Category: Features
Features
Q&A with a Royalty Free producer gone micro
Maurice Van De Mosselaar of Eyecandy explains the thinking behind Rinky Dink
The recent announcement by the founders of Eyecandy Images, a relatively new arrival on the RF production scene, that they have created a new collection of images, called Rinky Dink Images ™ for distribution at micro- or mid-stock prices, makes it official: more and more pros are jumping onto the “economy” pricing band wagon. RF veteran Ron Chapple, who founded Thinkstock, a brand he later sold to Jupiter Images, has launched his own micro brand called iofoto. Mike Watson, a founder of DigitalVision, has taken similar steps with part of his moodboard collection. Other prominent names in the RF business, both producers and distributors, while remaining quiet about it for the time being, have made it clear they are headed in the same direction.
EditorialsFeatures
Innocent Thieves - Rohn Engh on “accidentally” free images online
Advance Notes: In the “for every action there’s a reaction” department, the Internet is showing us how new technology can backfire. And in the department of “It giveth and it taketh away,” unknowing copyright infringers are gobbling up “free” photos from the Internet for their personal and commercial use.
Features
To micro-stock or not to micro-stock? That is the question for Mr. Stock Smarty Pants
Mr. Stock Smarty Pants has been a busy boy of late, meeting with hedgefund managers, investment bankers and assorted Mafiosi (and, if you really think about it, they’re all pretty similar) in hopes of siphoning off at least a small portion of the $2.4 billion that Hellman & Friedman is apparently coughing up to acquire stock industry behemoth Getty Images. Nonetheless, despite his very full schedule of clandestine meetings and drafting of threatening letters, MSSP found time to sort through his voluminous e-mail and select one lucky inquiry for his attention:
Features
Photo News Round-Up
• Getty Images posts a podcast interview by CEO Jonathan Klein with John Moore who shares his first hand account of what it’s like working behind the lens in conflict areas and how he captured the memorable, award-winning imagery following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
• Stock photographer Grant Faint “gives back” by donating all proceeds from sales of his posters and DVDs to orphans in Tanzania.
EditorialsFeatures
Val Gelineau outlines business plan for stock photographers
Val Gelineau, co-founder of the stock image subscription service PhotoSpin, offered advice last week to photographers in these ever changing and ever challenging times. Upon further contemplation of the issues, Val offers more concrete advice and an intriguing business plan for photographers:
After giving the question "With all due respect, tell us something we don’t know?" some more thought, I wanted to lay additional groundwork for not only surviving rough economic times, but excelling in this new changing market as well. I offer this with one condition: Don’t kill the messenger!
Features
The Age celebrates 100 Years of photography
The Age, a daily newspaper from Melbourne Australia is celebrating 100 years of photojournalism (April 22nd 1908 to April 22nd 2008). To mark the occasion, the newspaper has created a series of online galleries featuring noteworthy shots from the past century including incredible images of war, peace, sports, and general life in Australia. The Age currently has a Monday to Friday readership average of 658,000 and has been a leading source of news in Australia since 1854.
Features
Book Review: Mr Classic by Jeremy Hackett and Garda Tang
Mr Classic by Jeremy Hackett, Photographs by Garda Tang
Thames & Hudson, May 2008
200 pages/hardcover/136 photographs/$40.00
Jeremy Hackett is Mr Classic. Having a clothing label for decades plus writing a column for the U.K.’s The Independent on Sunday are excellent platforms for influencing men’s fashion. But what decidedly earns Hackett this moniker is his talented facility for reviving the proper styles once worn by Britain’s aristocracy with modern practicality. For his book, Mr Classic, London-based photographer Garda Tang shoots Hackett’s models with fitting technique. Every bow tie, every just-so lifted chin neatly accentuates Hackett’s vision of gentlemanly chic. The looks are respectable and refreshing, not stuffy or stagnant.
Features
Mr. Stock Smarty Pants answers questions about copyright and publicity rights
Dear Mr. Stock Smarty Pants: I have read several of your responses to readers questions. They are both illuminating and informative. Tried searching a number of keywords on your site “musician”, “rock and roll”, “concert” etc.. Could not find any reference to those topics. I have a couple of quick questions. My company has acquired hundreds if not thousands of very good photos of bands and rock stars performing live. These photos were taken over several years. The photographer has since died. Both he and his wife were killed in a car accident in which their two children survived. We are trying to find a way to monetize the collection by selling copies or approaching an agency so proceeds can go to the kids who are living with family members.
Features
Book Review: Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester
Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester
Thames & Hudson, April 2008
168 pages/hardcover/160 color photographs/$45.00
With photographs enchanting to behold, Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester is a sure selection for this spring’s required viewing list. Silvester, known for his protracted study of subjects, travels to Ethiopia’s Omo Valley a dozen times over four years for this new release. He infiltrates the fantastic body painting displays of two congenial tribes, the Surma and the Mursi. While this ancient African practice is uniquely noteworthy, the book also packs a universal message.
Features
Visual case study: Fred Perry Subculture
The Fred Perry polo shirt introduced by its namesake, a three-time Wimbledon champion in 1952, has been synonymous with youth and counterculture since the late 50s when the Mods picked up on it. Over the years the Fred Perry polo shirt has surfaced as a fashionable choice for diverse groups of teenagers throughout the 1960s and 70s, ranging from the Mods, Suedeheads, Ska/Two Tone, Punk, New Wave, Casuals/Perry Boys, Britpop, Electronic/Rave and the latest Indie revival. Most recently the brand has continued to cultivate its appeal with the young and hip by launching Subculture, a new music initiative featuring cutting-edge young talent on the music scene. Meg Asaro and Karen D’Silva from Spark Visual Research take a closer look at the imagery used by Fred Perry to continue to connect with the youthful lifestyle that has fueled the brand’s popularity over the years.
Features
Mr. Stock Smarty Pants answers questions about fair royalties
Dear Mr. Stock Smarty Pants: I have been reading your columns in About The Image and think they’re great. I’m a photography student who is hoping to graduate soon and get into the stock photo business. My problem is this: I have never signed a contract with a stock agency and I don’t know what sort of arrangement would be fair regarding royalties on sales of my pictures. Is this something that varies a lot? Do I have to be careful? Can you brake down what sorts of splits are typical in the business today?
Sincerely yours,
Christopher in Atlanta
Features
Photojournalist Felix Masi documents the post election violence in Kenya
Felix Masi, an accomplished photojournalist and native Kenyan has been documenting the post election violence in Kenya. The haunting images images reflect the chaos that has overtaken the country after claims of rigging in the recent general elections (held on December 27, 2007) between President Kibaki of the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement candidate Raila Odinga. “Having witnessed and recorded images of suffering, killings and poverty in Kenya, the flawed election should be a wake up call for African leaders, the cause of violence in Kenya is triggered by marginalization and lack of equal distribution” states Masi.
Features
Visual case study: Cadillac CTS
General Motor’s Cadillac brand has been struggling in recent years to appeal to a new generation of luxury car buyers who seem more interested in status-boosting foreign luxury cars (Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Etc…) than the same old luxury car their grandparents drove. To counter this perception GM has taken drastic measures by pulling half of Cadillac’s $300 million-plus ad business from Burnett, who has managed Cadillac advertising for more than 75 years, and placed it with Boston-based Modernista!, the agency that recently revitalized the Hummer brand. Meg Asaro and Karen D’Silva from Spark Visual Research take a closer look at the imagery used by Cadillac to help lower the average age of Cadillac drivers, restore the company’s brand image, and convert new luxury automobile owners.
Features
Mr. Stock Smarty Pants tackles pro-sports photography
Dear Mr. Stock Smarty Pants:
Hey, I was watching the NFL playoff games and started wondering what the market is like for pictures from professional sporting events. I sometimes take my camera along to Dodger games and get some pretty good shots with my telephoto lenses. Think I could sell some of them? Also, what do photographers do to stay warm in places like New England and Green Bay? It looks awful.
Sincerely yours,
Al in Los Angeles
