Key words in this issue: Corbis | Loss of Images | Sygma | Stock Photo Agency | B&W Photo | Advertising | Taxes | Blue Ribbons | LightBOX | Designing | Website | Virus | Researching |

News Words: Orphan Works | Show Your Technical Ability | Digital Users | Tony Sweet | Savagely Competitive World | New Gadgets Baffling | Photographer Gunned Down | Automate Photoshop | Photographer | Action Images | Studying Photography | Portrait Photographers | Editorial Photography | Partnership With Quark |

	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.

Corbis Sygma Held Responsible for Loss of Images

Arthur Grace, a photojournalist who recorded events of historical significance for many years, sued Corbis Sygma in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York for failure to return what eventually was determined to be approximately 40,000 images. (He had initially claimed a loss of approximately 67,473 images.)

After an extensive trial the Court made a number of findings relating to liability issues and damages under the facts concerning this particular photographer.

First and foremost, the Court determined that Sygma (which was the initial stock photo agency, later acquired by Corbis) never had a system in New York for keeping track of all the images in its inventory. Its system was, in the Court's words, "completely inadequate.” Images were not organized by photographer but were kept chronologically and by theme or story. No record was kept of which images were sent to the client on consignment or which were returned.

Over the years Sygma, and later Corbis Sygma, would sporadically return images, eventually totaling over 33,000.

The Court found that the submission of the images to Sygma was a bailment for mutual benefit (since Sygma was obtaining fees for its licensing services). Therefore, Sygma was presumed to have been negligent in failing to return the missing images. Since it did not provide a sufficient explanation for the loss, the Court found it was therefore liable.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/legal131.html

The New Age of Editorial Photography . . . .
Images Are Getting Real, Again

In 1987, I can remember talking with a California stock photo agency director who waved his hand toward his office files with the exclamation, “Editorial photos? We have plenty of those!” The pictures he referred to, of course, were clean-cut models in a work situation, smiling at a computer screen, or a housewife pleasantly choring away with her modern vacuum cleaner. The viewing public in those days, it was assumed, preferred fairytale “editorial” pictures.
Catalogs of historical B&W photos from the post war era also reflect the aspirations of the public (or at least that’s what the art directors figured) to depict a wonderland society, peaches and cream, that, however, few people would ever experience.
Times have changed. Maybe it was the shock of 9/11 or the turmoil in the Middle East; or it may be the influence of TV that can portray reality as it really is. The public is growing up and getting real. Publishers are wakening up also. We are seeing a growing willingness of publishers to tackle controversial subjects with natural lighting and hand-held camerawork. Even major Hollywood films today reflect a cultural acceptance of the “real.”

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/gen710.html

Target your Markets

Many photographers are experiencing a drop in stock sales, and many publishers of magazines and books are trying to cut corners.
“BACK TO THE BASICS”
Some photographers are cutting corners, too.
But a word of caution. Cutting corners can be a necessary business practice when times are tough financially, but of course the key to doing this right and not hurting your business instead of helping it, is to know what to cut and what to leave alone.
Generally speaking, you naturally want to avoid cutting anything that directly generates income for you, providing the profits outweigh the expenses. This includes things like image production, marketing, information services, and advertising. You may have to cut down in some of these areas, but don’t cut them entirely.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/sbar3.html

Goodbye Taxes
by Rohn Engh

Arithmetic in grammar school and algebra in high school never appealed to me. But when I discovered later on in life that I could save hundreds of dollars every year, I soon became fascinated by mathematics.
Once a year we have to get serious about taxes. Most photo illustrators have the same comment. "Taxes...Oh! I leave that subject to my tax accountant."
It turns out the tax accountant is usually Uncle Harry down the street, or someone picked out from the Yellow Pages. In other words non-experts, who are costing the photographer mucho dollars.
Before you close the doors and slam the windows and refuse to let me talk to you, let me make two points: 1) you are missing an opportunity to save anywhere from $10 to $1,000 a year (or more) on your taxes if you are a salaried person and attempting to get your stock photography side business off the ground, and 2) what I'm going to say has nothing to do with evading taxes -- that's illegal. You will avoid taxes -- that's your legal right.

THE IRS RULES ENCOURAGE YOU

The IRS encourages you to avoid taxes. Sound odd? It's correct.
The reason the IRS doesn't want you to pay so much in taxes is that our free enterprise system recognizes that it takes courage to start up a business, thus, the IRS wants to en-courage you. They know that if you succeed, you could very well help stimulate the economy by hiring more workers, who in turn will pay more taxes.
Perhaps you thought "write-offs" were only for the big boys, and that it costs big dollars to ask questions about tax advantages. Not so. The IRS provides you with all the information I'm about to reveal to you, in their free and informative, "Taxpayer's Business Kit." (Phone them at 1 800 829-1040).
But if you're like most of us, you'll take one look at that two pounds of information and put it away in a drawer for "later."

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/clmn86.html

Get In The Right Place

The automatic controls on cameras today make the technical side of photography much easier than a generation ago. As a result, the person with a sensitive eye finds that she or he is amassing a healthy collection of "quite good" images.

"How can I get my pictures published?" is usually the next question. And rightly so, because you've seen pictures published that were not even as good as yours.

Award-winning pictures in exhibitions and contests may earn you blue ribbons, but if you're interested in seeing your credit line in national circulation and receiving checks in the mail, here are some tips on how to shift your emphasis.

For the purposes of marketing, the real judges of what makes a good photo are the editors at magazine or book publishing houses, who buy photos not because they like them, but because they need them.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/clmn108.html

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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/
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Digital Notes

Ed. Note: In this issue we begin our new column, Digital Notes, authored by Nathan Segal, who writes for computer and photographic magazines. He will place special emphasis on tackling the not-so-easy task of photographers to adapt to the Digital Age.

Designing Your Website

I’ve been asked, “How do I design a successful website?”
I often respond, “Do you know the fastest way to ruin a new website
design?” As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”
Let's put it another way. In programming, there's an old axiom that states: "The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish."
Planning out your site before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard, which is a type of a flow chart of your new site design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper first.

Storyboard.gif

On each piece of paper, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information, as it will be the page that people visit before they enter your site. As people go through your site, they will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.

Tiers.gif

Typically, the home page links to 5 to 15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5 to 15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.
If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive site, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).
It's during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it's much easier to solve them on paper rather than in the middle of coding. If you don’t, you might run into a major problem along the way that would require a “back to the drawing board” complete site re-design.
Working things out on paper will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion.

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/dn2.html

ON-LINE
By Bill Hopkins

A Milestone (of sorts)
It's one of those dubious milestones, for sure, but last month marked the 20- year anniversary of the first computer virus. It was named the Brain virus, and it infected the boot sector of 5.25-inch 360k floppy disks (anyone remember those?). First detected in 1986, it spread around the world without help from e-mail or the Internet. Amazing, but true. Who remembers the Stoned virus? Here's a brief history. Lehigh was the first memory-resident virus. Tequila was the first stealth and polymorphic virus. Michelangelo came with a pre-programmed execution date (March 6). Concept was the most common virus in the world up to that time, and the first cross-platform virus, infecting Word documents on PCs and Macs. Then came Melissa, a macro virus with a twist, it would e-mail itself to folks in your Outlook address book, earning it the distinction of being the fastest-spreading virus at that time. Then came the infrastructure viruses, aimed at servers, network shares, Web servers, etc.worms with names like as CodeRed, Nimda, and Sober. And not to be left out (as we recently reported) are viruses targeting cell phones. PDAs and MP3 players are at risk as well.
Remember to practice safe computing. Use anti-virus software, keep it up to date, turn on your firewall, install critical and security patches for your operating system, don't open e-mail attachments that are unknown to you or that you are not expecting, and don't spread e-mails about hoax viruses (check them out first).

Voice Prompt Purgatory
"Please listen to all the options before making a selection as our menu has recently changed." So why don't they tell you WHEN their *#($*!@ menu changed so you'd know if you really had to listen to all that.
And on top of that, does it seem to you as it does to me that what you really want to transact is never a menu choice? Well, for some companies that you call often, you probably know the shortcuts to get to where you want to go. For the others, here's some help. It's called the gethuman movement (previously known as the IVR Cheat Sheet). Their main home page is at http://gethuman.com, with the "how to get to a human" buttons to press at http://gethuman.com/us/. You can rate a company’s customer service, add ones not listed, etc. There is even a list for the UK. Here's their mantra: "The 'gethuman' movement is powered by over one million consumers who are fed up with bad customer service. We demand high quality, prompt, human customer support, by friendly, qualified people who we can understand, and who can handle our call without putting us on hold or transferring us again and again."

Phishing

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/onlin166.html

Researching Your Markets
by Mike Karlsson

Are your promotional efforts right on target or do they miss the mark? In the world of direct marketing, relevant marketing is a term that defines what your target market prefers and how to get the right promotion to that market. In the case of photobuyers (your target market) it basically means that the more you know about the buyer you are sending your marketing materials to, the better off you are.
The concept is simple. Do your homework. Research what the photobuyer's purchasing preferences are and apply that information to your marketing strategies. Examples of relevant information you can seek out to build effective marketing efforts, are: 1) what computer system does the photobuyer use? Do they accept digital preview scans? If so, what format do they prefer? Is their computer format Windows, or another? 2) Do they welcome update postcards, sell-sheets, periodic e-mails, travel itineraries, personal phone calls or faxed reminders?

Want to read more of this article? Go to: http://www.photoaim.com/sbar9.html

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Bruce Kirk
(http://folio.photosource.com/2648)
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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.

Photographer trade groups alarmed by "ORPHAN WORKS" U.S. copyright roposals - A number of trade groups that represent photographers have recently raised the alarm about proposed changes to U.S. copyright law that address so-called orphan works - works whose copyright holders cannot be located. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?
cid=7-7892-8253

Your Portfolio - The Client's Perspective; How Your Images Look From The Other Side Of The Desk - Let the images SHOW YOUR TECHNICAL ABILITY. Given the power of photographic images, the work itself will tell the client "what" it is, so you have to tell them the "why, who, when, where" of your work. http://shutterbug.com/columns/business_trends/0705business/

DIGITAL USERS are inclined to shoot more
http://www.dispatch.com/connect/connect.php?story=dispatch
/2006/03/13/20060313-C2-02.html

NikonNet and 'Legends Behind the Lens' Honor TONY SWEET - A jazz drummer for 20 years, Tony's music experience informs everything he does as a photographer. http://sys-con.com/read/192414.htm

Framed and Exposed: Zen and the Art of Aperture - If you're considering
buying Aperture -- or if you're using it now and cursing its rigid workflow structure -- you should read this enlightening exploration of the philosophy behind Apple's Image-Editing Tool.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/24013.html

Inside Story: News photojournalism - In the SAVAGELY COMPETITIVE WORLD of news photojournalism, which photographers do the professionals themselves
most admire? http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article350898.ece

Lure of new digital gadgets - In Korea, a growing number of consumers are showing a strong appetite for new digital gadgets - definitely good news for manufacturers, but consumers themselves find the outpouring of NEW GADGETS BAFFLING, if not mind-boggling.
http://www.asianewsnet.net/level3_template1.php
?l3sec=9&news_id=53553

PHOTOGRAPHER GUNNED DOWN outside his home - Mexican photographer Jaime Arturo Olvera Bravo was shot to death Thursday outside his home in La Piedad in the central state of Michoacán.
http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/americas/mexico10mar06na.html

AUTOMATE PHOTOSHOP with Ben Long digital photography expert and Macworld contributor Ben Long has released a major update to his Photoshop Action Pack collection of Automator actions. 10.9MB free download from...
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?home&NewsID=14083

Former Stones star considers photography turn- former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, has revealed a new career plan - as a PHOTOGRAPHER
http://www.soundgenerator.com/news/index.cfm?articleid=7219

Reuters Beefs Up Sports Offerings With ACTION IMAGES
http://pdnonline.com/pdn/search/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id=1001139207&imw=Y

STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY the old-fashioned way
http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1142089202/5

Printing System is suited for PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS. Gemini K3 Portrait System is engineered to help photographers manage, enhance, and print photographic files
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/476671/rss

Getty Images Announces First Winners in 2006 Grants for EDITORIAL PHOTOGRAPHY - Selected from 110 applications in 29 countries, Kristen Ashburn and Andrew Testa, both U.S.-based photojournalists, will each receive a $20,000 grant in addition to collaborative editorial support from Getty Images' team of photo editors.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/24038.html

Image Source Joins QuarkAlliance Program - "We are very excited about our new PARTNERSHIP WITH QUARK," said Duncan Grossart, CEO of Image Source. "It allows us to offer Image Source's exceptional collection through the QuarkAlliance program, providing value for its customers.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/news/24034.html

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