in the photography, graphic design and publishing industries. In addition to his long experience at the Workbook and Workbookstock, Masterson owned and was creative director of his own graphic design firm for several years.

Masterson has been a speaker or panelist at industry events such as Seybold, PhotoPlus Expo, Visual Connections and the Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) national conference. He is currently the national president of the American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP). He also serves on the board of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council in his Los Angeles community. He chaired the marketing committee for the Los Angeles Conservancy, a historic preservation advocacy group, for many years.

He currently heads Masterson Consulting, working on projects ranging from business development for creative companies and sourcing talent for them to promoting and marketing industry events as well as providing resume and professional profile services for job-seekers. He can be reached at zvpunryqznfgrefba@tznvy.pbz.