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PhotoAimLite
Key words in this issue: Extra Funds | Net Operating Loss | usiness Loss | Copyright | Orphan Works | Revolution | Tax | Tax Fraud | Talents | For Sale | Website | Find | Postcards | Norway | Profit | Answers | Sell Photos
Newswords: Copyright | Airport | Natural Resources | Mother Teresa |
Film-Based | Scuba | Award-Winning | Scanners | Photography Prize |
Business | Cnet's | Hey Pix | Arab | Helmut Newton |
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## PhotoAimLite monthly newsletter for April ## 415
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PhotoAimLite, the weekly newsletter from PhotoSource
International. <http://www.photosource.com> ==>
ISSN 1530-0511
If you no longer wish to receive PhotoAimLite, see the instructions at the end of this newsletter.
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Net Operating Loss (NOL):
A Good Way to Get Extra Funds for Your Stock Photo Business
If your stock photo business suffers a loss this year, you will owe no income taxes on your stock photo business. You may not know that this loss will also offset your other income, such as a salary from an outside job, or your spouse's wages, and reduce your income tax for this year.
You can also use this year's stock photography business loss to offset income and reduce taxes from other years. You are allowed to carry back what the IRS calls a Net Operating Loss (NOL), to apply against prior income, and receive a refund of prior years' taxes, even if you were not in the stock business back then. The loss can be carried back two years. And if your taxable income for the two prior years is not sufficient to absorb the entire business loss, you may carry the balance forward, to apply to as many as 20 future years. At your option, you can forego the two-year carry-back period and apply your NOL entirely to the 20 future years.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/ntpd248.html
Copyright Office Studies
"Orphan Works"
by Joel Hecker
Photo researchers and other users of older photography and art are often caught in a dilemma. After finding the "exact" print they were looking for, they are unable to obtain clearance for usage because the copyright owner is unknown or unable to be located.
The Copyright Office is now examining the issues raised by such "orphan works" and is seeking written comments on whether there are compelling concerns raised by these works that merit a legislative, regulatory or other solution, and if so, what type of solution could effectively address these concerns without conflicting with the legitimate interests of authors and rights holders.
Orphan works are defined as copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate.
Specific questions which will be addressed in the study include the following:
1. What is the nature of the problems faced by subsequent creators and users?
2. How should an orphan work be identified and designated?
3. Should the result be created on a "case by case" basis, or through a more formal approach?
4. How old need a work be to be considered an "orphan?"
5. Should the status apply only to published works, or to all works?
6. What would be the effect of being designated an orphaned work?
If you wish further information, the contact person at the Copyright Office is Mary Rasenberger, Policy Advisor for Special Programs, Copyright Office, GC/I & R, PO Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C., 20024-0400. Telephone (202) 707-8350, fax (202) 707-8366.
Submissions can be made by mail, hand delivery or electronic mail to Orphanworks@loc.gov.
Written comments must be received by the Copyright Office on or before 5:00 p.m. EST on March 25, 2005. Written reply comments in direct response to written comments are due by 5:00 p.m. on May 9, 2005.
If this topic is a concern for you, or of interest, I suggest that you get involved and have your voice heard!
Attorney Joel L. Hecker lectures and writes extensively on issues of concern to the photography industry. His office is located at Russo & Burke, 600 Third Ave, New York NY 10016. Phone: 1 212 557-9600. E-mail: HeckerEsq@aol.com.
Wrong Side Of The Digital Revolution?
If massive stock agencies are squeezing out smaller photo agencies, and smaller agencies are forming alliances to compete with massive stock agencies, --where does that leave you? As a stock photographer, will you be able to compete in the world of massive on-line photo libraries? What is the state-of-the-art of the big agencies? Are these Goliaths a threat to you?
Some major stock agencies (let's continue to call them stock agencies) are developing super on-line services. But the industry is in its infancy, and it shows. It's a zig zagging route to follow for most of them.
No, they are not a threat to you, the individual editorial stock photographer.
Why? Thanks to the present digital revolution, the customers (photobuyers) find they no longer need to patronize major stock agencies in order to gain the best chance to locate the photos they need.
Technology advances now open the door for independent photographers to enjoy the same electronic access to buyers and provide the same speed and quality of service as the massive agencies atop this pyramid. Buyers will turn to any source, whatever the size, that has proven it can provide that "just right" picture for a specialized need.
Unique, content-specific pictures are what most editorial photobuyers are looking for.
Editorial stock photographers have always had an advantage over commercial assignment photographers, in the freedom to make unique pictures, because they are not art-directed, or required to mass-produce pictures that will have a "long shelf life."
Customers will always gravitate to their preference, their choice. Commerce over the centuries has always worked the same: "If you have what I need, and the price is right, I'll buy it." Add to that formula the speed of delivery (FedEx, UPS, on-line delivery, search engines, etc.), and you have all the elements you need for the kind of photo marketing you are doing right now.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen676.html
TaxTactics
Mental Illness: Does It Excuse
Tax Fraud?
Q. The Internal Revenue Service contends that I filed fraudulent returns. So the feds have billed me for back taxes and nondeductible interest charges. To really twist the knife, they want to assess sizable civil fraud penalties, also nondeductible. Fortunately, the government will not bring criminal charges, which could have meant a lengthy stay in the slammer.
My contention is that mental problems caused me to file 1040 forms that were inaccurate, but not fraudulent. According to my attorney, it is unlikely that the IRS will drop the fraud penalties. In that case, one of my options is to have the dispute resolved by the United States Tax Court, which is entirely independent of the IRS and is the only forum where I can contest additional taxes, interest and penalties without having to first pay the disputed amounts. How would you rate my chances of persuading the Tax Court to see things my way?
Á. The outcome depends on the particular facts and circumstances of your case. Unsurprisingly, the court closely scrutinizes a claim that a mental or other medical problem justifies relief from penalties.
For instance, it was unmoved by the medical problems of certified public accountant Robert Parker of Champaign, Ill. Robert held top-level positions with the University of Illinois, its fund-raising foundation, and a foundation-owned company, U.D. Corporation. Moreover, he moonlighted preparing tax returns.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/txtct97.html
Match Your Talents With Their Needs
Producing quality images is just the first step in selling your pictures to the book and magazine industry. Will your pictures get into print because of your talent?
The world doesn't work that way. Does every deserving painter receive recognition? Does every fine author get published, every talented musician get recorded?
In your creative field, talent abounds and so does tough competition. So how do you get to the head of the line and see your pictures in print? The key is "MATCHING."
Matching yourself -- is the bridge you create, to cross over from being unpublished, to having your images make consistent sales. If you make the right match (with photobuyers) you make life easier for you as a stock photographer.
Many stock photographers make the mistake of considering EVERY publication a target for their photography. This is a recipe for disaster. Do successful writers consider every publication a potential market? Do professional musicians aim for mastery of every style of music?
Successful professionals sell their work regularly because they have: 1.) analyzed what specialized aspect of their professional field they enjoy most, and 2.) analyzed which markets are the natural targets for their specialties.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/clmn36.html
Travel
The Website Arrives
by Jeremy Hoare
It has taken me a long time but finally I have my website up and running. Not that I did it myself. I employed a website designer whose work I had seen and liked. I made sure the site has none of that Flash and other trendy stuff to slow it down. Today, nobody waits for pages to load, they move on to the next website. Being 'cutting edge' trendy has a genuine downside in the real world of magazine and newspaper editors and picture researchers looking at and buying images. They just want to see, judge and move on.
I did not make the sit myself for one simple reason -- it is not beyond me to learn how to create a website, but I know that I'm better employed (by myself) doing the thing I seem to be good enough at and enjoy, taking travel photographs. My resultant website is a good one, in my opinion. I could not have achieved these results without a huge time input, and it still wouldn't have been up to the standards I wanted, and got, with a web designer.
A Shop Window
The website is not aimed at selling pictures right now; in the near future I will be selling prints from it. So currently it is a 'shop window' for my work and myself, and the reaction has been very positive.
In the first week of the website being live, my local travel agent asked me to put some pictures in his shop on a three-month changing basis. I have always told him about what I do as a travel photographer, and he books several long trips for me every year, but until the website, he had never been able to actually see anything. Now he can. This exposure may not bring about a direct return, but it does promote me in a good area, and that in itself is a positive result.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/trvnt74.html
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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Tara Shriner
(http://www.photosourcefolio.com)
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The Memory Card:
"File & Find"
by David Arnold & Gail Rutman
If you're shooting digital, you're probably turning out more images than ever before. But how do you find particular shots when you need them? Breaking them down into subject-specific folders is one solution. But if a photobuyer requests "Latino children bicycling," which folder do you go through: Latino? Ethnic? Children? Bicycles? Or is it in the Chicago folder, because that's where you shot it? Or perhaps it's on a CD or DVD on the shelf, because you've run out of space on your hard drive. If this scenario sounds familiar, you need a cataloging program. These programs generate thumbnails of all your photos, which you can then search by keywords. There are numerous image cataloging programs available, from free (suitable as albums for amateurs) to multi-user systems costing thousands of dollars. But for stock photographers, three programs stand out: iView Media Pro (http://www.iview-multimedia.com, $199), Extensis Portfolio (http://www.extensis.com, $199.95), and StockView (http://HSLtd.us, $395). All three are available for both Windows and Mac, and offer free trial versions.
Although iView and Portfolio are very similar, there are enough differences between them that you should try both. You'll spend a lot of time with the program you settle on, so look and feel are important. iView is easier to learn and use, but this is mitigated by Portfolio's online videos and better documentation. Also compare individual features that might be important to you. For example, both provide custom IPTC fields, but Portfolio's implementation is significantly better. Both have helpful online forums, but iView's have considerably more activity. Also, iView seems more responsive to users, both in customer support and when it comes to adding requested features.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/mcard13.html
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White Mailers
Sending a disk or slides? Look like a pro. Strong, classy, white cardboard mailers in a variety of sizes 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.
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On-Line
by Bill Hopkins
Fighting the Good Fight
Microsoft is aiding the war against spam. Not only does Microsoft file its own lawsuits against spammers (over 90 suits have been filed), they also assist others in the fight against spam. To help identify spam, Microsoft has created over 100,000 trap accounts (e-mail) accounts set up for the sole purpose of capturing spam messages that can later be investigated. You think you've got a lot of spam, imagine what Microsoft's trap accounts look like.
From the Philippines to the United States
The world's first mobile phone virus has entered the United States, and it only took eight months. Named Cabir, the virus was discovered on a cell phone in a gadgets store in Santa Monica, CA. Its biggest impact is draining the phone's batteries. It's been found in countries from China to the UK. Unlike computer viruses, which generally spread rapidly due mainly to the fact that so many computers worldwide run Microsoft software and are connected to the Internet, cell phone viruses are hampered by the many different phone manufacturers and technologies in use. But the threat will grow as cell phones become even more sophisticated and include such features as Internet connectivity. To help combat infection, many new phones come with anti-virus software.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/onlin155.html
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PostCards
Ready in 2-3 business days. 500 4x6 cards for $95. Call for free samples at
1 800 217-9628 or visit online at http://www.postcardpress.com .
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WorkShop
NORWAY, with Per Hernholm. June 24 - July 3, 2005. When most landscape photographers describe their ideal location, it is a land of rugged mountains, tall waterfalls, reflecting lakes, and abundant wildflowers -- in other words, Norway. Cost: $5400, includes single rooms at luxury hotels and ground transportation. Contact: Joe Englander Photography
Workshops & Tours, P.O. Box 1261, Manchaca, TX 78652. Phone: 1 512 922-8686. E-mail: trip-info@englander-workshops.com . Web: http://www.englanderworkshops.com/workshops/workshop.php?id=16 .
GoodStuff
FOCUS ON PROFIT, by Tom Zimberoff. This book is as close as you can come to a Bible for the business side of photography. It doesn't matter if you do portraits, assignments, or stock, this veritable goldmine will still be right for you. Tom Zimberoff guides the reader through the maze of running a small business and makes it all clear and easy to understand. The book is accompanied by the PhotoByte software and in itself that is worth far more than the $35.00 the book will cost you. This book will make you money! Simply because it will teach you to be more efficient with your time and resources and you will learn the basics as well as the more advanced areas. It doesn't really matter where you're at with your photography business because the book covers it all. From beginner just starting up to seasoned pro with many clients and a full plate. I feel that I can honestly recommend this book as a great tool to any photographer starting up a business or being in business. There is so much valuable information within the covers of Focus On Profit. Zimberoff also manages to take a subject that is normally about as much fun as having a root canal, and make it interesting. The last time I read a book about how to run my business I fell asleep. Focus On Profit does just the opposite; it energizes me and makes me want to focus on the profit of my own business. Well done, Mr. Zimberoff, well done indeed! - Mikael Karlsson (ISBN: 1-58115-059-8; $35.00) Allworth Press, 10 E 23rd St, Ste 510, New York NY 10010. E-mail: PUB@allworth.com . http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone#1581150598 .
AN INTERMEDIATE GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, by John Clements.
This book aims to help readers achieve a high level of proficiency.
Instruction and analysis in non-technical language and supported by hundreds of inspirational color photos. Throughout the text, an emphasis is placed on the principles that constitute a great shot. (ISBN: 2-88479-025-X; $19.95) Contact: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 387 Park Ave S, New York NY 10016-8810. Phone: 1 800 805-5489. E-mail: publicity@sterlingpub.com .
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstoreone.htm#288479025X
PHOTOS TO GO. Index Stock Imagery, has launched a division called "Daily Photos To Go," a service providing free images for websites of small business and "prosumer" users. This new web service automatically refreshes a website or blog with customized photo content, daily or weekly. Once the "Daily Photos To Go" code is inserted into a user's website, Photo To Go's Web Services back end provides the site with automatically-changing, customized images, for free. Index Stock Imagery is a supplier of digital images to the publishing, corporate, and advertising worlds. Contact: Index Stock Imagery, Pat Hunt at http://www.photostogo.com/content/daily_photos_to_go.asp . Phone: 1 800 729-7466. Fax: 1 212 929-4644. Web: http://www.indexopen.com .
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Subscribe to our weekly PhotoStockNotes, only $14.99 per year.
Keep up with trends in the stock photo industry.
SPECIAL: The third week of every month, we send you 2 dozen fresh,
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Info: https://www.photosource.com/photostocknotes/
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Read All About It
The next time you're working on a research project, check out www.answers.com. They've now developed a "1-Click Answers" feature that allows a toolbar to remain on your desktop.
The advantage: From within any program, you just alt-click on any word and it will look it up in a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia and other reference works to display immediate answers. If you do research on-line, this is a great advantage. Be sure to book mark it. It's a wonderful addition to the growing list of excellent free reference websites available to the public. -RE
PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS
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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.
Photographer's COPYRIGHT problems continue at AIRPORT - Just days after
winning an out of court settlement dispute with a major New Zealand hotel
chain Looney was coming through customs when something caught her eye on the
MAF declaration form. In the middle of the form was her copyright image,
used specifically without her permission.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3243297a11,00.html
Through a naturalist's eye - Fields, a photographer and resident of the Owen
County town of Spencer, Ind., uses his camera to capture the state's
existing NATURAL RESOURCES .
http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/04/10/living.20050410-sbt-MICH-F3-Through.sto
Photographer exhibits MOTHER TERESA . Freelancer for the Associated Press was among the last few people allowed to document the work of Mother Teresa...
http://www.gogreenbay.com/page.html?article=130861
Choice guide for the newcomer to digital photography - Signs of digital
photography's rise at the expense of the FILM-BASED kind can be seen
everywhere. For those whose loyalties remain with film, there has never
been a better time to buy a high-quality camera, as their prices are
squeezed by the astonishing array of digital models.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10119273
Free class dives into SCUBA innovations - McCullough said he likes to
photograph fish such as grouper and hogfish. Taylor said she would like to
take pictures of colorful reefs and the small creatures that live there.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050409/NEWS0102/504090301/1002/NEWS01
AWARD-WINNING Oakland Tribune photographer dies at 73 - Oakland Tribune
photographer Roy Henry Williams, who was a member of the photo team that won
the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, has
died. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/11361320.htm
Printers Never Were Big Buyers of Desktop Color SCANNERS - Scanner
investment among print and prepress firms is certainly up since 2002, but at
14%, that's only 1 percentage point below the record high of 15% back in
1999. http://www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com/fastfacts/fast277.html
£30,000 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize - US photographer Steven Shore has
been short listed for the £30,000 Deutsche Börse PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE. He and 3
other photographers have made the cut. http://blog.fotolia.com/us/archive/000591.html
Net Operating Loss and Your Photography BUSINESS -
http://blog.fotolia.com/us/archive/000582.html
Framed and Exposed: Buying a Photo Printer, Part 2 - Ben Long continues to
break down the sometimes-confusing process. Learn why media matters, how to
save money on inks, and more. http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/22750.html
Digital Photography's New Snapshot. CNET's acquisition of Windup Labs and its HEY PIX.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05041103.htm
ARAB photography exhibit: 'A lot more there than oil'
http://www.dailysentinel.com/hp/content/gen/ap/TX_Arab_Photography.html
Exhibit turns lens on HELMUT NEWTON known to the world as the King of Kink,
the 35mm Marquis de Sade and the trailblazing photographer who liked to
shock and loved taking pictures of big, strong, naked women in stilettos.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/04/11/helmut.newton.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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PhotoAimLite is a collection of excerpts from our weekly newsletter, PhotoStockNotes, available through the web anywhere in the world $14.99 per year. http://www.photosource.com/psnintro.html
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Next Month: Protect Your Images