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Archive for July 2009
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July 30th 2009
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Stock Photo Success…
Finding The Right Path
Traditional (RM – “Rights Managed”) single-use commercial stock photography,
in my estimation, is doomed.
And not because Getty, Corbis, et al are engaging in price wars - but because of a
more important tenet in retail marketing that says,
"If you want to live with the masses, (down in the ghetto) appeal to the classes. (Rights-managed (RM) stock photography appeals to the classes).
“If you want to live with the classes, (out in the suburbs high on a hill) appeal to the masses."
Microstock (RF) appeals to the masses.
Any stock photographer attempting to sell photos based on clever label
merchandising, brochures and posters that appeal only to the "classes," can
expect to live eventually in the ghetto.
A second reason traditional single-use (RM) commercial
stock photography is doomed is that history shows that the
company that achieves the classic economics formula,
m = c + v + t
will prevail over its competition and control prices. [ m
(market share) = c (cash flow) + v (volume, inventory,
product line selection) + t (technology, automation,
speed, service). Put them all together and you have
commercial success.] All those elements are not there, especially customer service.
Ten, twenty years ago, small stock photo agencies could survive if they had only parts of that formula in place.
In the first edition (1981) of my book, "Sell & ReSell Your Photos," I advised photographers to avoid setting up a stock photo agency that did not specialize in a particular subject area. By specializing, you can better define your customers and survive. Those stock agencies
that did not heed my advice now find themselves in competition with Corbis, Getty, JupiterImages, Shutterstock, and other giants.
Worse still, as the ‘well runs dry’ for ad agencies, marketing groups, and commercial promotion agencies, their demand for rights-managed photography has fallen.
A handful of top stock photographers have attempted to boost their industry awareness by hiring “brand” organizations to publicize their work through seminars, postal mailings and the usual advertising. Not a good idea at a time when their target clients are losing budgets.
All of these changes bode well for the editorial stock photographer. Individual editorial stock photography is a different ball game. The situation takes a different tack, since editorial stock photographers work in a vertical market (selling single-use, content-specific images and working in volume with close-knit special-interest clients.) They don’t work broadly across the board as with microstock or traditional stock.
So, editorial stock photographers are spectators in the battle now roiling in the commercial stock photography field, where inexpensive royalty-free is fast becoming the source of choice for commercial images among art directors who don't mind using manufactured photos.
When you specialize in your stock photography, you, in a sense, become an “authority” in your field –a mini-expert. Because the specialty you have chosen to photograph is important to you (childhood education, panthers, antique Ford automobiles) you are enthusiastic about the subject. This knowledge spills over in your photography as well as communication and correspondence with your clients. They sense your competence on the subject and choose to work with you for stock photos as well as future assignments.
WHY WOULD THEY CHOOSE YOU?
But aren’t photobuyers looking for pictures they need and don’t care who made the photo?
They feel safe with a photographer who is an “authority” in the subject area plus shows technical skill. A lot depends on the right choice of photo for their project not the name of the photographer who made the picture.
Should you only specialize?
Continue to take random photos and dump them in your favorite microstock site(s), but build a deep selection of photos in a specialized area you’re passionate about. This is your treasure chest that no other photographer can compete with.
This will be the key to your stock photo success.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze” a system for photographers to use in order to attain the Page 1-2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE – Don't Let Digital Photography Make You Sloppy - Digital photography can make you lazy. In fact, if you're not careful, digital's very superiority can lead you down the path to inferior photography.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-let-digital-photography-make-you-sloppy.html
CHIGAGO REPORT CARD – City Guide: Chicago - Chicago locals identify the best clients to shoot for, places to shoot, equipment rental shops, and more.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/featured-in-print/e3i5bc95dcbd3315867e24891f0a5f2a802
YOUR OWN PHOTO BOOK -- Tips for creating an amazing photo book in today's digital era. It's easy to design and publish your own photography book at an affordable price. In fact, Americans will produce 17 million photo books in 2009.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/31/ara/bridal/8882.txt
IF YOU ZERO IN, you’ll add more zeroes to your bottom line.
Most creative people begin their careers by thinking they have to accept every job they can in order to stay solvent.
Actually, the opposite is true in the creative world.
By taking every assignment that comes along, you will expend energy on gaining knowledge about subjects that will, down the road, prove to be wasted energy. Useless.
Instead, ZERO IN.
Become an expert in a niche area, build expertise. In the long run, clients will be coming to you, not only for your photography but also to you as a consultant in your chosen field of expertise.
TAKING STOCK – Associated Press Plans Content Registry, Will Include Photos - The AP's plan, which was approved by its board of directors Thursday, is designed to curb online infringement, which AP leaders consider a big problem.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/photo-news/legal-news/e3ide42830a4943f36cf019db261fbcd3d5
EMPTY STORES -- Ritz Camera Cleared To Sell Off Assets. Ritz Camera Centers, the long time favorite of pros and amateurs, of Beltsville, MD, won bankruptcy court approval to sell almost all of its assets to a group led by chief executive David Ritz for $24 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath granted approval over creditors' objections. The buyer, RCI Acquisitions, has agreed to keep at least 163 of the 375 stores open, court papers show. Ritz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 22, blaming the recession and a consumer transition to digital photography. -- Bloomberg News .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072403782.html
CRYSTAL BALL – Photo Agencies and The Stock Industry: a Matter of Proportion - For as long as the industry remains chaotic and unmanaged by any central body, stock photography will also be unstructured. There will be little innovation that helps sort, rank and distribute photos based on merit--it'll remain as it is now: arbitrary.
Begin by dispensing of the premise that agencies are the de facto channel for stock photo purchases. You can (and should) sell directly yourself, irrespective if whether you also sell through agencies.
http://danheller.blogspot.com/2009/07/photo-agencys-and-stock-industry-matter.html
TAKEAWAY: The nice thing about the Internet is it’s not like a newspaper where you snip out the article, file it, and forget it. Crystal ballers face the new adversary: Central datacenters that don’t allow anything, after several years, to turn antique brown and crumble away. So, enjoy Dan Heller for both his analytics and amusing predictions.
THE AILMENT CURES THE ILLNESS – Revisiting the Death of Photojournalism, Ten Years Later - "Why would you be a photojournalist today?" I answered, "You have to be crazy." I have always considered being crazy as important to a photographer as being curious.
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0907/revisiting-the-death-of-photojournalism-ten-years-later.html
TAKEAWAY: Observers of 'the world around us' welcome observations of others, whether it be in the form of still camera, video, pen and paper, or whatever exciting device is around the corner.
CENSORSHIP – Is Taking, Selling or Publishing Images of Hunting, Fishing, or Trapping Illegal? - The Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and others are concerned that the ramifications of the government's case against Robert J. Stevens will result in making it a felony to take, sell or publish images of hunting, fishing or trapping. Stevens was convicted of knowingly selling depictions of animal cruelty with the intention of placing those depictions in interstate commerce for commercial gain, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 48. http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/is-taking-selling-or-publishing-images.html
TAKEAWAY: Hmmm, I wonder what the fellas in the Reichstag of 1942 would have to say about this. –RE
WHO’s WHO? Identifying Website Owners for Copyright Infringement Claims - Some website owners hide their contact information by registering their domains through a "proxy" or agent. When you search the "who is" information, you'll see a proxy company's name instead of the true website contact's name.
Fortunately, the Copyright Act provides a way to get around that to
determine the true owner of the website.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/identifying-website-owners-for.html
THAT’S MY PHOTO -- Photographer Sues ESPN for Copyright Infringement over
Unauthorized Photo Use. Sherry Martin Photography filed a complaint against Walt Disney Internet Group and ESPN in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that Disney, ESPN and a Competitor magazine published, without Martin’s consent, her photo of Dr. David Martin, a 66-year-old veterinarian and tri-athlete who was killed by a great white shark...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kennedy-Law-Photographer-Sues-bw-3997399953.html?x=0&.v=1
Obama Hope Poster Litigation -
Photographer Intervenes
By Joel Hecker, Esq.
In my prior column, May 7th, 2009, I discussed this litigation concerning the use of an illustration by poster artist Shepard Fairey which copied a photograph of then Presidential candidate Obama on posters, t-shirts and other material. At the time the article was written, AP claimed it was the owner of the photos in question as a work made for hire by the photographer Mannie Garcia. In support, AP claims Garcia was an employee of AP when the photographs were created. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Garcia himself had not made any claims and was not part of the legal process. Garcia was previously quoted as saying to the effect that he was not going to do anything to subvert Obama’s presidency.
Apparently, he has now changed his position. As a result, on July 8, 2009, Garcia filed a motion with the court to intervene in the action. He now claims that in fact he was always the copyright owner of the images, that he was never an employee of AP, and that he never agreed to transfer his copyright to AP. He therefore now contends that, unless he is permitted to join the lawsuit as a party, he will be prejudiced whatever the outcome. He reasons that if Fairey wins Garcia will be denied his rights, while if AP wins then it will receive the copyright damages Garcia is entitled to. Specifically Garcia states that he never signed AP’s freelancer contract because he did not agree to its terms.
While it is unclear at this point whether Garcia or AP is the rightful copyright owner of the photograph in question (you will recall the parties cannot even agree which of the two underlying photographs credited by Garcia was the basis for the posters), it is clear both contend that Fairey’s actions constitute copyright infringement of such photograph.
His intervention makes it more complicated, however, since the court would need to first determine who has the right, or standing, under copyright law to pursue the case in the first place. The case is now in the discovery stage and a status conference is presently scheduled before the presiding judge in the Fall 2009.
Attorney Joel L. Hecker lectures and writes extensively on issues of concern to the photography industry. His office is located at Russo & Burke, 600 Third Ave, New York NY 10016. Phone: 1 212 557-9600. E-mail: HeckerEsq[at]aol[dot]com. © Joel L. Hecker, 2009
BRADY'S CIVIL WAR JOURNAL,
Photographing the War 1861-65, by Theodore P. Saves.
Do you have aspirations of being a war photographer and reaping huge
sales later on by publishing your photos in book form? Read on.
Such an endeavor might hold some glory for you, if you survive, but listen to what
happened to Mathew Brady.
In 1861, maverick Mathew B. Brady introduced the unprecedented concept of chronicling war through photography. At that time, photography was still a relatively new and complex medium, but Brady was determined to bring the realities of war to the American people.
Brady's Civil War Journal is a collection of original photographs taken by Brady and
his assistants, documenting the harsh experiences of the battlefield and the
destruction of American countryside, towers and cities. After the war
Americans and American institutions wanted to put the Terrible Time behind
them and wanted no reminders.
Brady himself went into heavy debt investing in the equipment and costs to create his historic documentation of the conflict, and was unable to recover financially. Brady was unable to reap any profit from his endeavors and died penniless.
This book provides 265 powerful images that capture behind-the-lines action and marks the first
time in history when people on the home front could see the true nature of
war.
(ISBN: 978-1-60239-292-2; 256 pages; 265 photos; $24.95) Skyhorse
Publishing, Inc., 555 Eighth Ave. Suite 903, NY, NY 10018. 212 643-6816.
http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com Email: jhobbs[at]skyhorsepublishing[dot]com
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#1602392927
ORGANIZE YOUR DIGITAL LIFE Aimee Baldridge (National Geographic
Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-03343; 192 pages, 100 illustrations, $19.95
tradepaper; Jan. 6, 2009.)
National Geographic has created this first-ever
guide to digitizing all your snapshots, videos, music and more.
Now that digital cameras and music players have become so
widespread, a forest of sound and imagery is blossoming in our homes. We've
got digital pictures in the camera, scans on the computer, JPEGS attached to
emails and tunes on tiny players.
But there's also the old-fashioned stuff:
photos in shoeboxes, videos in the attic, documents in desk drawers, songs
on tape and vinyl.
How do you transform all these different elements into a convenient archive you can store on your computer, easily reach and actually enjoy? This book delivers step-by-step instructions on streamlining and organizing your "digital life" so you can create a custom digital library
and enjoy it for years to come.
Aimee Baldridge is a tech expert and author of "The Camera Phone Book."
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#1426203349
Click here for my video.
FINDING THEM -- Photographer on mission to save Asia's lost images-
Tens of thousands of rare historical images from Hong Kong and other
countries across Asia are now believed to lie buried in the vast collections of universities, libraries and individuals the world over, largely hidden from public view.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090728/lf_nm_life/us_hongkong_oldphotos_1
WRONG STEPS – The Worst Photography Tax Stories - Taxes are a nightmare at the best of times. Some photographers though have found that the tax authorities can be particularly mean, landing them with some unexpected bills of eye-watering sizes - and for some very odd reasons.
http://blogs.photopreneur.com/the-worst-photography-tax-stories
TAKEAWAY: A good time to remind you of Julian block’s 2009 Tax Report for Stock Photographers. https://www.photosource.com/cart/taxtips.php
Note: Information in this article was compiled by Rohn Engh from qualified tax sources, with special help from Julian Block, Esq.
OK …So You Need Some Tax Advice.
As a stock photographer, and a businessperson, you’re bound to have some crucial tax questions come into your life as you move along in your career.
Rather than having to madly flip through the Yellow Pages the moment a T-crisis comes up, let me give you some options where you can spend less time and pay the least for the best advice.
I know that’s a difficult situation to be in, so I’ll line up your options for you.
While things are calm and cool, right now, you can get a handle on what to anticipate.
Stash this article somewhere, and then when the IRS bolt strikes, pull it out of your file drawer and move forward, confidently.
Here goes.
Steps to take when you need answers to crucial tax questions;
1.) Yes, try the Yellow Pages to find a tax advisor, but ask for references. Tax advisor fees can range from $50 per hour (Pumpkin Center, Iowa—yes, there is an advantage of living out here in farm country) or $700 if you’re living in Westchester, NY. No kidding. But again, ask for references. Go to the Yellow Pages AND ask around. Ask around to whom? when? for what?
2.) At any time just to get some info, take a community college course. There are usually several titles to choose from, ranging from trimming your taxes to personal finance and investing in the stock market.
3.) Go to a free lunch seminar. Usually 15 people attend, at a local Holiday Inn. The quality of lunched served telegraphs the quality of the seminar. If you get a hot dog in a white box, -well.
4.) If you check with Uncle Henry or the neighbor down the street who used to work for H&R Block, be sure to ask “when” they worked there. Nina Olson, of the “National Taxpayer Advocate,” in her recent report to Congress, said that IRS code changes have averaged one per day over the last 8 years. If Uncle Henry hasn’t worked in the Tax Advice field for a couple of years, he might have missed those more than 600 IRS changes.
5.) Utilize free telephone advice. You can call the IRS Help Desk 1 800 829 1040 and ask a question. (Don’t call on a Monday or a Friday. The lines are usually clogged. As far as the accuracy of the answer from the person the other end of the line, it’s not guaranteed, but it might point you in the right direction to know what to ask as you move further down this list.
6.) Internet advice sites will give you reasonably accurate information. First of all, the Tax Expert doesn’t know w\to whom they are talking (This is a security strategy of the service. No one is committed to a follow- up so you can be reasonably sure you’re getting some objective answers.) If you want a follow- up, there’s a “next stage” charge to your credit card. A good place to check out is Just Answer.com. I’ve tried it for a medical question and was satisfied.
7.) Telephone Counseling. The one I can recommend is a handholding telephone
service that describes itself as “Your Personal Adviser.” It’s called “Keen.” One of our colleagues, Julian Block, is a tax advisor for Keen, and comes from a background as an IRS agent and tax attorney, also familiar with the nature of stock photography. He was one of the first tax advisors recruited by Keen when it was established in 2000. (And if you read my book, “Sell&ReSell Your Photos,” you will recognize my referral to Julian Block in the chapter on Taxes, Chap 16. Keen allows visitors to check their advisors’ backgrounds and their ratings by previous customers. What does the Keen service cost? Depending on the complexity of your call, you might get by with $50 for a short telephone visit, up to several hundred dollars. But remember, the call night save you thousands.
To contact KEEN –go to www.keen.com , or call –800-ASK-KEEN (275-5336) .
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Rohn Engh is the best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com.” He has produced a new eCourse, “How to Market Your Photos.” For more information and to receive a free eReport: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
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Julian Block, a former IRS agent and a tax attorney, is the author of "The 2009 Stock Photographer's Tax Guide." For details on how to purchase this important 32-page publication: http://www.photosource.com/taxtips.php. Julian can be reached at julianblock[at]yahoo[dot]com .
GETTING SMALLER -- Tiny chip could replace bar codes The Bokode system uses an out-of-focus camera — which allows the angle-encoded information to emerge from the resulting blurred spot — to record the encoded information from the tiny tag. But in addition to being readable by any ordinary camera (with the focus set to infinity),
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/07/tiny-chip-could-replace-bar-codes.html?csp=34
NEW ENERGY SOURCE – Solar and kinetic charging suitcase - A student has created a piece of
luggage with a built-in solar panel and battery/inverter that can charge
mobile devices on the move or when exposed to direct sunlight.
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Solar-and-kinetic-charging-suitcase-11903
PRINTING PAPERS – Creative Papers for Digital Printing - CTI Paper USA has introduced a portfolio of translucent, metallic and pearlescent papers papers for digital printing.
http://www.creativepro.com/article/creative-papers-digital-printing
SOUL BATTERING JOB – Being a Photography Contest Judge Can Try Your Patience - It is always a pleasure to look at the great work that some photographers are doing today. Unfortunately, sometimes the experience is like going through a dirty washing bag to find something you can wear for the day. I really wonder what some photographers are thinking when they submit the material they do.
http://rising.blackstar.com/being-a-photography-contest-judge-can-try-your-patience.html
October 25 - November 3 2009
Spirit of Place / Guatemala during Todos Santos
with Doug Beasley
OCTOBER 25 - NOVEMBER 3 2009
Painted Blessings/Retablos and Ex Votos
with Cynthia Padilla
Photography / Spirit of Place
with Doug Beasley
Contact Information
Liza Fourré / Director
fourre[at]artguat[dot]org
phone: 612-825-0747
Art Workshops in Guatemala
"You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle."
-- George Lucas (Creator of Star Wars)
1908 - July 9th - Minor White, one of the leading abstract photographers of the mid 20th century, was born in Minneapolis MN. He took up photography at a very young age but set it aside to study botany and poetry. Minor White was 31 before he began to photograph seriously, working in the WPA (Works Progress Administration), after which he studied with eminent photographers Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, and Ansel Adams.
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July 23rd 2009
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Yes, you’ll land on the first page of a Google search if the photobuyer knows your name or your company’s name.
But do they know the extent of your body of work?
Remember this. Photobuyers are interested in photography – not photographers.
In a time where “Google Rules” you have to ask yourself “Am I still back in the Dark Ages, sending out CD’s or trying to convince photobuyers to come to visit my site?
Those days are over. Photobuyers are lazy. Aren’t we all? Who wants to do laborious, eye-wrenching, visual searches for a particular church steeple in a French village in northern France on a foggy day or an historic opera house in an Alabama town -- when you can type in the description and let the search engine geniuses at Google do the work for you.
Single word searches (keywords) were the method of choice in the early days of search. Today, key words are out and key phrases are in - we call a multiple-word search a “long tail” search.
You can tell that I am passionate about keyword searching and the way it has evolved in the last two or three years. Everyone uses Google. You apply this searching technique to your own work. It’s time to start including "metadata" in your images if you haven’t already. It’s a lot of work to add text descriptions to your images, but when you experience the increase in traffic to your site and the hits you'll get, you'll be convinced that it's worth it.
Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA. E-mail: info[at]photosource[dot]com . Fax: 1 715 248 3800. Web site: www.photosource.com . He is author of a new system called The Breeze, which positions stock photographers to come up consistently on page 1 or 2 of a Google search. The Breeze will go into full production this Fall.
SELL PHOTOS. Where to from here? Been there done that. Like the board game you start at GO and one year later you’re still at GO. A lot of wheel spinning and “hope”.
http://www.examiner.com/x-463-Chicago-Photography-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Sell-photos-buy-photos .Photos.
TAKEAWAY: What this guy needs is a large spoonful of my new eCourse on CD, “How To Market Your Photos.
ARE YOU REMEMBERED? -- Brand Yourself as an Expert Photographer - Brand yourself an expert and you'll have already overcome one of the toughest challenges in marketing yourself as a photographer: you'll have given yourself an edge over the competition and buyers a reason to choose you instead of someone else with a camera.
http://blogs.photopreneur.com/brand-yourself-as-an-expert-photographer
WHO BUYS YOUR PHOTOS? -- The Photo Editor speaks: “Selling Stock Independently - I think for many photographers the ability to license their images as stock without paying a huge commission to some middle man is the ultimate dream. Most buyers do not care whether they get the image from Corbis/Getty or directly from the photographer as long as the transaction is fairly seamless (e.g. prices are fixed, high res download available, images are captioned).
http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2009/07/15/selling-stock-independently/
WILL IT WORK FOR YOU? Many pro photographers are using social networking sites to promote themselves, and probably just as many are skeptical of the whole notion. Can online networking really pay off, or is it a waste of time? http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3ida6dda5bd97c1167cc75653707522a00?pn=1
A FADING PRODUCT/COMPANY. After Polaroid, Keeping Instant Photography Alive.
Last Autumn, Kaps, 39, and Bosman, 55, took $2.6 million in private
capital and started what they endearingly called The Impossible Project, with a view to reinventing the traditional Polaroid film. They founded a company named
Impossible,
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1910536,00.html
TAKEAWAY: Nothing like starting out no two left fee.
COMMODITIES AGAIN. Melcher Speaks: Now that companies like Getty Images are offering images on a subscription model, the perception of photography is changing. Bundling images from different photographers and pricing them as a service makes the individual images seem interchangeable, doesn’t it?
http://rising.blackstar.com/if-all-you-have-is-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail.html/comment-page-1#comment-5456
TAKEAWAY: Keep this in mind. Editorial photobuyers don't buy what they like, they buy what they need. When you visit the cubicle of a photobuyer, notice that commodities are adorning their wall, but they're signing checks for non-commodities. -RE
FLICKR ISN’T ALWAYS FREE. BBC pays photographer $1200 for using photo without permission. Stock photography is expensive for a reason - stock photographers travel to locations, spend hours/days taking photos, processing them etc so that they look their best. This is expensive. http://www.bitterwallet.com/bbc-pays-bw-reader-600-for-using-photo-without-permission/15027 ...
EASY “C” -- Quick Links, Rights Grabs, and Updates - The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to require that applications for registration paid for by deposit account debits be submitted electronically using the electronic Copyright Office (eCO) registration system. Comments are due by August 28, 2009.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/quick-links-rights-grabs-and-updates_17.html
TAKEAWAY: The Library of Congress(1800)is ahead of the game. Nice going LC, founder of the Copyright Office! New plans include speeder processing time; online status tracking; payment by credit or debit card; electronic check or Copyright Office deposit account; and as they say, much more!
IF THEY’RE STEALING YOU PHOTOS -- Protecting What's Yours - Check out Rob Sylvan's article in Layers Magazine on the different ways to protect your photographs. http://www.layersmagazine.com/protecting-whats-yours.html
TAKEAWAY: Let’s be real. Yes, this is a great article, -IF you are ¾ paranoid about your images. What I’ve seen since 1980 in stock photography, film and digital, is that to spend money, time, software costs, etc. is not a good return on investment. (ROI). It’s better to spend your dollars on a new lens, air flight, or hammock for the back yard. I’ve yet to receive a complaint about an editorial photobuyer who ‘stole’ someone’s image and didn’t pay him or her for it. I’ve heard “stories” from editorial stock photographers who have heard of such thievery. I always ask them for documentation – but the story ends there. No documentation. -RE
NOT ALL LOST -- A Blind Photographer (!) After professional photographer Alex Dejong lost his sight three years ago, he thought his days of taking and editing photos was over. But the iPhone 3GS's VoiceOver feature, plus a few key apps, has given some of his abilities back. http://gizmodo.com/5317540/a-blind-photographer-
ECLECTIC = GENERAL STOCK = FEW SALES -- His photography career began after he moved to Detroit and his work started appearing in local media outlets. Additional affiliations with stock photo agencies expanded the exposure of his work to newspapers, magazines, and television both nationally and internationally. Ken’s photography can best be described as eclectic.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jul/16/visual-arts-and-away/
TAKEAWAY: If editorial photography appeals to you, then you are interested in the people on this planet, not just the scenes. Take the ‘pretty pictures on Sunday to “feed your soul,” (calendar-type single-sale photos) but take the ‘marketable photos’ during the week to “feed the family.” (childhood education, county fairs, etc.)
THE BEST KIND OF KEYWORDS -- SAA Helps Hundreds Get Meta-Smart at Cross-Country Events - In the wake of seven, free educational events over the past two months, nearly 800 picture professionals from Puget Sound to the Potomac have a better grip on the power and processes of embedding photographic metadata. The Stock Artists Alliance plans three more get-META-smart events for this fall.
TAKEAWAY: SAA is pushing the advantages to you of including metadata in all of your digital images. Here’s the place to go to learn more.
http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/node/751
Y’ALL COME! The Arles photography festival 2009. The festival continues until September.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2009/jul/19/arles-photography-festival
HE WAS ON TIME -- Newry native remembers moon shot photography. The Fletcher, N.C., resident was the primary photographer to document the retrieval of the Apollo 11 command module when it splashed down July 24, 1969, in the Pacific Ocean. One of the Navy Seals, a photographer named Clancy Heidelburg, gave the astronauts biological suits to wear because no one was sure if they would bring back germs from the moon.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/jul/19/newry-native-remembers-moonshot-photography/?partner=RSS
If you are not sure if you can trust someome, trust them and see what happens. Ernest Hemingway
1850 – First photograph of a star (other than the sun): Vega, which was made at Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 17th, by Whipple, a professional photographer. A 15-inch telescope was used as a camera lens and a daguerreotype plate was set up at the eye end.
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July 17th 2009
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Stock Photo Success…
Finding The Right Path
Traditional (RM – “Rights Managed”) single-use commercial stock photography,
in my estimation, is doomed. And not because Getty,
Corbis, et al are engaging in price wars - but because of a
more important tenet in retailing that says, "If you want
to live with the masses, appeal to the classes. If you
want to live with the classes, appeal to the masses."
Microstock (RF) appeals to the masses.
Anyone attempting to sell photos based on clever label
merchandising that appeals only to the "classes," can
expect to live where Mark Getty and Bill Gates don't.
A second reason traditional single-use (RM) commercial
stock photography is doomed is that history shows that the
company that achieves the classic economics formula,
will prevail over its competition and control prices. [ m
(market share) = c (cash flow) + v (volume, inventory,
product line selection) + t (technology, automation,
speed, service). Put them all together and you have
commercial success.]
Ten, twenty years ago, small stock photo agencies
could survive if they had only parts of that formula in
place.
In the first edition (1981) of my book, "Sell &
ReSell Your Photos," I advised photographers to avoid
setting up a stock photo agency that did not specialize in
a particular subject area. By specializing, you can better
define your customers and survive. Those stock agencies
that did not heed my advice now find themselves in
competition with Corbis, Getty, JupiterImages, Shutterstock,
and other giants.
All of these changes bode well for the editorial stock photographer. Individual editorial stock photography is a different ball game. The situation takes a different tack, since editorial stock photographers work in a vertical market (selling single-use, content-specific
images and working in volume with close-knit special-interest clients), not broadly across the board as with microstock or traditional stock. So editorial stock photographers are spectators in the battle now roiling in the commercial stock photography field, where royalty-free is fast becoming the source of choice for commercial images among art directors who don't mind using
manufactured photos.
When you specialize in your stock photography, you, in a sense, become an “authority” in your field –a mini-expert. Because the specialty you have chosen to photograph is important to you (childhood education, panthers, antique Ford automobiles) you are enthusiastic about the subject. This spills over in your photography as well as communication and correspondence with your clients. They sense your knowledge on the subject and choose to work with you for stock photos as well as future assignments.
But aren’t photobuyers looking for pictures they need and don’t care who made the photo? They know a well-lighted and composed image might work for their coffee table book production, but they feel safe with a photographer who is an “authority” in the subject area. A lot depends on the right choice of photo for their project.
Should you only specialize?
Continue to take random photos and dump them in your favorite microstock site(s), but build a deep selection of photos in a specialized area you’re passionate about.
This will be the key to your stock photo success.
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Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze” a system for photographers to use in order to attain the Page 1-2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive a free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
HOW THEY DID IT. The Making of Dan Winters' 'Periodical Photographs' - See how Scott Dadich and Dan Winters sorted through the final designs of their new collaboration "Periodical Photographs." Great to see the inspiration and the careful considerations that went into each element of the book.
http://www.spd.org/2009/06/the-making-of-periodical-photo.php
DO IT YOURSELF Top 5 tips for creating an amazing photo book In today's digital era, it's easy to design and publish your own photography book at an affordable price.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/06/ara/bridal/8882.txt
STRONG SITE -- The Five Biggest Photographers on the Internet Launched in 2006, David Hobby’s how-to blog Strobist was perfectly positioned to ride the wave of interest in advanced amateur photography. http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3ida6dda5bd97c11673e2214eec8804863?pn=2&imw=Y
MARKETING TIP (From Sell & ReSell Your Photos, Page 285.) Uncle Sam will pay you up to a $1000 a year to stop calling your photography a `hobby' and start calling it a business. IRS guidelines encourage you to get serious about your photography and to use your tax write-offs. You have three years (at this writing) before you have to show you sold a picture or made a profit. All you have to show is intent. It's a government incentive to encourage you start up your business.
In Hollywood, it’s called “Creative Accounting”. Actors, producers, cameramen are all paid stipends and advances that will virtually assure that their film project will not make a profit.
The film Batman, grossed 7 million, but didn’t make a dime. –RE
We have put together an audio/visual marketing course for you.. that will bring you up to date on all the new ways to sell your photos on the Internet -- right from your home, studio, or office.
Here's this week's excerpt.
- 9.5 minutes
click here:
http://photosource.com/lesson/15G
NO SECOND CHANCES -- Good Timing, Bad Timing and Your Photography Business. Timing is everything, as we learned recently when Farrah Fawcett's death was the news of the day - until about five hours later, when Michael Jackson died. Suddenly, the '70s It Girl's passing became a footnote. As photographers, we know that in capturing the moment, timing is everything. But we sometimes forget that timing can be everything on the business side as well.
http://rising.blackstar.com/good-timing-bad-timing-and-your-photography-business.html#more-5011
DELIVER WHAT YOU PROMISE -- Brides tell tales of photography woes in court. Four of nine brides testified in Melanie Love Schoolcraft's preliminary hearing. Schoolcraft, 24, was charged last week with grand theft after allegedly engaging in "a continuous course of conduct between September 2007 and July 2008" in which she deprived nine clients out of $9,600 paid to her in return for wedding photographs she was contracted to take. http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4623085
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g-rl2GYWuORAWkKKNuv4YnLeC2JA
SENSIBLE STEPS -- Don't Wait for Economic Recovery to Buff Your Company's Image with Photography - The past several months have certainly been economically harrowing for businesses of all sizes. But the danger in being gripped by fear and uncertainty is that you might not be taking the steps you need to to secure your company's future.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-wait-for-economic-recovery-to-buff-your-companys-image-with-photography.html
The Kracker Barrel has been a great source of marketing information for photographers.
If you register you can ask a burning photo marketing question.
But if you choose not to register, you can still learn from fellow marketers by viewing back pages in our archives.
Here's a recent question:
I have a question for a photo editor. I am working on my own web page to show my portfolio to photo editors online. I have been looking at photography templates to find one that I like. There are two common methods of navigating through a portfolio.
One uses arrows that take you from one page to the next.
The second method takes you continuously from one picture to the next.
With the first you have time to study the photograph with the second; you have seconds to see the photograph as it moves from frame to frame.
Now my question for the photo editor is this.
Which method do you like to receive? The one that moves fast will get you through a submittal fast, but you won’t get the impact of studying the picture.
But it isn’t what I like; it is all about what an editor would like to receive.
Rohn answers this one:
I think I can answer this question for you since we talk with a dozen photo editors a day here at Photosource International.
Like a storefront portrait studio or a fine arts photo gallery, a visitor will browse (“continuously from one picture to the next”) for information about a product they might want to buy .
With this in mind, if you consider your website a “gallery” where people drop in without any particular purpose, a moving presentation is best for you. Usually in this case, the visitor usually intends to buy a (physical) print of your photography.
Thanks to the Internet, there is a second type of photobuyer, -the magazine or book publisher.
Editorial photobuyers come to your site because they have located you on a search engine because you have indicated with your keywords just what they are looking for with the project they are currently working on. They rarely “browse” when they come to your site. They know what they want because the author of the magazine article, coffee table book or textbook has stated what would be a good picture for a particular page.
The photo researcher is looking for a specific category of picture and if you have it, they sign up with you to license it. (Editorial stock photographers don’t sell their photos; they license them for one-time use).
The photobuyer is interested in your category (specialization) of photography because the theme of their publishing house (sailing, childhood education, environmental problems, railroads, etc.) matches your stock photo collection
If your website exists to license (“rent”) your images, the buyer is going to want to study them for design, color balance, information in the pictures itself, cost, and other factors such as resolution. The buyers will want to “stop and observe” your photo. (“arrows that take you from one page to the next.”) The “stop and look” style would be best.
Hope this helps – Rohn
PHOTOS DO TALK -- How To Bring Documentary Images to Decision Makers - After spending two years documenting the work of hospice volunteers inside the Angola Penitentiary, photographer Lori Waselchuk wanted to show administrators, doctors and guards at other prisons how much prison hospice programs can
benefit inmates.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3i1b84df344ab297f3e244752088ab87c5
TAKEAWAY: This kind of documentary photography not only works in prisons to convince the hierarchy of what’s happening down in the trenches, but other institutions like mentally handicapped, displaced persons, even local schools.
THE BIGGEST AGENCY? Google Image Search gets usage rights filtering - In an effort to keep people from incorrectly reusing or repurposing images found on its image search tool, Google has added new options that let users filter results by usage rights. Users can now filter photos by whether they're available for reuse, commercial reuse, reuse with modification, or commercial use with modification. http://news.cnet.com/webware/digital-photography/
TAKEAWAY: This could add more coinage to the coffers of photographers whose images have been displayed on Google Images. Eventually Google will devise a payment structure that will benefit both the Big G –and you.
ALMOST DOWN -- This Month in Microstock - June 2009 - iStockphoto saved June from being a slow microstock news month.
http://www.microstockdiaries.com/this-month-in-microstock-june-2009.html
NEW ART ? -- iPhone photography: Art or gimmick? iPhone isn't exactly the best you can get, but does that mean photos taken with it can't be artistic? They analyse the merits of a new type of photography - iPhone-ography.
http://www.cnet.com.au/iphone-photography-art-or-gimmick-339297259.htm
TIME LIMITS -- Statute of Limitations for Use of Photos of Persons? - Is there a statute of limitations for the use of a picture of a person in a public
space with no model release? Can you use the image after a period of time?
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/q-statute-of-limitations-for-use-of.html
TAKEAWAY: But don’t handcuff yourself,-- as the PhotoAttorney suggests, if the picture use is not for advertising, commercial use, endorsements and some celebrity situations, there is no time frame to think about.
BIG BROTHER -- Watch out, --you botanists! A southern Ontario, Canada woman is suing Black's Photography for handing her photos of marijuana plants to the local police. Someone will have to produce the photos in court. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090709/marijuana_pictures_090709/20090709?hub=Canada
CHEAPER BY THE BITS The Copyright Office Has Increased Most Fees - As of August 1, 2009, the U.S. Copyright Office will adjust some of its services fees. The new fees are based on the cost of providing services and reflect cost savings associated with the implementation of electronic processing in the Copyright Office in 2007.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/copyright-office-increases-most-fees.html
VIEW BUT DON’T TAKE. -- Can "Look, But Don't Touch" Ever Be Enforced on the Web? - How effective is a law that is unenforced? How effective is a law when the public has no clear concept of its meaning and spirit? Unfortunately, that is the current state of copyright law. Will Seberger would argue that the entire concept of copyright is in peril, with the threats coming from multiple directions.
http://rising.blackstar.com/can-look-but-dont-touch-ever-be-enforced-on-the-web.html
The Beauty of Keyword Searches
Project: Find a pet shop in San Antonio Texas (you want to buy a puppy.)
Project: Find a Title Company in Blaine, Minnesota (you are making a loan.)
Project: Find a haberdashery in Darien, Connecticut (you are buying a man’s hat.)
You’ll have success in locating any of these sources when you use a popular search engine such as Google, Yahoo, etc.
And how does this apply to your stock photography?
·You’ve learned to use Google to pinpoint answers for your personal inquiries.
·Photobuyers have learned to do the same when it comes to finding out who has the special photo they need for the layout of their magazine, book, brochure or design project.
Will they find you?
Let’s say the photobuyer is producing a coffee table book and she’s missing representation of a certain kind of horse that lives on Assateague Island in Maryland., USA
Unless the photobuyer is your sister-in-law -- or next-door neighbor, few buyers are going to know you have photos of the Assateague Island ponies in winter. (“Yes, she needs them in wintertime…)
We can put you on the First Page of a Google search*
Here at PhotoSource International, we have researched and discovered how independent photographers can use the right coding to maintain a solid presence on the Internet and come up to the front of the line of a Google search.
You’ll leave your competitors behind
Contact us for more information on how you can come up first on a Google Search. We come up in the first fifteen searches (not 115th like most of our competitors).
To test this out, just type into the search bar of Yahoo, Google, Bing, for the same search terms you used to find us… when you were just starting out in stock photography. You probably used:
Sell my photos
or
Buy my photos
Try it - you'll find us on the first or second page of a Google search.
For more information: 1 800 624 0266 extn21
Rohn Engh
Bruce Swenson
A.C. Cottor
*Of course if your specialization is in broad-spectrum flowers, butterflies, sunsets and hot air balloons or the Grand Canyon, we can’t guarantee “the first 20 results” (nor would we accept you as a client) because the search results would result in the thousands of ‘hits’. Photobuyers need quick results. A specific Internet search can give them a quick, hassle-free, specific answer.
But if your stock photography interest is a niche area where the competition is reasonable, and you are coming up on 21st or beyond (rarely do people go beyond the first two pages of an Internet search) – we can move you up on a Google or Yahoo search where photobuyers will see you and contact you.
FOUND IT! -- Photo Recovery software has enhanced support for recovering Adobe Photoshop files. The software is updated with latest algorithym that will help users to recover lost/deleted .psd files from hard drives, memory cards.
http://www.creativepro.com/article/recover-photoshop-files-photo-recovery
EASY AERIALS -- Aerial Photography, No Pilot Required. What’s the size of a pizza box, sounds like an electric hair trimmer, and can leap tall buildings in a single bound? It’s the flying platform that Anthony Jacobs uses to shoot pictures for his aerial photography company.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3i4c5798b5271bede4f5ed7ed23a0ad2f1?imw=Y
GOOGLE: UP FRONT -- Search engine optimization for photographers — attracting appropriate inbound links, or “backlinks”.
http://rising.blackstar.com/video-seo-for-photographers-the-ins-and-outs-of-inbound-links.html
SYNDICATING -- Tradeclips launch provides videographers with new way to distribute multimedia content - A new service which allows editorial photographers and videographers to store and syndicate multimedia content is being launched this month by a UK company.
http://www.epuk.org/News/931/newslink-launch-tradeclips
Magic Lantern Guides and DVDs have always provided the very best, most in-depth coverage of a camera's ins-and-outs. Now, there's even more "magic" on the market for photographers: the MAGIC LANTERN MULTIMEDIA WORKSHOP. It's a complete class in digital photography with a D-SLR camera one that enables you to learn the essentials at your own pace, in the comfort in your own home.
The attractive package includes:
Camera Specific 80-minute DVD: An authoritative DVD guide made just for your model. Created by photographers for photographers, it covers specific camera features and functions. The format allows you to navigate easily between different topics and review chapters any time.
- Taking Great Digital Photos: This full-color, 64-page book gets newcomers to the digital world started right. Packed with picture-taking tips and information on digital file formats, it explains how f/stops and shutter speeds work together to create an exposure, which focal lengths are best for various subjects, and how to get accurate color with white balance.
Great Photos with Your Digital SLR 60-minute DVD: This live action tutorial demystifies digital shooting, and shows how to compose photos; choose the best picture-quality settings; improve results with the built-in flash; and interpret your histogram. Plus, see when to trust your camera's automatic settings or change them yourself.
http://www.adorama.com
Set of 10 superior quality Lee gels attach quickly and securely to HonlPhoto Speed Strap, and can be used in conjunction with HonlPhoto Snoots and Gobos. Usable gel area is 2" x 4" and can be trimmed to fit individual strobes.
http://www.adorama.com
Tilt TTL Cords
Finally, a TTL cord with a tilt feature. No more close up shots missed or ruined because the flash was unable to angle down to give complete coverage to the subject. This cord can be mounted onto an accessory shoe or a light stand. Just remove the locking screw that would be used to secure the unit to an accessory shoe and a 1/4-20 female thread remains to allow the tilt shoe to be mounted to a light stand or tripod.
Full dedicated operation of the flash is the same as if the flash were mounted directly onto the camera hot shoe. Available in 2 Lengths 3 feet and 6 feet
http://www.adorama.com
A BOOST FOR STOCK -- A new survey by International Communications Research shows that creative professionals are adjusting to today's tough economic climate, and one of the key ways they are cutting costs is to use more stock photography. http://www.napsnet.com/articles/61801.html
WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS? Photographer Learned About VIBE Shutdown in Mid-Shoot - David Anthony's photos of skateboarder Chaz Ortiz will never make it into VIBE, which folded Tuesday as the shoot was in progress. http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/photo-news/editorial/e3iff1672d639e4a430d7b1929d1ec9b0f0
- Kent Wood, Photographer, Albuquerque, NM
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"Thank you for the fantastic service you offer and the great advice available on your website - it has been a superb help to get started!"
- Terri Petrie, Photographer, U.K.
WORLD RENOWNED -- Photography's brightest and best come to the Arles festival The opening week of the 40th Rencontres d'Arles, one of the world's leading photography festivals
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jul/13/arles-photography-festival?commentpage=1
CHEAP CAMERA…-RICH PRINTS -- It was during her 1985-1987 residency that Amy Blakemore investigated the possibilities of a camera she had only begun using during her last semester of graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin — the cheaply made, irregularity-prone, plastic-body Diana camera, which she used to take all the photos on view.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/theater/6499034.html
POSTCARD SIZE -- Phone box is 'smallest art gallery' - 'Contributions are welcomed from members of the public and must be no larger than a postcard,' says the gallery's 'curator' Professor Roger Taylor who lives nearby the phone box in Settle, North Yorkshire, UK.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/photography_news_bt_phone_box_is_smallest_art_gallery_news_285707.html
Jessica Lange at home behind a camera and in front of one. Thirty-three years after starring in King Kong, the actress is displaying 50 of her international photos at George Eastman House. Her exhibit opened last week. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090712/ENT01/907120302/From+ape+to+apertures++Photography
BIG STEP REVISITED -- Moon landing was 'huge leap for photography', says Hasselblad, whose cameras were used by astronauts, is celebrating the Apollo 11 anniversary by taking selected photographers on an expenses-paid trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Moon_landing_was_huge_leap_for_photography_says_Hasselblad_news_285858.html
“The magic of photography is metaphysical. What you see in the photograph isn’t what you saw at the time. The real skill of photography is organized visual lying.”Terence Donovan
1845 - Photograph that went on to gain world fame was a daguerreotype panorama of Niagara Falls NY, taken in July by William and Frederick Langenheim of the Philadelphia Daguerrotype Establishment.
1854 - July 12 - Photographic pioneer George Eastman, who made photography available to the masses with his invention of the first simple camera, was born on this day in Waterville, New York.
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July 9th 2009
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Why Buyers Use Google
Did you know that calico cats * are most always female and that white cats with blue eyes are most always deaf? **
I didn’t know that. And here at the farm, we’ve had a cat of one stripe or another for the past 43 years. But a neighbor told me this trivia recently and he’s right.
How can I be sure? “I Googled it” and 95% of the respondents agreed with him.
And so?
Your photobuyers think the same way. If they’re researching a photo need, they turn to Google for help. No longer do they go lockstep fashion to a microstock portal or major website with its millions of image selections.
Today’s web search engines offer photo researchers the opportunity to type in a couple of words or an entire phrase and speedily find the source of a highly specialized “niche” photo for their project.
If you have included tags and captions (keywords, sometimes called metadata) with your photos on your web site, or have displayed a list of text descriptions of your photos, the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, and AOL, etc.) will locate your page(s) and send inquiring visitors to you.
By making your work accessible in this manner, a photo researcher will contact you for more information on your photos on the subject area that the photobuyer needs. . You'll either make a sale or earn a possible contact for future business.
You can be the recipient of this free advertising if you handle the opportunity correctly.
So the question comes up, “how do I embed keywords (metadata) into my photos?”
Some possible but complicated options: Using Photoshop is one, and effective, but it’s an expensive and exhaustive program.
Is there freeware available? One I know is Irfanview < http://irfanview.com > but unless you’re a tech guy, you might not be interested in following that path. Anyway, here are a couple of discussion forums about embedding keywords into your pictures:
1.) http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_1764
2.) http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=4323.0;wap2
However, if you’re not a software coder, you can simply build a webpage in HTML and dump in any and all key words you wish .The major search engines crawl this type of site about every six months or less and capture your text and then “index” the information in large databanks for their inquirers to utilize.
One thing to remember in using this type of keywording system is you don’t want to SPAM inadvertently. You could do that by typing in duplicates of keywords or phrases of the same subject e.g. Montana teepee, Montana teepee, Washington Monument, Washington Monument, and so on. Google doesn’t approve fattening out a text page by hoping to emphasize certain descriptions by duplicating the same word to gain extra attention.
Here at PhotoSource International, we’ve featured our own text-based, keyworded “PhotoSourceBANK” since 1999, and it works well for members. You can look it up and test it out. Go to http://www.photosourcebook.com/bank/photographer.php
* http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/catbreed1/f/FAQ_calicocats.htm
** http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2123&aid=1096
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Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze,” a system that enables photographers to consistently come up on the Page 1 or 2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive a free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
The iPhone 3GS's video quality may not be all that impressive, but its
3MP stills can apparently capture some incredible time lapse photography provided you seek a suitably inspiring landscape.
http://gizmodo.com/5308332/apparently-iphone-3gs-time-lapse-footage-can-be-pretty-phenomenal
Top 5 tips for creating an amazing photo book
In today's digital era, it's easy to design and publish your own
photography book at an affordable price.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/06/ara/bridal/8882.txt
WHAT WORKS. Tony: -- : “Stop chasing and start having fun.” Singles Bar Lessons for Your Photography Business – “Listen, even if you have what someone needs, no one's going to go home with you as soon as you say, "Hello, my name is Eugene." They don't know you. Ladies - and clients - want to be romanced. Learn to cool it at:
http://rising.blackstar.com/singles-bar-lessons-for-your-photography-business.html
Being a pro at stock photography not only takes talent but another important skill: research and development (which eventually opens the door to business acumen.).
You’ll find that kind of knowledge at Jim Pickerell’s “Selling Stock”.
Jim has been involved in the stock photography business for more than 40 years as a photographer, newsletter writer, pricing guide author, industry analysts, expert witness and co-owner of the stock agency, Stock Connection.
Jim writes regularly for the daily online newsletter www.selling-stock.com
This newsletter provides daily reports on developments in the stock photo industry with an emphasis on the U.S. market.
The service is subscription based. Brief abstracts of the daily stories are available free or charge. Password is needed to read stories. Check out their fees at info[at]mediapost[dot]com.
We have put together an audio/visual marketing course for you.. that will bring you up to date on all the new ways to sell your photos on the Internet -- right from your home, studio, or office.
Here's this week's excerpt.
- 7.5 minutes
click here:
http://www.photosource.com/lesson/16D/
SENSIBLE STEPS -- Don't Wait for Economic Recovery to Buff Your Company's Image with Photography - The past several months have certainly been economically
harrowing for businesses of all sizes. But the danger in being gripped by fear and uncertainty is that you might not be taking the steps you need to secure your company's future.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-wait-for-economic-recovery-to-buff-your-companys-image-with-photography.html
Washington Post Sells Out – From John, again. More Details - Well, it appears that the
marketing department of the Washington Post, who, as we previously suggested
might be considering booking the staff photographers out for non-editorial
work, didn't think that the staff photographers' work was good enough for
use in the marketing materials promoting the "salon" or to shoot something
for it?
http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/2009/07/washington-post-sells-out-more-details.html
IN ADDITION: WASHINGTON – The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists. A flier surfaced last week promoting a plan to charge $25,000 to sponsor one of a series of dinner parties that would include off-the-record conversations with Post journalists and access to Washington insiders. The series was canceled Thursday. –Associated Press
KODAK EXUMED? -- A Copenhagen-based company, Phase One that caters to professional photographers, announced a plan to acquire some of the high-end photography assets from Eastman Kodak.. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10272665-39.html
FREE PUBLICITY. News and Information on the Google Book Settlement. Many photographers are also authors. If you published a book before January 5, 2009, your work may be subject to a class action lawsuit brought by authors and publishers, claiming that Google has violated their copyrights by scanning their books, creating an electronic database, and displaying short excerpts without the permission of the copyright holders. http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/06/news-and-information-on-google-book.html
TAKEAWAY: Can you remember back a decade ago when a similar suit was proposed against Google for “capturing” photographer’s images without compensation and placing them in what we now know as Google Images? Can you imagine what Internet life would be like without Google Images?
As an author myself I decline to make some money from the folks building this suit. In fact I find it a compliment that Google wants to capture the content of some of my books. It’s great publicity.
-RE
A Proposal to Address the Potential Demise of Newspapers - Recently on his blog that he shares with Gary Becker, Judge Posner proposed an expansion of copyright law to ban linking/paraphrasing of newspaper stories in an effort to ensure the viability of the industry.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/proposal-to-address-potential-demise-of.html
TAKEAWAY: Now let’s see. How would that work? Ace reporter Mary Smith at the Pumpkin Center Gazette gets a scoop on what style dress Mrs. Obama will be wearing at the Ladies Afternoon Lunch in Omaha and Henry Jones at a Portland Oregon blog infringes the news by placing it in his political section and since there’s a copyright law about such a misdemeanor, Henry receives a threatening letter from the Gazette’s publisher. If newspapers have to resort to litigation to bring in more funds, -well. . -RE
How can potential photobuyers order
from your website if they can’t find you?
When art buyers, researchers, photo editors search
for certain images - do they find you and your photos?
Probably not.
Reason? Too many competing picture sources on the Internet.
Fact: There are 210,000,000 websites on the Internet (as of this writing).
How can you position yourself to be distinct from the thousands of competing photography sites, photo gallery portals, and stock agencies that compete against you?
A handful of potential buyers will find you if you first contact them and tell them where to find you. But that’s a lost cause unless you happen to hit them at a time when they need your kind of photos. (That’s why sending photobuyers a CD/DVD of your best pictures seldom works. And photobuyers usually station themselves near a waste basket when they’re opening the morning mail.)
The reality of trying to sell your photos online is that unless your name comes up on the first or second page of a Google search (or Yahoo, BING or AOL) you might as well not have a website. Your website is a ghost ship floating in cyberspace….or a lonely store sitting out in the desert. It’s called “Hope Marketing.”
The missing link
To get consistently on page 1 or 2 of searches, there’s a missing link that you need, that even many supposed experts are not aware of. We have found (through extensive research) exactly what this is.
Since 1996 we have existed on the Internet. And we ( www.photosource.com ) or our related sub-domains such as < www.photoaim.com > or, www.sellphotos.com or, < http://www.source-photo.com/ > , will come up on the first or second page of an Internet search on Google, Yahoo, MSN or AOL.
We will certainly come up on a search if you type in our name, but what if you didn’t know we existed? The same holds true for you. How can potential photobuyers order
from your website if they don’t know your name or domain name?
As an example, our own aim is to attract photographers who are looking to sell their photos online … Our in-house webteam has developed a combination algorithym/metatags that has allowed us to consistently appear on page 1 or 2 when potential customers search to find out how to sell their photos. It has taken years of observation, study, and tweaking text/words and number combinations to achieve this. But we have done it!
If you are interested in learning how you, too, can vastly increase the traffic to your website, give me a call and learn about our new service:
"The B r e e z e "
Call me at 800 624-0266 to learn how to sign up for this service.
Rohn
1 800 624 0266
psi2[at]photosource[dot]com
PS No longer does your website need to suffer only single digit visitors. Again, the real test is to go on your favorite search engine, pretend you are an emerging stock photographer and ask the search engine how you can sell your photos online. For your search you could ask such questions as, “How can I sell my photos?” Or, “Who will buy my photos?”
The resulting Google search will feature us. We are there, along with 2,300 other ‘hits.’ But we are on either Page 1 or Page2. Most people never look at Page 3. Do you?
PPS We must know some thing that other stock sites don’t know. On your same search test, using the same search phrase, buy my photos or sell my photos...you’ll find the following, listed in order of Page Number:
Page 1 or 2 Photosource
Page 5 PhotoShelter
Page 10 Photo.Net
Page 11 dotphoto.com
Page 12 Dreamstime
Page 13 CafePress
Page 13 ShutterStock
DON’T JAIL ME, OR I’ll….. An employee of the MTA sues city for $1 million after being arrested for taking pictures. Robert Taylor, 31, a train and photography enthusiast, was taking photos of an approaching No. 2 train at the Freeman St. station in the Bronx on Feb. 12 when several police officers told him to delete the photos and then arrested him.
http://bit.ly/tAY7O
THE RULES NEVER CHANGE Famous Photographers Tell How - If you're lucky enough to own an LP record of "Famous Photographers Tell How" and a working turntable, this post won't be of much interest to you. If not, though, you may be interested in to this chance to hear, straight from the photographers' mouths, how a handful of mid-century masters made some of their most famous photos.
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/community/op-editorial-blog/famous-photographers-tell-how.html
WHO’S FLASHING WHO? New Device Lets Celebs Flash Paparazzi - Adam Harvey, a New York University graduate student recently invented a smart alternative for camera-shy
celebrities, one that won't tarnish their public image or end in an assault charge. His "anti-paparazzi device," which is built into a clutch purse, uses a photo cell that picks up a photographer's flash and communicates with a circuitboard, which then fires LED lights that flash back at paparazzi, ruining their photos. http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_display/features/e3ic88ec5d829eb7e967f44dfe352868ea6
YOU BE THE JUDGE -- Dreamstime, a Brentwood Tennessee based micro-payment stock photography business, has announced that it has introduced a new feature called “Stock Rank” that pairs two images on the screen and challenges the user to select the best photo.
http://bit.ly/Vh49K
YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT MAY BE VIDEO. Perpetual motion - How stills photographers are making money from shooting video as well. http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=864297
NEW OPTION. MakingMoneyWithPictures.com debuted recently and offers tips for people to sell their photos online, as well as the necessary equipment. MakingMoneyWithPictures.com is a part of KJW Enterprises LLC, which is owned and operated by Jeremy and Keely Walker. The website added a new blog to its many features. Burgeoning entrepreneurs Jeremy and Keely Walker, of Marion KY, realized the focus for their business in a rather inconspicuous way: "My wife and I became interested in photography when we started taking pictures of our daughters," said Jeremy Walker. "After a while, we got pretty good making them and decided to sell photos online. t's not difficult to have a photography business at home," he said. "It's a matter of knowing how to get your name and your pictures out there." Walker has also started a new blog this summer, www.TheCameraGuru.com , to provide additional helpful hints that aren't covered on the website. "We're going to be posting tips on taking pictures and things that would help them with their technique," he said. "I think our goal is to let people know that it doesn't have to be professional, per se, it just has to mean something to that person." www.MakingMoneyWithPictures.com
“Rohn Engh’s photo tips are concise, current, and informative. I usually print the articles for future reference and appreciate receiving the information. I look forward to receiving new articles. Thank you!”
- Cheryl Warren Bradford, Photographer
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"Thanks for the good advice and help! You helped me to refocus the abundant opportunities in the midst of this stock photography Internet chaos. Thanks you for your encouragement and support - and enthusiasm and good ideas - and your can-do attitude - and your sense of opening up new boxes to see how to make them work!"
- Bill Wittman, Photographer, Mississauga, Ont. CA
PROPAGANDA. Fake Photo Essay Wins Paris Match Prize. Paris Match magazine recently awarded its annual grand prize for photo reportage to a pair of art students who admitted they staged the whole photojournalistic project.
http://bit.ly/aNzuT
BETWEEN THE LINES The Not-So-Fine Print. The Photo Attorney finds more. Here are some more contest terms and conditions that need close review (and some are alarming!):
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/06/not-so-fine-print.html
Humanism in China: A Contemporary Record of Photography to Open at China Institute Gallery N.Y. revealing a glimpse of China never before seen in the U.S. The photographs, dating from 1951 though 2003, offer intimate portraits of rural and urban daily life in China, beyond the glossy veneer of the economic boom.
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31879
"The longest word you can spell without repeating a letter: UNCOPYRIGHTABLE..."
-anonymous
1855 - July 12th - George Eastman the inventor of the camera was born.
1965 - July 8th - Camera multiple flashbulb device, known as flashcubes, were made by Sylvania Electric Company, and introduced at a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Four flash bulbs were set in a single socket; a sleeve of three cubes retailed for $1.95; the cubes were presented jointly by Sylvania Electric Products Inc, and Eastman Kodak Company.
1976 - July 20th - Photographs taken on Mars were transmitted to the Viking mother ship in orbit around Mars.
Bill Thomas, author of 28 photographic
books, popular seminar giver, died Wednesday, June 3, 2009.
I first met Bill on a photographic trip sponsored by the Minnesota Dept. of
Economic Development that was held in the Voyageurs National Park area near
the Canada border.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
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July 30th 2009
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29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Stock Photo Success…
Finding The Right Path
Traditional (RM – “Rights Managed”) single-use commercial stock photography,
in my estimation, is doomed.
And not because Getty, Corbis, et al are engaging in price wars - but because of a
more important tenet in retail marketing that says,
"If you want to live with the masses, (down in the ghetto) appeal to the classes. (Rights-managed (RM) stock photography appeals to the classes).
“If you want to live with the classes, (out in the suburbs high on a hill) appeal to the masses."
Microstock (RF) appeals to the masses.
Any stock photographer attempting to sell photos based on clever label
merchandising, brochures and posters that appeal only to the "classes," can
expect to live eventually in the ghetto.
A second reason traditional single-use (RM) commercial
stock photography is doomed is that history shows that the
company that achieves the classic economics formula,
m = c + v + t
will prevail over its competition and control prices. [ m
(market share) = c (cash flow) + v (volume, inventory,
product line selection) + t (technology, automation,
speed, service). Put them all together and you have
commercial success.] All those elements are not there, especially customer service.
Ten, twenty years ago, small stock photo agencies could survive if they had only parts of that formula in place.
In the first edition (1981) of my book, "Sell & ReSell Your Photos," I advised photographers to avoid setting up a stock photo agency that did not specialize in a particular subject area. By specializing, you can better define your customers and survive. Those stock agencies
that did not heed my advice now find themselves in competition with Corbis, Getty, JupiterImages, Shutterstock, and other giants.
Worse still, as the ‘well runs dry’ for ad agencies, marketing groups, and commercial promotion agencies, their demand for rights-managed photography has fallen.
A handful of top stock photographers have attempted to boost their industry awareness by hiring “brand” organizations to publicize their work through seminars, postal mailings and the usual advertising. Not a good idea at a time when their target clients are losing budgets.
All of these changes bode well for the editorial stock photographer. Individual editorial stock photography is a different ball game. The situation takes a different tack, since editorial stock photographers work in a vertical market (selling single-use, content-specific images and working in volume with close-knit special-interest clients.) They don’t work broadly across the board as with microstock or traditional stock.
So, editorial stock photographers are spectators in the battle now roiling in the commercial stock photography field, where inexpensive royalty-free is fast becoming the source of choice for commercial images among art directors who don't mind using manufactured photos.
When you specialize in your stock photography, you, in a sense, become an “authority” in your field –a mini-expert. Because the specialty you have chosen to photograph is important to you (childhood education, panthers, antique Ford automobiles) you are enthusiastic about the subject. This knowledge spills over in your photography as well as communication and correspondence with your clients. They sense your competence on the subject and choose to work with you for stock photos as well as future assignments.
WHY WOULD THEY CHOOSE YOU?
But aren’t photobuyers looking for pictures they need and don’t care who made the photo?
They feel safe with a photographer who is an “authority” in the subject area plus shows technical skill. A lot depends on the right choice of photo for their project not the name of the photographer who made the picture.
Should you only specialize?
Continue to take random photos and dump them in your favorite microstock site(s), but build a deep selection of photos in a specialized area you’re passionate about. This is your treasure chest that no other photographer can compete with.
This will be the key to your stock photo success.
- - - - - -
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze” a system for photographers to use in order to attain the Page 1-2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE – Don't Let Digital Photography Make You Sloppy - Digital photography can make you lazy. In fact, if you're not careful, digital's very superiority can lead you down the path to inferior photography.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-let-digital-photography-make-you-sloppy.html
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
CHIGAGO REPORT CARD – City Guide: Chicago - Chicago locals identify the best clients to shoot for, places to shoot, equipment rental shops, and more.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/featured-in-print/e3i5bc95dcbd3315867e24891f0a5f2a802
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
YOUR OWN PHOTO BOOK -- Tips for creating an amazing photo book in today's digital era. It's easy to design and publish your own photography book at an affordable price. In fact, Americans will produce 17 million photo books in 2009.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/31/ara/bridal/8882.txt
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
IF YOU ZERO IN, you’ll add more zeroes to your bottom line.
Most creative people begin their careers by thinking they have to accept every job they can in order to stay solvent.
Actually, the opposite is true in the creative world.
By taking every assignment that comes along, you will expend energy on gaining knowledge about subjects that will, down the road, prove to be wasted energy. Useless.
Instead, ZERO IN.
Become an expert in a niche area, build expertise. In the long run, clients will be coming to you, not only for your photography but also to you as a consultant in your chosen field of expertise.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
TAKING STOCK – Associated Press Plans Content Registry, Will Include Photos - The AP's plan, which was approved by its board of directors Thursday, is designed to curb online infringement, which AP leaders consider a big problem.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/photo-news/legal-news/e3ide42830a4943f36cf019db261fbcd3d5
EMPTY STORES -- Ritz Camera Cleared To Sell Off Assets. Ritz Camera Centers, the long time favorite of pros and amateurs, of Beltsville, MD, won bankruptcy court approval to sell almost all of its assets to a group led by chief executive David Ritz for $24 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath granted approval over creditors' objections. The buyer, RCI Acquisitions, has agreed to keep at least 163 of the 375 stores open, court papers show. Ritz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 22, blaming the recession and a consumer transition to digital photography. -- Bloomberg News .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072403782.html
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
CRYSTAL BALL – Photo Agencies and The Stock Industry: a Matter of Proportion - For as long as the industry remains chaotic and unmanaged by any central body, stock photography will also be unstructured. There will be little innovation that helps sort, rank and distribute photos based on merit--it'll remain as it is now: arbitrary.
Begin by dispensing of the premise that agencies are the de facto channel for stock photo purchases. You can (and should) sell directly yourself, irrespective if whether you also sell through agencies.
http://danheller.blogspot.com/2009/07/photo-agencys-and-stock-industry-matter.html
TAKEAWAY: The nice thing about the Internet is it’s not like a newspaper where you snip out the article, file it, and forget it. Crystal ballers face the new adversary: Central datacenters that don’t allow anything, after several years, to turn antique brown and crumble away. So, enjoy Dan Heller for both his analytics and amusing predictions.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
THE AILMENT CURES THE ILLNESS – Revisiting the Death of Photojournalism, Ten Years Later - "Why would you be a photojournalist today?" I answered, "You have to be crazy." I have always considered being crazy as important to a photographer as being curious.
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0907/revisiting-the-death-of-photojournalism-ten-years-later.html
TAKEAWAY: Observers of 'the world around us' welcome observations of others, whether it be in the form of still camera, video, pen and paper, or whatever exciting device is around the corner.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
The Canon imagePROGRAPH iPF6000S Large Format Printer is an
ideal wide format inkjet printer for photographers and graphic artists everywhere.
In today's digital world, fast turn-around times can win or lose a client. Capable
of amazing print times up to 294 square feet per hour, the iPF6000S is a fast
and cost-effective solution for your production studio or business. With this
kind of speed, short run posters, reproductions, and presentation displays can
be created on time, every time.
Canon's LUCIA Pigment-based ink system coats each pigment particle with an
advanced polymer compound; increasing fade resistance and protecting your prints
from scratching. Eight individual ink tanks allow you to replace only the inks
you use. With the iPF6000S, you can even replace ink tanks mid-print without
having to worry about inconsistent color shifts or starting the job over. Economy
Color Mode produces professional quality prints while reducing ink consumption
by up to 20%--good news for the environment and your wallet.
With its built-in 80GB hard drive, self-calibration technology, and plug-ins
for Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office, the Canon imagePROGRAPH iPF6000S Large
Format Printer offers your business all of the professional tools to make a
wide format vision a reality.
Build Your Own Home Darkroom - Build a professional-quality,
yet inexpensive darkroom in your basement, closet, bathroom or almost anywhere.
All the needed tools are explained and special consideration is given to easy
construction, sturdiness, space limitations and budget.
From The Book:
What to Build for Your Darkroom: "Many of the articles needed in your
darkroom can be built with standard materials from a builder's supply or hardware
store and a usual selection of home tools. If you're willing to invest your
time, you can build equipment yourself at less cost than buying it from a manufacturer,
and you can build it to fit the measurements and specific needs of your darkroom."
Designing Your Darkroom: "In every darkroom, there is a work pattern -
a path you follow as you process a print. An efficient work pattern allows you
to process prints quickly with a minimum amount of walking. Figuring out how
to lay out your darkroom is easiest if you have scale drawings of your equipment
that you can move around on a floor plan."
Buying and Caring for Tools: "Buying tools, especially good-quality ones,
can run into a lot of money, so it's important to buy tools that you find comfortable
and that will continue to be useful to you. When you are thinking about buying
a particular tool, see if you can borrow it from a friend first. See how it
feels to you, if you enjoy using it, and whether it provides a worthwhile advantage
over other tools that you may have been using for the same job."
Ventilating Your Darkroom: "A ventilation system usually calls for some
manufactured items (such as an air conditioner, an exhaust fan, or a lightproof
vent
or fan) and some home carpentry to lightproof or adapt these items to your
darkroom. If possible, design your ventilating system so that the air enters
on the dry side of the darkroom and exits on the wet side near the chemicals.
This way, chemical fumes won't circulate through the space, and you will be
less likely to inhale them."
About the Author: Lista Duren is an avid photographer and writer with her own
darkroom. She has a professional degree in architecture and is currently a facilities
planner. Will McDonald is an illustrator and architectural designer currently
doing residential design.
Bushnell Powerview binoculars combine contemporary styling
and design with traditional Bushnell quality and durability. Outstanding light
transmission through fully-coated optics ensures bright, crisp clear viewing.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
CENSORSHIP – Is Taking, Selling or Publishing Images of Hunting, Fishing, or Trapping Illegal? - The Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and others are concerned that the ramifications of the government's case against Robert J. Stevens will result in making it a felony to take, sell or publish images of hunting, fishing or trapping. Stevens was convicted of knowingly selling depictions of animal cruelty with the intention of placing those depictions in interstate commerce for commercial gain, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 48. http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/is-taking-selling-or-publishing-images.html
TAKEAWAY: Hmmm, I wonder what the fellas in the Reichstag of 1942 would have to say about this. –RE
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
WHO’s WHO? Identifying Website Owners for Copyright Infringement Claims - Some website owners hide their contact information by registering their domains through a "proxy" or agent. When you search the "who is" information, you'll see a proxy company's name instead of the true website contact's name.
Fortunately, the Copyright Act provides a way to get around that to
determine the true owner of the website.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/identifying-website-owners-for.html
THAT’S MY PHOTO -- Photographer Sues ESPN for Copyright Infringement over
Unauthorized Photo Use. Sherry Martin Photography filed a complaint against Walt Disney Internet Group and ESPN in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that Disney, ESPN and a Competitor magazine published, without Martin’s consent, her photo of Dr. David Martin, a 66-year-old veterinarian and tri-athlete who was killed by a great white shark...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kennedy-Law-Photographer-Sues-bw-3997399953.html?x=0&.v=1
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Obama Hope Poster Litigation -
Photographer Intervenes
By Joel Hecker, Esq.
In my prior column, May 7th, 2009, I discussed this litigation concerning the use of an illustration by poster artist Shepard Fairey which copied a photograph of then Presidential candidate Obama on posters, t-shirts and other material. At the time the article was written, AP claimed it was the owner of the photos in question as a work made for hire by the photographer Mannie Garcia. In support, AP claims Garcia was an employee of AP when the photographs were created. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Garcia himself had not made any claims and was not part of the legal process. Garcia was previously quoted as saying to the effect that he was not going to do anything to subvert Obama’s presidency.
Apparently, he has now changed his position. As a result, on July 8, 2009, Garcia filed a motion with the court to intervene in the action. He now claims that in fact he was always the copyright owner of the images, that he was never an employee of AP, and that he never agreed to transfer his copyright to AP. He therefore now contends that, unless he is permitted to join the lawsuit as a party, he will be prejudiced whatever the outcome. He reasons that if Fairey wins Garcia will be denied his rights, while if AP wins then it will receive the copyright damages Garcia is entitled to. Specifically Garcia states that he never signed AP’s freelancer contract because he did not agree to its terms.
While it is unclear at this point whether Garcia or AP is the rightful copyright owner of the photograph in question (you will recall the parties cannot even agree which of the two underlying photographs credited by Garcia was the basis for the posters), it is clear both contend that Fairey’s actions constitute copyright infringement of such photograph.
His intervention makes it more complicated, however, since the court would need to first determine who has the right, or standing, under copyright law to pursue the case in the first place. The case is now in the discovery stage and a status conference is presently scheduled before the presiding judge in the Fall 2009.
Attorney Joel L. Hecker lectures and writes extensively on issues of concern to the photography industry. His office is located at Russo & Burke, 600 Third Ave, New York NY 10016. Phone: 1 212 557-9600. E-mail: HeckerEsq[at]aol[dot]com. © Joel L. Hecker, 2009
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
BRADY'S CIVIL WAR JOURNAL,
Photographing the War 1861-65, by Theodore P. Saves.
Do you have aspirations of being a war photographer and reaping huge
sales later on by publishing your photos in book form? Read on.
Such an endeavor might hold some glory for you, if you survive, but listen to what
happened to Mathew Brady.
In 1861, maverick Mathew B. Brady introduced the unprecedented concept of chronicling war through photography. At that time, photography was still a relatively new and complex medium, but Brady was determined to bring the realities of war to the American people.
Brady's Civil War Journal is a collection of original photographs taken by Brady and
his assistants, documenting the harsh experiences of the battlefield and the
destruction of American countryside, towers and cities. After the war
Americans and American institutions wanted to put the Terrible Time behind
them and wanted no reminders.
Brady himself went into heavy debt investing in the equipment and costs to create his historic documentation of the conflict, and was unable to recover financially. Brady was unable to reap any profit from his endeavors and died penniless.
This book provides 265 powerful images that capture behind-the-lines action and marks the first
time in history when people on the home front could see the true nature of
war.
(ISBN: 978-1-60239-292-2; 256 pages; 265 photos; $24.95) Skyhorse
Publishing, Inc., 555 Eighth Ave. Suite 903, NY, NY 10018. 212 643-6816.
http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com Email: jhobbs[at]skyhorsepublishing[dot]com
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#1602392927
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ORGANIZE YOUR DIGITAL LIFE Aimee Baldridge (National Geographic
Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-03343; 192 pages, 100 illustrations, $19.95
tradepaper; Jan. 6, 2009.)
National Geographic has created this first-ever
guide to digitizing all your snapshots, videos, music and more.
Now that digital cameras and music players have become so
widespread, a forest of sound and imagery is blossoming in our homes. We've
got digital pictures in the camera, scans on the computer, JPEGS attached to
emails and tunes on tiny players.
But there's also the old-fashioned stuff:
photos in shoeboxes, videos in the attic, documents in desk drawers, songs
on tape and vinyl.
How do you transform all these different elements into a convenient archive you can store on your computer, easily reach and actually enjoy? This book delivers step-by-step instructions on streamlining and organizing your "digital life" so you can create a custom digital library
and enjoy it for years to come.
Aimee Baldridge is a tech expert and author of "The Camera Phone Book."
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#1426203349
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
It’s Farmer’s Market Day today.
>...and I’ve got something to sell you..
Click here for my video.
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
FINDING THEM -- Photographer on mission to save Asia's lost images-
Tens of thousands of rare historical images from Hong Kong and other
countries across Asia are now believed to lie buried in the vast collections of universities, libraries and individuals the world over, largely hidden from public view.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090728/lf_nm_life/us_hongkong_oldphotos_1
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
WRONG STEPS – The Worst Photography Tax Stories - Taxes are a nightmare at the best of times. Some photographers though have found that the tax authorities can be particularly mean, landing them with some unexpected bills of eye-watering sizes - and for some very odd reasons.
http://blogs.photopreneur.com/the-worst-photography-tax-stories
TAKEAWAY: A good time to remind you of Julian block’s 2009 Tax Report for Stock Photographers. https://www.photosource.com/cart/taxtips.php
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Note: Information in this article was compiled by Rohn Engh from qualified tax sources, with special help from Julian Block, Esq.
OK …So You Need Some Tax Advice.
As a stock photographer, and a businessperson, you’re bound to have some crucial tax questions come into your life as you move along in your career.
Rather than having to madly flip through the Yellow Pages the moment a T-crisis comes up, let me give you some options where you can spend less time and pay the least for the best advice.
I know that’s a difficult situation to be in, so I’ll line up your options for you.
While things are calm and cool, right now, you can get a handle on what to anticipate.
Stash this article somewhere, and then when the IRS bolt strikes, pull it out of your file drawer and move forward, confidently.
Here goes.
Steps to take when you need answers to crucial tax questions;
1.) Yes, try the Yellow Pages to find a tax advisor, but ask for references. Tax advisor fees can range from $50 per hour (Pumpkin Center, Iowa—yes, there is an advantage of living out here in farm country) or $700 if you’re living in Westchester, NY. No kidding. But again, ask for references. Go to the Yellow Pages AND ask around. Ask around to whom? when? for what?
2.) At any time just to get some info, take a community college course. There are usually several titles to choose from, ranging from trimming your taxes to personal finance and investing in the stock market.
3.) Go to a free lunch seminar. Usually 15 people attend, at a local Holiday Inn. The quality of lunched served telegraphs the quality of the seminar. If you get a hot dog in a white box, -well.
4.) If you check with Uncle Henry or the neighbor down the street who used to work for H&R Block, be sure to ask “when” they worked there. Nina Olson, of the “National Taxpayer Advocate,” in her recent report to Congress, said that IRS code changes have averaged one per day over the last 8 years. If Uncle Henry hasn’t worked in the Tax Advice field for a couple of years, he might have missed those more than 600 IRS changes.
5.) Utilize free telephone advice. You can call the IRS Help Desk 1 800 829 1040 and ask a question. (Don’t call on a Monday or a Friday. The lines are usually clogged. As far as the accuracy of the answer from the person the other end of the line, it’s not guaranteed, but it might point you in the right direction to know what to ask as you move further down this list.
6.) Internet advice sites will give you reasonably accurate information. First of all, the Tax Expert doesn’t know w\to whom they are talking (This is a security strategy of the service. No one is committed to a follow- up so you can be reasonably sure you’re getting some objective answers.) If you want a follow- up, there’s a “next stage” charge to your credit card. A good place to check out is Just Answer.com. I’ve tried it for a medical question and was satisfied.
7.) Telephone Counseling. The one I can recommend is a handholding telephone
service that describes itself as “Your Personal Adviser.” It’s called “Keen.” One of our colleagues, Julian Block, is a tax advisor for Keen, and comes from a background as an IRS agent and tax attorney, also familiar with the nature of stock photography. He was one of the first tax advisors recruited by Keen when it was established in 2000. (And if you read my book, “Sell&ReSell Your Photos,” you will recognize my referral to Julian Block in the chapter on Taxes, Chap 16. Keen allows visitors to check their advisors’ backgrounds and their ratings by previous customers. What does the Keen service cost? Depending on the complexity of your call, you might get by with $50 for a short telephone visit, up to several hundred dollars. But remember, the call night save you thousands.
To contact KEEN –go to www.keen.com , or call –800-ASK-KEEN (275-5336) .
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Rohn Engh is the best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com.” He has produced a new eCourse, “How to Market Your Photos.” For more information and to receive a free eReport: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
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Julian Block, a former IRS agent and a tax attorney, is the author of "The 2009 Stock Photographer's Tax Guide." For details on how to purchase this important 32-page publication: http://www.photosource.com/taxtips.php. Julian can be reached at julianblock[at]yahoo[dot]com .
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
GETTING SMALLER -- Tiny chip could replace bar codes The Bokode system uses an out-of-focus camera — which allows the angle-encoded information to emerge from the resulting blurred spot — to record the encoded information from the tiny tag. But in addition to being readable by any ordinary camera (with the focus set to infinity),
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/07/tiny-chip-could-replace-bar-codes.html?csp=34
NEW ENERGY SOURCE – Solar and kinetic charging suitcase - A student has created a piece of
luggage with a built-in solar panel and battery/inverter that can charge
mobile devices on the move or when exposed to direct sunlight.
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Solar-and-kinetic-charging-suitcase-11903
PRINTING PAPERS – Creative Papers for Digital Printing - CTI Paper USA has introduced a portfolio of translucent, metallic and pearlescent papers papers for digital printing.
http://www.creativepro.com/article/creative-papers-digital-printing
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
SOUL BATTERING JOB – Being a Photography Contest Judge Can Try Your Patience - It is always a pleasure to look at the great work that some photographers are doing today. Unfortunately, sometimes the experience is like going through a dirty washing bag to find something you can wear for the day. I really wonder what some photographers are thinking when they submit the material they do.
http://rising.blackstar.com/being-a-photography-contest-judge-can-try-your-patience.html
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
October 25 - November 3 2009
Spirit of Place / Guatemala during Todos Santos
with Doug Beasley
OCTOBER 25 - NOVEMBER 3 2009
Painted Blessings/Retablos and Ex Votos
with Cynthia Padilla
Photography / Spirit of Place
with Doug Beasley
Contact Information
Liza Fourré / Director
fourre[at]artguat[dot]org
phone: 612-825-0747
Art Workshops in Guatemala
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
"You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle."
-- George Lucas (Creator of Star Wars)
29 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
1908 - July 9th - Minor White, one of the leading abstract photographers of the mid 20th century, was born in Minneapolis MN. He took up photography at a very young age but set it aside to study botany and poetry. Minor White was 31 before he began to photograph seriously, working in the WPA (Works Progress Administration), after which he studied with eminent photographers Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, and Ansel Adams.
23 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
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July 23rd 2009
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22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Get NoticedYes, you’ll land on the first page of a Google search if the photobuyer knows your name or your company’s name.
But do they know the extent of your body of work?
Remember this. Photobuyers are interested in photography – not photographers.
In a time where “Google Rules” you have to ask yourself “Am I still back in the Dark Ages, sending out CD’s or trying to convince photobuyers to come to visit my site?
Those days are over. Photobuyers are lazy. Aren’t we all? Who wants to do laborious, eye-wrenching, visual searches for a particular church steeple in a French village in northern France on a foggy day or an historic opera house in an Alabama town -- when you can type in the description and let the search engine geniuses at Google do the work for you.
Single word searches (keywords) were the method of choice in the early days of search. Today, key words are out and key phrases are in - we call a multiple-word search a “long tail” search.
You can tell that I am passionate about keyword searching and the way it has evolved in the last two or three years. Everyone uses Google. You apply this searching technique to your own work. It’s time to start including "metadata" in your images if you haven’t already. It’s a lot of work to add text descriptions to your images, but when you experience the increase in traffic to your site and the hits you'll get, you'll be convinced that it's worth it.
Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA. E-mail: info[at]photosource[dot]com . Fax: 1 715 248 3800. Web site: www.photosource.com . He is author of a new system called The Breeze, which positions stock photographers to come up consistently on page 1 or 2 of a Google search. The Breeze will go into full production this Fall.
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
SELL PHOTOS. Where to from here? Been there done that. Like the board game you start at GO and one year later you’re still at GO. A lot of wheel spinning and “hope”.
http://www.examiner.com/x-463-Chicago-Photography-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Sell-photos-buy-photos .Photos.
TAKEAWAY: What this guy needs is a large spoonful of my new eCourse on CD, “How To Market Your Photos.
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
ARE YOU REMEMBERED? -- Brand Yourself as an Expert Photographer - Brand yourself an expert and you'll have already overcome one of the toughest challenges in marketing yourself as a photographer: you'll have given yourself an edge over the competition and buyers a reason to choose you instead of someone else with a camera.
http://blogs.photopreneur.com/brand-yourself-as-an-expert-photographer
WHO BUYS YOUR PHOTOS? -- The Photo Editor speaks: “Selling Stock Independently - I think for many photographers the ability to license their images as stock without paying a huge commission to some middle man is the ultimate dream. Most buyers do not care whether they get the image from Corbis/Getty or directly from the photographer as long as the transaction is fairly seamless (e.g. prices are fixed, high res download available, images are captioned).
http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2009/07/15/selling-stock-independently/
WILL IT WORK FOR YOU? Many pro photographers are using social networking sites to promote themselves, and probably just as many are skeptical of the whole notion. Can online networking really pay off, or is it a waste of time? http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3ida6dda5bd97c1167cc75653707522a00?pn=1
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
A FADING PRODUCT/COMPANY. After Polaroid, Keeping Instant Photography Alive.
Last Autumn, Kaps, 39, and Bosman, 55, took $2.6 million in private
capital and started what they endearingly called The Impossible Project, with a view to reinventing the traditional Polaroid film. They founded a company named
Impossible,
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1910536,00.html
TAKEAWAY: Nothing like starting out no two left fee.
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
COMMODITIES AGAIN. Melcher Speaks: Now that companies like Getty Images are offering images on a subscription model, the perception of photography is changing. Bundling images from different photographers and pricing them as a service makes the individual images seem interchangeable, doesn’t it?
http://rising.blackstar.com/if-all-you-have-is-a-hammer-everything-looks-like-a-nail.html/comment-page-1#comment-5456
TAKEAWAY: Keep this in mind. Editorial photobuyers don't buy what they like, they buy what they need. When you visit the cubicle of a photobuyer, notice that commodities are adorning their wall, but they're signing checks for non-commodities. -RE
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
The HPRC 1300M Case (Black) is a crushproof, watertight case
which has a universal card holder interior for holding four CF memory cards
or up to 12 SD, miniSD, Memory Stick or XD memory cards. It is made of TTX01
plastic resin compound that is used in all HPRC cases to deliver military-grade
durability and watertight protection.
• TTX01 polypropylene resin case with a rubber lining made with an open
design for memory cards.
• Temperature rating is -40° F to +176° F
• Durability and waterproof ratings are STANAG 4280, DS 81-41, ATA 300
and IP 67
Delkin Digital Duster Cleaning Kit - What you can't see can
affect your pictures. Dirt comes from many sources and it must be removed in
a safe and effective way, or your images will show this debris.
Four common types of contaminants can get on your image sensor: Metallic, Fiber,
Organic and Silica/Quartz particles. Only the SensorScope system addresses all
four types of material and the proper way to remove them safel
• Cleaning is safe & easy
Anyone can clean an image sensor in just a few minutes; Clean all digital SLR
cameras in four easy steps
• Take Better Pictures
Cleaner sensors make cleaner images. Save time and money by getting a clean
image when you make it, and not later sitting at the computer with Photoshop
The Domke F802 Reporter's Satchel (Black) is a multi-use satchel made to carry
various types of imaging equipment. It is made of waterproof cotton canvas with
padded side walls. There is a flexible compartment, 2 large expandable cargo
pockets with individual weather flaps and 2 full length slip pockets. The flap
has two flat zippered pockets on the front. The satchel has an adjustable Gripper
shoulder strap sewn completely around satchel and a reinforced handle that is
box-stitched to top of bag.
• Construction
Waterproof cotton canvas
Padded side walls
Rigid top panel
Metal snap hook closure
• Flexible compartment holds equipment
• Pockets
Two zippered pockets on flap
Two expandable cargo pockets with individual weather flaps under flap
Two full length slip pockets
• Carrying options
Adjustable Gripper shoulder strap sewn completely around satchel
Reinforced handle is box-stitched to top of bag.
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
FLICKR ISN’T ALWAYS FREE. BBC pays photographer $1200 for using photo without permission. Stock photography is expensive for a reason - stock photographers travel to locations, spend hours/days taking photos, processing them etc so that they look their best. This is expensive. http://www.bitterwallet.com/bbc-pays-bw-reader-600-for-using-photo-without-permission/15027 ...
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
EASY “C” -- Quick Links, Rights Grabs, and Updates - The Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations to require that applications for registration paid for by deposit account debits be submitted electronically using the electronic Copyright Office (eCO) registration system. Comments are due by August 28, 2009.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/quick-links-rights-grabs-and-updates_17.html
TAKEAWAY: The Library of Congress(1800)is ahead of the game. Nice going LC, founder of the Copyright Office! New plans include speeder processing time; online status tracking; payment by credit or debit card; electronic check or Copyright Office deposit account; and as they say, much more!
IF THEY’RE STEALING YOU PHOTOS -- Protecting What's Yours - Check out Rob Sylvan's article in Layers Magazine on the different ways to protect your photographs. http://www.layersmagazine.com/protecting-whats-yours.html
TAKEAWAY: Let’s be real. Yes, this is a great article, -IF you are ¾ paranoid about your images. What I’ve seen since 1980 in stock photography, film and digital, is that to spend money, time, software costs, etc. is not a good return on investment. (ROI). It’s better to spend your dollars on a new lens, air flight, or hammock for the back yard. I’ve yet to receive a complaint about an editorial photobuyer who ‘stole’ someone’s image and didn’t pay him or her for it. I’ve heard “stories” from editorial stock photographers who have heard of such thievery. I always ask them for documentation – but the story ends there. No documentation. -RE
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
NOT ALL LOST -- A Blind Photographer (!) After professional photographer Alex Dejong lost his sight three years ago, he thought his days of taking and editing photos was over. But the iPhone 3GS's VoiceOver feature, plus a few key apps, has given some of his abilities back. http://gizmodo.com/5317540/a-blind-photographer-
ECLECTIC = GENERAL STOCK = FEW SALES -- His photography career began after he moved to Detroit and his work started appearing in local media outlets. Additional affiliations with stock photo agencies expanded the exposure of his work to newspapers, magazines, and television both nationally and internationally. Ken’s photography can best be described as eclectic.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jul/16/visual-arts-and-away/
TAKEAWAY: If editorial photography appeals to you, then you are interested in the people on this planet, not just the scenes. Take the ‘pretty pictures on Sunday to “feed your soul,” (calendar-type single-sale photos) but take the ‘marketable photos’ during the week to “feed the family.” (childhood education, county fairs, etc.)
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
THE BEST KIND OF KEYWORDS -- SAA Helps Hundreds Get Meta-Smart at Cross-Country Events - In the wake of seven, free educational events over the past two months, nearly 800 picture professionals from Puget Sound to the Potomac have a better grip on the power and processes of embedding photographic metadata. The Stock Artists Alliance plans three more get-META-smart events for this fall.
TAKEAWAY: SAA is pushing the advantages to you of including metadata in all of your digital images. Here’s the place to go to learn more.
http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/node/751
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Y’ALL COME! The Arles photography festival 2009. The festival continues until September.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2009/jul/19/arles-photography-festival
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
HE WAS ON TIME -- Newry native remembers moon shot photography. The Fletcher, N.C., resident was the primary photographer to document the retrieval of the Apollo 11 command module when it splashed down July 24, 1969, in the Pacific Ocean. One of the Navy Seals, a photographer named Clancy Heidelburg, gave the astronauts biological suits to wear because no one was sure if they would bring back germs from the moon.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/jul/19/newry-native-remembers-moonshot-photography/?partner=RSS
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
If you are not sure if you can trust someome, trust them and see what happens. Ernest Hemingway
22 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
1850 – First photograph of a star (other than the sun): Vega, which was made at Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 17th, by Whipple, a professional photographer. A 15-inch telescope was used as a camera lens and a daguerreotype plate was set up at the eye end.
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
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July 17th 2009
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17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Stock Photo Success…
Finding The Right Path
Traditional (RM – “Rights Managed”) single-use commercial stock photography,
in my estimation, is doomed. And not because Getty,
Corbis, et al are engaging in price wars - but because of a
more important tenet in retailing that says, "If you want
to live with the masses, appeal to the classes. If you
want to live with the classes, appeal to the masses."
Microstock (RF) appeals to the masses.
Anyone attempting to sell photos based on clever label
merchandising that appeals only to the "classes," can
expect to live where Mark Getty and Bill Gates don't.
A second reason traditional single-use (RM) commercial
stock photography is doomed is that history shows that the
company that achieves the classic economics formula,
m = c + v + t
will prevail over its competition and control prices. [ m
(market share) = c (cash flow) + v (volume, inventory,
product line selection) + t (technology, automation,
speed, service). Put them all together and you have
commercial success.]
Ten, twenty years ago, small stock photo agencies
could survive if they had only parts of that formula in
place.
In the first edition (1981) of my book, "Sell &
ReSell Your Photos," I advised photographers to avoid
setting up a stock photo agency that did not specialize in
a particular subject area. By specializing, you can better
define your customers and survive. Those stock agencies
that did not heed my advice now find themselves in
competition with Corbis, Getty, JupiterImages, Shutterstock,
and other giants.
All of these changes bode well for the editorial stock photographer. Individual editorial stock photography is a different ball game. The situation takes a different tack, since editorial stock photographers work in a vertical market (selling single-use, content-specific
images and working in volume with close-knit special-interest clients), not broadly across the board as with microstock or traditional stock. So editorial stock photographers are spectators in the battle now roiling in the commercial stock photography field, where royalty-free is fast becoming the source of choice for commercial images among art directors who don't mind using
manufactured photos.
When you specialize in your stock photography, you, in a sense, become an “authority” in your field –a mini-expert. Because the specialty you have chosen to photograph is important to you (childhood education, panthers, antique Ford automobiles) you are enthusiastic about the subject. This spills over in your photography as well as communication and correspondence with your clients. They sense your knowledge on the subject and choose to work with you for stock photos as well as future assignments.
But aren’t photobuyers looking for pictures they need and don’t care who made the photo? They know a well-lighted and composed image might work for their coffee table book production, but they feel safe with a photographer who is an “authority” in the subject area. A lot depends on the right choice of photo for their project.
Should you only specialize?
Continue to take random photos and dump them in your favorite microstock site(s), but build a deep selection of photos in a specialized area you’re passionate about.
This will be the key to your stock photo success.
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Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze” a system for photographers to use in order to attain the Page 1-2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive a free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
HOW THEY DID IT. The Making of Dan Winters' 'Periodical Photographs' - See how Scott Dadich and Dan Winters sorted through the final designs of their new collaboration "Periodical Photographs." Great to see the inspiration and the careful considerations that went into each element of the book.
http://www.spd.org/2009/06/the-making-of-periodical-photo.php
DO IT YOURSELF Top 5 tips for creating an amazing photo book In today's digital era, it's easy to design and publish your own photography book at an affordable price.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/06/ara/bridal/8882.txt
STRONG SITE -- The Five Biggest Photographers on the Internet Launched in 2006, David Hobby’s how-to blog Strobist was perfectly positioned to ride the wave of interest in advanced amateur photography. http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3ida6dda5bd97c11673e2214eec8804863?pn=2&imw=Y
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
MARKETING TIP (From Sell & ReSell Your Photos, Page 285.) Uncle Sam will pay you up to a $1000 a year to stop calling your photography a `hobby' and start calling it a business. IRS guidelines encourage you to get serious about your photography and to use your tax write-offs. You have three years (at this writing) before you have to show you sold a picture or made a profit. All you have to show is intent. It's a government incentive to encourage you start up your business.
In Hollywood, it’s called “Creative Accounting”. Actors, producers, cameramen are all paid stipends and advances that will virtually assure that their film project will not make a profit.
The film Batman, grossed 7 million, but didn’t make a dime. –RE
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
We have put together an audio/visual marketing course for you.. that will bring you up to date on all the new ways to sell your photos on the Internet -- right from your home, studio, or office.
Here's this week's excerpt.
- 9.5 minutes
click here:
http://photosource.com/lesson/15G
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
NO SECOND CHANCES -- Good Timing, Bad Timing and Your Photography Business. Timing is everything, as we learned recently when Farrah Fawcett's death was the news of the day - until about five hours later, when Michael Jackson died. Suddenly, the '70s It Girl's passing became a footnote. As photographers, we know that in capturing the moment, timing is everything. But we sometimes forget that timing can be everything on the business side as well.
http://rising.blackstar.com/good-timing-bad-timing-and-your-photography-business.html#more-5011
DELIVER WHAT YOU PROMISE -- Brides tell tales of photography woes in court. Four of nine brides testified in Melanie Love Schoolcraft's preliminary hearing. Schoolcraft, 24, was charged last week with grand theft after allegedly engaging in "a continuous course of conduct between September 2007 and July 2008" in which she deprived nine clients out of $9,600 paid to her in return for wedding photographs she was contracted to take. http://www.the-review.com/news/article/4623085
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g-rl2GYWuORAWkKKNuv4YnLeC2JA
SENSIBLE STEPS -- Don't Wait for Economic Recovery to Buff Your Company's Image with Photography - The past several months have certainly been economically harrowing for businesses of all sizes. But the danger in being gripped by fear and uncertainty is that you might not be taking the steps you need to to secure your company's future.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-wait-for-economic-recovery-to-buff-your-companys-image-with-photography.html
17 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
The Kracker Barrel has been a great source of marketing information for photographers.
If you register you can ask a burning photo marketing question.
But if you choose not to register, you can still learn from fellow marketers by viewing back pages in our archives.
Here's a recent question:
I have a question for a photo editor. I am working on my own web page to show my portfolio to photo editors online. I have been looking at photography templates to find one that I like. There are two common methods of navigating through a portfolio.
One uses arrows that take you from one page to the next.
The second method takes you continuously from one picture to the next.
With the first you have time to study the photograph with the second; you have seconds to see the photograph as it moves from frame to frame.
Now my question for the photo editor is this.
Which method do you like to receive? The one that moves fast will get you through a submittal fast, but you won’t get the impact of studying the picture.
But it isn’t what I like; it is all about what an editor would like to receive.
Rohn answers this one:
I think I can answer this question for you since we talk with a dozen photo editors a day here at Photosource International.
Like a storefront portrait studio or a fine arts photo gallery, a visitor will browse (“continuously from one picture to the next”) for information about a product they might want to buy .
With this in mind, if you consider your website a “gallery” where people drop in without any particular purpose, a moving presentation is best for you. Usually in this case, the visitor usually intends to buy a (physical) print of your photography.
Thanks to the Internet, there is a second type of photobuyer, -the magazine or book publisher.
Editorial photobuyers come to your site because they have located you on a search engine because you have indicated with your keywords just what they are looking for with the project they are currently working on. They rarely “browse” when they come to your site. They know what they want because the author of the magazine article, coffee table book or textbook has stated what would be a good picture for a particular page.
The photo researcher is looking for a specific category of picture and if you have it, they sign up with you to license it. (Editorial stock photographers don’t sell their photos; they license them for one-time use).
The photobuyer is interested in your category (specialization) of photography because the theme of their publishing house (sailing, childhood education, environmental problems, railroads, etc.) matches your stock photo collection
If your website exists to license (“rent”) your images, the buyer is going to want to study them for design, color balance, information in the pictures itself, cost, and other factors such as resolution. The buyers will want to “stop and observe” your photo. (“arrows that take you from one page to the next.”) The “stop and look” style would be best.
Hope this helps – Rohn
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
PHOTOS DO TALK -- How To Bring Documentary Images to Decision Makers - After spending two years documenting the work of hospice volunteers inside the Angola Penitentiary, photographer Lori Waselchuk wanted to show administrators, doctors and guards at other prisons how much prison hospice programs can
benefit inmates.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3i1b84df344ab297f3e244752088ab87c5
TAKEAWAY: This kind of documentary photography not only works in prisons to convince the hierarchy of what’s happening down in the trenches, but other institutions like mentally handicapped, displaced persons, even local schools.
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
THE BIGGEST AGENCY? Google Image Search gets usage rights filtering - In an effort to keep people from incorrectly reusing or repurposing images found on its image search tool, Google has added new options that let users filter results by usage rights. Users can now filter photos by whether they're available for reuse, commercial reuse, reuse with modification, or commercial use with modification. http://news.cnet.com/webware/digital-photography/
TAKEAWAY: This could add more coinage to the coffers of photographers whose images have been displayed on Google Images. Eventually Google will devise a payment structure that will benefit both the Big G –and you.
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
ALMOST DOWN -- This Month in Microstock - June 2009 - iStockphoto saved June from being a slow microstock news month.
http://www.microstockdiaries.com/this-month-in-microstock-june-2009.html
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
NEW ART ? -- iPhone photography: Art or gimmick? iPhone isn't exactly the best you can get, but does that mean photos taken with it can't be artistic? They analyse the merits of a new type of photography - iPhone-ography.
http://www.cnet.com.au/iphone-photography-art-or-gimmick-339297259.htm
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
TIME LIMITS -- Statute of Limitations for Use of Photos of Persons? - Is there a statute of limitations for the use of a picture of a person in a public
space with no model release? Can you use the image after a period of time?
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/q-statute-of-limitations-for-use-of.html
TAKEAWAY: But don’t handcuff yourself,-- as the PhotoAttorney suggests, if the picture use is not for advertising, commercial use, endorsements and some celebrity situations, there is no time frame to think about.
BIG BROTHER -- Watch out, --you botanists! A southern Ontario, Canada woman is suing Black's Photography for handing her photos of marijuana plants to the local police. Someone will have to produce the photos in court. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090709/marijuana_pictures_090709/20090709?hub=Canada
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
CHEAPER BY THE BITS The Copyright Office Has Increased Most Fees - As of August 1, 2009, the U.S. Copyright Office will adjust some of its services fees. The new fees are based on the cost of providing services and reflect cost savings associated with the implementation of electronic processing in the Copyright Office in 2007.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/copyright-office-increases-most-fees.html
VIEW BUT DON’T TAKE. -- Can "Look, But Don't Touch" Ever Be Enforced on the Web? - How effective is a law that is unenforced? How effective is a law when the public has no clear concept of its meaning and spirit? Unfortunately, that is the current state of copyright law. Will Seberger would argue that the entire concept of copyright is in peril, with the threats coming from multiple directions.
http://rising.blackstar.com/can-look-but-dont-touch-ever-be-enforced-on-the-web.html
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
The Beauty of Keyword Searches
Project: Find a pet shop in San Antonio Texas (you want to buy a puppy.)
Project: Find a Title Company in Blaine, Minnesota (you are making a loan.)
Project: Find a haberdashery in Darien, Connecticut (you are buying a man’s hat.)
You’ll have success in locating any of these sources when you use a popular search engine such as Google, Yahoo, etc.
And how does this apply to your stock photography?
·You’ve learned to use Google to pinpoint answers for your personal inquiries.
·Photobuyers have learned to do the same when it comes to finding out who has the special photo they need for the layout of their magazine, book, brochure or design project.
Will they find you?
Let’s say the photobuyer is producing a coffee table book and she’s missing representation of a certain kind of horse that lives on Assateague Island in Maryland., USA
Unless the photobuyer is your sister-in-law -- or next-door neighbor, few buyers are going to know you have photos of the Assateague Island ponies in winter. (“Yes, she needs them in wintertime…)
We can put you on the First Page of a Google search*
Here at PhotoSource International, we have researched and discovered how independent photographers can use the right coding to maintain a solid presence on the Internet and come up to the front of the line of a Google search.
You’ll leave your competitors behind
Contact us for more information on how you can come up first on a Google Search. We come up in the first fifteen searches (not 115th like most of our competitors).
To test this out, just type into the search bar of Yahoo, Google, Bing, for the same search terms you used to find us… when you were just starting out in stock photography. You probably used:
Sell my photos
or
Buy my photos
Try it - you'll find us on the first or second page of a Google search.
Our system is called The Breeze.
For more information: 1 800 624 0266 extn21
Rohn Engh
Bruce Swenson
A.C. Cottor
*Of course if your specialization is in broad-spectrum flowers, butterflies, sunsets and hot air balloons or the Grand Canyon, we can’t guarantee “the first 20 results” (nor would we accept you as a client) because the search results would result in the thousands of ‘hits’. Photobuyers need quick results. A specific Internet search can give them a quick, hassle-free, specific answer.
But if your stock photography interest is a niche area where the competition is reasonable, and you are coming up on 21st or beyond (rarely do people go beyond the first two pages of an Internet search) – we can move you up on a Google or Yahoo search where photobuyers will see you and contact you.
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
FOUND IT! -- Photo Recovery software has enhanced support for recovering Adobe Photoshop files. The software is updated with latest algorithym that will help users to recover lost/deleted .psd files from hard drives, memory cards.
http://www.creativepro.com/article/recover-photoshop-files-photo-recovery
EASY AERIALS -- Aerial Photography, No Pilot Required. What’s the size of a pizza box, sounds like an electric hair trimmer, and can leap tall buildings in a single bound? It’s the flying platform that Anthony Jacobs uses to shoot pictures for his aerial photography company.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3i4c5798b5271bede4f5ed7ed23a0ad2f1?imw=Y
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
GOOGLE: UP FRONT -- Search engine optimization for photographers — attracting appropriate inbound links, or “backlinks”.
http://rising.blackstar.com/video-seo-for-photographers-the-ins-and-outs-of-inbound-links.html
SYNDICATING -- Tradeclips launch provides videographers with new way to distribute multimedia content - A new service which allows editorial photographers and videographers to store and syndicate multimedia content is being launched this month by a UK company.
http://www.epuk.org/News/931/newslink-launch-tradeclips
Magic Lantern Guides and DVDs have always provided the very best, most in-depth coverage of a camera's ins-and-outs. Now, there's even more "magic" on the market for photographers: the MAGIC LANTERN MULTIMEDIA WORKSHOP. It's a complete class in digital photography with a D-SLR camera one that enables you to learn the essentials at your own pace, in the comfort in your own home.
The attractive package includes:
Camera Specific 80-minute DVD: An authoritative DVD guide made just for your model. Created by photographers for photographers, it covers specific camera features and functions. The format allows you to navigate easily between different topics and review chapters any time.
- Taking Great Digital Photos: This full-color, 64-page book gets newcomers to the digital world started right. Packed with picture-taking tips and information on digital file formats, it explains how f/stops and shutter speeds work together to create an exposure, which focal lengths are best for various subjects, and how to get accurate color with white balance.
Great Photos with Your Digital SLR 60-minute DVD: This live action tutorial demystifies digital shooting, and shows how to compose photos; choose the best picture-quality settings; improve results with the built-in flash; and interpret your histogram. Plus, see when to trust your camera's automatic settings or change them yourself.
http://www.adorama.com
Set of 10 superior quality Lee gels attach quickly and securely to HonlPhoto Speed Strap, and can be used in conjunction with HonlPhoto Snoots and Gobos. Usable gel area is 2" x 4" and can be trimmed to fit individual strobes.
http://www.adorama.com
Tilt TTL Cords
Finally, a TTL cord with a tilt feature. No more close up shots missed or ruined because the flash was unable to angle down to give complete coverage to the subject. This cord can be mounted onto an accessory shoe or a light stand. Just remove the locking screw that would be used to secure the unit to an accessory shoe and a 1/4-20 female thread remains to allow the tilt shoe to be mounted to a light stand or tripod.
Full dedicated operation of the flash is the same as if the flash were mounted directly onto the camera hot shoe. Available in 2 Lengths 3 feet and 6 feet
http://www.adorama.com
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
A BOOST FOR STOCK -- A new survey by International Communications Research shows that creative professionals are adjusting to today's tough economic climate, and one of the key ways they are cutting costs is to use more stock photography. http://www.napsnet.com/articles/61801.html
WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS? Photographer Learned About VIBE Shutdown in Mid-Shoot - David Anthony's photos of skateboarder Chaz Ortiz will never make it into VIBE, which folded Tuesday as the shoot was in progress. http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/photo-news/editorial/e3iff1672d639e4a430d7b1929d1ec9b0f0
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
"I read and review your notes constantly. I've paid attention to you for a long time, you offer sound advice."- Kent Wood, Photographer, Albuquerque, NM
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"Thank you for the fantastic service you offer and the great advice available on your website - it has been a superb help to get started!"
- Terri Petrie, Photographer, U.K.
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
WORLD RENOWNED -- Photography's brightest and best come to the Arles festival The opening week of the 40th Rencontres d'Arles, one of the world's leading photography festivals
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/jul/13/arles-photography-festival?commentpage=1
CHEAP CAMERA…-RICH PRINTS -- It was during her 1985-1987 residency that Amy Blakemore investigated the possibilities of a camera she had only begun using during her last semester of graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin — the cheaply made, irregularity-prone, plastic-body Diana camera, which she used to take all the photos on view.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/arts/theater/6499034.html
POSTCARD SIZE -- Phone box is 'smallest art gallery' - 'Contributions are welcomed from members of the public and must be no larger than a postcard,' says the gallery's 'curator' Professor Roger Taylor who lives nearby the phone box in Settle, North Yorkshire, UK.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/photography_news_bt_phone_box_is_smallest_art_gallery_news_285707.html
Jessica Lange at home behind a camera and in front of one. Thirty-three years after starring in King Kong, the actress is displaying 50 of her international photos at George Eastman House. Her exhibit opened last week. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090712/ENT01/907120302/From+ape+to+apertures++Photography
BIG STEP REVISITED -- Moon landing was 'huge leap for photography', says Hasselblad, whose cameras were used by astronauts, is celebrating the Apollo 11 anniversary by taking selected photographers on an expenses-paid trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Moon_landing_was_huge_leap_for_photography_says_Hasselblad_news_285858.html
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
“The magic of photography is metaphysical. What you see in the photograph isn’t what you saw at the time. The real skill of photography is organized visual lying.”Terence Donovan
16 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
1845 - Photograph that went on to gain world fame was a daguerreotype panorama of Niagara Falls NY, taken in July by William and Frederick Langenheim of the Philadelphia Daguerrotype Establishment.
1854 - July 12 - Photographic pioneer George Eastman, who made photography available to the masses with his invention of the first simple camera, was born on this day in Waterville, New York.
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
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July 9th 2009
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09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Why Buyers Use Google
Did you know that calico cats * are most always female and that white cats with blue eyes are most always deaf? **
I didn’t know that. And here at the farm, we’ve had a cat of one stripe or another for the past 43 years. But a neighbor told me this trivia recently and he’s right.
How can I be sure? “I Googled it” and 95% of the respondents agreed with him.
And so?
Your photobuyers think the same way. If they’re researching a photo need, they turn to Google for help. No longer do they go lockstep fashion to a microstock portal or major website with its millions of image selections.
Today’s web search engines offer photo researchers the opportunity to type in a couple of words or an entire phrase and speedily find the source of a highly specialized “niche” photo for their project.
If you have included tags and captions (keywords, sometimes called metadata) with your photos on your web site, or have displayed a list of text descriptions of your photos, the search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, and AOL, etc.) will locate your page(s) and send inquiring visitors to you.
By making your work accessible in this manner, a photo researcher will contact you for more information on your photos on the subject area that the photobuyer needs. . You'll either make a sale or earn a possible contact for future business.
You can be the recipient of this free advertising if you handle the opportunity correctly.
So the question comes up, “how do I embed keywords (metadata) into my photos?”
Some possible but complicated options: Using Photoshop is one, and effective, but it’s an expensive and exhaustive program.
Is there freeware available? One I know is Irfanview < http://irfanview.com > but unless you’re a tech guy, you might not be interested in following that path. Anyway, here are a couple of discussion forums about embedding keywords into your pictures:
1.) http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_1764
2.) http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=4323.0;wap2
However, if you’re not a software coder, you can simply build a webpage in HTML and dump in any and all key words you wish .The major search engines crawl this type of site about every six months or less and capture your text and then “index” the information in large databanks for their inquirers to utilize.
One thing to remember in using this type of keywording system is you don’t want to SPAM inadvertently. You could do that by typing in duplicates of keywords or phrases of the same subject e.g. Montana teepee, Montana teepee, Washington Monument, Washington Monument, and so on. Google doesn’t approve fattening out a text page by hoping to emphasize certain descriptions by duplicating the same word to gain extra attention.
Here at PhotoSource International, we’ve featured our own text-based, keyworded “PhotoSourceBANK” since 1999, and it works well for members. You can look it up and test it out. Go to http://www.photosourcebook.com/bank/photographer.php
* http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/catbreed1/f/FAQ_calicocats.htm
** http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2123&aid=1096
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Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. He is the founder of “The Breeze,” a system that enables photographers to consistently come up on the Page 1 or 2 of a Google search. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive a free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
The iPhone 3GS's video quality may not be all that impressive, but its
3MP stills can apparently capture some incredible time lapse photography provided you seek a suitably inspiring landscape.
http://gizmodo.com/5308332/apparently-iphone-3gs-time-lapse-footage-can-be-pretty-phenomenal
Top 5 tips for creating an amazing photo book
In today's digital era, it's easy to design and publish your own
photography book at an affordable price.
http://www.carteretnewstimes.com/articles/2009/07/06/ara/bridal/8882.txt
WHAT WORKS. Tony: -- : “Stop chasing and start having fun.” Singles Bar Lessons for Your Photography Business – “Listen, even if you have what someone needs, no one's going to go home with you as soon as you say, "Hello, my name is Eugene." They don't know you. Ladies - and clients - want to be romanced. Learn to cool it at:
http://rising.blackstar.com/singles-bar-lessons-for-your-photography-business.html
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Being a pro at stock photography not only takes talent but another important skill: research and development (which eventually opens the door to business acumen.).
You’ll find that kind of knowledge at Jim Pickerell’s “Selling Stock”.
Jim has been involved in the stock photography business for more than 40 years as a photographer, newsletter writer, pricing guide author, industry analysts, expert witness and co-owner of the stock agency, Stock Connection.
Jim writes regularly for the daily online newsletter www.selling-stock.com
This newsletter provides daily reports on developments in the stock photo industry with an emphasis on the U.S. market.
The service is subscription based. Brief abstracts of the daily stories are available free or charge. Password is needed to read stories. Check out their fees at info[at]mediapost[dot]com.
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
We have put together an audio/visual marketing course for you.. that will bring you up to date on all the new ways to sell your photos on the Internet -- right from your home, studio, or office.
Here's this week's excerpt.
- 7.5 minutes
click here:
http://www.photosource.com/lesson/16D/
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
SENSIBLE STEPS -- Don't Wait for Economic Recovery to Buff Your Company's Image with Photography - The past several months have certainly been economically
harrowing for businesses of all sizes. But the danger in being gripped by fear and uncertainty is that you might not be taking the steps you need to secure your company's future.
http://rising.blackstar.com/dont-wait-for-economic-recovery-to-buff-your-companys-image-with-photography.html
Washington Post Sells Out – From John, again. More Details - Well, it appears that the
marketing department of the Washington Post, who, as we previously suggested
might be considering booking the staff photographers out for non-editorial
work, didn't think that the staff photographers' work was good enough for
use in the marketing materials promoting the "salon" or to shoot something
for it?
http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/2009/07/washington-post-sells-out-more-details.html
IN ADDITION: WASHINGTON – The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists. A flier surfaced last week promoting a plan to charge $25,000 to sponsor one of a series of dinner parties that would include off-the-record conversations with Post journalists and access to Washington insiders. The series was canceled Thursday. –Associated Press
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
KODAK EXUMED? -- A Copenhagen-based company, Phase One that caters to professional photographers, announced a plan to acquire some of the high-end photography assets from Eastman Kodak.. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13580_3-10272665-39.html
09 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Photoflex Litedome, Small Softbox Kit with Basic Connector, Mount & Stand
SKU: PFLDSK
Our Price
$139.99
http://www.adorama.com
Digital Innovations SkipDr Premier Disc Repair System with Automatic Repair
Device
SKU: DGSPDR
Our Price
$29.95
http://www.adorama.com
Lowepro SlingShot 200 AW,Black All-Weather BackPack/Sling Bag Converter
SKU: LPSS200AW
Sale Price
$74.95
http://www.adorama.com
LaCie Little Disk, 250 GB 2.5" Pocket Hard Drive with Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Interface, Design by Sam Hecht,
SKU: VDLALD25D250
Sale Price
$69.95
http://www.adorama.com
Leatherman Charge ALX Multi-Tool, Stainless Steel with Needlenose Pliers Head
& 18 Components with Leather Sheath, Closed Length 4"
SKU: LHT830674
Our Price
$109.85
http://www.adorama.com
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
FREE PUBLICITY. News and Information on the Google Book Settlement. Many photographers are also authors. If you published a book before January 5, 2009, your work may be subject to a class action lawsuit brought by authors and publishers, claiming that Google has violated their copyrights by scanning their books, creating an electronic database, and displaying short excerpts without the permission of the copyright holders. http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/06/news-and-information-on-google-book.html
TAKEAWAY: Can you remember back a decade ago when a similar suit was proposed against Google for “capturing” photographer’s images without compensation and placing them in what we now know as Google Images? Can you imagine what Internet life would be like without Google Images?
As an author myself I decline to make some money from the folks building this suit. In fact I find it a compliment that Google wants to capture the content of some of my books. It’s great publicity.
-RE
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
A Proposal to Address the Potential Demise of Newspapers - Recently on his blog that he shares with Gary Becker, Judge Posner proposed an expansion of copyright law to ban linking/paraphrasing of newspaper stories in an effort to ensure the viability of the industry.
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/07/proposal-to-address-potential-demise-of.html
TAKEAWAY: Now let’s see. How would that work? Ace reporter Mary Smith at the Pumpkin Center Gazette gets a scoop on what style dress Mrs. Obama will be wearing at the Ladies Afternoon Lunch in Omaha and Henry Jones at a Portland Oregon blog infringes the news by placing it in his political section and since there’s a copyright law about such a misdemeanor, Henry receives a threatening letter from the Gazette’s publisher. If newspapers have to resort to litigation to bring in more funds, -well. . -RE
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
How can potential photobuyers order
from your website if they can’t find you?
The Missing Step
When art buyers, researchers, photo editors search
for certain images - do they find you and your photos?
Probably not.
Reason? Too many competing picture sources on the Internet.
Fact: There are 210,000,000 websites on the Internet (as of this writing).
How can you position yourself to be distinct from the thousands of competing photography sites, photo gallery portals, and stock agencies that compete against you?
A handful of potential buyers will find you if you first contact them and tell them where to find you. But that’s a lost cause unless you happen to hit them at a time when they need your kind of photos. (That’s why sending photobuyers a CD/DVD of your best pictures seldom works. And photobuyers usually station themselves near a waste basket when they’re opening the morning mail.)
The reality of trying to sell your photos online is that unless your name comes up on the first or second page of a Google search (or Yahoo, BING or AOL) you might as well not have a website. Your website is a ghost ship floating in cyberspace….or a lonely store sitting out in the desert. It’s called “Hope Marketing.”
The missing link
To get consistently on page 1 or 2 of searches, there’s a missing link that you need, that even many supposed experts are not aware of. We have found (through extensive research) exactly what this is.
Since 1996 we have existed on the Internet. And we ( www.photosource.com ) or our related sub-domains such as < www.photoaim.com > or, www.sellphotos.com or, < http://www.source-photo.com/ > , will come up on the first or second page of an Internet search on Google, Yahoo, MSN or AOL.
We will certainly come up on a search if you type in our name, but what if you didn’t know we existed? The same holds true for you. How can potential photobuyers order
from your website if they don’t know your name or domain name?
As an example, our own aim is to attract photographers who are looking to sell their photos online … Our in-house webteam has developed a combination algorithym/metatags that has allowed us to consistently appear on page 1 or 2 when potential customers search to find out how to sell their photos. It has taken years of observation, study, and tweaking text/words and number combinations to achieve this. But we have done it!
If you are interested in learning how you, too, can vastly increase the traffic to your website, give me a call and learn about our new service:
"The B r e e z e "
Call me at 800 624-0266 to learn how to sign up for this service.
Rohn
1 800 624 0266
psi2[at]photosource[dot]com
PS No longer does your website need to suffer only single digit visitors. Again, the real test is to go on your favorite search engine, pretend you are an emerging stock photographer and ask the search engine how you can sell your photos online. For your search you could ask such questions as, “How can I sell my photos?” Or, “Who will buy my photos?”
The resulting Google search will feature us. We are there, along with 2,300 other ‘hits.’ But we are on either Page 1 or Page2. Most people never look at Page 3. Do you?
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PPS We must know some thing that other stock sites don’t know. On your same search test, using the same search phrase, buy my photos or sell my photos...you’ll find the following, listed in order of Page Number:
Page 1 or 2 Photosource
Page 5 PhotoShelter
Page 10 Photo.Net
Page 11 dotphoto.com
Page 12 Dreamstime
Page 13 CafePress
Page 13 ShutterStock
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
DON’T JAIL ME, OR I’ll….. An employee of the MTA sues city for $1 million after being arrested for taking pictures. Robert Taylor, 31, a train and photography enthusiast, was taking photos of an approaching No. 2 train at the Freeman St. station in the Bronx on Feb. 12 when several police officers told him to delete the photos and then arrested him.
http://bit.ly/tAY7O
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
THE RULES NEVER CHANGE Famous Photographers Tell How - If you're lucky enough to own an LP record of "Famous Photographers Tell How" and a working turntable, this post won't be of much interest to you. If not, though, you may be interested in to this chance to hear, straight from the photographers' mouths, how a handful of mid-century masters made some of their most famous photos.
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/community/op-editorial-blog/famous-photographers-tell-how.html
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
WHO’S FLASHING WHO? New Device Lets Celebs Flash Paparazzi - Adam Harvey, a New York University graduate student recently invented a smart alternative for camera-shy
celebrities, one that won't tarnish their public image or end in an assault charge. His "anti-paparazzi device," which is built into a clutch purse, uses a photo cell that picks up a photographer's flash and communicates with a circuitboard, which then fires LED lights that flash back at paparazzi, ruining their photos. http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_display/features/e3ic88ec5d829eb7e967f44dfe352868ea6
YOU BE THE JUDGE -- Dreamstime, a Brentwood Tennessee based micro-payment stock photography business, has announced that it has introduced a new feature called “Stock Rank” that pairs two images on the screen and challenges the user to select the best photo.
http://bit.ly/Vh49K
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT MAY BE VIDEO. Perpetual motion - How stills photographers are making money from shooting video as well. http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=864297
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
NEW OPTION. MakingMoneyWithPictures.com debuted recently and offers tips for people to sell their photos online, as well as the necessary equipment. MakingMoneyWithPictures.com is a part of KJW Enterprises LLC, which is owned and operated by Jeremy and Keely Walker. The website added a new blog to its many features. Burgeoning entrepreneurs Jeremy and Keely Walker, of Marion KY, realized the focus for their business in a rather inconspicuous way: "My wife and I became interested in photography when we started taking pictures of our daughters," said Jeremy Walker. "After a while, we got pretty good making them and decided to sell photos online. t's not difficult to have a photography business at home," he said. "It's a matter of knowing how to get your name and your pictures out there." Walker has also started a new blog this summer, www.TheCameraGuru.com , to provide additional helpful hints that aren't covered on the website. "We're going to be posting tips on taking pictures and things that would help them with their technique," he said. "I think our goal is to let people know that it doesn't have to be professional, per se, it just has to mean something to that person." www.MakingMoneyWithPictures.com
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
“Rohn Engh’s photo tips are concise, current, and informative. I usually print the articles for future reference and appreciate receiving the information. I look forward to receiving new articles. Thank you!”
- Cheryl Warren Bradford, Photographer
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"Thanks for the good advice and help! You helped me to refocus the abundant opportunities in the midst of this stock photography Internet chaos. Thanks you for your encouragement and support - and enthusiasm and good ideas - and your can-do attitude - and your sense of opening up new boxes to see how to make them work!"
- Bill Wittman, Photographer, Mississauga, Ont. CA
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
PROPAGANDA. Fake Photo Essay Wins Paris Match Prize. Paris Match magazine recently awarded its annual grand prize for photo reportage to a pair of art students who admitted they staged the whole photojournalistic project.
http://bit.ly/aNzuT
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
BETWEEN THE LINES The Not-So-Fine Print. The Photo Attorney finds more. Here are some more contest terms and conditions that need close review (and some are alarming!):
http://www.photoattorney.com/2009/06/not-so-fine-print.html
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Humanism in China: A Contemporary Record of Photography to Open at China Institute Gallery N.Y. revealing a glimpse of China never before seen in the U.S. The photographs, dating from 1951 though 2003, offer intimate portraits of rural and urban daily life in China, beyond the glossy veneer of the economic boom.
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=31879
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
"The longest word you can spell without repeating a letter: UNCOPYRIGHTABLE..."
-anonymous
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
1855 - July 12th - George Eastman the inventor of the camera was born.
1965 - July 8th - Camera multiple flashbulb device, known as flashcubes, were made by Sylvania Electric Company, and introduced at a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Four flash bulbs were set in a single socket; a sleeve of three cubes retailed for $1.95; the cubes were presented jointly by Sylvania Electric Products Inc, and Eastman Kodak Company.
1976 - July 20th - Photographs taken on Mars were transmitted to the Viking mother ship in orbit around Mars.
08 Jul, 2009 | Posted by: psn
Bill Thomas, author of 28 photographic
books, popular seminar giver, died Wednesday, June 3, 2009.
I first met Bill on a photographic trip sponsored by the Minnesota Dept. of
Economic Development that was held in the Voyageurs National Park area near
the Canada border.
The next year, 1976), Bill did a story for Writer’s
Digest on how Jeri, my wife, and I produced photo stories for a variety of
publications on a multiple submission basis. Bill dropped in to see us here
at the farm last year to catch up on the interim years.
He is sadly missed.
A mutual friend, Charles Gillespie, MD, has known
Bill Thomas more years than me and I asked him to reflex on the later years
of Bill’s life. Click here.
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