News from PhotoSource International


PhotoAimLite		The monthly newsletter for stock photographers November ## 422



	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.

Dinosaur Fossil Photo Not an Infringement
by Joel Hecker, Esq

Whether one photograph is substantially similar to another photograph, and thus constitutes copyright infringement, is often determined by the various elements involved.
A recent federal Court decision, Psihoyos v. The National Geographic Society, in the Southern District of New York, ruled that there was no copyright infringement in such a situation because two similar images were not "substantially similar" as those terms are defined under the Copyright Act.
The plaintiff, a professional photographer, had created a photograph of a fossil of two dinosaurs that had been uncovered in 1971 in the southern Gobi desert in Mongolia. This was done on assignment as a freelancer for The National Geographic Society ("NGS") in connection with a planned NGS article on dinosaurs.
In order to photograph the fossil, Psihoyos decided to build a display case. He filled the case with sand up to the level of the dinosaurs. The sand was taken from the Gobi desert in order to match the color and texture of the substance which bonded the bones of the fossil to the rocks. The final photograph was then created from an overhead position and showed the fossil surrounded by sand, but not the display case.
NGS decided not to publish the photograph and all rights to it reverted to the photographer. Thereafter, Psihoyos decided to publish a book on dinosaurs, which included this image. In connection with this project, he commissioned a scientific illustrator to draw an illustration of the dinosaurs at the moment of death in the same perspective and position as they appeared in the photograph. During the creative process, the illustrator looked through a number of different dinosaur books to see how others approached the subject.
In 2000, the Director of Photography for the American Museum of Natural History photographed the fossil in connection with a museum exhibit. This picture was also taken looking directly down. Sand had also been added and the resulting image shows the fossil surrounded by sand but not the display case which was a similar layout to that of Psihoyos.
In 2001 NGS selected this image from the museum collection for use in connection with a story on dinosaur behavior it wanted to run. NGS commissioned an artist to illustrate the two dinosaurs as they would have seemed just prior to their deaths, and supplied the museum photograph to him so that the illustrator could match the skeletons' positioning. After publication of the museum photograph and its illustration in the March 2003 issue of the magazine, NGS was sued for copyright infringement.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/legal127.html

The Kracker Barrel

Need the answer to a stock photography question? Want to sell your images? At our website >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.

Photographing Public Properties

Q: I have some questions on what I can and cannot try to
sell when it comes to archaeological sites. I'm
wondering about photos of things like the pyramids,
the Siq or rock tombs at Petra, Jordan, or the Minoan
palace at Knossos, Crete- all of which are located in
archaeological parks for which you pay admission. I
know the legalities of artifacts found on-site or
displayed in museums, and these are very strict, the
rights belonging to the director of the site or the
museum, but was wondering if anyone knew anything about
buildings that stand in public view (although you have
to pay to get into the park to photograph them).
Thank you.

A: The necessity for a property or model release is dictated by a photo's eventual use. In the case of the pyramids, the Siq, Jordan biblical sites, or the Minoan palace at Knossos, Crete, whether you are inside or outside the site, or whether it's the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame or the rock Tombs at Petra, no model or property release is required if the pictures are used to "inform and educate" (editorial use). Only if such a picture would be used for a commercial purpose, advertising, promotional, endorsement would the publisher ever need a release. This would apply to archaeological digs, as well.

The confusion over whether a public object can be photographed and published most usually comes from persons who arrive at the stock photography industry through the commercial door rather than through the editorial door. Or stems from well-meaning but erroneous advice written by magazine columnists who are unaware of your First Amendment Rights.
Photographers who have worked for a newspaper most of their career, know that model or property releases are not needed if the photo is to be used "to inform or to educate." In contrast, photographers who have worked in the commercial or advertising sector, e.g. corporate, advertising, or graphic art services, know that any photo used for endorsement or advertising purposes always requires a model or property release.
Here at PhotoSource International, our emphasis is on editorial photography, and most of our markets, such as magazines and book publishers, maintain an editorial focus.
About $70,000 a day is spent on editorial photography in this country. That's about 1/5 of what is spent daily on commercial stock photography. Although the monetary rewards in the editorial field are not as high up front as in the commercial field, other rewards abound. (Check out pages 72 and 73 of sellphotos.com <www.photosourcefolio.com/bookstore > for more on these other rewards.)

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/cb82.html

The Lazy Man’s Way to Stock Photography Success

Do you sell your images? Where do you keep your images? If your answer is a shoebox, plastic slide holders, or KODAK boxes, -- you are not alone.
Many photographers are organized and can find a specific picture when a photobuyer calls for it. But most, unfortunately, are not. However, there’s hope. I’m going to outline what I call the “Lazy Man’s Way” of organizing and selling your photos.
First of all, I’m going to ask you to step into the 21st century and quit grumbling about how Kodak and Fuji no longer provide film for you at the local drug store. Whether we like it or not, the Digital Age is upon us. So, let’s get with the program.
You asked about being able to be lazy?
The Digital Age that you see others experiencing is the key to your newfound workable laziness. Why?
No more: chemicals, tin rolls, delivery of film, arguing about color balance, light table mix-ups, filing slides in pages and notebooks, humidity problems, sleepless nights worrying about delivery (or return) of your original slides to a client or a stock photo agency.
If you’ve lasted this long in stock photography, then you must be a dedicated person. It’s time to make your dedication move in a new direction:
Digital.
This is where the laziness comes in. It’s not so much the taking of pictures, or cataloging them, but in selling them.
A little history first.
After fifty years of dominating the stock photography field, stock photo agencies are gradually losing their exclusive grip on the industry. In the last century, the agencies were pretty much the only game in town. If you decided to go with one, you had to make sure it was a specialized stock photo agency. If you had five different specialties that meant you put one-fifth of your collection in each of the five specialized agencies.
Today, whether you are a specialist or a “generalist,” it’s now more effective to market your pictures at an electronic “portal.” And this is where the laziness comes in.
Portals are digital stock photo agencies that feature your images in a massive collection. They utilize keywords to help visitors (buyers) locate special photo needs. Since all the photos are in digital format, you have no worry of picture loss as you would in a classic stock photo agency. Also, you are able to join several portals at the same time if you wish, and determine which one is doing the best job for you.
Photobuyer like portals. Photobuyers use the search power of the Internet when they start a search for the photo they need. Using keywords, a photobuyer might land on a series of portals. Each portal has its own keyword search section, so finding the ”just right” picture becomes much easier. In the next decade we are going to see photobuyers working almost exclusively with portals for this reason.
And if you want to be a lazy marketer of stock photos, portals provide you the opportunity to literally dump all of your top-notch marketable images into the portal. There’s no cataloging necessary. Remember, keyword searches find your picture (in seconds), not a visual search.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen697.html

The Marketing Quotent:
A Self-Critique

When you are next out on a photographing excursion, begin the habit of asking yourself, "Is it marketable?" before you snap the picture. Gauge whether the piece of film or digital file that you're exposing in your camera has a good chance of resulting in a sale for you.
If it's color: Is it saleable? That is, -is it a picture a photo buyer will need ...not one he already has access to. Will that transparency one day be on a photobuyer’s desk? If it's B&W, will the negative result in many future sales?
One photographer friend said she could not break the habit of snapping pictures of anything and everything on a photo excursion, then trying to make the marketing decisions a week later when the processed film returns. To make the change-over, she placed a label on the back of her camera that read: "Is it marketable?" It took her only two weeks to finally break the habit. The label is now removed. She no longer aims her camera at silhouettes of sea gulls against the setting sun (and other such "classic" shots, that do sell, but that are individually very difficult to market because thousands upon thousands of similar photos are available to photobuyers).
Instead, she now photographs specific subject matter geared to specific market areas that match her own interest areas. She found (and continues to find) dependable markets for her material by doing some sound marketing homework.

The MARKETING QUOTIENT Critique

In my seminars, I offer a free critique of photos based on their marketing potential. Since the persons who attend my seminars are photographers, I don't comment on the artistic value of the photograph, only the marketing potential. I use what I call the Marketing Quotient (MQ), a number factor ranging from 1 to 10. (Ten equals high.)
Since there's no mystery about the MQ, you can make a self-critique of your own pictures. Here's how to start:
A key factor in selling anything is the law of Supply and Demand. If there's a great supply of something, it's not going to sell briskly (e.g. the silhouette of the sea gull). If on the other hand, the supply is limited, the demand will be great. (A volcano erupting in Washington.)

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/ed87.html

The Memory Card:
“Photoshop CS2: Put a Trainer on Your Desk”
by David Arnold & Gail Rutman
When it comes to Photoshop, books give informational depth. But training videos give visual depth. You can actually see the images change as the trainer demonstrates particular tools, techniques, and adjustments. The following are what we consider to be the best of the newly released Photoshop CS2 training videos. In addition to the individual features we discuss, all of these packages include files for all the images you’ll see on the screen, so you can work with them as you follow the trainer.
Colin Smith, Photoshop Secrets: CS2 for Digital Photographers, www.photoshopcafe.com, 1 CD, 3½ hours, $54.99; free online demo. Unlike other programs that deal primarily with topics useful to photographers, this is the only one that’s 100 percent photography-specific. The clear interface makes it easy to jump directly to any one of the program’s 43 lessons.
Dave Cross, Photoshop CS2 for Beginners, http://shop.photoshopvideos.com/index.lasso, 1 DVD, 2½ hours, $39.99. Don’t let the title fool you: although everything is presented in way which will be clear to beginners, intermediate (and for some chapters advanced) Photoshop users will learn valuable tips and techniques they didn’t know before. Sophisticated techniques presented in ways that make them easy to understand and use.
Ben Willmore, Mastering Camera Raw, http://shop.photoshopvideos.com/index.lasso, 2 DVDs, 2½ hours, $49.99. Willmore presents both the detailed step-by-step click-by-click manipulations and the overall strategies for getting the most out of your raw images. It lives up to the title’s claim: truly a master class—yet it won’t leave novices behind. Though their content is valuable and well-presented, both Cross and Willmore’s videos suffer from weak and unhelpful interfaces.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/mcard18.html

TRAVELERS ABROAD
Photographers: We broadcast your foreign destinations along with contact information, departure date, length of stay, etc. Contact PhotoStockNotes (1 715 248-3800) at least two months in advance.

Steve Robertson
November 7 – December 29, 2005
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos
December 19 – January 13, 2006
Bangkok, Pattaya, Thailand

Donald Keith
November 9 – November 14, 2005
London, Tel Aviv

Sayyeda Garcia
October 30 – April 10, 2006
Italy, La Maddlena, Palau, Olbia

Diana Sabreen
January 9 – April 18, 2006
Thailand

Lee Snider
December 7 – December 20, 2005
Hong Kong

ON-LINE by Bill Hopkins

"I'm Sorry, We Can't Print That"
"Why not?" you ask. The lab technician behind the counter at Wal-Mart (or Rite Aid or similar kiosks or online photo printing services like Ofoto) tries to explain that your photo(s) look too professional. No, they can't quite explain why--they just know--and because of that, they refuse to print your images due to potential copyright violation. While that's perhaps a backhand compliment (after all, you ARE a pro photographer), it can present problems with your every-day photos of family and friends. All this because folks have abused (and continue to abuse) the copyright of professional photographers, and professional photographers have been successful in suing photofinishers for allegedly being lax in their enforcement of copyright protection. We all know the story of so-and-so who doesn't want to pay the price for additional prints from the pro, so they take their prints (or even the proofs) to the quick-print kiosk and print up more copies for pennies each. Cuts both ways, huh? Some ways to avoid this problem is to only take your film or digital media to your regular pro lab, explain to the clerk (may take more than once, and/or discussion with the supervisor) that you are a pro photographer, and perhaps leaving your business card. Sometimes, you can simply sign a waiver that you are the legal owner of the images. Or, perhaps print them on your own photo-quality printer.

Safe Computing Tips
I'm sure you all know about the evils of spyware, adware, and malware. Some of the more notorious include keystroke loggers (that record your keystrokes, like when you're entering passwords and other personal account information), and more recently, screen-capturing programs, all of which attempt to capture your security information and transmit it to a remote server. As web companies move away from the simple "enter your user id and password" to a "click on the screen keypad to enter your PIN," so do the bad guys advance, with malware that instead of logging keystrokes, takes screen shots of your monitor whenever the mouse is clicked. Cat and mouse.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/onlin162.html

Give Yourself a Grant

Do you want to sell your photos? Artists, songwriters, poets, photographers are able to apply for various grants available for creative entrepreneurs. These grants, of $1,000, $5,000, even $10,000, are usually available through non-profit foundations. The artist utilizes the grant funds to further their career.
If you have faith in your talent and your business sense, you’ve probably considered applying for a grant to get you started, or to expand your stock photography career.

DO IT YOURSELF

“Why spend all that time meekly filling out papers, when the law of probability says you no doubt won’t win the grant? There are too many applicants,” said my friend, when I asked him how he got his start in stock photography.
I’ll refer to him as Keith.
“I knew I had talent,” said Keith. “I compared my own work with the images that are being published. That’s the real test. So, I gave myself my own grant.”
“How so?"
Keith smiled, “I said to my wife, ‘Look honey, -it says on this envelope that they’ll advance me $5,000. And it’ll take 5 minutes to fill out.’ It was one of those offers you get from a financial institution every five minutes if you have good credit.
“My wife grimaced,” Keith said.
“This was one of those situations where it really was ‘too good to be true.’ I put the elements together: I had good credit; my credit reports said I was in the 650’s, which is high. I’m business-minded. I know how to budget. I have the courage of my convictions. I’m talented.
“My wife, said, 'O.K. – Go for it.' My accountant said the same.
"It took more than five minutes, maybe ten, to contact the company representative. In one week I had a credit line of $5,000 and a credit card with low interest that I could use to make all my purchases for my burgeoning stock photography business."

NOT FOR THE LAZY

“This was the boost I needed to get over the financial hump. When I look back now, applying for a grant, any grant, is simply living on the wrong side of the monetary revolution going on today. My good credit rating was lying dormant. I had a proven track record in photography. I was involved in something I loved doing. I quit saying, ‘Someday I’m going to get a grant.’ Instead I gave myself a grant!

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen675.html

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

COMBAT PHOTOGRAPHER - Henry van Westrop was supposed to be an artillery man
in World War II, not a war photographer, but took more than 40,000 photos in
the South Pacific between 1943 and 1945.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/top/w11warphoto.htm

Nikon posts record interim profits on CAMERA sales
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051114/tc_afp/japantechnologycompany
_051114101915

Photography making great progress in IRAN: AFP
http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode
=37694&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

Joint venture takes a new perspective on countrywide AERIAL photography-
UK - BlueSky International Ltd and Infoterra Ltd have signed a
multi-million pound deal to jointly create and market new high
resolution aerial photography of the country
http://www.kablenet.com/kd.nsf/b0e928b78af07bc1802569a60
04ce10b/767d5bded7aefd3a802570b6004f0b5f?OpenDocument

BETTERPHOTO.com Partners With Award-Winning Lens Manufacturer Lensbabies
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/11/prweb309340.htm

Index Stock Imagery Launches Its MILLIONTH Image - 1,700 contributing
artists and collections have built the library. It includes more than
200,000 Royalty Free images and more than 20,000 illustrations.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23628.html

Aperture: Raw Deal or the Real Thing? - Will Aperture be an opening for
Apple into the PRO PHOTO world? Ben Long offers his early thoughts.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/23611.html

'Exclusive by Getty Images' Delivers Premium Access to Distinctive CELEBRITY and Editorial Imagery - Getty Images, Inc. launched a premier online solution for magazine and newspaper customers seeking to differentiate their publications with highly distinctive imagery not available anywhere else.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/23606.html

KODAK RETAINS LEAD in U.S. digital-camera market - For the fourth straight quarter, Eastman Kodak Co. retained its lead over Japanese rivals Canon Inc.
and Sony Corp. in the U.S. digital-camera market. Photography-equipment
maker Kodak shipped 1.25 million digital cameras in the quarter -- 21
percent more than in last year's third quarter.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/13135164.htm
?source=rss&channel=mercurynews_technology

Patrick Lichfield, Star Photographer In The U.K., Dies At 66 - Patrick
Lichfield, a HIGH-SOCIETY British photographer famous for his portraits of
the Royal Family and other celebrities, died this morning of a stroke.
http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=
1001478441

Photographer answers call from NASHVILLE - John Condreay has hung from the
side of a helicopter, stood in a snowbank that reached past the knees of his
5-foot-6-inch frame but recently completed an image project for three record
companies based in Nashville, Tenn.
http://www.lafayettejc.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051113/BUSINESS
/511130340/1059

Wedding photographer snaps up top award - has won a top award
for his "innovative" WEDDING pictures.
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.650329.0.
wedding_photographer_snaps_up_top_award.php

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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

Feel free to forward this issue of PhotoAimLite to your photographer friends.
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PhotoAimLite weekly newsletter is a product of PhotoSource International, Rohn Engh, Director, who is solely responsible for its contents. Sell Photos !

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GOOD STUFF

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD GUIDE: DIGITAL, by Rob Sheppard. This reference provides all the information necessary to get the most out of the new digital technology, including the background and development of digital technology, how to select a digital camera, how to get the best results with a digital camera, the ethics of when a photographer should and should not alter images, differences in various file types (JPEG, TIFF, etc.), and tips for producing excellent panoramic images. ($21.95; ISBN: 0-7922-6188-7) Contact: National Geographic Books, 1145 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036 areeves@ngs.org

ADOBE INDESIGN CS/CS2 BREAKTHROUGHS, David Blatner and Anne-Marie Concepcion. Page-layout guru David Blatner and veteran trainer Anne-Marie "HerGeekness" Concepción have scoured the online forums, interviewed Adobe engineers, and gathered together answers to over 200 of the most-commonly asked questions. Written in a sassy, fun-to-read style, this book tackles every major InDesign problem with a lay-it-on-the-line solution. Adobe InDesign CS/CS2 Breakthroughs is for anyone who has been using InDesign long enough to realize that the solution to their problems isn't always as obvious as one would expect. (ISBN: 0-32-133413-2; $24.99) Contact: Peachpit Press, 1249 Eighth St, Berkeley CA 94710. Phone: 1 800 283-9444. Fax: 1 510 524-2221. E-mail: ask@peachpit.com.

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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!)
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.
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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Charles Pfeil (http://folio.photosource.com)
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White Mailers
Sending a disk or slides? Look like a pro. Stiff white cardboard mailers 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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"The longest word you can spell without repeating a letter: UNCOPYRIGHTABLE..."
-anonymous

WORKSHOP

BEST OF BURMA, with Bob Krist. January 9-23, 2006. This fascinating country, with its gracious people, gentle culture and Buddhist spirituality, promises wonderful photographic opportunities and delivers even more than it promises. The land price for this tour is $3,195, which includes all domestic flights in Byrma (Myanmar), ground transportation by air-conditioned bus, hotels, breakfast and dinner daily plus three lunches, all tips, fees and guide. Contact: Photo Explorer Tours, 2506 Country Village, Ann Arbor MI 48103-6500. Phone: 1 800 315-4462. Fax: 1 734 996-1440. E-mail: DECoxPhoto@aol.com.

SHOOTERS

Dennis Cox has won the Silver Award for the third time in the prestigious SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) Travel Photographer category. For a look at his outstanding portfolio entries: http://denniscox.com/
portfolio.htm

Better Information

O Tell me how I can get this same information in PhotoAimLITE, but a whole month earlier. https://www.photosource.com/
products/psn.php
1 800 624 0266

O Tell me about the PhotoSourceGROUP image-display site gallery of stock photos and how I can post 500 of my images for editors to buy. www.photosourcegroup.com 1 800 624 0266

O Tell me how I can sign up for a 1/2 page ad in your PhotoSourceBOOK desk-top directory that is distributed free of charge to 3,000 photobuyers for use every day of the year. www.photosourcebook.com 1 800 624 0266

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WANT TO TEST THE POWER
Of the PhotoSourceBANK ?

In the GOOGLE search bar, type the subject matter a buyer might be looking for, then a space, and then the word photosource.
Presto! Your selection will come up on page Number One of Google.
More and more, photobuyers are learning this quick, easy, method of zeroing in directly to the “source” of a highly-specific photo need.

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