Category: Editorials
EditorialsFeatures
flickr retrievr and visual search tools
It seems that an area ripe for improvement in the stock photo industry is the development of new and accurate search methods to help customers connect with the right image. Traditionally the way to search for an image is based on metadata associated with an image such as the caption and keywords, but this method does not take into account many of the visual characteristics of the image such as composition and color. This also presents problems when you consider the idea of searching multiple collections at one time in which different keywording and search standards make it very difficult to display the search results in a meaningful way. For these reasons we have seen many companies make attempts at incorporating other more intuitive visual search features such as a search by color feature or iStockphoto’s CopySpace search feature. These features are typically incorporated with a metadata search and, for the most part, seem to work moderately well but it is clear that there is much to be learned about developing a true visual search. That said, it is great to see new innovation and I recently came across an interesting experiment created by System One called the "flickr retrievr".
EditorialsFeatures
More end of the year promotions
End of the year discounting from stock photography companies continues as competitors try to entice buyers to spend their remaining 2005 budgets. Several discounts have already been reported (Getty, Corbis, Jupiter), click on the link below to see a list of more promotions for December 2005.
EditorialsFeaturesNews
BrandX offers 10-20% discount on CD’s
2005 is going out with a bang in the stock photo industry as many agencies are locked in a price war in order to entice customers to spend the last of their 2005 budgets. First Getty offered a 20% discount on all images, Then Corbis launched a 25% discount on all RF images and now the latest to enter the fray is Jupiter Images offering a a 10% discount off one BrandX CD or 20% off two or more CD's. This latest promotion is being offered to all distributors of the BrandX line and is scheduled to start on Dec 15th the same day that Getty has declared it will no longer carry the brand.
EditorialsFeaturesNews
Corbis offers 25% coupon code for RF images
Getty has thrown a white glove in the face of Corbis with
its 20% discount and now Corbis has responded by offering a 25%
discount of its own (Take that!). That’s right folks we have a good old fashioned duel on
our hands. Corbis is offering this 25% discount on all RF images until Dec 31st
which also happens to be the same time frame of Getty’s promotion. To take
advantage of this discount you need to enter the coupon code 250FFRF05.
So far it seems that is still a gentleman’s duel rather than and all-out street
fight as Jupiter Images and other agencies seem to have resisted the urge escalate this price war with a 30%, 40%, or 50%
discount.
EditorialsFeaturesNews
Getty offers 20% coupon code to buyers in Asia Pacific
Fitting with its strategy to seek growth in Asian markets Getty is offering
a 20% discount on all RM and RF images including Stone, Photodisc, Digital
Vision and all other collections. To take advantage of this promotion customers must use the
coupon code XDNPC46N valid from Nov 17th
– Dec 31st 2005. Many industry analysts have speculated that Getty’s
best growth opportunities can be found in Asia. Bear Stearns recently issued a report about Getty Images containing the following statement “Getty’s
business today is split almost evenly between the Americas (50% of revenues in third-quarter 2005) and Europe (42% of revenues, which
includes minor contributions for the Middle East and Africa).
We believe that beyond the organic growth opportunity in those markets, the
growth opportunity in key Asian markets, namely Japan, China, and India, has
enormous potential.”
Update (11/29/05): Just received a post card offering the same 20% off promotion to customers in the US with the promo code WH3PC46N. Apparently this promotion was sent first to customers in Asia but is being offered to all customers worldwide.
EditorialsFeatures
Threadless made my day
It’s Friday and life is good because I see that Threadless has
finally reprinted my favorite t-shirt design (click here to view). For anyone out
there interested in unique t-shirts you should definitely check
out www.threadless.com. Designers upload original artwork which is then reviewed and voted on by the community. Threadless prints the most popular shirts allowing buyers to purchase a t-shirt with an interesting graphic. But learn from
my mistake – if you see a design you like (or love) buy it before they sell out. I have
been waiting months for them to reprint this design.
EditorialsFeatures
Veer understands the creative mind
Over the past few years I have to say that I have been impressed with the marketing that I have seen from Veer. It seems that Veer understands the creative professional better than anybody else and has inspired an almost cult following. From the outside perspective this seems a bit odd but if you look a little closer you can see that Veer has consistently done one thing right. They use creative people to market their product without the intervention of some “suit” stepping in the way. This means that they can do interesting promotions and printed pieces that appeal to their customer. Consider the recent “Doodle with Veer” page put up on their site. Clearly this has nothing to do with selling images yet this is something that creative people love. Doodle with Veer has inspired many potential customers to spend minutes and hours on the Veer site. Another example is the merchandise store which on the surface seems to have little in common with selling photos and fonts. However, all of the merchandise here has been carefully selected to appeal to the kind of customer who would likely buy from Veer. I think we could all learn something from how Veer has gotten inside the heads of their customers with exciting promotions that enhance the user experience.
Want to see proof this works? Trying clicking on one of these links to
see how Veer has inspired the creative masses.
EditorialsFeatures
Welcome to the planet!
Last night a miracle happened and Natalie Rose Phelps was born at 7:12 PM to loving parents Todd (my little bro) and Patty Phelps. Little Natalie is 4lbs 6oz and 18" long. Mother and Baby are doing well and hope to return home from the hospital shortly.
EditorialsFeatures
Jupiter opens the gate with JupiterImages Unlimited
Yesterday Jupiter Images announced the launch of the granddaddy
of all stock photo subscriptions JupiterImages Unlimited. This photo subscription
product features over 300,000 images
from many top tier collections like Brand X, Comstock, Creatas,
Goodshoot, IT Stock Free, Thinkstock, Photos.com, AbleStock and
PhotoObjects.net. The image quality of some of these collections compares to
some of the best photo collections in the industry (Rights-Managed or Royalty-Free). Alan Meckler has also opened
the floodgates by allowing users unlimited downloads of the product (most
subscriptions limit to 25 or 50 per day to prevent abuse). Pricing for the JupiterImages Unlimited subscription is not posted on the site but has been reported as $2,500 per year for lo-res access and $10,000 per year for hi-res.
EditorialsFeatures
We are not evil
Not long ago my homeboy Mike from Garagespin extolled the virtues of a new record label called Magnatune. Magnatune has adopted a business model where they allow you to download an album and you can decide to pay what you think it is worth. You have the option of paying as little as $5. The interesting thing is that CEO John Buckman claims that the average price paid is $8.93. Now why would somebody pay more than the minimum requirement for an album? The answer is simple – Magnatune makes it clear that 50% of the money paid goes to the artist. Buyers seem to be happy to pay a little extra to support an independent artist. To take this a step further Magnatune’s slogan is “We Are not Evil” which capitalizes on the popular view that most of the recording industry is out to rip off both artists and consumers.
Now why would I write about Magnatune on About The Image? First, I love music and particularly new music from independent musicians. Second, I wonder if a similar approach could work for image licensing. I wonder if stock agencies like Getty, Jupiter, and Corbis are developing a reputation as “The Man” or evil faceless corporations out to squeeze every last bit out of the poor independent artists. Perhaps the smaller niche agencies can capitalize on that perception and develop a marketing plan that is openly treats artist’s fairly. It also seems reasonable to expect that a “set your own price” concept would likely yield similar results where buyers would choose to pay extra for a great image especially when they know it will benefit the Artist. What do you think - Could it work?
EditorialsFeatures
iStockPhoto
iStockPhoto is changing how photographer's market images by providing a forum for any artist to submit new and interesting work to test the market.
The scary part for most photographers is that downloads cost as low as $1.00. However, that low download price helps to gain exposure for the artist and the most successful images can show the artist where to focus their future efforts to create some very sale-able (hmmm... is sale-able a word?) images. iStockPhoto site traffic has grown to huge numbers (their Alexa rank of
978 is above Corbis' ranking of 2,288 and not that much under Getty's
586).
I would definitely recommend istockphoto to any artist who is looking for valuable feedback on their RF images.
EditorialsFeatures
Does Kodak have what it takes?
As many people know Kodak has
had some hard times in the past few years and is struggling to find a way to
survive the digital revolution. It seems the past 7-10 years everybody has been
asking “what is going to happen to Kodak? “ Can they find a way to offer
products that appeal to consumers as they abandon film and start using digital cameras?
Today Kodak took a step in the right direction by announcing a successor to its
current CEO Dan Carp. The new CEO Antonio Perez will officially take the reins
in June. Mr. Perez has his feet firmly
planted in the digital age having worked for Hewlett and various other Hi-tech
companies and is likely to lead Kodak in the direction of offering digital
products to consumers including cameras, printings, an online photo sharing. It’s an uphill battle but many on Wall Street
seem to think that Antonio Perez is up to the task and will be well suited to leverage
the 111 year old Kodak brand.
As a longtime fan of Kodak innovations and a collector of old Brownie cameras I look forward to watching the transformation and hope Kodak can find a way to survive the years ahead.
EditorialsFeatures
Your Assignment: Trades People
I am
frequently asked… What type of image are stock agency’s looking for? This can
be a very difficult question because it is nearly impossible to predict what an
art-buyer’s needs will be in the future and what type of image is most needed by
each individual agency. However, I do come across a glaring need occasionally
that would make for a great assignment to any artist looking to create new
images to offer as stock.
Your
mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create current images of Trades
People.
If you take
a minute to search any of the major sites for Plumber, Electrician, Carpenter,
Etc… You will see that even Corbis and Getty Images have few current
images to offer. Many agencies will have at least a few images to offer but many images are old or simply poor quality. It seems that most stock
agencies need to update their files. For those looking to create new images I have
compiled a list (I know it’s not comprehensive – that’s what Google is for). I would suggest you spend a few minutes searching
for one or two of the trades listed below on your favorite stock websites
to see what is currently offered. Then create a list of what images you can create
that will stand-out in these collections. If you can fill a need with a good image – you
stand a good chance of generating a fair amount of revenue with that image.
List of Trades
- Auto
Mechanic
- Boilermakers
- Bricklayers
& Stonemasons
- Building
Inspector
- Burglar
Alarm Technician
- Bus Driver
- Carpenters
- Carpet,
floor, and tile installers and finishers
- Cement
masons, concrete finishers, segmental pavers, and terrazzo workers
- Certified
Court Reporter
- Construction
and building inspectors
- Construction
equipment operators
- Construction
laborers
- Cosmetology
- Drywall
installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers
- Electricians
- Elevator installers and repairers
- Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
- Factory Worker
(General)
- Flight
Attendant
- Floor &
Carpet Layers
- Funeral
Service Worker
- General
Contractor
- Hazardous
materials removal workers
- Highway
Maintenance Workers
- Insulation
workers
- Land
Surveyor
- Landscape
Worker
- Machinist
- Massage
Therapist
- Painter
- Painters and
paperhangers
- Pilot
(Airline)
- Plumber
- Plumbers
& Pipefitters
- Roofer
- Roofers
- Security
Guard
- Sheet Metal
Workers
- Structural
and reinforcing iron and metal workers
- Tile
Setters
- Waiter/Waitress
- Welder
EditorialsFeatures
Getty And Wal-Mart Are Soul-Mates!
I recently caught wind of a practice that (if it is true) paints a very bad picture for anyone looking to submit images to Getty images. Many people in the industry know that Getty has been courting new agency contributors for some time now and it makes sense that Getty would have a preference to work with an agency that could supply images by the thousands rather than an individual photographer who struggles to submit hundreds of images per year. What we didn’t all know is that Getty has been encouraging these contributors to submit thousands of images in order to build up revenue for the contributor and then after the contributor is hooked, Getty has been forcing the contributor to convert to a more lucrative deal (for Getty) or else risk jeopardizing the relationship with Getty and all future sales. This is something that Wal-Mart has also been accused of doing and is one of the many gripes put forth by suppliers and activists alike.
I suppose it shouldn’t be a shock that Getty is pushing its contributors to work harder for less money, but there is also a claim that Getty is pushing contributors to sign exclusive deals that won’t allow contributors to work with its two biggest threats, Corbis and Jupiter Media. This type of deal is typically for Rights Managed (RM) images and not Royalty Free (RF) images but it makes me wonder how long it will be before Getty pushes it’s RF agents to sign a similar deal. If that happens, artist’s who wish to contribute photos and illustrations for stock will basically have to choose between working with Getty or, everybody else.
The sad thing is that unless the small to mid-sized agencies begin to work together and accept both RM and RF images non-exclusively so photographers can offer the same images through everyone who isn’t Getty, most photographer’s will have no choice but to bend over and take a deal on Getty’s terms. The simple fact is that an exclusive deal with Getty will generate 100 times the revenue of an exclusive deal with anybody else. It’s time for the smaller kids in the school-yard to band together and stand-up to the Bully who pushes the little guy simply because he can.
It may be too late to stop Wal-Mart but perhaps Getty can be pushed into doing the right thing.
EditorialsFeatures
It’s all about the image!
It's all about the image! That's what one of my college professor's would say over and over again. I thought of course that he meant that if you could make good (cool) images then the rest would fall into place. Later on I learned a new definition of what "It's all about the image" could mean. After working as a Commercial Photographer for several years and working in the stock photo industry I found out the hard way that it is not enough to be a photographer capable of amazing feats of imagery. It's about looking at the image as a product and marketing that image using much of the same business practices required to make a living from any product. As with other products you need to start with a good quality product to sell. You need to find a way to consistently produce your product at a manageable cost. You need to find a buyer for that product and/or set-up a distribution network willing to stock (no pun intended) your product and find new customers. You need to sell that product to your customers and distributors as if you were selling tires or some hot new electronic gizmo. You need to step back as an artist and from time to time stop looking at your images like a jealous artist and start looking at these images as your most valuable resource to be exploited in order to make a living.
I have known many many great artists who have spent years developing their creative skills only to find themselves barely making ends meet. It is the marriage between the artist and the businessperson in all of us that is the key to finding success as a professional artist. The saying is true - It is all about the image, but as a professional artist, it's also about making a living with that image.
