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Key words in this issue: Barter and Taxes | Reviving Color Prints | Real World | Sell Photos |

NEWSWORDS: Skating Photos Lawsuit | Art’s Profits | Corbis Grows | Photography Interests | Polaroid Advancements | Nikon Online | Printing Digital Photos | Shuttle Breakup | Globe Awards | Future Gadgets |

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## PhotoAIM weekly newsletter for 03/01/03 ## 389d

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PhotoAIM, the weekly newsletter from PhotoSource

ISSN 1530-0511

If you no longer wish to receive PhotoAIM, see the instructions at the end of this newsletter.

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TAX TACTICS

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Is Barter Taxable?

Q: I recently traded some of my photography services for plumbing work. Do I report this "trade" of services on my 1040 tax form as income?

A: Yes. Barter is considered income by the IRS. Estimate the value of your barter transactions for the year and report it as "other income."

Q: I received a refund in 2002 of my state income taxes for 2001. Do I have to report that refund as income on Form 1040 for tax year 2002?

A: Only if you claim an itemized deduction for those taxes on your Form 1040 for tax year 2001 and the deduction decreases your 2001 Federal taxes. But you do not have to report that refund on your 2002 form if you either (1) figure your tax the regular way for 2001, passing up itemizing and using the standard deduction, or (2) were subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax, which applies only when it produces a higher tax bill than the tax figured out the regular way and, among other things, bars a deduction for state and income taxes.

Q: My insurance company sent me a statement saying it paid dividends and interest on my life-insurance policy. The company did not actually send me a check. Does any of the payment have to be shown on my 1040?

A: The dividends are not taxable unless the dividends you have received exceed the premiums you have paid. Interest on dividends left on deposit is taxable.

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Robin Orans:

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KRACKER BARREL

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Can You Revive Those Ancient Color Prints for Stock Sales?

If you are an editorial stock photographer, (that is, you enjoy capturing life around you with your camera and building a stock file that will appeal to book and magazine editors), you are going to find that our industry has moved cautiously into the Digital Revolution. Especially for the smaller markets, prints are rarely acceptable to photobuyers. This is not to say that no photobuyers can accept prints, but it is to say that most editorial stock photobuyers continue to require original slides or high-resolution digital scans submitted exactly to their specifications.

The high-resolution image is sent by e-mail (DSL or higher speed) or courier on a disc. In some case, the photobuyer will require the original slide.

And those prints? If you have the negatives, and they're in good condition, you're in luck. Color negative scans work well and are often better than transparency scans. This means you could send a high resolution digital scan of your image, produced from the original color negative.

THE DIGTAL MARKETS

Newspapers have been the pioneers in this digital\print revolution, but newspapers usually don't pay well enough for you to get involved.

The commercial stock industry, e.g. buyers at ad agencies, graphic houses, corporations usually can readily use a high quality hi-res scan just as well as a transparency.

Your prints can easily be digitized and employed on the web, but then again, that Internet market presently is not large.

You'll find some of your editorial buyers are equipped to digitize your prints for their particular use. This saves you the expense of using a local service bureau to produce high-resolution digitized images from your prints or negs.

YOUR WORKING METHODS

In this new century, the marketing approach is still the same: "Find out what area appeals to you, find markets for that area of interest, and then photograph for it." Inquire of your particular photobuyers, which delivery method they prefer, and the buy camera equipment accordingly.

If you've been strictly a color-neg-photographer is the past, the digital era has provided you with new marketing opportunities. –RE

GOOD STUFF

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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"Nothing you can't spell will ever work."

–Will Rogers

FREE THIS WEEK

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THIS WEEK'S WEB FEATURE

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Have questions about marketing your editorial stock photography? Put your questions on our Kracker Barrel and find the answers.

Watch for developments in the field of stock photography in PhotoAIM'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.

Salé and Pelletier sue over photographs - Olympic figure skating champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier are embroiled in a legal battle over who can sell photographs of the pair.

Is it wise to like art for profit's sake? - Kelly L. Close has turned investing into an art. Since the early 1990s, the medical technology consultant and art enthusiast has collected photography with an astute eye for aesthetic and economic value. Her portfolio livens the walls of her home and has more than tripled in value.

Corbis partners with sports photography company adding 500,000 images - Seattle-based Corbis Corp., a seller of digital photos and other images, said it has added 500,000 images to its library of offerings in a partnership with NewSport Photography Inc.

Many different interests draw people to photography - In reading e-mails I get from readers, I have found it interesting that photography means such different things to different people.

Polaroid Unveils the Latest Advancements in Instant Photography and Digital Printing Technology at PMA 2003 - advanced professional peel-apart instant film; Polaroid Digital MiniPortrait all-in-one digital camera and thermal printing system for document photography

Nikon(R) Provides Answers and Inspiration with Two Comprehensive Online Education Websites - Nikon Coolpix 101 and SLR Learning Center Websites Help Consumers Make the Most of their Cameras

The RIGHT way to print your digital photos - You may think you need a dedicated photo printer to turn your pictures into hard copy. Au contraire. The experts I've spoken to say that just about any inkjet printer will turn out a decent photograph.

Images of Shuttle Breakup Probed for Clues - Radar Data, Photos, Videos Used in Search of Wreckage

Globe wins 10 awards for visual excellence - The Globe and Mail received 10 awards for visual excellence yesterday in an international competition to find the best in newspaper design. Among the awards were three for page design, one for section design, one for information graphics and one for photography.

Great Gadgets of the Near Future - Some of the coolest new toys show up first overseas, from the labs of Japan's consumer electronics giants.

Film fades to digital in camera sales;

Digicam Plugs Into Axim PDA; The handheld can take photographs with the help of a piggyback camera from Veo.

Photo Chain Sues Eastman Kodak for $8M

Photographers Honor Rachel Carson

Holocaust Camps Photos Make U.S. Debut

Two Towers' Loom Large at Visual Effects Awards;

A PHOTOSOURCE INTERNATIONAL SPONSORED TAX GUIDE

Want to save money on taxes? Want to learn about new deductions and how to take them? Want to learn how you can make sure you don't overpay the IRS? Want to learn all this from an experienced, trusted expert in the field? Order Julian Block's 2003 Tax Tips for Stock Photographers.

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Want to know what they're saying about the PhotoDaily MarketLetter? Check it out at our Talk section.

Feel free to forward this issue of PhotoAIM to your photographer friends.

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Get a head start on selling your stock photos! Our Specialized Lists of photobuyers will give your business a jump-start.

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PhotoAIM weekly newsletter is a product of PhotoSource International, Rohn Engh, Director, who is solely responsible for its contents. Sell Photos.

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389d

Next Week: Copyright By The Pound

THE #1 DESKTOP REFERENCE

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For Editorial Stock Photographers

I've recently revised and updated "Sell & ReSell Your Photos" (5th edition) with substantial help from working professionals Mike Karlsson and Bill Hopkins. This book is the photographer-tested "must-have" desktop resource for building and maintaining successful marketing methods to sell your stock photos. The new edition comes out in March <http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstore.htm>. It includes a wealth of additional marketing tips geared to today's climate; also address updates, adjustments for new tax aspects, and the latest information on use of computers and the Internet to increase your sales.

The core of marketing principles and methods as presented in the original edition still apply, and form the foundation for a successful marketing system for editorial stock photographers.

NOT TALENT ALONE

Many photographers fail to sell their pictures consistently, not because they lack talent, but because they lack marketing know-how. In more than thirty years of experience in photomarketing, and twenty years as publisher of the PHOTOLETTER, I have observed that in many cases photographers attempt to sell their pictures the wrong way around. They create the picture, then attempt to find a market for it. Instead, reverse the process. You first find your photo markets, in the areas you like to photograph, and then create for those markets.

"Sell & Resell Your Photos," both original and revised editions, shows you how to determine your markets, and provides you with a complete system for marketing pictures successfully -- by mail and the Internet -- opening up a wide world of buyers as close as your mailbox and computer. My book outlines how you bring your talents, interests, access, experience, geographic location, etc., to bear on selecting your markets, and I provide tested web/Internet delivery, mailing, packaging, pricing, and record-keeping methods that take the mystery out of dealing with photobuyers long distance.

I show the difference between a good picture and a good marketable picture, and teach you how to take pictures that photobuyers want but often can't find. I explain the advantages of placing a portion (and which portion) of your pictures with stock photo agencies (and which agencies). I also feature sections on self-promotion and publicity, pricing, copyrights, and tax savings.

You'll find many charts, checklists, and step-by-step information that will help you make the most of the markets where your photos will sell -- again and again.