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.
Unveiled on Monday, the redesign of the iStockphoto Web site
reflects more than a year of usability research and design. In addition
to a new look, the company has revamped the back-end technology with an
eye to launching other enhancements, including a new search interface,
before the end of the year.
One of the things rights-managed and traditional royalty-free
photographers tend to overlook is the average price per image licensed.
Photographers worry when their images are licensed for low prices. They
track their average royalty per image in file and the trends of their
monthly royalty check, but is a lower royalty check the result of fewer
images being licensed, a lower average price per license or both?
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.
One of the things RM and traditional RF photographers tend to overlook
is average price-per-image-licensed. Photographers worry when their
images are licensed for low prices. They track their average
royalty-per-image-in-file and the trends of their monthly royalty check.
But is a lower royalty check the result of fewer images being licensed,
a lower average price-per-license or both?.
When you are a freelance self-employed photographer, getting to the
level of earning enough to support yourself and your family is
difficult. But you know you can do it, because you are willing to work
hard and you produce great, unique images that are better than anything
offered by the competition. Here are a few basic principles of the
photography business to remember.
This chart is designed to give the reader an understanding of the number of times images belonging to some of the top microstock photographers at iStockphoto are licensed in a given year and what that can mean in terms of gross revenue.
The Stock Artists Alliance has announced its affiliation with the
National digital Stewardship Alliance, a newly formed organization
dedicated to preserving digital collections for the benefit of citizens.
When you are a freelance self-employed photographer, getting to the
level of earning enough to support yourself and your family is
difficult. But you know you can do it, because you are willing to work
hard and you produce great, unique images that are better than anything
offered by the competition. Here are a few basic principles of the
photography business to remember.
Footage.net has announced surpassing 1 million stock video clips in its online
inventory. The most recent additions have been the libraries of
CriticalPast and DVarchive, which have also increased the size of
Footage.net’s royalty-free offering.
When I was recently
interviewed by Photonetcast, it became clear that my position on the best strategy for licensing
rights to images is misunderstood, so it is time for another
explanation. Granted, my position is radical, so bear with me.
In the last few years there has been dramatic growth in the use of
images on the Internet, a market for images that virtually did not exist 10
years ago. Some believe that the potential for growth of the Internet is
infinite, and that there will always be an ever-increasing demand for imagery.
Has the time come to take photojournalism off life-support? For the last thirty-odd years, Neil Burgess, director of NBPictures headquartered in London, has been listening to people talk about, or predict the death of photojournalism. This article, first published on EP/UK, outlines the sorry state of photojournalism today and comes to the conclusion that there is only one thing to do.
PhotoDeck is a new service that
launched out of Paris to provide photographers with e-commerce
photography Web sites. According to the company, the offering targets a
growing group of photographers who are cultivating direct client
relationships.
In the last few years there has been dramatic growth in the use of
images on the Internet, a market for images that virtually did not exist 10
years ago. Some believe that the potential for growth of the Internet is
infinite, and that there will always be an ever-increasing demand for imagery.
Photographers should be aware of the number of images already in online
databases and recognize that any images they produce will be competing
against those that already exist.
While proliferation of digital stills has not led to growth of
still-licensing revenue as a whole, continued and explosive growth of
online video most certainly will. Video, particularly advertising and
corporate projects, continues to command higher budgets than print.
Online video advertising is also more affordable than spot television,
which has led to growth on both ends of the spectrum: larger companies
are adding it to their mix; smaller businesses that never produced video
before are adopting it.
The Picture Archive Council of America has announced that Condé Nast vice president of editorial operations will kick off the 2010 PACA conference.
So far in this series we’ve learned there is declining demand for images
that will be used in print, and growing demand for images that will be
used online and in electronic formats. Photographers just starting out
should be aware of the number of images already in online databases and
recognize that any images they produce will be competing against those
that already exist.
Photopreneur—a popular Web
site dedicated to helping professional and enthusiast photographers earn
income from their images—has announced the release of the
Amazing Public Domain Images Sourcebook. Published by New Media Entertainment, Photopreneur’s parent company, and available via Amazon.com,
the title helps art directors, photo editors and others seeking free
images source them among the millions currently available online.
As recently as five years ago, almost all (an estimated 98%) of all stock-photo revenue came from print uses. In the last five years, demand for images to be used electronically has
grown dramatically. Today, such uses account for roughly 20% of the
total industry revenue.
Though
unit sales are declining for many iStockphoto sellers, many of the same people are also seeing significant revenue increases. Here’s how.
Toronto-based Masterfile has launched a royalty-free subscription service, which provides a fixed number of images in a set resolution for a flat fee.
Ed.: Tom Grill originally wrote on the subject of volume relative to
price last November. The sentiment remains true today: like it or not,
the industry is changing dramatically, and the winners will be those who
can adapt to the new paradigm.
Traditionally, the primary uses of still pictures were in printed
products such as magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, direct mail
promotions, catalogs and—to a much smaller degree—posters and product
packages. An estimated two thirds to three quarters of all revenue
generated from stock pictures (in the range $1 billion worldwide) comes
from print image uses, but this demand has steadily declined for a number of years.