PicScout and PhotoShelter have announced an agreement under which the work of PhotoShelter photographers will be included in PicScout's Image Index, Registry and Connection platform. This offers some 50,000 individual PhotoShelter users access to the same PicScout technology used by major agencies to track uses of their images.
A huge percentage of all professional imagery licensed is used in one way or another to promote a product or service. But advertisers have recognized that the old ways of promoting are no longer working. They are aggressively searching for new and better ways to reach consumers. Advertisers' decisions dramatically impact future demand for photography, as well as where and how it will be used.
The photo discussed in this article is an almost perfect stock photo. It's not cutting edge; it's not trendy. It's not hip or cool. wshat it is is a photo that will license again and aagain for years....extending its revenue stream long after its production costs have been recouped. This is a photo with a very long tail.
Stock industry mainstay Ellen Boughn has penned a book that offers a perspective into microstock that is informed by 30 years of traditional experience. Though
Microstock Money Shots targets primarily the photo enthusiast, it may help traditional photographers evaluate the creative differences between micro and macro.
Corbis has revised how its Web site handles image pricing by introducing a new rights-managed calculator. The new calculator presents image pricing on one grid, where usage details such as image size and placement are easily adjustable.
LTU Technologies has announced upgrades to its LTU engine/ON demand platform, which enables image matching and similarity search. The company also expanded its developer program to provide open access to its application programming interface.
The British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies has announced that it plans to include extra stands to accommodate unexpected demand. "Picture Buyers' Fair 2010 is defying the impact of the recession and is selling out," said BAPLA in a statement.
In "Handshakes, Challenges and Success as a Stock Photographer," John Lund argues that photographers should shoot the old tried-and-true concepts but in a new and different way. As photographers strive to create unique images, it might be instructive to take one concept--handshakes, to follow Lund's example--and understand what the competition is like in the market today.
In a seemingly neverending legal tennis match, the U.S. Department of Justice made formal objections to the latest version of the Google Settlement on Feb. 4. The search giant filed its response with the courts on Feb 11.
Alamy has announced that it paid out over GBP8 million (approximately $12.5 million) to its contributors in 2009. The company has not reported gross revenue for the 4th quarter.
Idee has added a user interface to the TinEye commercial API Web site, enabling high-volume users to surpass the daily restriction of the free image-to-image search engine.
New Web directory StockPhotographySites.info offers access to more than 600 stock photography sites. The directory, organized in 25 categories, was developed by Technology Relations Ltd. The same company also runs PhotoSoftwareNews.com, a directory of commercial photography software.
American Association of Advertising Agencies' senior vice president and Ad-ID managing director Harold S. Geller has accepted a seat on the board of directors of the Picture Licensing Universal System Coalition.
In order to find a proxy for which seasonal holidays were important from a stock photography perspective, I decided to look at how many greeting cards were sent. Christmas & Valentine's Day were 1st and 2nd but I was surprised to find Mother's Day in 3rd place. This article goes into more detail about Mother's Day and also surveys stock photography search results associated with the term.
Los Angeles production company Neat Production will host "Headshots for Haiti" on Monday, Feb. 15. The one-day charity event will benefit Partners in Health by offering headshots in exchange for $50 donations, which will fund healthcare services for those affected by the tragedy.
I was recently asked: "If you were shooting stock (hey, maybe you are...), would you be shooting for rights-managed, royalty-free, microstock or some combination?"
A San Francisco-based photographer recently asked: "There is a lot of speculation about tablets like the Kindle and the iPad possibly leading the way for more image use and therefore a possible boon to stock-photo licensing. Do you have any thoughts on that?"
Alan Meckler may be done with microstock photography but not with crowdsourcing: Last week, WebMediaBrands launched StockLogos.com.