What is going ? I ‘ll tell you what is going on : Recently, Time, inc, the biggest publisher of magazines in the world has made an agreement with AP, Reuters and Getty Images to license any and all non-exclusive images for a flat rate of $50.00, regardless of size or placement . Magazines like Read More →

What is new is not always good. While everyone is trying to figure out where the world of licensed photography is going to, others are taking advantage of the void by figuring out parasitical way to profit from it. We already do know that Google has figured out how to make money, and huge sums Read More →

You know what would be news ? Something different. No, not another microstock “save the world” launch. Nor another “look, we slashed our prices so low, it’s not funny anymore”. I am sure even image buyers must be fed up of receiving another flier, email, phone call, or goddamn tweet about another discount or super Read More →

In response to the entry : Dying in Africa  , Eliane Laffont wrote : Photojournalists believe their photos can change the world and history show that, for the most part, they get results. Lewis Hine photos changed the Child Labor law, Eddie Adams photo of the police chief executing a Vietcong soldier contributed in large Read More →

Commercial stock photography is all about problem solving. The first is how to make a living shooting commercial stock. One way to do it, is to solve other people’s problems. When image buyers go to a Web site, it is because they have been asked to provide a solution to a very specific problem: They Read More →

Amusing story from the BBC today about when Microstock goes terribly wrong. Two competing political parties in Northern Ireland used the same model for two opposing ideas. As if the world was too small to find two people with diverse opinions. To top it all, both parties breached Istockphoto, and most microstock and royalty free Read More →

Photography is an investment. No, not the “I buy a lot of expensive equipment  and resell it later ” type of investment. It is an investment for the image buyer. A photograph, or a series of photograph, can increase the value of anything around it. Like a multiplier. In it’s raw format, few images have Read More →

It creeps slowly under your door when you are not paying attention. It looks friendly, but it’s not. It uses smiles and persuasion to convince you of things you do not need. It builds wall around everyone and breaks any form of human communication. It’s the ultimate relationship killer. May I introduce to you, the Read More →

The surf wizard. the Photo bot. Give a keyword to a bot, it comes back with the image. Better, enter a concept, or a description. it will then surf the whole wide web and return with an image. Whether from an amateur or pro, it won’t matter. Because the image matters. Like information, the image Read More →

One morning you wake up, and it’s facing you.  Everything that you took for granted and made your life so comfortable is suddenly gone. Probably forever. Welcome to the economy of fear. What use to be a cozy job, where every day brought you  a new batch of interesting challenges, has now become days of Read More →