SPECIFIC IMAGES RULE!

            Observers of commerce today tell us that when a consumer needs a generic, everyday product, they'll go out to a brick-and-mortar store. However, when they need a highly specific product such as a specialized tool, color, flavor, etc., they'll go to the same company's website. LESSON: If your stock photos are specialized, customers will come to you. (If buyers need a generic image [scenic, calendar-type picture] they will go to a major conglomerate stock agency.) Start building a solid future now, by specializing in your favorite subject areas. Become known as a specialist in those select areas. The more specific your stock photo categories or category, the easier for the search engines (and the photobuyers!) to find you. -RE

PHOTOS TAKEN ON ASSIGMENT: SAFEGUARD

            Increasingly publishers are requiring freelancers to relinquish copyright to the photos resulting from assignments, so that the publishers can have unlimited (including electronic) rights to the images. Use this approach:

            When you are on assignment, protect yourself by taking backup shots, sometimes called "sister shots." This will require a second camera. Apprise the client that you will be taking these shots and adding them to your stock file, as an independent stock photographer. If the client balks, tell him/her that this doubles protection for both you and the client in case of loss or damage to the original photos. The client might require you to negotiate, that is, reduce your fee because you are making pictures on their time. A solution is to make the pictures after you have finished with the assignment proper. If the current legal battle over who owns freelance photos taken on assignment is not settled by the time you are reading this, you will ensure that you have legal photos that you can use for your stock photography business. -RE

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

            Want to place a copyright protection notice somewhere on your website? Here's a typical "Legal Notice" relating to your photos that you can modify for your website purposes. -RE

Image Restrictions

            Each image on this website is legally protected by U.S. and International Copyright Laws, and may NOT be copied and used for reproduction in ANY manner unless arranged for in writing. All pictures on this website are Copyrighted © [YOUR NAME], and are for Web browser-viewing only. Usage of any image (including comp usage) must be negotiated. No image on this website may be used for any purpose without express written consent of the Copyright holder, [YOUR NAME]. Unauthorized duplication or usage of these images is prohibited by U.S. and International Copyright Law. In the event of infringement, the infringer will be charged triple the industry-standard fee for usage, and/or prosecuted for Copyright Infringement in U S Federal Court, where they will be subject to a fine of US$100,000 statutory damages as well as court costs and attorneys' fees.

A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

            Is what all competitors appreciate. However, if you are a superstar, the referees and umpires will often lean your way (ask Shaquille O’Neil or Mark McGwire). The superstars in our stock photo industry are Getty Images and Corbis. In his article in this issue of PhotoStockNotes, stock agency columnist Allen Russell (he is president of PACA, the Picture Agency Council of America) takes the position that Getty and Corbis are not going to run the rest of us out of town, and that there's hope for a level playing field where the two top conglomerates exist side by side with smaller stock agencies and independent photographers.

            It's bound to be anything but dull. What if the top two don’t like the rules and decisions the referees and umpires make? If history matters, we can remember how Microsoft (Corbis is owned by Bill Gates) responded earlier this year when they didn’t like the rules of the SIIA (Software and Information Industry Association) after being a member for 14 years. They quit and said the association "is no longer playing an effective leadership role on the issues where the software and information industries share a united interest."

            Mr. Russell, has Corbis paid its PACA dues this year? --RE

PLAY IT AGAIN SAM

            Photographers are too quick to say, "Don't use my picture. The over exposure will reduce its marketability." Not so. If it's good -- the exposure will increase its marketability. Ask Ansel Adams or w. Eugene Smith. Or in the music business, the Everly Brothers, Frank Sinatra; or in the movie business...in other words don't worry about "over exposure." If it's good -- it will endure no matter how frequently it gets exposure. -RE