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Advance Notes: The Big Bad Wolf of the stock photo industry, Royalty-Free, came along in the late 90's, shocking the photography world with rock-bottom bargain basement fees. While RF opened excellent generic photography to graphic designers and publishers who normally could not afford top-level agency prices, it caused a clamor in the commercial stock photo arena. Photographers who expected to make a living from the images in their files feared and railed against RF. After an uproar of several years, RF has not gone away, the world of commercial stock has accepted it and even in some areas profits from it, and is still adjusting to it. But there's one segment of the stock photography pie, as it turns out, that has not had to adjust, that Royalty-Free does not affect: editorial photobuyers who need "exact content" photos - that is, quality images that complement the subject matter of their publishing projects. Generic pictures simply don't do the job as well as specific-content RM (rights-managed) photos.

OUR RECENT SURVEY

If It Looks Like A Duck, And It Walks Like A Duck… ?

Where Is Royalty Free?

Good news. The sky has not fallen. Royalty-Free photos are out there, yes, and they sell from $1 to $50 on average (up to $500 in some cases), but for the most part they are not popular with the editorial market, the books, magazines, and any periodical or service that builds its content on specific, targeted material.
The segment of stock photography called editorial stock, specific-content rights-managed photos in select areas of interest, is alive and well.
Recently I made a survey concerning Royalty-Free of the photobuyers who actively purchase photos through our network (PhotoDaily, PhotoLetter). More about that in a minute.
I was thinking the other day, "Do major editorial markets use Royalty-Free photos?" A good way to test this was to go right to the source. I picked out a few magazines from our magazine rack here at the farm. Here's what I found.
First of all, I found most of the magazines still use lots of art (illustrations) to get points across. Illustrators are alive and well. Not much RF damage there.
Second, the magazines featured stories assigned to either staff photographers or freelancers. Assignment photography is still alive!
Third, the magazines I looked at exhibited that they were not comfortable using generic RF pictures. The few generic pictures I saw, looked like the $200 and up RF variety. How did I know they weren't $3 images? The models. They were pros, not the next-door neighbor. And the set-up and props. The stock ice cream, pie, or cake shots were professionally executed. Also, as is well-known, large circulation magazines will use major stock agency pictures, whether the photos are RF or Managed-Rights, because the magazines are covered by the stock photo agency when it comes to legal matters such as model and product releases and copyright issues.
The magazines I reviewed were Readers Digest, AARP Magazine, Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly, National Geographic, and Smithsonian.

RF WON'T DO

Keep in mind that I did not review any of the advertising photos in the periodicals. In general, most advertisers, who want top-of-the-line quality and need releases, shy away from using non-released RF pictures. Also, I did not review any popular books, textbooks or scientific volumes. They, too, shy away from generic RF pictures since their commitment is to provide highly specific information for their readers. RF won't do.
This issue of exclusivity is paramount. Book buyers and subscribers to magazines, like you and me, pay for uniqueness. No publisher wants to be up-staged by a competitor using the same Royalty-Free photo in their pages, too.
Make this test for yourself. Tear out all the commercial ads in a magazine, any magazine. What's left are the editorial photos. You can usually tell a Royalty-Free photo when you see it. ("If it walks like a duck…") Depending on the periodical, you'll note the dearth of RF photos that are used.
Well, then, where are RF pictures used? The answer: in low-budget periodicals, brochures, books, regional, state, and local productions and publications, on websites, non-profit newsletters - any place where duplication of the same photo won't matter. RF has been a benefit to commercial entities that don't have budgets that can afford the highly professional photos licensed by major agencies. Royalty-Free also presents opportunities for part-time photographers to earn extra pocket money, thanks to volume sales and kinder standards.

NOT IN OUR INDUSTRY

Here are the results of our survey of 71 editorial photobuyers/photo researchers:

Do Editorial Photobuyers Use Royalty-Free Photos?

I rarely use Royalty-Free photos	42%
I occasionally use Royalty-Free photos	44%
I never use Royalty-Free photos	11%
I don’t know what Royalty-Free photos are	3%

If you occassionally use Royalty-Free photos, what percent of your research efforts result in a Royalty-Free photo being licensed as opposed to an “RM” (Rights Managed) photo?

% of Photobuyer Respondents Using Royalty-Free	Percentage of Royalty-Free Use
6%	0%
51%*	1%-10%
27%	10%-25%
8%	25%-50%
4%	50%-75%
4%**	75%-100%

*Respondents that occasionally use Royalty-Free, use it only 1%-10% of the time.
**Only 4% of the respondents use Royalty-Free most of the time.

Failures Bother You?

Advance Notes: "The bumps in the business road aren't large if you love what you're doing." That's how the saying goes. Can you pass the test?

I've been observing picture professionals and their business operations for 35 years. Many survive. But many more fail. Of those that fail, the most common flaw was their refusal to pay attention to the business aspects of their enterprise. In other words - they went out of business not because they were not good at what they do, but because they were not good business people.

Being a good businessperson can be learned.
"But I don't like all that drudgery associated with business," you might say.
Yes, it's true, meticulous record keeping and routine tasks are involved. Record keeping. Statistics to keep. Correspondence to fill. Forms to fill out. "Ugh!" you say - and you are correct.
But look at it this way: Are you in love with what you're doing? If you are, then the inconveniences associated with operating your business should pale against your rewards.

THE BEST YEARS

History shows that anyone can succeed if they're willing to put up with the inconveniences (and "the lean years") associated with their endeavor. Actors often talk, write, and sing about their years of struggle. While it was happening, they say, it wasn't pleasant. But if they survived, and went on to fame - they often will comment that those years -were the best years. Can you draw a parallel to your own efforts? If it's any consolation, you might be passing through "the best years" right now. Enjoy every moment!
The inventor Thomas Edison didn't "discover" the electric light bulb. He simply put up with the drudgery of testing more than 7,000 different ways to make it work. He was in love with what he was doing. When someone asked him, "Isn't it boring - going through all those tests?" he replied, "On the contrary, it's exhilarating. Now I know 7,000 ways it cannot be done."

INSPIRATION VS. PERSPIRATION

We tend to call someone a genius if they succeed far beyond their colleagues. But Edison's famous reply was, "Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration."
The actor George Burns was asked how he got to the top in his profession. He stumbled with a few clichés about being lucky and working hard, and then said, "What I'm trying to say is - if you are really in love with what you're doing - the failures along the way won't bother you."

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/clmn75.html

Wolfgang Kaehler

CHANGES

Each month we report to you moves among, within and between: publishing houses, stock agencies, photobuyers, photo researchers, ad agencies, and design firms.

OUTSIDE MAGAZINE (400 Market St. Santa Fe, NM 87501) Former contact and e-mail: Brenda Milis, Photo Department, bmilis@outsidemag.com; current contact and e-mail: Amy Feitleberg, Deputy Photo Editor, afeitleberg@outsidemag.com .

PICTURE SERVICES AND CONSULTING, Former address: 244 Third St, Dunellen, NJ 08812; current address and phone: 312 County Rd 513, Califon, NJ 07830, 1 908 638-5244.

LERNER PUBLISHING GROUP (241 1st Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55401) Former contact and e-mail: Beth Johnson, Photo Research Director, bjohnson@igigraphics.com ; current contact and e-mail: Cynthia Zemlicka, Advanced Photo Researcher, czemlicka@igigraphics.com .

FIELDMAN & ASSOCIATES INC, (211 Waukegan Rd, Ste 200, Northfield, IL 60093) Former contact and e-mail: John Wills, Photo Researcher, jwills@feldmans.net ; current contact and e-mail: Robb Hill, Photo Researcher, rhill@feldmans.net .

WEEKLY READER CORPORATION (200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06912) Former contact and e-mail: Cindy Joyce, cjoyce@weeklyreader.com ; current contact and e-mail: Arlete Shaeffer, Photo Researcher, ashaeffer@weeklyreader.com .

CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN DREAM (6930 Carroll Ave, Ste 900, Takoma Park, MD 20912) Former contact and e-mail: Sarah Roberts, sarah@newdream.org ; current contact and e-mail: Nicole Berckes, Communication Director, Nicole@newdream.org .

MEDIA PARTNERS PUBLISHING (3070 Rasmussen Rd Ste 290, Park City, UT 84098) Former contact and e-mail: Sam Sather, Managing Editor, sam@mediapartnerspublishing.com ; current contact and e-mail: Becki Bryant, Managing Editor, becki@mediapartnerspublishing.com .

A trend for the Future…?

Free Photos

Advance Notes: The grocery store gets you to shop there by offering a coupon that makes you an offer you can't refuse. Commercial stock photo portals are catching on. What could be better than free photos? Stock photography portals are drawing photobuyers into their websites with the alluring come-on of free photos. This kind of marketing tactic is one that editorial stock photographers don't need to employ, because their photos grow in value as time moves on -unlike commercial stock photos, that are more closely tied to trends or conform to current design dictates, and consequently fall out of fashion.

No doubt. It's the way of the future. Giving away photos. Free.
Dreamstime, a Royalty-Free company, recently announced that it will give away photos each month.
What's the catch? It's the first on-line image portal to announce that it's got extra baggage it'd like to get rid of. And, in so doing, it's wisely launching a marketing technique that is sure to be followed in the $1-a-picture on-line business. (Except that Dreamstime also features some pricey pictures.)
Dreamstime is following a new Internet trend that has been used for years by the brick-'n'-mortar people: overstock. When a product's shelf life has expired (it's not selling) they usher the items off to a second tier of businesses that are willing to take on the product (cheap!) and sell it to "dollar stores" or similar enterprises. Everyone benefits, including the customer.
Extra baggage in the stock photo industry means extra administrative time, extra disk space, and extra keywords, not to mention disappointment on the part of buyers. Depending on the category -teens, office workers, industry, etc. - RF pictures have a shelf life of between two to five years. After that, they are usually relegated to the trash bin.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"It's not unlike the supermarket that offers
an introductory coupon…"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

But how does a photobuyer benefit? Well, everyone likes something for free, whether it turns out to be useful or not. Dreamstime says that this technique opens the door to many new and potential customers. Some may never have heard of Dreamstime (you just heard about them…), some are former customers who forgot about them, and some are window shoppers. They just might go on to become long-term customers, once they have visited the website.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/trnte101.html

Do editorial photos have a long shelf life? Yes. Although it's been awhile since I was in the picture-taking business, here's a B&W of mine taken in 1963 and selling today at the website below for $750.00. That's 20 times what it was licensed for back then. Editorial originals are valuable. http://www.iphotocentral.com/search/result_list.php/256/Rohn+Engh (Note: If the URL is too long , go to http://www.iphotocentral.com , click on 'photographers' and then scroll down to 'Engh.' )

How Well Do You Like Your Work?

Advance Notes: Does photography research require work? Sure it does, but if you love what you're doing, the word "work" disappears from your vocabulary.

"That's too much work!" a retired businessman said to me after a workshop when I explained that part of his routine as a freelance stock researcher would include bookkeeping, filling out government forms, entering keywords on his website, tracking email correspondence, carrying out the trash, and washing the windows.
"But it's worthwhile, --to me," I responded. Our resident philosopher here at PhotoSource International, our office manager, H.T. White, phrased it this way - "Nothing is worth doing if it isn't worthwhile."
We all have a reason for doing whatever we do. "Whatever your motivation for doing it --fear of failure, altruism, greed, desire, --if it's worth it to you, you'll do it and probably do it well," H.T. says. "Some tasks aren't going to be very romantic, but they'll get done and your pleasure factor will be high if the end result is worthwhile to you."
I've met a lot of entrepreneurs who express great interest in seeing their photos and their business move forward, but when it comes down to doing the A, B, and C tasks to accomplish this, they break down. Their displeasure at having to do the nitty gritty far outweighs the pleasure of seeing success.
"Many entrepreneurs," says H.T., "have the unrealistic belief that people who attain success in business have some kind of innate desire to do mundane tasks. They wear the hair shirt, so to speak. Not so. These people simply long ago realized that overcoming the tedious barriers that block many people from accomplishing their goals, can actually be pleasurable, when you realize that doors that were once closed to you can be opened if you grit your teeth and invent a system for tackling the everyday 'chores' that need to be done to keep the ship moving."
H.T. figures it this way, that many people conduct their lives at a "low pleasure factor." That is, they put eight hours a day in at some job that they don't enjoy. "If they really dislike what they're doing," H.T. said, "I give each hour they work a factor of 10. If they moderately dislike it, I give each hour a factor of 5. If they love what they're doing, I give each hour a factor of zero."

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photosource.com/researcher/gen749.html

Steve MacAulay

Those Stolen Credit Card Numbers

Advance Notes:Is this a problem on the Net? Well, to credit card companies (the Big 4), yes, it's a problem. But it must not be that big a problem, since those companies continue to grow and prosper.

Know anyone who has been ripped off and lost some money? It's actually difficult to steal a credit card number traveling electronically across the Net. Otherwise our banking system would fail. It's easier to grab a receipt out of a trashcan at a restaurant or hotel lobby. While hackers have broken into databases - the incidents are exciting to hear about, but rare.
Presently, e-commerce merchants are trying out a new protection technique. On phone orders and some mail orders, the merchant is asking for the "CID" number of the card (on the back of MasterCard, Visa, and Discover cards, and the front of American Express).
And remember, you're not liable for more than $50 in fraudulent credit card usage, and credit card companies are known to forgive even the $50.
So where's the problem? Credit card fraud actually is an issue for the Big 4 credit card companies. But the credit card companies and banks are not about to admit it. Why? The question of consumer confidence. Financial institutions downplay the problem. Customers will lose faith in the Net if they feel it is not secure.
Does all this apply to stolen photos? In the stock photo industry there's 'big brother' protection by the large corporate stock agencies (the Big 3), who each have an oak table and swivel chairs filled with attorneys searching out cases of misuse of their photos. If they find a case, it's to everyone's benefit when they publicly expose the culprits, which can deter potential future infringement attempts. We all benefit by that.

Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, 1910 35th Road, Osceola, WI 54020 USA. Telephone: 1 800 624 0266 Fax: 1 715 248 7394. Web site: www.photosource.com/bank

Watch for developments in the field of stock photography in PhotoResearcher's
PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS
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You'll be the first to know.

Note: If the URL is long, it may extend to two lines. In that case - clicking on it won't work. Instead, "copy and paste" the URL.

WHO TOOK THAT PICTURE? You see a CORBIS image. Ever tried to find the name of the photographer who took that Corbis image. ? It is easy. http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/features/2007/02/autumn200702?currentPage=3

FAST TRACK Image Source makes Fast Growth Award Shortlist - Image Source, the world's leading independent producer and brand for creative and commercial royalty free stock photography, has been named as one of four finalists at the Fast Growth Business Awards 2007 in the International Business of the Year category. http://www.stockphotographer.info/content/view/433/92/

BIG BUCKS Getty Images Shares Pull Back - Citigroup analyst Matthew Troy said the Seattle-based company is spending about $540 million on the buyouts, exhausting its cash supply and taking on debt. Getty acknowledged the purchases will not make money until 2008. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/23/ap3456785.html

IOWA REVEALED Iowa Photographer Wins First Book Prize - Robert Frank, this year's judge, praised Danny Wilcox Frazier, Frazier's "passionate photographs without sentimentality.... His work reaches out: let me tell your story, it is important." http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003549827

LANDSCAPE A LA THE PROS Eight leading landscape photographers have joined forces with LEE Filters, to produce Inspiring Professionals, a new book, where top professionals pass on techniques and advice for using filtration in landscape photography. http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=3758

PHOTOGRAPHING WITH THE STARS. Oscar Worthy Photos - American Photo, Premiere and Elle magazines played host to an event in Beverly Hills on Wednesday featuring photographs made by several film stars, including Best Actor Oscar winner, Forest Whitaker. http://www.popphoto.com/photographynewswire/3861/oscar-worthy-photos.html

NOW YOU SEE 'EM, NOW YOU DON'T Flickr shows a little too much skin - Alida Saxon noticed on her Flickr page that a pool image had mysteriously replaced one of her own shots. Other users were encountering the same problem of random photos replacing their photos some of those new images were porn. http://news.com.com/Flickr+shows+a+little+too+much+skin/2100-1025_3-6161469.html

BRIGHT REWARD Photographer reaps reward for aurora photo - A U. S. postage stamp of the aurora borealis made from a photograph by Fred Hirschmann of Wasilla, made on a miserably cold, nasty Alaska night. http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8667090p-8559254c.html

AND IT'S NOT ENHANCED A sight as elusive as a Cheshire cat - No, this isn't an upside-down rainbow, and the photographer hasn't faked the picture. It's what scientists call a circumzenithal arc, according to physicist Joe Jordan, a former NASA space scientist at the Ames Research Center. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/23/MNGD7O9UNL1.DTL&feed=rss.news

VIDEO EDITORS' DELIGHT. Adobe Brings Video Editing Tools Online - Adobe and Photobucket announced a partnership to integrate Adobe web-based video remix and editing technology directly into the Photobucket user experience, giving 35 million Photobucket users direct, free access to world-class digital video editing tools. http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/25209.html

Next Month: Is Thievery a Problem?

If you’d rather not receive this kind of e-mail, reply with a <no thanks> and provide us with the original address at which you received the e-mail, so we can ensure your request is handled correctly. Thank you!

Better Information
Send me information about how I can list a photo need. http://www.photosource.com/photoneed 1 800 223 3860
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photobuyer/register.php _____1 800 223 3860
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Nate Bacon

GOT A PHOTO NEED? Send it to eds@photosource.com (Just write up your photo listing in any way you feel clearly gets across what you need) or use our standard form at < http://www.photosource.com/
photobuyer/request.php >. It’s free. No charge.
Once you use our photo listing service, details of contact info, budget rouge, w/color, any specifics like “requests no phone calls,” etc., will be saved on your personal computer so you don’t have to re-type them when you make a photo need listing the next time.

Want to Invite Google to Index your Web Page?

The search engine, Google, adds and updates new sites to its index each time it “crawls” the Web. Google invites you to submit your Web page’s URL. They don’t add all submitted URLs to their index, and they cannot make any predictions or guarantees about when your website will be indexed. But it’s worth giving it a try. To add your website:
http://www.google.com/addurl/
?continue=/addurl .

TIP: Set up a blog on www.blogger.com and post to it regularly. Mention various pages on your site from time to time. Create links to them too. Blogger is owned by Google and the links in your blog will get indexed quickly.

Dee Breger

Sending a disk or slides? Look like a pro. Stiff white cardboard mailers are available at: MAILERS, 575 Bennett Rd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, Attn: Pat Pulver; http://www.mailersco.com . Phone: 1 800 872-6670. Fax: 1 847 731-2603.

Travelwriter Marketletter… for writers and photojournalists.

Travelwriter Marketletter is a monthly publication available online
( http://www.travelwriterml.com ) and in hard copy format. Travelwriter Marketletter is in its 28th year.
If you’re a travel writer or photographer, TWM tells you about new markets, payscales, editors, specs and trips.
If you’re in travel PR, TWM tells you which publications are likely targets.
If you’re a travel editor, TWM tells you about trips, and about your competitors.
If you’re a photo researcher TWM will direct you to travel photographers.
email:mimi@travelwriterml.com

Paul Kuhn

"Thanks. It's great to have the PHOTODAILY as a resource. Makes my life MUCH easier!"
- Jane Martin, Photoresearcher, Alexandria VA

FLASHBACK

1843 - Congress experimented with the telegraph by appropriating funds to build a telegraph line between Washington DC and Baltimore.

1879 - March 28th - Edward Steichen was born in Luxembourg. As curator of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he created the photography exhibit, "The Family of Man," which became a best-selling photography book.

1923 - Henry Luce brought out his first issue of TIME Magazine

"The content of all your publications is solid and positive. Don't ever stop!"
- Fred Lyon, Photographer, San Francisco CA

Beryl Goldberg

Who likes SPAM? …the Internet version, that is. If you detest junk Email, you can get rid of it with Spam Bully. Sign up to try it Free. Rated a “Best Buy” by WIRED magazine. http://daisy501.spambully.hop.clickbank.net

2007 PHOTOGRAPHER’S MARKET, 30th Annual Edition.
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone. htm#1582973954.
If you want to sell your photos or digital images, this is the reference book you need. This new edition includes: complete, up-to-date contact information for more than 1,800 photography markets; inspirational interviews with working photographers; articles and information on the business of photography, business tips and practices as well as new markets to explore. (ISBN-10-1-58297-428-4; $26.99) Contact: Writer’s Digest Books, an imprint of F & W Publications, Inc., 4700 E Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236. Phone: 1 513 531-2690. E-mail: photomarket@fwpubs.com.

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio:
Airn Chamberlin (http://folio.photosource.com/2554)
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James Parker

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PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter is a free newsletter for photo researchers. It features carefully researched coverage of trends, methods and the latest information that can help you in your photo research. Feel free to forward this issue of the PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter to fellow photo researcher friends.

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