The stock photo industry has been devastated. From various newsletters and blogs, some very insightful, it is down to almost zero, if only for a few survivors. Even bulletin boards, populated mainly by microstock shooters, seem to have lost all steam. Is it that all has been said and written or that there is just … Read More →
So close to the first of April, it sounded like an April’s fool hoax: The gentle freedom-loving all sharing company is selling to the greedy capitalistic money-making titan. Or, in other words, Getty Images is acquiring Unsplash. The two unlikely partners will officially be one come the end of April, sending ripples through the stock … Read More →
With Adobe Stock now joining the club, all stock photo agencies now offer free photos. How does free work with selling content and who benefits? … Read More →
For most of the world, it has absolutely no interest. For the few that still rely on licensing photos to make a living, it’s a big deal. Google Image search now features a “where to license” badge under some of the images it returns after a query. … Read More →
How the implementation of article 17 of the European Copyright directive is going to deepen the value gap rather than fix it for photographers. … Read More →
The news crackled and spread like a barrel full of fireworks set on fire by an innocent four years old carelessly playing with stolen matches. First, via an e-mail leak, then by an official press release. Getty Images, the last bastion and great defender of rights managed, was laying its swords down, defeated. It was … Read More →
The numbers are well known -billions of photos shared every day- and the habits well-entrenched- checking social media 40 times a day-. Every concert, every street performance, every incident, accident, spill, fall, weird dance, every anything that is out of the ordinary is filmed and photographed and immediately shared via a myriad of networked channels linked … Read More →
One of the foundations of photo agencies is to provide its customers with safe, secure, properly vetted visual content. In exchange for a fee, clients of photo agencies are offered images they can use in full blissful confidence. Or so you thought. In the last month, a few stories have surfaced exposing that this might … Read More →
The European Directive on Copyright is passed, and along with it, the infamous “Article 13”, now Article 17 in the latest document. However, what will it mean for photo agencies and independent photographers? … Read More →
After over twenty plus years working in and observing the photo industry, one conclusion is clear: One of the worst enemies of the photo industry is its own members. While the forces of business, technology, and social trends have had some profound adverse effects on photography, nothing has been as eroding as the constant self-deprecating, … Read More →