News from PhotoSource International


PhotoAimLite		The monthly newsletter for stock photographers September ## 420



	PhotoAimLite, the monthly 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.

Now you'll get better protection…
Supreme Court Establishes New Concept for Copyright Infringement
by Joel Hecker

The Supreme Court of the United States has established a new theory for holding infringers liable for copyright infringement, based upon a line of cases concerning patents. It relies upon acts of inducement of infringement by others.
The case, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., decided June 17, 2005 by a unanimous court, involves peer to peer music and video file sharing, but is applicable as well to photography with the emergence of digital peer to peer photo-swapping services.
The question raised before the Supreme Court was under what circumstances is the distributor of a product, which is capable of both lawful and unlawful use, liable for acts of copyright infringement by third parties using the product. In Grokster, the products were free software that allowed computer users to share electronic files through peer-to-peer networks (where users' computers communicated directly with each other and not through central servers).

THE LOOPHOLE
Because there was no central computer server to mediate the exchange of information or files among users, the distributors did not directly infringe the copyrights at issue, nor did they infringe under theories of either contributory or vicarious infringement.
The Supreme Court, in reversing decisions of both the District Court, and the intermediate level Circuit Court of Appeals, found a solution to the huge number of infringing downloads occurring every day, by establishing indirect liability under this theory of inducing copyright infringement.

THE NEW RVLE
The new rule, as adopted by the Supreme Court, is that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by the clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.
This inducement rule, said the Court, premises liability on purposeful, culpable expression of conduct, and thus does nothing to compromise legitimate commerce or discourage innovation having a lawful purpose.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/legal125.html

They Have Not Paid Me for
Use of My Photos
Some publishers have been known to pay their electricians, plumbers, and gardeners before they get around to paying their photo suppliers. When you inquire about slow payment, these companies have been known to refer you to their accounting department. The response there frequently is, "The check's in the mail."
After a few months of e-mail exchange, and still no payment, you decide to go the legal route.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is good organization to start with. They have volunteers in most major cities. They're willing to help impoverished artists, but for regular customers, they charge regular fees. Their advantage: they are accustomed to dealing in this area of "intellectual properties." If your situation evolves to a point where it looks pretty certain that you'll get a settlement, you could ask the attorney to work on a contingency basis. The National VLA address is 1 East 53rd St 6th Fl, New York NY 10022 (1 212 319 2787 or 1 212 752 6575).
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen693.html

Photobuyer Requirements in the Digital Age

With the digital age upon us, the postal system is fading as the main method of contacting and submitting to photobuyers. Stock photographers are having to learn new sets of contact and delivery protocols. The "mail order" part of our business still exists, but it is going, going and soon to be gone.
Recent requirements of photobuyers who list their needs in the PHOTOLETTER and PHOTODAILY marketletters give insight into the "new way(s)" to conduct the operation of your business, especially the delivery option. Here are some sample quotes:

"We prefer to view photos on a website, or, sample digital preview scans."
Paula Heyer, Product Manager
Thayer Publishing

"Request sample digital preview scans, or link to online samples of previous work."
Gregory Matusky
Gregory Communications

"Prefer sample digital preview scans, or a link to a lightbox."
Laura Wyss
St Martin's Press

"View the "Submitting Photography" page at our website, and our photographer guidelines, before sending work."
Liz West, Art Editor
Florida Wildlife Magazine

Where to find them?
I need some shoelaces.

Despite the ease of consumer shopping these days, finding essential items is not so easy. Take the case of the lowly shoelace. You can't do without them. And you need white ones for your sneakers, not black, not plaid, nor leather. You don't feel like walking half a mile through a Wal-Mart. On-line shopping on the Internet would cost you three times the actual price when you add in the shipping. And gas prices make a special trip to the Dollar Store prohibitive.
I can't suggest an easy way out of this dilemma, and it's interesting that the same parallel holds true for the photo researchers looking for an essential picture for their publishing project.
But on this latter issue I can offer a solution. Like on a shoe, 'any ol' shoelace won't do. For the researcher, that "just right" picture can turn a B-minus layout into an A-plus.
The savior in this case is the search facilities on the Internet. Like the improvements in cell phones over the last two years, 'search' on the Internet has improved also. Using a text search, rather than a picture search is the simplest answer for the weary photo researcher.
"But are researchers using text to find pictures?" you might ask.
Not all of them, because not all of them are aware of this fairly recent search method. But the successful researchers are finding out about the benefits of this method, and growing numbers are climbing on board. realize this method.
The top search engines these days seem to be Google, Yahoo and MSN. On your website, if you enter several words, even sentences or phrases, that these search engines can pick up in their frequent 'web crawls' of the Internet, your pictures and essential details will be indexed. In other words, you'll be 'cataloged' like a reference book, just like in your local library. You and your picture description will be identified. And you'll be found.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/trnte92.html Want to sell your photos?

The Memory Card:
Photoshop CS2's Big 2
by David Arnold & Gail Rutman
Last month we reviewed nine of the new or improved features in the recently released Photoshop CS2. But helpful as those features are, they're overshadowed by CS2's two major improvements: Adobe Bridge (which replaces PS7 and CS's File Browser), and a greatly enhanced Adobe Camera Raw.
ADOBE BRIDGE. The old File Browser has evolved into a stand-alone program that can run on its own or from within Photoshop CS2 (or any of the other Creative Suite programs). Instead of just providing access to your image files, Bridge can handle files from any Adobe program, thus serving as a "bridge" between them. But it's much more than just a bridge-it's a fast and full-featured tool for reviewing, selecting, organizing, and annotating your digital images. Furthermore, you can open additional instances of Bridge to have multiple folders accessible simultaneously.
In place of CS's rudimentary flag/unflag labeling, in CS2 you can both rank images (zero to 5 stars) and color-code them. You can then display, for example, just images with three or more stars, or all images coded green.
Bridge also offers a wide selection of customizable workspaces, including Thumbnails, Filmstrip (a strip of thumbnails plus a large display of the selected one), Details (thumbnails plus metadata), and Slideshow (which sequences through large versions of your images and lets you rank or color-code them on the fly with a single keystroke). Instead of having to navigate drop-down menus to select among a short list of thumbnail sizes, a slider now lets you resize them on the fly. With the File Browser we were never sure which raw files had been adjusted, but in Bridge, adjusted thumbnails display a "been edited" icon-a minor change, but typical of CS2's improved usability.
ADOBE CAMERA RAW (ACR). Instead of having to adjust each raw file separately (or adjust one and then blindly apply identical adjustments to other images), you can now adjust one image in a large window, see the results applied to thumbnails of other selected images, and then, if desired, quickly tweak each one individually.
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/mcard16.html

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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 a dozen fresh,
new photobuyer address and e-mail changes. Plus two dozen new photobuyer
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ON-LINE
by Bill Hopkins

Digital vs. Film
Yes, digital is getting better (and less expensive) all the time. And certainly many pros use digital, some exclusively. But let me share this with you. During the launch of the shuttle Discovery, NASA (which has a pretty big budget) had an unprecedented number of cameras trained on the launch vehicle. Some were on the ground, some in chase planes, and some on the shuttle (and external fuel tank) itself. All this to watch for possibly dangerous debris that might strike the shuttle and/or other anomalies. Do you remember what NASA said when the digital images, which they could review at once, revealed that some foam on the external tank may have come off? (I'm paraphrasing here) "We'll have to wait for the film images to get a really detailed look at it." Take a cue from NASA--when really detailed images matter, think film.

Top Time Wasters
According to a recent survey by America Online and salary.com, the biggest time waster at work is (drum roll) surfing the Internet for personal use. Survey respondents (people actually answered these questions? Oh, I know--they answered them while at work!) reported that of their wasted time (which did not include lunch), over 44% was for surfing the Internet. The next closest time-waster? Socializing with co-workers, which was only about 23%. So, computer use for personal reasons (via the Internet, which would include e-mail, instant messaging, and text messaging to cell phones) would seem to have replaced office water cooler gossip by a significant margin
.Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/onlin160.html

Are They Protected?

Note: Want to sell your photos? Need the answer to a stock photography question? At our Web site (www.photosource.com/board) you'll find our Bulletin Board, called "The Kracker Barrel." Check it out. Our staff answers marketing questions; fellow photographers offer their input and experience. The following is a typical exchange:

Q: I've been considering putting my pictures in a stock photo agency. What if the stock agency building burns down? Do I get compensated for the loss of the 500 photos that the stock photo agency was in the process of scanning to incorporate into their collection?
A: A stock agency contract always includes a 'limitation of liability clause.' They use a clause similar to the model form for a photographer agreement that PACA (Picture Archive Council of America) (www.pacaoffice.org) recommends. It goes something, but not exactly, like this:
"Agency shall provide a suitable environment for short-term or long-term storage, care, and retrieval of photographer's images and shall strive to protect and care for the images that are on file, temporarily or permanently with Agency. However, if there is any damage, theft, or loss of your images, Agency shall not be liable unless such damage, theft, or loss was a result of Agency's willful or gross negligence. Photographer agrees that except for a case of negligence, Agency's total liability per photo shall not exceed one hundred ($100.00) dollars."
This has been upheld in the courts in the past. (Check out Adamo v. Corbis Corp.) Be sure to check out the fine print in your contract with a stock photo agency. Some agencies have been known to modify the above and make themselves liable for $100 for your entire collection. Others say they are liable for nothing at all. (In other words you are taking a big chance in leaving a collection of your original transparencies with a stock photo agency for any length of time.)
So, unless your stock agency willfully burns down the building, your collection there of images/transparencies, discs, CD's, still photos, whether 500 or 50,000, are essentially not protected.
-Rohn Engh

CONTEMPORARY PHOTOS will one day become historical photos. If your editorial stock photos are of documentary significance they have the potential of becoming of monetary value a generation hence. Such photos mellow with age and become valuable assets to photo books on topics ranging from car racing to medicine, Boy Scouts to recreation. An example is a current publication by the National Georgraphic Society: "Golf's Golden Age." The book reminisces on Bob Jone's remarkable feat of capturing the major four golf championships in a single season. It features a never-before-published collection of rare images of the era's leading players from the early 1910's to the mid 1930's.
If you specialize in some corner of the image market, your photos can become a value asset to your heirs.
GOLF'S GOLDEN AGE: Robert t. Jones, Jr. and the Legendary Players of the 10s, 20s and 30's (National Georgraphic Books, ISBN 0-7922-3872-9, $27, June 2005), the USGA's official book for the 75th anniversary, is by Rand Jerris with Rhonda Glenn, David Normoyle and Marty Parkes. rpenovic@ngs.org

How to sell to them
General Markets

Want to sell your photos? Thanks to the Internet, search engines have now made it possible to sell those images in your photo collection that are outside of your photo specialization. Example: You may be known as an aviation photographer, but you have an outstanding picture of a particular waterfall in Oregon - in the wintertime. It may be just the image a photobuyer needs. How can you broadcast this to potential buyers?
Here's how you can make contact:
List all your images in a text-based website such as www.photosource.com/bank, the PhotoSourceBANK. There, if you enter in highly specific descriptive words (describing each of your photos), photobuyers will find that one specific picture they are looking for, and they will find its source: you. Anticipate how a photobuyer might search for a highly specific image. Don't list "bird," or "woodpecker, " but "pileated woodpecker in winter."
Increasing numbers of photobuyers are turning to a database like the PhotoSourceBANK, and its sister website, PhotoSourceFOLIO, or the print directory, the PhotoSourceBOOK, to find targeted images. These photosearch resources save them time
Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen691.html

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The KRACKER BARREL, our chat section of our website is
now re-furbished and ready for your stock photo marketing question(s).
Try it out. www.photosource.com/board
NOTE: At the gray bar at the top of the posts section where it says, "GoTo" -
Click on the word, Log In.
This will allow you to register for the Kracker Barrel. (Be sure to save your password.)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
IN THE NEWS

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.

NOTE: As always in the field of Information Technology, new changes come along that mitigate present knowledge and information. Here's the latest headline: Sony Establishes a New Class of High-End 10-MegapixelDIGITAL CAMERA
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23374.html?cprose=daily

Some Cameras BANNED in Courtroom
http://www.wqow.com/news/articles/article_4726.shtml

Thousands of famed photos RUINED
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/shopping/chi-0509120262sep12,1,4398954.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Every time you use layers and curves in Photoshop, you start to DEGRADE
the image data -- unless, tou use adjustment layers. David Blatner and Bruce Fraser show you how.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/22295.html?cprose=daily

Corel Corporation Announces Corel Paint Shop Pro X and COREL Photo Album 6
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23375.html?cprose=daily

Sony Establishes a New Class of High-End DIGITAL CAMERA
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23374.html?cprose=daily

BigStockPhoto is changing with the face of stock photography industry.
With the rise of quality digital cameras, more photographers are feeding
the design community with LOW COST photos.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/9/prweb282880.htm

NOAA HURRICANE KATRINA SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
AERIAL Photography Flights Yield Thousands of Images
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2500.htm

Revived photo exhibit celebrating ANGLO-SOVIET alliance in WWII
http://en.rian.ru/culture/20050911/41362721.html

Artists and Photographers DONATE Images from and of New Orleans and
Mississippi for Katrina Fund Raising Efforts
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050912/125263.html?.v=1

Air Force SATELLITE Shows Off Rendezvous Skills
It would also .demonstrate low-cost, high-quality photography for use
by war fighters in the field.
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/050912_XXS-11_update.html

Judged Reality Bikini Photo Shoot Attracted over 130 MODELS and
Photographers Labor Day Weekend in Cabo
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/prweb/20050912/bs_prweb/prweb283467_1

Sony Set To Deliver 10-MEGAPIXEL Point-and-Shoot Camera
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20050909/tc_nf/38154

420

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE, with Jill Enfield. September 25 - October 1, 2005. Each day brings new challenges that inspire participants to enhance their personal vision, look inside themselves, and push the envelope of expression. The streets and people of Santa Fe and the villages of northern New Mexico provide a wealth of opportunities for exploring creativity through the camera lens. Cost: Tuition $825; E-6 Color Lab Fee $120; Model and Location Fee $55. Contact: Santa Fe Workshops, P.O. Box 9916, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Phone: 1 505 983-1400. Email: info@santafeworkshops.com Web: http://www.santafeworkshops.com

The KRACKER BARREL, our chat section of our website is now re-furbished and ready for your stock photo marketing question(s). Try it out. www.photosource.com/board
NOTE: At the gray bar at the top of the posts section where it says, "GoTo" - Click on the word, Log In.
This will allow you to register for the Kracker Barrel. (Be sure to save your password.)

Shooters

Ever shoot your own heart surgery? Art Shay thought it was possible, and did. The story will appear July 31st in the The New York Sunday Times Magazine (back page). Shay , who has shot more than 1,000 covers for magazines, books and ads, is the only photographer ever to have two covers in a row on the NYST Magazine (in the 70's). He also scored the most pages ever accorded a photographer in B&W Magazine (Feb. 2005 Issue), and is currently featured in Chinese Popular Photography as "One of America's Great Photographers." Not bad for a spry 83-year-old PhotoStockNotes subscriber and fan.

For newcomers only
Need to find markets for your areas of photography?

Most entry-level stock photographers make the mistake (like most beginners in any creative field) of creating first…and then trying to find a market for their product. It's a recipe for disaster.
If you reverse it (find the market--then create), you'll be successful. (I.e. find the markets that focus on the subject areas that you like to photograph.) Thanks to the Internet, you can easily find what markets are out there waiting for your special interest pictures. Go to a search engine such as Google and type in the name of your category of pictures (let's use "childhood education" as an example), a space, the magazine, a space and then "guidelines" (three phrases). The results are interesting: 733,000 for childhood education-oriented periodicals. Granted, search engines are not perfect, but if only one-tenth of those periodicals and publishing houses turn out to be markets for your area of specialization, you need look no further for buyers for your photography. This system works for any category of specialization you might have. -RE

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Greg Taylor
http://www.photosourcefolio.com/2669
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A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.
Roald Dahl

TAX Tip
from Julian Block
Q: I'm somewhat proficient in preparing my own taxes, especially when it comes to using one of the available tax software programs, like Turbo-tax or Quicken, to prepare the return. Would a tax professional be willing to check the results over for a reduced rate (vs. the rate charged for complete preparation)?

A: Having the tax professional review your taxes is a good cost-saving idea. This request is not out of the ordinary. Keep in mind, though, you will be expected to do the bulk of the work. So, if you are computer proficient most tax professionals will welcome this kind of arrangement. All things being equal, the client's comfort level for preparing his/her future tax returns will be more greatly assured. And, unless any remarkable changes/variables enter the picture, the need for professional consultation and/or assistance with tax preparation in ensuing years will be greatly minimized. If there are changes, have your tax professional review that part of your form.

Julian Block, a former IRS agent and a tax attorney, is the author of "The Stock Photographer's Tax Guide." For details on how to purchase this important 32-page publication: http://www.photosource.com/taxtips.php . For Julian's tax saving and tax planning reports, go to http://www.photosource.com/products and click on "2004 Tax Tip Guides." Julian can be reached at julianblock@yahoo.com

Retyping lost article
Want To Invite Google to Index your Web Page?

The search engine, Google, adds and updates new sites to their index each time it "crawls' the web. Google invites you to submit your Web page's URL. They don't add all submitted URLs to their index, and they cannot make any predictions or guarantees about when your web site will be indexed. But it's worth giving it a try. To add your website: http://www.google.com/
addurl/?continue=/addurl .

Travel photographers will find profitable information in the newsletter, TravelWriter Marketletter, founded by Robert Scott Milne. For info: mimi@travelwriterml.com. Ask for a sample to be sent to you.

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 a dozen fresh, new photobuyer address and e-mail changes. Plus two dozen new photobuyer contact addresses.
Info: https://www.photosource.com
/products/psn.php

MORE SALES. When you sell a stock photo from your files, it's like finding money. Many photos in your files languish there because photobuyers don't know they are there. What if there were a way to broadcast their availability? And it would cost you no more than the average fee you'd receive for one photo sale? Having your own announcement in the PhotoSourceBOOK 2006 photographer directory with a free link to the electronic PhotoSourceBANK and the new PhotoSourceGROUP will put you on the desks of 3,000 photobuyers, 365 days a year. Watch for more notices with details on how to sign up (cost: $365 -- a dollar a day for promoting your photography).

BUILD YOUR LIST of editorial photobuyers -- subscribe to the weekly PhotoStockNotes newsletter ($14.99 per year for 52 issues). In the third week of each month you receive photobuyer updates, new buyer addresses, and editor changes. Sign-up at www.photostocknotes.com to receive this letter every Wednesday evening.

To ensure delivery of PhotoSource International e-mail newsletters and announcements (not bulk or junk folders) to your inbox, please add our "From" address: info@photosource.com, to your address book or whitelist.

Are you using a LightBOX to respond to photo requests? If not, as a subscriber to one of our marketletters or PhotoSourceBook, you have Free access to our PhotoSource LightBOX. A tutorial can be found at http://www.photosource.com
/account/lightbox/tutorial/

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.

LOOK LIKE A PRO when mailing your next print, ad, or disk: The "Way Less" envelope stiffener will not only create a high-tech look to your project but save you more than fifty cents in postage on an average mailing. (They pay for themselves!) Sell Photos !
Made of extruded sheets of stiff corrugated polypropylene, the "Way Less" envelope stiffeners are lint and dust free, and unlike cardboard are impervious to moisture. Available in all popular envelope sizes. To learn more, order, or request a free sample, visit: www.envelopestiffeners.com

email: info@photosource.com web: http://www.photosource.com