It is not really the photo industry that is in danger of extinction, but rather a weird and strange animal that appeared about 50 to 60 years ago out of pure greed. Let me explain: When photography became a job, the first photographers were troopers who would get up in the morning with the firm … Read More →
The truth about your photo organizations is that they have either no idea what they are talking about or they have no idea what they are doing. Either way, they are slowly becoming obsolete and useless. Take PACA for example. The Picture Archives Council of America is preparing for its next international meeting to be … Read More →
Just imagine. Just imagine if a company like Google, or Yahoo, or even Microsoft put their hand on microstock and social photography. Not only Istockphoto projections of $171 million revenue within a few years would be pulverized into unknown heights but it would be the end of both RM and traditional RF forever. Why ?, … Read More →
There are some that still combat royalty free in what seems to be an unfounded hope that it will disappear. Others that turn a blind eye towards microstock and its user generated content. If I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. Then, there are those who strongly believe that this whole technology thing is just … Read More →
Just returned from 3 days of Paca international conference in Sin city. How appropriate to have held the yearly convention in a gambling town full of hard core, die hard risk takers. Our industry, the photo industry is very similar in its model. When we take images for stock, we purchase lottery tickets. we invest … Read More →
I went to PictureHouse NY this year, not as an exhibitor, but as an image buyer. It was a very rewarding experience. The first, and probably foremost experience was the terribly empty and deserted video footage room. With at most 5 distributors, but none of the big players, they must have stared at each other … Read More →
Getty and $49: How many association of photographers does it take to bring down Getty? Apparently 6 is not enough. After sending an e-mail to Jonathan Klein, they are answered by a posting from Nick Evans Lombs. Personally, I would have been insulted. But that is just me, I guess. The giant was grateful enough … Read More →
Getty images is not a newcomer in trading prices versus quantity. Quite the opposite. When a company wants to gain market share in an industry already heavily populated with suppliers, it reduces its cost of doing business to a minimum and slashes prices to force the competition into bankruptcy. Economy of scale, it is called. … Read More →
I have noticed something interesting. There is a fundamental difference between editorial photographers and commercial stock photographers. Commercial stock photographers are exactly that: commercial. They are the ones that spend the most time blogging and ranting. They have endless discussions on the economics of picture taking, from the cost of an image to the licensing … Read More →
It is about time… One key part of where photo agencies could save a lot of time, and thus money, is in their transactions. As I wrote earlier, one of microstock’s, and before that, traditional royalty free success’, is the credit card transaction. Since every transaction is made by credit card payment, the billing process … Read More →