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Category Archives: Photography Business
6 Guidelines for Finding Your Photographic Niche
Greetings, readers. I’m Erick, and this is a first post on DSLR Blog. This will be the first is a long series of articles on the business of photography, all targeted toward advanced enthusiasts interested in starting and running a photography business. While I’ll post an about me introduction later, for now, I just wanted to point out I’m also the editor of two other blogs: the photo gear blog SLR Geek and the group pro photographer blog Photocrati.
Since specialization of photographic energy is the subject of this post, let me also add that I specialize in Asian editorial imagery.
With that, onward. In this first article, i want to take up the subject of photographic specialties. You know you need one to transition from enthusiast to pro, but how do you find a niche?
Deciding areas in which to specialize your photographic efforts is, ultimately, a very personal decision. And it’s important, because your career will display “path dependency”—once you develop a reputation and established relationships with buyers, there will be strong pressure and incentives to keep shooting in the same niche.
Based on my own experience and photography volumes, I would suggest there are six important factors to keep in mind in picking on niche. Continue reading
Zooomr as Stock Agency Details
More details of Zooomrs Micro Stock plans have been revealed by Thomas Hawk
at Zooomr we are in the process of building what will soon be the world’s largest stock photography agency. We think we can pay photographers out 90% and still operate our business. We also are going to let photographers set their price on their images between $5 and $1,000 for royalty free images.
That looks like a great deal, and in fact has made me search in vain for my Zooomr login details 
One question I have, that will obviously become crystal clear, is if they will find paying customers …
Tags: micro, stock, photography, news, zooomr, thomas hawk
Virgin Mobile Flickr Photo PR Disaster
I just read this fascinating story over at Gillianic Tendencies
What it seems to have happened is that Virgin Mobile, or an advertising agency they hired, decided to save lotsa moola and attempt some good PR (backfiring, obviously) by using Flickr photos with Creative Commons licenses (specifically, the ones that allowed commercial use) in a recent ad campaign. Which, fine, is legal, though, perhaps, cheap-assed. What’s getting people especially crazy over this (and this doesn’t include me, thankfully) is that they’re using these photos without the models’ permissions
It seems some random person has spotted Gillians Flickr photo of a smashed car used on an advertisement. No problem there, it was CC licensed in a way that meant only attribution was necessary. Notification to these Flickr users would have been the polite thing, but ok it’s not a requirement.
The crazy thing though is there are people in these advertisements. Without model releases. Being insulted.
There is more coverage here and over at Flickr.
Tags: flickr, virgin, copyright, cc, license, pr, disaster
BBC Ripping Off Flickr Photographers?
It seems the venerable bastion of public-funded media, “Auntie” BBC, is being a bit naughty when it comes to sourcing photography from Flickr users according to Editorial Photographers UK
Mark’s or Sparks’ clever wheeze was to sign up with the photo sharing site, then attempt to persuade his new friends to hand over their work to the Beeb – for free naturally. Of course there’s nothing new in cheapskate editors scouring Flickr for freebies. And the Beeb has excelled in its pursuit of license payers for free content for its viewers’ galleries, all under the terms of an infamous contract that allows the BBC to earn money from the pictures while placing any uncomfortable legal repercussions firmly on the contributor. But the Sparks scam has a whole new spin to it. He doesn’t just want pictures for the viewers’ gallery; nor is he asking if he can use existing material to illustrate BBC stories. He wants people to agree to give him unfettered access to all future material that might be posted on Flickr, thereby creating a constantly updated pool of images that the BBC could access at any time for free, and of course resell at a profit. A picture library for free in fact.
.. it seems also they are not above just taking what they want either …
But oh dear, what’s this then? Why, it’s a picture lifted without permission and used on the BBC Scotland news website! It’s not as if Sparks and Co couldn’t have asked. The original image had an almost indecent amount of copyright and contact information, not only in Photoshop’s File Info, but underneath it on the website where it was first published. Presumably BBC Scotland work at such a fast pace they simply can’t keep up with the number of pictures they lift without permission.
You can see how a photographer would be flattered and would be willing to offer up their work just for the portfolio/resume potential and bragging rights. The BBC though should be above this kind of thing, they should be leading the way in fair treatment of the public as they are supposed to be there to serve the public. They will get nowhere arguing they are under funded, they are certainly well funded in comparison to other media outlets who do pay and are not propped up by a television tax.
Personally I see nothing wrong with the BBC asking for free contributions. The pictures are submitted voluntarily after all. They just need to get their legal people to be a bit more fair with what they have people agreeing to.
See the full discussion at flickr here
Technorati Tags: bbc, photography, scandal, media, copyright, photographers, law, rights, news
Nikon Opodo Photography Competition Copyright Grab Warning
Editorial Photographers UK pointed out this ludicrous piece of copyright-mugging in Opodos Reflections Photography Contest what makes it worse it is endorsed by Nikon of all people!
Nikon’s sponsorship of the ‘rights grabbing’ Opodo Reflections Competition has surprised and angered many leading professional photographers as well as others within the photographic community.
The controversy looks certain to tarnish Nikon’s reputation within the industry with long term professional Nikon users condemning the photographic giant’s involvement and rival manufacturers stating that they would not have got involved with a competition which contained such terms.
The terms and conditions for Opodo’s Reflections competition demands that all entrants grant them a licence to use the photographs forever for no fee. The terms also ask that photographers give up their moral rights in the photographs, and that they assign their rights in any other ‘derivative’ works, such as montages. Rather helpfully, Opodo reassures entrants that they “can submit as many photos as they like”, with each photograph entered being available for Opodo to use forever
(Emphasis mine)
Source:Nikonians
What the hell are Nikon thinking?
Seems like a pretty cheap way of getting perpetual exclusive rights to some darn good photographs. Beats buying pics everyone else has for $2 a pop, right?
Reputation tarnished? They need their collective arses kicking.
Update: Rules have been changed after protests
Technorati Tags: photography, competition, copyright, scandal, nikon, news, tips
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