Photo Industry News | Design and Photography Highlights

Top 15 Highest Prices paid for a Photograph

Photo Industry News, Photography 1 Response »

May 122011

: www.kremlin.ru.

: Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled #96″

This is a list of the highest prices paid for photographs (in US dollars unless otherwise stated) from Wikipedia. Pretty amazing to see some of the prices paid for these iconic images. Cindy Sherman’s photo “Untitled #96,″ shot in 1981, just become the world’s most valuable photograph after selling for a staggering $3.89 million at a Christie’s auction yesterday (it was estimated to be worth up to $2 million). Ms. Sherman’s photo moves “99 Cent II Diptychon” by Andreas Gursky to the number 2 spot, which enjoyed five years as the world’s most valuable photo after selling in 2006 for $3.35 million.

1. Cindy Sherman, Untitled #96 (1981), $3,890,500, May 2011, Christie’s New York.

2. Andreas Gursky, 99 Cent II Diptychon (2001), $3,346,456, February 2007, Sotheby’s London auction. A second print of 99 Cent II Diptychon sold for $2.48 million in November 2006 at a New York gallery, and a third print sold for $2.25 million at Sotheby’s in May 2006.

3. Edward Steichen, The Pond-Moonlight (1904), $2,928,000, Purchased in February 2006, Sotheby’s New York auction.

4. Dmitry Medvedev, Kremlin of Tobolsk (2009), $1,750,000, Purchased in January 2010, Christmas Yarmarka, Saint Petersburg.

5. Edward Weston, Nude (1925), $1,609,000, Purchased in April 2008, Sotheby’s New York auction.

6. Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe (Hands) (1919), $1,470,000, Purchased in February 2006, Sotheby’s New York auction.

7. Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe Nude (1919), $1,360,000, Purchased in February 2006, Sotheby’s New York auction.

8. Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy) (1989), $1,248,000, Purchased in November 2005, Christie’s New York auction.

9. Richard Avedon, Dovima with elephants (1955), $1,151,976, Purchased in November 2010, Christie’s Paris auction.

10. Edward Weston, Nautilus (1927), $1,082,500, Purchased in April 2010, Sotheby’s New York auction.

11. Peter Lik, One (2010), $1,000,000, Purchased in December 2010, Anonymous Collector

12. Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, 113.Athènes, T[emple] de J[upiter] olympien pris de l’est (1842) $922,488, 2003, auction.

13. Gustave Le Gray, The Great Wave, Sete (1857) $838,000, Purchased in 1999.

14. Eugène Atget, Joueur d’Orgue, (1898-1899), $686,500, April 2010, Christie’s New York auction.

15. Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol (1987) $643,200, Purchased in 2006.

Not a bad days work if you sold even just one of your photos that made it into the top 15. Get a start selling your work at Cutcaster where you can sell your images for commercial or editorial usage to our picture buyers, who represent all the major industries using stock photos.

Top Freelance Picture Buyers, Photo Researchers and Photo Editors

Buyer Info, Design Industry News, Friends of Cutcaster, Licensing Matters, Photo Industry News, Uncategorized 2 Responses »

May 042011

If you would like to be added to this list of the top professional in the photo research and picture buying world (it’s free) please call: (888) 356-2462 or email your information and website to the webmaster@cutcaster.com.

Media companies and newspaper & magazine picture desk’s can use this list when they are seeking top professional freelance picture researchers and editors around the globe. These are the top Picture Researchers who can help you through various stages of the getting the correct rights to use an image.

Alyson Whalley – Picture Editor, Art Buyer -UK

Art buying and picture research for corporate and advertising work

Phone – 07940 590884

Charlotte Maguire – Freelance Picture Editor – UK

Freelance Picture Editor and researcher with ten years experience.

Email – lottiepicresearch@btinternet.com Phone – 07816 402468

Jamey O’Quinn – Photo Editor/ Researcher/ Art Producer – Boston, MA

Experienced photo editor and researcher for magazines, websites, and educational books.

Email jamey.oqinn@gmail.com Website: www.jameyoquinn.com

Robyn Lange – Photo Editor/Researcher – NYC

Freelance photo editor for top US publications

Website – www.robynlange.com

Alice Jessop – Freelance Picture Editor / Researcher -UK

Works with Newspapers, Magazines and Agencies. Research skills, full contacts book, experience commissioning, briefing, budgeting, clearance and negotiating fees. Photoshop skills.

Email – alicejessop1@gmail.com

Bill Van Warden – Photo Researcher – Des Moines, IA

Van Werden Photo Research

Email – vanwerden@gmail.com

Thomas Bonsu-Dartnall – Freelance Picture researcher – UK

Topics include History, Art, Science and Nature etc,

Email – houseof77snakes@hotmail.com

Susi Paz – Photography, Picture Researcher and E-learning Video Producer – UK

Expertise – advertising, publishing, Government departments and the United Nations.

Website – www.susipaz.com

Judy Mason – Picture researcher/Photo Editor – California

30 years experience with U.S. textbook publishers. Specialize in college-level books ranging in subject from music to psychology to information technology.

Hannah Houston – Picture Editor & Researcher – UK

Experience sourcing imagery for newspapers, magazines, online, book publishers and ebooks. Experience in Photoshop, keywording, captioning and cataloguing.

Email – hshouston@hotmail.co.uk Phone 07789 173 481

Joanna Meadows – Picture Researcher – UK

8 years picture library experience. Experience in sourcing imagery for newspapers, magazines, advertising and book publishers both creative and news / editorial based imagery.

Claire Gouldstone – Freelance Picture Researcher – UK

Picture researcher with 10 years freelance experience within Art, Architecture, Gardening, Textile Design, Interior Design, Graphic Design, etc.

Phone – 01432 344 315

Graham Harper – Picture Editor/Researcher – UK

Experienced working with magazines, books, catalogues & brochures.

Anna Mousley – Picture Editor/Researcher

15 years experience in the photo industry, including picture research, editorial work, copyright clearance, captioning and key-wording.

Sharon McTeir – Picture Researcher/Book Designer – Scotland

18 years experience. Photoshop and Illustrator for photo/vector editing, keywording. Print and digital rights.

Jessica Korman – Picture Editor/ Photo Researcher – UK

Email – jessica.korman@gmail.com

Ashley Lumb – Photo Editor – London, UK

Photo Editor with 8 years experience in picture research, production, commissioning photographers worldwide. Works with magazine, book, website and advertising clients.

Email: ashleylumb@yahoo.co.uk

Kristin Doherty-Burns – Freelance photo editor, researcher, shoot producer –NYC

Experienced in celebrity, food, portrait, product and travel photography. kristinburnsphoto.com

Sean Hannaway – Picture Researcher – UK

Experienced in partworks/magazines, books and newspaper publishing focusing on natural history and sports photography.

Leonie Lodge – Picture Researcher – UK

Experienced at picture research and mark ups to negotiating fees and commissioning shoots.

Email – leonieb7@hotmail.com

Mary Rose MacLachlan – Picture Research & Copyright Licensing – Canada

Researcher, editor and permissions experience with over 20 years’ experience in book publishing.

Website – www.mrmassociates.ca

Susie Prescott – Picture Researcher – UK

18 years experience.

Sheri Arredondo – Photo Researcher – St. Albans, ME

First Light Photo Research

Website – www.firstlightresearch.com

Dayna Bealy – Photo Editor – New York, NY

Email - dayna.bealy@gmail.com

Roger and Judy Feldman – Photo Research, Rights and Permissioning – Chicago, IL

Feldman & Associates, Inc.

Website – www.feldmans.net

Stephen Forsling – Photo research, Image Rights, and Permissions – San Francisco, CA

Forsling image research and permissions, Specialties include fine art and social sciences.

Email - safors@pacbell.net

Ilene Bellovin – Editor and Photo Researcher – Larchmont, New York

Producing, researching, licensing images for magazines, websites, books, film and museum exhibits. Top researcher. Ilene Cherna Bellovin

Email – icbellovin@gmail.com

Rizal Alessi – Photo Researcher/Photographer, Jakarta city, Indonesia

More than 10 years experience in photo research for various subjects for national and international publication.

Email – rizal.alessi@yahoo.com

Nancy Tobin – Art & Photo Editor/Researcher – Orlando, FL

Art & photo editor/researcher with 25 years experience in the textbook industry specializing in History and Art.

Website: www.nancytobin.net

Kerry Faulkner – Freelance Photo Producer, Researcher, Editor, Art Buyer – Germany

18 years of photo industry experience.

Email – k.faulkner@mac.com +49 151 5070 7858

Lin Barton – Picture Researcher – New York

Experience in academic publishing and art news publications, familiarity with European and American archives and libraries, German and some Italian reading knowledge.

Judy Brody – Photo research & permissions - Bay Village, OH

Photo archiving for commercial and individual collections.

Email – JKB7810@aol.com

Jerry Marshall – Experienced Picture Researcher & Photo Editor – New York, NY

Picture Research & Photo Editing, Permissions & Rights Clearance services to a wide variety of clients for over 20 years. Any size project in any type of media, including trade & text books, newspapers & magazines, web sites, advertising and video.

Email – jerry@pictureresearching.com

Daniella Nilva Cunningham – Photo Editor/Footage & Stills Research – New York, NY

Over 20 years experience. Specialty includes Textbooks/Children’s Books/Consumer & Trade Magazines/Multimedia Projects/Copyright Clearance

Email: Dnilva@yahoo.com.

Anne Burns – Freelance Photo Research – Fort Lee, NJ

Anne Burns Images

Email- anneburns@earthlink.net

Linda Carter – Freelance Photo Services NYC

Photo Research, Editing, Rights Clearance, Writing, Proofreading

Email - lindancarter@yahoo.com

Jain Lemos – Producer, Editor, Consultant – Laguna Niguel, CA

Jain Lemos Productions

Website – www.jainlemos.com

Doug Hill – Bethesda, MD

RightsAssist, LLC

Email – dhill@rightsassist.com

Martha Davidson – Image & Content Research, Licensing – Washington, DC

Additional experience in concept development, writing/ editing on history, art, science

Email – mdwdc@sprintmail.com

Lindsey Nicholson – Photo Editing, Project Management, Art Direction – NYC, NY

Knowlegable in SEO, Keywording, Project Management skills and working with a variety of editing tools and web-based tools.

Website – lpnicholson@nyc.rr.com

Anita Dickhuth – Visual Research Editing/Licensing Services – New York, NY

Images Inc. Experience includes trade, textbook, magazine & custom publishing.

Email – ernider@earthlink.net

Janice Ackerman – Photo Editor, Photo Researcher and Art Buyer – Brooklyn, NY

Over 15 years experience in the publishing and advertising industries.

Email – janiceackerman@gmail.com

Sharon Donahue, Photo Editor, Image research & Permissions – Boston, MA

Extensive experience: fine art, science, history, literature.

Email – sharon.donahue@gmail.com

Francelle Carapetyan – Image Research Editorial Services – Francestown, NH

Image Research & Permissions, especially arts & humanities.

Email – francelle@imageresearcheditorial.com

Lydia Evans – Publishing – Evanston, IL

InContext Publishing Partners

Website – www.incontextpub.com

Toby Greenberg – Picture Researcher & Editor.- New York, NY

Toby Greenberg Picture Research & Photo Editing

Website – www.tobygreenberg.com

Melissa Allison – Photo Researcher, Editor and Permissions – Palo Alto, CA

Website – http://www.pacificpictureresearch.com

Maureen Collins – Senior Photo Research, Editor, Permissions Pro.

Image Specialist, Maureen Collins Photo Research/Editing/Permissions Lemont, IL

Email – collins.maureen100@gmail.com

Frances Brown – Photo Researcher, Keywording – Evanston, IL

Textbook publishing,

Email – fjbnoyes@comcast.net

Josh Brown – Photo Permissions and Research – Valparaiso, Indiana

Pre Media Global

Email – jbrown@premediaglobal.com

Alicia DiPiero – Freelance photo researcher, editor and coordinator – Austin, TX

Alicia DiPiero Photo Research

Website – www.aliciadipiero.webs.com

Erika Hokanson – Print and online content specialist – Newbury, NH

Print and online content specialist. Integrated editing & photo research service. Refresh Media Resources

Website – info@refreshmediaresources.com

Marybeth Kavanagh – Picture researcher, Editor, Art Buyer, Photo Editor – Loma, CO

Kavanagh Media Research. Top Level Picture researcher and editor for print and online products with 20+ years experience

Email – mbkavanagh@gmail.com

Barbara Salz – Image Researcher, Photo Editor – South Orange, NJ

Full service image research, photo editing, photo program development, licensing and permissions. Barbara S. Salz, LLC

Email – b.salz@verizon.net

Debra Lemonds – Photo editor – Pasadena, CA

Photo layout and design. Photo research. Editorial and advertising projects. Debra Lemonds Picture Editor

Email – dlemonds@earthlink.net

Jane Yeomans – Photo Editor/researcher – New York City, NY

Email – janeyeo@nyc.rr.com

Mary Fran Loftus – Photo & Fine Art Research, Permissions – New York City, NY

Omni-Photo Communications, Inc. Project Consultation

Website – www.omniphoto.com

Rory Maxwell – Photo Research and Editing, Permissions, Data Entry – Norwalk, CT

Over 20 years in the industry. Rory Maxwell Photo Research

Email – rorymax@optonline.net.

Mary Rose MacLachlan – Photo Researcher, Visuals and Literary Permissions, Copyright Licensing Specialist – Salt Spring Island, Canada

MRM Associates

Website – www.mrmassociates.ca

Martha Witte – Freelance Photo Researcher.- Philadelphia, PA

Worldwide image and permission sourcing for business and publishing. Martha Witte, picture researcher

Website – www.wittepixarena.com

Laura Wyss – Photo Researcher – New York City, NY

Specializes in books and book covers. Wyssphoto, Inc.

Website – www.laurawyss.com

Maryellen McGrath – Photo Researcher, Editor, Producer, Photographer – New York City, NY

20 years experience in the photo industry (print, marketing, online which includes entertainment, news and sports).

Email – mmcgrath2008@gmail.com

Alicia DiPiero, Photo Researcher/Editor – Austin, TX

Experienced photo specialist with twelve years of experience procuring, licensing and tracking photographs for large scale programs in the educational publishing industry;

Email – dipieropix@gmail.com

Debbie Needleman – Friendliest Freelance Photo Researcher – Portsmouth, NH

Photo and art research. Over 20 years experience for publications, documentaries and museum exhibits

Email – NeedDeb@gmail.com

Mary Risher – Picture Research, Photo Editor – Noblesville, IN

Image Management & Shoot Production www.maryrisher.com, Mary Risher Media

Email – maryrisher@mac.com

Walter Malden – Image Researcher/Editor

Image research, editing, producing, licensing/permissions for publishing and advertising worldwide. Acme Pix Los Angeles, CA

Website - www.acmepix.com

Joan Meisel Picture Editing & Research New York, NY

20 years experience in picture editing, research & permission acquisitions. All subjects.

Email – photofinders@yahoo.com

Beth Reitmeyer – Research and licensing; art buyer – Bowling Green, KY

Photo, film, sound, text research and licensing; art buying; specializing in education & humanities, Better Imaging

Email – beth.reitmeyer@gmail.com

Robin Sand – Photo Researcher & Editor – Whitestone, NY

Image Rights, Permissions, and Licensing Specialist, Robin Sand Photo Research

Website – rsand@nyc.rr.com

Barbara Schultz – Photo Editor/Researcher – New York, NY

Editorial and archival news, history, fine art. Schultz Image Consulting

Website – www.barbaraschultzimageconsulting.com

Joan Mathys – Picture Researcher/Photo Editor – Washington, DC

MJM Picture and Film Research

25 years experience researching and licensing images

Email – joanmathys@msn.com

Maggie Silker – Image Researcher & Editor – Marlboro, MD

Experienced in books, magazines, exhibits, websites, newsletters and slide shows. PhotoRes Upper

Website – www.photosearcher.com

Deborah Nicholls – Photo and Footage Research – Boston, MA

Research and licensing; specializing in the textbook and travel markets. Media Research

Email – shawondasse@yahoo.com

Kristin Sladen – Photography Services – Bedford, MA

Experienced photo editor in both print and online, specializing in research and permissions.

Email – ksladen@gmail.com

Lauren Stockbower – Picture Editor and Researcher – Annandale, VA

Email – laurenstockbower@mac.com

Fay Torresyap – Photo Editor, Photo Researcher – New York City, NY

20 years experience. All subjects. Bluedot projects

Website – www.bluedotprojects.com

Rachel Youdelman – Editorial photo research, editing, rights/licensing – Boston, MA

Fine arts, history, science. Rachel Youdelman Picture Research Brookline

Email – ryoudelman@gmail.com

Vikii Wong – Researcher, Editor – Brooklyn, NY

Researcher, Editor, Buyer, Consultant, print, new media, video. Vikii Wong

Email – vikii.wong@gmail.com

Carola Strohoff – Picture Editor & Researcher – UK

Experienced Picture Editor, Researches for Text & Photographs, Production Services, Worldwide Researches, Languages: German, French and English,

Email – kr@kandrmedia.com T +44 20 8743 5766

Louise Turner – Picture Researcher – UK

Freelance Art buying and Picture Research to Ad Agencies with 15 years experience in the industry.

Photography Copyright Explained- Best Practices

Cutcaster How To, Licensing Matters, Photo Industry News 1 Response »

May 032011

What is photo copyright?

Copyright is defined as the exclusive set of rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. In addition, any of these rights can be licensed, transferred and/or assigned to another party like what takes place at Cutcaster when we license or sell one of your images royalty free. Copyright only lasts for a certain time period, after which the work is said to enter the public domain. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works protects any creator of “original works of authorship” under it’s copyright law which protects works in all 160 countries that are party to the Convention, as well as various other laws such as the US copyright act.

Copyright law has been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty and one hundred years from the author’s death, or a shorter period of time for corporate authorship or anonymous works. Generally, copyright is enforced as a civil matter, though some jurisdictions do apply criminal sanctions.

Before 1989 all published works, in the US, had to contain a copyright notice, the (c) symbol, followed by the publication date and copyright owner’s name, to be protected by copyright. This is no longer the case and use of a copyright notice is now optional in the US, though you will still see them used.

Does copyright apply to all images?

Yes, every image out there from the time it is created becomes automatically protected under copyright laws. One should know, that copyright law is different from country to country, and a copyright notice is required in about 20 countries for a work to be protected under copyright laws.

What is copyright infringement?

Copyright infringement, copyright piracy or copyright violation, is the unauthorized use of photos covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the copyright owners’ exclusive rights. Imagery infringement may include:

• Using the image beyond the scope of a license or permission granted
• Recreating an image identically with another photographer
• Use of whole or part of an image without permission i.e. “mash-up” or derivative work
• Art rendering, where someone adapts an image without permission

Win two free tickets to attend the Bees Awards on May 3rd in San Francisco

Design Industry News, Friends of Cutcaster, Photo Industry News No Responses »

Apr 272011

To enter, just download an image or purchase a credit package from Cutcaster over the next 4 days and you can win a ticket for you and a friend (valued at over $500) to attend the prestigious Bees Awards next week on Cutcaster. Hurry only three lucky winners will be selected. And, even better, here is discount code for 10% off your image or credit purchase: BEESAWARDS

Winners will be emailed two free tickets this Sunday. Cutaster is proudly one of the Bees Awards first sponsors. The Bees Awards is an completely unique and sold-out Awards Ceremony that recognizes those communication professionals working within international social media marketing and advertising. Everyone is welcome to attend and enter the contest by either downloading an image at Cutcaster or buying a credit package.

To download an image or purchase a credit pack, visit Cutcaster today. For more information on the Bees Awards visit their website.

Jim Pickerell, Stock Photo Guru, Analyzes Cutcaster’s Picture Buyer Survey

Cutcaster Stats, Photo Industry News, Survey, Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 092011

A few weeks back, we posted the first part of our stock picture buying survey. The response to the release of information on photo buying habits in the stock industry was great to hear. Many people sent us emails or posted on forums saying how much they appreciated a stock agency sharing information and shedding light on an industry that doesn’t have a lot of publicly available information. One email we got was especially helpful and raised questions we felt could be clarified so readers could do more with the results.

"Stock Photo" Living Legend

Jim Pickerell is a stock photo “guru,” whose savvy analysis of industry data and experience in the stock photo business stand up to just about anyone’s around the globe. From the information we shared with Jim, he dug through and analyzed our survey results. Jims’ insights helped our team re-sort the way we arranged the data we had collected and better understand what the data was actually telling us.

Below are portions from an email, we received from Jim, along with additional information, we are releasing today to help others make their assessment of the numbers and data. We didn’t want to add too much opinion below but wanted to share Jim’s thoughts (with his permission of course) and add some more background on the data and panelists. This market information on picture buyers and their habits is even more useful now to those studying the size of the stock photo market and the people who work in it.

Jim Pickerell (Jim):
I presume the respondents to this survey are all from your customer base, and not necessarily a good cross section of microstock customers as a whole (I’m not sure how anyone other than iStock or Shutterstock would ever get such a cross section.)

Cutcaster Response (CC):
We wish they were all current Cutcaster customers but that is not entirely accurate. While we did send the survey to a list of our buyers at Cutcaster, the list encompasses a cross section of buyers who have signed up at Cutcaster, contacts from Adbase (Adbase is a email service provider that has lists of creatives across multiple industries in North America who use creative imagery), image users on 3rd party sites, picture buying forums and individually emailing buyers we know to ask them to participate. Their professional backgrounds covered most industries. Almost all responses came from image buyers in North American with the next largest group being South America and the UK.

Jim:
It is interesting to me that such a high percentage of the respondents (25.3%) are involved in book, magazine or newspaper publishing. I would think that for the microstock industry as a whole that percentage might be somewhat less, although these people may use a large quantity of images.

CC:
We made the same assumption but your observation might be changed by our response to the answers we gave above regarding our survey pool. In addition, the percentage could change as we add people who answered the question with “Other” into industry categories that their job would place them in even if they didn’t click off that industry. Some photo researchers who would work with multiple industries might have thrown this off slightly. We didn’t poll the respondents regarding their use of royalty free vs rights managed but we assume they are using a mixture of both of just RF. Also we think some of the higher end buyers who didn’t know about microstock and the more affordable microstock imagery are starting to find these new agencies and pricing models and moving their licensing dollars to those companies.

Here is a cross section of some of the resources that users who answered that they were invovled in the used these agencies when sourcing information. You can see how much Getty and Corbis dominate and that’s to be expected. The question asked, “What are your top three resources for finding stock photos?” and each row shows one responders’ answers.

Getty Images	iStockphoto	Alamy Images
Getty Images	Shutterstock	Alamy Images
Getty Images	Corbis	Veer	Alamy
Corbis	iStockphoto	Cutcaster
Getty Images	Corbis	Alamy Images
Getty Images	Masterfile
Getty Images	Corbis	Alamy Images
Corbis	Alamy Images	SPECIALTY PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alamy Images	Corbis	Shutterstock
Getty Images	Corbis	Cutcaster	we use many
Getty Images	Corbis	Google Image
Getty Images	Corbis	Google Image	iStockphoto	Alamy
Getty Images	Corbis	iStockphoto	Alamy
Alamy Images	Shutterstock	Granger

Jim:
It would be interesting to come up with a total number of times a year these people purchase images compared with the number of times for “graphic design firms” and “Freelancer Ad/Graphic”.

CC:
We like your thinking here and will re-sort the data into that view you asked about. Scouring over the responses, it appears the publishing industry is buying a larger amount of images at varying prices but more infrequently versus the “graphic design firms” and “Freelancer Ad/Graphic” companies who download a lot images in smaller numbers and at lower prices throughout the year.

Jim:
One of the big questions is how much small graphic design firms and freelance graphic artists are driving the business. My guess is that the combined total of the 26.6% of respondents are mostly 1 to 4 person shops and that they purchase imagery a very high number of times per year. (It would be great if you have some type of breakdown of how many images these people used annually.)

CC:
From what we can see it appears you are correct. We can re-filter the data to see what we can come up with regarding smaller businesses driving the market changes.

Jim:
Getting back to the publishers if there is any way to determine how much imagery they are using it would be great. Are they all using more than 50 images per year, or are they only going to microstock sites 2 or 3 times a year. If there is good reason to believe that this group of customers is representative of the industry as a whole, and that they are using a lot of images it says a lot about what the future holds for the traditional licensingmodel.

CC:
Here is a sampling of the first 15 results based on pulling some of the information out of our excel sheets. It first shows how many times a year they are buying an image and then how much on average do they spend per image. This appears to be representative of the entire panelist group who responded that they worked in publishing.

1. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
2. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
3. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
4. More than 50 times per year > Over $250
5. 3-10 times per year > $101 to $250
6. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
7. More than 10 times per year > $51 to $10
8. More than 10 times per year > $101 to $250
9. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
10. More than 50 times per year > $51 to $100
11. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
12. More than 50 times per year > Over $250
13. More than 50 times per year > $101 to $250
14. More than 50 times per year >$101 to $250
15. More than 10 times per year >$101 to $250

Jim:
Another thing that is very interesting is who the 21.3% of “other” buyers are. I would have thought you would have covered virtually everyone in all your other categories of use. More of an explanation of who is in this category would be helpful.

CC:
Here is a list of just a few of the job titles that survey respondents used to describe their work. When we dug back over the results from other we realized that some of the respondents could have been grouped in some of the other industry categories and some photo researchers could be lumped into other groups. Below is a short list of some of their responses for other to give you an idea:

1. Occasional buyer small projects
2. Writer/blogger
3. Building my own, small niche web sites
4. Gift Giver
5. Broker buying and sellings businesses
6. Freelance Photo Researcher for book publishers
7. Home entertainment – make DVDs
8. Marketing firm
9. Law Firm
10. TV/broadcast
11. Corporate in-house design unit
12. Record Label
13. Interior design and graphic design
14. Self-employed
15. Wholesale Beverage Distributor

Jim:
I am surprised that the “government, etc.” category only had 4% of the respondents. I would have thought this group would have been much larger.

CC:
Same.

Jim:
53.3% of respondents say they typically spend more than $51 per image. This may be true of your customer base, but it is certainly not true of all microstock customers. Maybe you are only attracting the high end customers. If that is true then it is certainly something that needs to be taken into account when considering the overall survey results.

CC:
We don’t only cater to microstock customers because photographers and designers can set their prices at Cutcaster so that is why we believe you will see a broader cross section of industries and spend rates across the board.

Thank you to Jim for providing his insight and letting us respond on our blog. We hope this helps those who want to learn more about he stock photography marketplace in general.

16 Things Picture Buyers dislike about their Stock Agencies

Cutcaster Stats, Design Industry News, Photo Industry News, Survey No Responses »

Mar 082011

In a continuing effort to release as much information as we can concerning picture buyers and their habits in today’s stock industry, we will look at what things image buyers disliked that their image agency did or wasn’t doing. This question was one part of a two part question relating to what picture buyers liked and didn’t like about the stock agencies they work with. Below is a collection of their responses in no order of importance but cover the range of dislikes that image buyers had.

1. Prefer stock sites that have a current selection images of people using media (my firm sells advertising in magazines, online and mobile devices.) The laptops, computer screens, and mobile devices should be current. People using the devices need to look realistic. They should look somewhat affluent or have some purchasing power.

2. Few images of “ordinary” people of many backgrounds, skin colors or multi-national origins. Few images of disabled individuals or groups doing ordinary (non-medical) activities, bland generic office pictures.

3. Keywords need to be accurately curated, correct caption information, no time to sift through keywording spam. Keyword spam makes me not want to visit a site.

4. Same images on every site and smaller agencies that are different get subsumed by the larger ones

5. Dropping or losing photographer/images and then being unable to re-license them for p/up imagery

6. Caps to RF imagery or microstock imagery

7. Everyone uses the same great images. Should be a system for professional level and entry level buyers so everyone isn’t using the same images/vector files…

8. It’s difficult to find great deals or new imagery since they are all concentrated under Getty and Corbis again…There is very little good, new material.

9. Discontinuing of RF CDs

10. Photos that SCREAM “I’m a stock photo.” More quality stock illustration at lower costs – less computer generated in feel.

11. It’s not very fun and takes a ling time to search for images.

12. Credits packages that do not expire.

13. Sites that don’t allow for repeat download of photos purchased.

14. Overly complex search engines

15. The search engines for iStock and Corbis aren’t very intuitive, or aren’t as intuitive as they could be. Getty has better search filters. The quality of the photos are sometimes hit and miss. I understand that to be acceptable for lower priced images like iStock but some of the other larger ones still have that same issue.

16. I think just having better search and/or search and filtering methods, would save us tremendous amounts of time and get better results. Perhaps better tagging, or more accurate tagging of the images. Many times I will get provocative images when I’m not searching for them.

What do you dislike about the stock agency you choose to work with? Is there anything you hate which they do? What would you change?

Top 10 things Image Buyers Like about their Agency – Understanding Image Buyers in the Stock Industry

Buyer Requests, Design Industry News, Industry News, Photo Industry News, Survey, Uncategorized 1 Response »

Mar 012011

Beautiful Portrait Of a Afro American Woman

Are you happy with your image agency?

What features or services do image buyers like and want from photographers or stock agencies? What gets them coming back to your portfolio or the agency that reps your images?

Today, Cutcaster is releasing the comments that some images buyers told us during last year’s survey. We took 10 of the most popular comments and arranged them below in a random order to show you what features or services they like an agency to offer. The question was actually a two-part question and was “What do you like most/least about the stock photo sites that you work with?” Later this week, we will share the things they didn’t like about their current stock image agency. The survey was completed by 344 image users who had used Cutcaster or were working on the stock image business and were mostly from the US or Canada.

Top 10 things image buyers said they liked which their stock agency provided.

1. Current and wide selection of images from international sources at reasonable prices.

2. Special picture collection pricing for royalty free or rights managed photos.

3. Stock agency websites that can show an entire photo purchase history with a simple click to avoid duplicate image purchases.

4. With current rates that image researchers get, we need to work FAST. The most important features for a stock site are direct downloading and embedded metadata. If you do not offer these two things, you are a 2nd tier vendor.

5. Picture pop-up windows to review images instead of having to use “back” button.

6. Advanced features like search filters when we need to give restrictions.

7. Love seeing Creative Inspiration.

8. Great sales help when a user encounters a problem. (From Cutcaster: Most image buyers didn’t say they needed a specific sales representative to help them use an agency)

9. High resolution comp images with metadata embedded.

10. Agencies with multicultural, disabilities, youth, and well executed food shots most cited image needs.

Overall, most image buyers stressed that they needed the highest quality images, fast / accurate search results and lower pricing which is understandable in the current economic environment.

If you are an image buyer, what features would you like to see a stock agency adopt to make your life easier?

Picture Buyer Stats Released – Market Information for Online Image Users

Buyer Info, Cutcaster Stats, Photo Industry News, Survey 2 Responses »

Feb 102011

When we decided to re-design and re-write the code for the new Cutcaster site last year, we knew we needed first to get a better idea of who was using Cutcaster, what was their process for using royalty free image libraries and how we could better serve them once we released the new site. Listening to what they told us led how we built Cutcaster and was a valuable undertaking not only for us but we felt that it would be really helpful for our Cutcaster members and the industry in general. Over the past year, we surveyed some of the largest and smallest image buyers using Cutcaster or in the stock photo and clipart industry to learn more about their image buying habits, demographics and photo needs in general. In an effort to provide our users and readers with details that can help educate and improve their sales, we are releasing what we have learned from the buyer surveys to the community at large.

Over the next two weeks, Cutcaster will be releasing a large amount of data from our picture buyer survey to help those interested in the stock photography market or using Cutcaster. If you use this information please link back to Cutcaster (http://cutcaster.com or this blog post). The survey was completed by 344 image users mostly in the US and Canada who use royalty free or rights managed images. The following results were collected from their responses. Note: Click on the thumbnail images to see the survey results in a larger window.

What category best describes the type of company or organization for which you work

The above shows what type of individuals, companies or industries are buying images at Cutcaster.

When purchasing digital images and illustrations, which of the following activities do you perform?

The above chart shows what role the image buyer plays in their organization’s decision making process for searching, obtaining pricing, purchasing and approval process for using Cutcaster. It will give you an idea for what type of decision makers are coming to Cutcaster to find images and download them on behalf of themselves or their firm.

How many people work at your company?

The above chart shows the average size of the firm that a buyer works for.

How frequently do you purchase stock photography in a typical year?

How frequently are image researchers or buyers downloading royalty free images or clipart per year. We can see that a very large percentage of responders said they license more than 50 images a year.

Image buyers annual budget

Check out how much a typical picture buyer spends on a single image or clipart download from a stock agency. The above chart shows image buyers spend per single image. Remember that this includes both royalty free and rights managed licensing (as well as free).

Next week, Cutcaster will release more information regarding what decisions go into choosing an agency / image library, what picture buyers like most and least about their stock agencies they work with currently and what things image buyers want to see an agency do but aren’t at the moment.

Cutcaster Launches Copyright and Licensing Resource – Stock Photo License

Articles, Buyer Info, Design Industry News, Friends of Cutcaster, Industry News, Licensing Matters, Photo Industry News No Responses »

Sep 162010

The legality of digital image use is often murky, and many resources that try to explain it are too full of jargon to make sense to people outside the photography or licensing industries.

Stock Photo License (SPL), a newly created resource from Cutcaster, explains legal photo usage for image researchers, photo buyers or anyone who wants to legally use images found online. Stock Photo License provides a framework for making informed licensing decisions and stock photo purchases, and highlights online resources that can help protect against legal pitfalls.

Check out Stock Photo License and comment below if you have a question about licensing images online.

See a copy of the Stock Photo License press release below.

Cutcaster Launches Educational Copyright Resource, Stock Photo License
September 16, 2010 – San Francisco, California

Stockphotolicense.com, an educational copyright resource for photo buyers and researchers, launches their new website today with the goal of explaining in simple terms how one can use an image online and the various legal complexities of digital image use. The site provides detailed information on image license types, photo copyright issues, legal protections and extensions, using free images, Creative Commons, personal vs. commercial use and provides a list of questions you can ask your image suppliers before you buy an image.

As image use among bloggers, website owners and graphic designers increases, many image users don’t understand specific licensing terms or how to legally use content they find online. This has increased the amount of illegally downloaded images and copyright infringement cases, most of which happen without the image user realizing the legal ramifications of his actions. Stock Photo License provides a checklist roadmap with questions you should consider to ensure the legality of your online image use.

“We receive a variety of questions relating to the differences between royalty free and free images as well as how an Internet user can utilize images they find online.” John Griffin, of Stock Photo License and Cutcaster said. “Stock Photo License specifically presents information and resources on image licensing and copyright matters for the image researcher, photo buyer or anyone that wants to legally use another person’s image they found online.” The website lists copyright and legal resources as well as asks typical questions with answers to help an image user.

Stockphotolicense.com was created by Cutcaster, a photography marketplace that specializes in royalty free photos as well as free images, to serve as a resource for both photographers who upload their images online and those looking to download images. Stockphotolicense.com has an active user base and is seeking to add more resources to its list of specialists.. If you own or know of a copyright or licensing resource that could work with Stock Photo License please reach out to the team at team@stockphotolicense.com or follow SPL on Twitter @stockphotousage.

For more information on Stock Photo License please email team@stockphotolicense.com or Cora Reed at cora@cutcaster.com.

About Stock Photo License

Stock Photo License (SPL) presents information and resources on image licensing and copyright matters for the image researcher, photo buyer or anyone that wants to legally use another person’s image they found online. The website’s goal is to provide those who are unsure about image licensing with the information, legal definitions and resources to make informed and legal stock photo purchases. Stock Photo License is for every photo researcher, photo buyer, photo user and photographer who is interested in learning more about the changing landscape of photo licensing and is a collaborative effort between all the parties involved with photo licensing.

About Cutcaster

Cutcaster has tapped into a new and unique source of royalty free photos and illustrations that can be used for any kind of web design, publishing, printing brochures, advertising, annual reports, or presentations. Cutcaster created the first model that adds structure to support licensing user-generated photography and vectors when you don’t have the budget to do it yourself. Sellers can set their prices or use the Cutcaster Algorithm to determine a fair market price. Photo buyers purchase content at a set price or by placing bids.

Visit www.cutcaster.com for more information.

Photographers’ Frustration and a Path for Change

Articles, Design Industry News, Industry News, Photo Industry News, Photography 2 Responses »

Sep 092010

It feels like déjà vu all over again, doesn’t it?

Fall seems to be the season for falling commissions. We’ve seen it in the past with the big boys, and now even the smaller players are dropping photographers’ commissions without a second thought. Is it because companies are in dire financial straits? Or are they simply indifferent to the contributors on which they rely? Do they have so much supply that pissing off a few photographers won’t affect the behavior of the majority? Are venture capitalists swooping in to squeeze money out of their investments at the contributors’ expense? Or is it just good old-fashioned corporate greed?

I am frustrated and mad. I have many friends who sell photos, and who are negatively affected by declining commissions. I also own a business that is trying to succeed in an industry where agencies seem to operate behind a cloak of secrecy, while photographers passively accept changes that suck for them. Commissions are falling, agencies are lowering prices to compete, and supply is inflated. The industry has grown stagnant as a few companies monopolize it, leaving little room for smaller companies to compete. Most photographers are uncertain about what, if any, course of action to take.

But we must not cower in the face of uncertainty. We need change and we need to act now. Here are some ways to get started:

1. Remove links to sites that reduce payouts without notice or to sites that keep details hidden in confusing press releases. Don’t market sites that don’t care about YOUR bottom line.

2. Do link to sites from your blog, website or portfolio site that pay higher commissions, even if they have less sales for you. These sites need your help getting links in order for them to affect positive change in the industry. Don’t stand idly by while the established players lock you into a worse future.

3. Stop referring buyers to your lower paying commission sites and start sending them to sites that pay you better commissions.

4. Start an upload embargo for 6 months to a year. Don’t upload new or exclusive content to sites that decrease payouts without notice or discussion.

5. Upload to sites with lower payout thresholds and commit to keeping those limits low.

6. Don’t go exclusive with one agency. Only go exclusive with certain new uploads that you know sell better at certain sites, and only with sites that pay you a high commission.

7. Delete your portfolio from sites that do not clearly explain their commission and pricing strategies.

8. Explain to buyers how royalty drops hurt your individual business, and let them know that they can get the same images for the same prices at sites that help you by paying higher commission. Most photo buyers do care about you and about the photography industry; they need to know that you are getting unfairly screwed and that they can help reverse this at no extra cost to them.

9. Commit to a new agency that you trust on a non-exclusive basis. Support them with your uploads and, if you choose, a small amount of exclusive content for them to market. Write a blog article or post in a forum about the agency and why you chose it.

10. Convince fellow photographers to act with you, taking concrete steps TODAY towards improving your situation.

Photographers and photo buyers have strength in numbers. It takes a cooperative community of people to affect lasting change. If you feel commission drops are unfair and non-transparent, ACT. Your actions will speak for themselves.

Please comment below with any suggestions or ideas that we can add to the list. Your ideas can help change the industry!