March 31, 2009 by pmelcher.

There is confusion in the heartland of photography…and a lot of budgeting. Today, after a few months of waiting, the legendary LIFE magazine relaunched as a website. Great idea !!. I , personally, could not wait.

How great was my deception. Besides the great images of the past, all new images are just Getty and Wireimage. Like its older siblings, The Big Picture, Pixecetera, the Wall Street Photo journal, and many others, Life.com photo editors are obviously limited to whom they partnered with. And if you know this profession a little bit, you know that it is not because they offer the best images, but rather the cheapest deal.

Thus these galleries of so called “best of..” are just galleries of the “best of the cheapest images”.  Pathetic. No effort, no budget is even put into trying to be original, different and compelling. These so called photo editors are just wire service editors that pick and choose out of a pre fed stream of selected images.

The result : The same images everywhere, the same perspective, no originality. What ever happened to photo editors that research  hard and long to find that quintessential image, at whatever the cost in time or money ? The result mattered.

This is not Life magazine, this is a Getty/Wireimage feed. This site is just a facade to license images from the Getty site. Each image has a “license ” button that leads you back to the Getty site. Who needs to see these images again ? Seems to me that this new low life version of Life is just going to make more people flock to Flickr.com or similar where then can really see original photography.

It’s sad. It is very sad because it is another missed opportunity.  RIP Life. Again

Posted in copyright, license, celebrity, magazine, technology, multimedia, Search, editorial, finance, photojournalism, flickr, getty | Print | No Comments »

March 30, 2009 by pmelcher.

When most companies announces layoff, downsizing, bankruptcies, others announce new beginning :

CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHER FRANK MICELOTTA FORMS NEW PHOTOGRAPHY AGENCY NAMED PICTUREGROUP

Los Angeles, CA - Trusted entertainment photographer Frank Micelotta has announced that he will launch a new digital photography production company called PictureGroup. Micelotta, a 25-year photography veteran, has been the photographer of choice to many celebrities such as Madonna, Usher, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, and Beyonce and companies including MTV, Fox, BET, and many others. PictureGroup will be the premier source for complete digital photography and video solutions for corporate clients and artists in the entertainment business. PictureGroup will announce its founding members and corporate partners when the company launches in mid April.

Stay tuned….

Posted in copyright, celebrity, magazine, technology, newspaper, web 2.0, news, editorial, photojournalism, getty | Print | No Comments »

March 27, 2009 by pmelcher.

Lots of people have asked what to do in a down economy ? Some answer with what not to do, like slashing prices, but no one really offers a solution. Yet, answers are everywhere. I know of at least 2 photographers that had a hard time selling their images who created a  multi-million market for themselves and many others.

Bruce Livingston, recently retired from Getty images started Istockphoto by putting some of his images on it and trading them with others. Surprised by its popularity, he decided to charge, not really to make money, but to pay for his hosting bills. He thus invented microstock.  Another ” failed” photographer, Jon Oringer, started Shutterstock with 30,000 of his own images, mostly because he couldn’t get accepted in a traditional stock agency. Both are doing quite well as per the graph below.

Unlike many others, they didn’t rely on traditional outlets to license theirs and others images. Instead they reinvented themselves, and the market.

Others are following the same path. Celebrity photo agency Splashnews, for example, also seeing a slump in image sales, has decided to venture in other markets. They are currently at MIP TV in Cannes selling a full blown TV show based on their production. Not a bad idea at all.

Instead of scratching their heads or worse, dropping their arm to the ground in complete despair, these guys have taken matters in their own hands and have create a new offering that taps in their core business. This should be a good pointer to those who have not yet understood that survival resides in inventiveness and creative solution.

The pattern here is that all of these entrepreneurs have or are going directly to the consumers, a market always avoided by the photo industry. Even Getty Images, with its Jamd.com, has reach half a million visitors and is probably starting to  see substantial revenues. If publications are not doing well, it does not mean the public does not want to see your images.

Posted in alexa, technology, commercial stock, celebrity, multimedia, Royalty free, getty, web 2.0, Microstock | Print | No Comments »

March 25, 2009 by pmelcher.

A bunch of photography associations recently banded together and issued a joint statement.  Called “Save photography !”, it is looking to garner enough signatures from photo professionals to make an impact. The country is France and the associations are Freelens (a photojournalist association), the UPC ( Union des Photographes Createurs) and the Saif ( An association for creators of visuals).

In a nutshell, the statement says that photography is under the multiple attacks of “royalty Free”, microstock pricing and images credited under the all encompassing “DR” , which stands for Droits Reserves, meaning Rights Reserved, which is a corny way to say “we do not who owns this image but it is certainly not yours and we will not pay anyone”.  Falling prices, the “commoditisation” of photography and the legal definition of an original are also issues being raised. You can read the full statment here ( in French).

There is a certain legitimacy to their complains, albeit it seems what they want to save is the business side of photography, not really photography itself. As all things French, the petition doesn’t offer any other solution than asking the government to do something about it.

What I suggest they do, is ask Getty Images to stop giving  $20,000 grants to TV photographer Alex Majoli.To see what I mean, please see his latest production on Magnum in Motion:

Maybe he needs the money to purchase a better  tv set for his next project ( in color, maybe ?).

Regardless people, who are you kidding? I see great work from pro photographers who could actually use the money to achieve great work. What is wrong with you ? is this the kind of photography you really want to promote ? Henri Cartier Bresson must be having a tsunami in his grave as I can assure you, that was NOT the reason he created Magnum. Not for that kind of nombrilistic, uber self-absorded, hyper refflective intello photography.

The only way photography can be saved, besides asking the French government, of course, is to stop promoting this “salon photography “whose serves no other purpose than…heck, I don’t even know what purpose it has.

Posted in No sense, multimedia, focus, Magnum, photojournalism, slideshow, getty, law, france, editorial, Royalty free | Print | No Comments »

March 19, 2009 by pmelcher.

While others duck and hope this whole mess will magically pass them by without too much damage, the Time Inc group of magazine is all about experimenting new business model. They recently announced a new project, on trial for a few issue, that will let users ( readers) customize their magazine.

The idea is quite simple. You pick 5 magazines from the Time inc group whose content you like and they will deliver via print, or online, a customize version, called “Mine” . The project is currently limited to the first 31,000 subscribers for print and 200, 000 for online.

The project was created and sponsored by one advertiser, the car company Lexus (owned by Toyota ) , because they also have a Hybrid car. Not sure how Hybrid applies to a magazine, since it is mostly used to define a car who uses two types of energy to run, but, hey, I am not a marketer.

The idea is since people register to get the publication and answer a few personal questions, the ads will be perfectly customized to the reader’s taste and will address them intimately, even using their first name.  The magazine will become a huge ego trip to be shown to unsuspecting friends forever more.

You have to give it to the suits at Time Inc. for at least trying. Since the new magazine will be a rehash of other titles, it will not cost anything editorially. It will, of course, cost a little bit on mailing for the 31,000 lucky subscribers. The first issue will be shipped in April, for 10 weeks, with 5 issues as a prelimanary test.

The unanswered question, for now, is how images will be licensed. Since the final issues will be customized, images licensed for other publication might, or might not, appear in the final edition. Are photo agencies and photographers ready to come up with a reasonable fee quickly, when asked ? Or will the conversations be full of “mmm..”, “i don’t know”, “let me think”.

To sign up or learn more click on the picture below:

Posted in magazine, technology, copyright, license, TIME, editorial | Print | No Comments »

March 16, 2009 by pmelcher.

In an email send globally, Jonathan Klein finally announces the layoffs:

It starts :

“ I am writing to you today with some unpleasant news. We have tried very hard to avoid lay offs during the continued turmoil in the world’s economy. However, it is now clear that we have no alternative. We must take decisive steps to ensure we emerge from this recession strong and able to best preserve the success of Getty Images.

Today we are announcing that approximately 110 employees globally, which is roughly 5 percent of our workforce, will be asked to leave Getty Images. This decision was difficult and was one that we had hoped to avoid.  Those who are leaving will of course be offered severance packages. ”

He continues by saying that the Sales related department will be most impacted. Unlike other companies who have blamed everything from the recession, to “nasty” banks, loans and global warming, Klein it quick to reveal that it is due more to” a result of changes in the imagery business” than the world’s economy.

Another  impacted department is the creative , where Getty will  ” also [be] reducing [its] investment in wholly owned creative shoots.”

What is also revealed is that the new owners have participated financially in the acquisition of Jupiterimages : ” The viability of our company is not in doubt, provided we take the right and necessary decisions. Our partners, Hellman & Friedman, recently invested even further to finance the Jupiterimages acquisition and they remain very supportive of the Company, our strategy, the management and the steps that we are now taking ”

The email also announces the suspension of employer contribution to the company 401k plan at least until 2010. It is not a surprise that the stock giant is going threw this process. Between the acquisition of Jupiterimages and the beating that commercial stock is taking from microstock, it was inevitable. It is also heavily suffering from a sharp decline of subscribers to its wire service ( aka, newspapers are closing) and an overall slump in the editorial market. Since it has transposed its subscription model to web medium, it can’t really look for the internet for a reprieve.

Getty is now facing its own demons, microstock and subscription. Both have brought down the price of imagery. Not really a good long term business model, as they now realize.. It will not be surprising to see them increase the pricing of some of its offering, not only to generate more revenue but to stop the talented  photographer hemorrhage that they are now starting to feel.

Posted in Jupiter, commercial stock, newspaper, finance, getty, editorial, Microstock | Print | 1 Comment »

March 13, 2009 by pmelcher.

 If you do not live in Italy, you might have not seen this. In an interview given to the Sunday magazine of Corriere della Sera, an Article on legendary photo woman and person extraordinaire, Grazia Neri :

As you can see, its starts with a reference to this blog. In a nutshell, it reads, “although in an voluntary retirement, she does not renounce to a glimpse at the site “Thoughts of a Bohemian” by Paul Melcher who frequently launches in ferocious critisms of the multinationals of photography.” Or something close to that.

If you cross someone this week-end with a big head, that would be me.

Posted in celebrity, magazine, newspaper, photojournalism, editorial, news | Print | No Comments »

March 11, 2009 by pmelcher.

Actually, it is much more. Very, very cool..I want one right now.

Posted in lens, commercial stock, technology, focus, photojournalism, prosumer, editorial | Print | No Comments »

March 11, 2009 by pmelcher.

The companies that will survive have their eyes set to where they will be in 5 years. Those who are playing the day to day game, hoping to surf the waves to the shore of victory will eventually find out there is no success waiting for them behind the next wave.

Boat architects of the super fast America’s Cup have known for a while that it is better to cut through the crest of the waves and get wet  to keep the boat straight rather than float above each wave and stay dry. Companies that get up everyday with the question “what do we do today ?” will never be able to compete with those who say “where do we want to be in 5 years ?”

Contradicting information is everywhere. Chris Anderson, author of the frequently misunderstood “Long Tail” keeps advocating that Free is the new marketing, advocating giving away some of your product and services in order to get some to pay for your premium. He is also plugging is new upcoming book. The Wall Street Journal, in which this article is published, is actually considering doing just exactly that.

On the other side, Time, inc CEO, Ann Moore, is just tired of free:

“I think it is time for Time Inc to sit down and seriously think, what is the model? We are going to have to figure out a way to have paid content in the future,” she says, adding that the business is considering making its most successful websites, such as Time.com and People.com, subscription-based.

It has been the unsuccessful business model of a lot of newspapers to give away content for free in the hopes in capitalizing on ad revenue. Not only it did not work, but they shot themselves, not in the foot, but right into their heads, causing many to shut down completly. And it is a tragedy. News coverage will become the playing field of opinion based bloggers ( like myself) who have no interest in truth, only highly biased commentary. Sure Twitter can be the first to report on a plane crash, but can it ever report on the Why?

What is the photo industry supposed to do ? Well, unless you are ( that guy), giving away free pictures will never pay your bills. As Chris Anderson confirms, Youtube,  Facebook, or even Twitter, albeit mighty popular, are still struggling to make a profit . Who do you think you are that you can beat them at their own game ? Free has not worked for the newspaper world, as we all have seen. Why would it work for you ?

Especially at a time when publishers are deciding to finally take a more commerical approach tho their online ventures.

If Time Inc charges for their customers, why shouldn’t you ? Especially since these mega publishing holding have cried poverty since the late nineties, saying their dot com cousins had no budget. Haven’t they fooled you long enough. Traffic on people.com is higher than their print edition and yet they pay much, much less. With their subscription model, they are probably paying on an average $10 an image for in perpetuity, worldwide usage. Photographers and agencies accepting such rates because they think it will give them good publicity are fooling themselves the same way newspapers believed putting their edition online for free would advertise their print edition.

The answer to how to navigate this crisis is not that complicated.  It is right there, next to you. What I can say, without revealing too much, is that it does not lie in hope but determination.

Posted in copyright, magazine, technology, commercial stock, license, newspaper, transaction, finance, web 2.0, TIME, news | Print | No Comments »

March 8, 2009 by pmelcher.

 ”We’re never going to get into the business of the long lens, hiding in the bushes, hunting people down. Our business is based around relationships with celebrities and publicists and publications. The way we shoot is we’re invited. Paparazzi business is getting more play, but that’s also a very cyclical business.” Mark Kuschner, Getty’s global VP of entertainment _In Variety Magazine, July 6, 2007_

Less than two years after making that statement, Getty is going all out Paparazzi. Through a back-door, unannounced deal, the mega million photo agency has partnered with newer “all paparazzi all the time” photo agency BuzzFoto. Here’s how it goes. Buzzfoto shoots celebrities at their worst moments, when they are unprepared and unwilling to be photographed and supllies Getty with the images to license them. In an effort to avoid being directly linked to those “dirty”  images, Getty is using its Filmagic brand, the perennial garbage brand of Mediavast.

However, the Buzzfoto images are all over the Getty site and can be found alongside photographs of events for which Getty was hired as the officials photographers. The cycle is now closed. Not only can you get images of celebrities at a party, nicely schmoozing and entertaining, but you can also get them passed out in their cars, as they attempt to get home. Publicists and celebrities will sure love that.

This has been an ongoing issue for Mediavast and Getty . As the celebrity market shifted its demand from party pictures to “candids”, the prices have followed. Red carpet images space rates are now at almost a quarter of what they were worth 4 years ago. (The irony of it all  is that Getty, along with Mediavast, is highly  responsible for this drop in price of party/red carpet images) . Paparazzi images, however, have not only gain a much wider audience, they also have been able to maintain a much higher price per image. And Getty wants a piece of that too.

But how do you combine being the official photographer for a premiere or party,  where you are hired to shoot the event and thus play along the publicists demands that all look nice, happy, and beautiful  to the needs of a marketplace that would much rather see the same group of people, drunk, sick, dirty and arrested ? Especially since you went through incredible efforts to shut out your competition from all these official events, forcing them to wait outside and thus get those unauthorized shots ?

Well, you make a deal with one of them to distribute their material. Like that, your hands remain clean while you grab a piece of the cake. Funny part is that BuzzFoto was created and is run by the same man who has already sold one agency to Getty, Online USA. Coincidence or signs of a deeper relationship ? As in, lets help this man launched his pap agency so we can later on distribute it but still pretend we have nothing to do with it ?

This distribution agreement, which has a lot of rumors flying, is a great deal for Buzzfoto. It now has a wider distribution than its main competitors, X17, Splashnews, Bauer- Griffin or INF with minimum effort and no investments. Hopefully the terms of the deals were not too bad. The question remains, will they also soon see images sold for less than a dollar to those mysterious “premium subscribers” ? Will it too join the ranks of disgruntled photographers and agencies who are currently suing the mega whale for breach of contract ?

Posted in magazine, Pacific coast news, celebrity, wire service, editorial, getty | Print | No Comments »