Multimedia

Textbook Prices Climbing, But Not Image Use Fees

By Jim Pickerell | 826 Words | Posted 10/15/2014 | Comments
For those licensing images to textbooks National Public Radio published an interesting report recently that is worth a listen. It was pointed out that prices for college textbooks are often over $300 and climbing faster than the cost of food, clothing, cars and even health care.

Is Instagram A Professional Tool For Photographers?

By Jim Pickerell | 317 Words | Posted 11/7/2012 | Comments
After Hurricane Sandy many news organizations will be thinking hard about covering breaking news events with iPhone’s and delivering the images via Instagram. Kira Pollack, Director of Photography for Time Magazine, hired five professional photographers to cover the event with their iPhones rather than their digital SLRs. By delivering the images via Instagram Time was able to show customers a more comprehensive report faster that would have been possible with a traditional approach to the assignment.

Aurora Multimedia Workshop

By Jim Pickerell | 232 Words | Posted 4/19/2012 | Comments
The Aurora Multimedia Workshop designed to prepare photographers for creating effective multimedia projects will examine the challenging new world of visual storytelling from May 29 through June 1, 2012 at the University of Colorado campus in Bolder.

ImageCollect.com: 1,500,000 Celebrity Images

By Jim Pickerell | 429 Words | Posted 8/16/2011 | Comments
AudioMicro, Inc., which operates a network of digital content licensing marketplaces, has announced that ImageCollect.com, its celebrity picture marketplace launched just five months ago has more than 1,500,000 mostly “red carpet” images available for download. The company expects to have more than 4 million images on its site before the end of the year. The collection includes archival imagery from companies like Globe Photos and current content being supplied by top entertainment photographers.

Kickstarter Helps Fund Non-Profit Projects

By Jim Pickerell | 433 Words | Posted 11/30/2010 | Comments
Have an idea for a photo project but short of money to get if off the ground? Try Kickstarter.

Storytelling: The Future for the Professional Photographer

By Jim Pickerell | 1460 Words | Posted 11/17/2010 | Comments

Most still photographers say their best pictures tell stories. To a limited degree, this is true. But photographers need to start thinking about more complete and complex stories, not just the best story they can tell in a single frame. This is where the opportunities lie.

Away with Print, onto Digital

By Jim Pickerell | 374 Words | Posted 11/16/2010 | Comments
The December issue of U.S. News and World Report will be the last printed on paper. Beginning in 2011 and marking a three-year transition to a new business model, the publication will go entirely digital, though it still plans to continue printing a series of print products.

From Single Illustrations to Picture Stories

By Jim Pickerell | 836 Words | Posted 6/9/2010 | Comments
The traditional market for single images is under intense pressure. However, the demand for imagery that hangs together as a story is increasing in both editorial and commercial arenas.

Expanding Your Business With Video

By Gail A Mooney | 1104 Words | Posted 5/20/2010 | Comments
I had already been a still photographer for over 20 years when I started exploring digital video and the motion medium ten years ago. I had built a successful career shooting editorially for magazines like National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Travel & Leisure to name a few, as well as producing annual reports for major corporations.  When digital video hit the scene in the late ‘90’s, I was already starting to feel a slight frustration in trying to tell certain stories with a still camera. I was beginning to think and see in terms of movement and sound.  At the same time, technology was making it possible and affordable with digital video cameras and non-linear editing software for me to use this medium to tell my stories.  The new tools were a means to an end.

National Geographic Launches Paid Digital Product, Promotes Griffin to New Digital Role

By Julia Dudnik Stern | 388 Words | Posted 5/19/2010 | Comments
“National Geographic Interactive adapts the analog magazine to be more easily and logically experienced in a digital form,” reads the description of the new products. The publisher also promoted longtime director of photography David Griffin to the newly created position of executive editor, electronic publishing. Such changes at one of the most venerable titles may be a preview of the publishing industry’s future—and, in turn, the future of the images it uses.

TurnHere.com: Opportunity for Videographers?

By Jim Pickerell | 1192 Words | Posted 5/14/2010 | Comments
One of the leading producers of short form business profiles (videos of 45 to 75 seconds) is TurnHere.com. The company has a network of over 8,000 freelance videographers working in over 70 countries. It has produced more than 27,000 short videos (7,000 within the last 6 months) for local business around the world.

Future Opportunities For Careers In Photography

By Jim Pickerell | 896 Words | Posted 5/4/2010 | Comments
The topic of future career opportunities in photography has engendered a lively discussion on several Linkedin groups. Do such opportunities still exist or should most of those entering the profession consider other avenues?

Pricing Images for Use in ‘Learning Objects’

By Jim Pickerell | 1589 Words | Posted 4/30/2010 | Comments
In the next few years, there will be two major trends in the education business: There will be less demand for books as a teaching resource. Electronic “learning objects” will be used to a much greater degree in classroom and online instruction. Photographers who agree that these changes will occur, and who supply images to those producing materials for educational use, should begin to restructure their businesses and produce content that will be in demand by this new educational delivery system.

ASPP Reinvention Weekend Highlights Multimedia as Area of Future Demand

By Jim Pickerell | 866 Words | Posted 4/26/2010 | Comments
The opportunity to interact with editors from publishing companies, picture researchers, stock agents and photographers at the American Society of Picture Professionals' Reinvention Weekend in Boston provided a clearer picture of where the business of producing images for publication is headed.

Census Information Sheds Light on Education Image Use

By Jim Pickerell | 565 Words | Posted 4/14/2010 | Comments
For those who think that the use of photography in education will remain the same, here are some numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Tips for Getting Good Video Interviews

By Gail A Mooney | 404 Words | Posted 3/21/2010 | Comments
More and more still photographers are getting into video because of the appeal of the hybrid still cameras that also shoot video.  Photographers love the visual coming out of these big chip cameras – what’s not to love?  But they quickly find out that if they aren’t just going to be laying visuals down to a music track, they will need to start thinking about their audio – specifically a narrative track or one driven by sound bites from interviews.  I work in the corporate sector, as well as create documentaries, so I do a lot of interviews.  The interviews, along with a scripted voiceover comprise my audio track and drive the story.  

Putting Together a DSLR Video Kit - And Why

By Gail A Mooney | 444 Words | Posted 3/21/2010 | Comments
I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and stopped by ZacutoZacuto is a business that has made outfitting DSLR cameras for video a specialty.  They have cleverly engineered an assortment of their party add-ons that take these cameras to a higher level.  They have also provided solutions to overcome some of these cameras shortcomings.  Depending on the genre you are working in, documentary work, corporate, indie films or photojournalism will ultimately determine which way you’ll need to “trick” these cameras out.

Ron Chapple: New Directions, Embracing Change

By Jim Pickerell | 826 Words | Posted 1/5/2010 | Comments
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.

Reinvention: Small-Market Video Opportunities

By Jim Pickerell | 982 Words | Posted 9/2/2009 | Comments
While the transition from still photographer to television commercial producer is difficult, David Scott Smith's odyssey illustrates that an image creator and storyteller can find satisfaction in shooting and producing video.