Editorial stock photography pros who subscribe to our photo listing service know that the fees paid for photos requested on our PhotoDaily are between a minimum of $100 to $300. Using the average of $200, it is interesting to calculate what fee a commercial stock photographer receives from Getty or Corbis. These two giant companies receive 60% of the sales price.
That's right, the photographer with photos in these agencies receives $80 while the subscriber to our PhotoDaily receives $200. (100% of the sale).
This may be the answer as to why many commercial stock photographers receive most of their income from sources other than stock agency sales, such as annual reports, assignments, fashion, catalogs, weddings, portraits, etc. Editorial stock photographers, also, are rarely full-time pros. Although they have what it takes to be a pro, they are pros in other fields: education, medicine, sales, technology, law, transportation, etc. They are able to devote their skills and talents to the subjects of their choice in editorial photography and its promise of long-term value.
THE REAL PAYBACK
Yes, it's true that a commercial stock photographer could sell three times as many photos through an agency contrasted to selling to a select group of steady photobuyers within one's editorial specialty area. However, there is a missing factor involved here. Working for a stock agency requires photographers to shoot what the agency needs. Working for yourself as an editorial stock photographer, you shoot what you need, that is, your particular interest area. As one photographer told me, "In commercial stock, the agency’s desires drive you; in editorial stock your desires drive you.”
A final factor to consider: long-term value. Many editorial photographers who were shooting editorial subjects in the 60's and 70's, such as environmental issues, personalities, politics, schooling, social issues, etc. have told me that these pictures are now making them more money than they made from them when they were originally shot. These photos are used in coffee table books, textbooks, and in PBS and commercial TV series.
I haven't heard of any commercial stock photographers who consider many of their photos of ten or twenty years ago as marketable. The life of a commercial stock photo is generally considered to be seven to eight years.
THE INFLUENCE OF EDITORIAL STOCK
A testimony to the importance of editorial stock photography is to browse the publication by Life Magazine featuring the important photos of the 20th century. All of them can be considered to be editorial stock. The same holds true for classic PBS programs on the influence of photography on our lives in the USA. Editorial stock photography has a way of impacting our lives. You are part of that impact.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of "Sell & ReSell Your Photos" and "sellphotos.com," has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: "8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer," visit http://www.sellphotos.com
Welcome
to PhotoSourceInternational.com. Here's where
you'll find information about social photography,
editorial photography, selling photos, buying
photos, stock photography, photo research, and
making a marketable photo.
Watch Out For These PitFalls
When I visited the Optical Disk Pilot Program at the Library of Congress in Washington DC back in 1985, the Deputy Librarian, William J. Welsh, told me that his department was concerned about the speed with which their photo collections were deteriorating.
He felt optical disk technology would save the day. At that time, optical disc meant a platter about the size of an LP record. (Nowadays it’s reduced in size to that of a CD-ROM or DVD disc.) In addition, he felt the technology would be practical in helping the public find pictures faster.
He was certainly correct.
The first stock photography application of video disc technology had already started in 1982, pioneered by First Vision in Newport Beach, CA. Next came Video File, and then even a major stock photo agency, The Image Bank, jumped in. None of these efforts ever really got off the ground, but they laid important groundwork.
By the late 80’s audio CD-ROM’s had become well-established, and it didn't take long before entrepreneurs began to place sets of photographers’ images onto CD-ROM discs, selling them at low prices.
Thus was born the CD-ROM photo industry, later to be labeled Photo Clip Art, and now known as Royalty-Free. The term RF was borrowed from the music industry, which had used “royalty free” to indicate when royalties weren't required on certain records when played at an event, on a radio broadcast, etc.
User groups on the Internet started buzzing about this new trend in stock photography, and agonized over whether this bombshell would pull the rug out from under the stock photo industry.
However, after more than a decade of CD-ROM activity, the stock photo industry is healthier than ever. According to studies, some of which we here at PhotoSource International have participated in, traditional-use (managed rights) photography hasn’t suffered. Neither has the upstart, RF (Royalty Free).
Then what are the pitfalls you, as a small-business person, should be aware of? Whether you place your images with a traditional CD-ROM production company, self-publish the product, here are some issues to consider.
The BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ISSUE.
I hear grief stories from photographers about CD-ROM companies that have tied up a photographer's images in court for a long period of time. It goes like this. A fledgling CD-ROM company puts their money into slick advertising and attracts a good number of quality photos from participating photographers. These images are given to a production company, to make the CD-ROM discs. About midway into production, money runs out. The production company wants its money before they will release the finished discs. Your images are unavailable to you while the court proceedings spin out. LESSON: It’s a compliment to have your images selected by a CD-ROM company. But make sure the company’s cash flow can get them through the fulfillment stage of the business plan.
THE MODEL RELEASE ISSUE.
Placing your photos on a CD-ROM disc without iron-clad model releases for them is an invitation to trouble. Because many CD-ROM producers do not outline the use limitations of CD-ROM pictures to customers, and because final end use of images on a disc is not able to be controlled, a photographer could be the target of a legal suit if, for example, a picture of his/her models were used in an advertisement about drug abuse or some other sensitive issue. Law suits are beginning to appear where a person or company who purchased a disk used a photo in a wrongful or misleading manner. If you already have made a deal with a CD-ROM producer, it would be in order to find out how the “fine print” reads. It might be necessary for you to either withdraw your images, or get a more encompassing model release from your models.
THE GIVE ‘EM WHAT THEY WANT ISSUE.
Do you plan to produce your own CD-ROM catalog? Most art directors and photobuyers open their mail above a wastebasket. If your CD-ROM promotion does not conform to what they consider a professional package, they drop it into the circular file.
Is your packaging inviting and well-conceived? If it’s not, the photo buyer may never look inside. The design, layout, text, and cover image should reflect the quality of your photos.
Finding photos on a CD catalog should be fun, not mind-numbing. The process should be easy and speedy. The photos should be large, clear, and sharp. Your catalog should provide the photo buyer with a wide selection of photos on one specialized subject. (Editors don’t like to waste time flipping discs to try to find the picture(s) in the subject area they need.)
As soon as they open the catalog, the buyer should not have to figure out how to get the search software into operation. It should be transparent and easy to maneuver.
If your CD-ROM does not fit this criteria, consider starting over.
THE DISTRIBUTION ISSUE.
Many creative people learn too late the maxim that goes like this: Producing a product is only one-third of the venture. The other two thirds are distribution and marketing. If you plan on producing your own CD’s, be sure you have figured out how you will advertise your product, and distribute it. Many a fine CD catalog is sitting on its producer/photographer's shelf, going out of date, because the photographer didn't budge for marketing and distribution.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of "Sell & ReSell Your Photos" and "sellphotos.com," has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: "8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer," visit http://www.sellphotos.com
Business
Notepad
If you operate your stock photography business out of your home, it’s even
more important these days that you cut your expenses.
Here’s a product that shows you just how to do that.
It’s called Home-Made Energy.
http://www.photosource.com/homeenergy.html
“7 reasons why YOU NEED home made energy”
... Full
Story
America 24/7
An Editorial Photographer's Study Guide
Most consumers will enjoy this coffee table book as an entertaining look at America today. But for you, the stock photographer, the book becomes a living textbook of how to capture a winning editorial photograph.
AMERICA 24/7, A Digital Time Capsule of American Life, was produced by Rick Smolan and David Cohen. They are the creators of the now famous series, "Day in the Life". Smolan and Cohen marshalled nearly 4,000 professional photographers and tens of thousands of amateurs to participate in the 24-7 project, which encompasses television documentaries, traveling photography exhibits, and 53 large-format, lavishly illustrated books. The national volume, America 24/7, is a 305-page coffee table book which is the largest and heaviest of its kind yet .
In a one-week span, from May 12 – 18, 2003, the photographers captured life around them, ranging from a NASCAR event in Concord, North Carolina to a baseball practice field in Caribou, Maine; from a teen fashion show in Chicago to a children's playground in Iowa.
A unique aspect of the national 24/7 volume: consumers can customize the book (for a modest fee) by producing a photo of their own for the jacket of the book. To learn more on how to do this and more information on how the book was produced: http://www.america24-7.com (ISBN: 0789499754) ($30 to $49 at bookstores and the Internet). -RE
Will the new-on-the-scene large corporate market-driven stock photo houses treat photographers and their photos as commodities?
History tells us the answer could very well be yes. Take the example of the cartoon syndicates established in the 1920's under the guidance of newspaper king, William Randolph Hearst. He first introduced the concept of cartoon syndicates.
It works like this. The cartoonist signs a contract that says that the syndicate will promote the cartoon if the artist will follow a certain cartoon theme and style, and keep to it. The contract also states that the syndicate will own the copyright to the cartoon. Not the cartoonist.
How's that? The syndicate owns the copyright?
If the artist decides to leave the syndicate, he or she cannot continue the cartoon. The syndicate will appoint a new cartoonist to continue it.
ONLY PEANUTS FOR PEANUTS
Believe it or not, the late Charles Schultz, of Minneapolis, did not own the copyright to his cartoon, Peanuts. The syndicate owned the copyright. Schultz received royalties, yes, and also promotion and endorsement monies, but he did not own the copyright on his own creation!
Can the corporate stock photo agencies of the future institute a system something like this? They certainly could. Vulnerable young photographers in the future, trying to make a living, could conceivably be open to signing over their copyright privilege in return for a paycheck, royalties, or other monetary return.
LESSON : Read the fine print. Stock agencies are starting to treat stock photos as commodities, that are "popular today, and gone tomorrow". As an extra benefit to the agencies, they might want to secure the copyright of your short-lived generic stock photo. Perhaps their enticement will be to pay you a higher percent royalty (60% instead of 40%) if you sign over your copyright.
And don't forget, if they own the copyright, they are now free to digitally "enhance" your photo in any way they wish-such as changing the color of a flag or removing an object.
If you are new to the stock photography field and you submit your images to a major stock photo agency, be careful not to sign over your copyright to the agency.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
Here's an all-inclusive copyright statement concerning reproduction of your website photos. Note that this statement also prohibits "use of any image as part of another photographic concept."
"All photographs, text and code appearing on the PhotoSource International (PSI) sites are the exclusive property of the individual photographers and are protected under United States and international Copyright Laws.
Photographs, text and code may not be reproduced, copied, stored, or manipulated in any form without the written permission of the respective photographers or webmaster. This includes use of any image as part of another photographic concept or illustration. No image or any part of this site is within public domain.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of "Sell & ReSell Your Photos" and "sellphotos.com," has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: "8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer," visit http://www.sellphotos.com
Of
Interest
CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUBLISH
Defamation law is not as simple as many lawyers and other people may have you believe. There are several elements necessary to prove a cause of action
for defamation, and one of the most overlooked elements is publication.
http://www.defamationlawblog.com/2009/04/articles/defamation-basics/you-dont-want-to-overlook-this-element-of-defamation/ ... Full
Story
COST OF TRAVEL OVERSEAS is always prohibitive for the stock photographer
just starting out. One way to skirt around this problem is to become a
Travel Agent.
OLD-TYME FLIX -- National Geographic snaps up BBC Photography series, “Genius of Photography”. Outright Distribution has sold BBC2 documentary series to National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) as part of a raft of other post-MipTV sales. Produced by Wall to Wall, the series offered a comprehensive history of photography and was originally produced for BBC2 and BBC4.
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/05/nat_geo_snaps_up_bbc_photography_series.html
SIGHT UNSEEN. -- Visually impaired photographers display mind-boggling shots. Twelve visually impaired artists, a few of whom are totally blind, recently showed some amazing images as part of an exhibit called Sight Unseen at the University of California at Riverside.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10238900-1.html?tag=mncol
