Stock Photo News

STOCK PHOTO NEWS from A-Z FOTOS

No. 34-35

The first Modern eZine combining Stock Photography and Marketing - Published since 1999

'Equally important for picture buyers and image providers.'

June 2009

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CONTENT

* From the Editor

* Buy one quality stock photo and use it in many ways in
one publication

* Quick guide to marketing without pictures

* Free Webdesign for Wordpress blogs and websites

* Better Photos More Often - Market Research For Stock Photographers

- By guest author Matt Brading

* Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Convert Free E-Books to Kindle Books

- By guest author Michael Piston

* Track your pictures on multiple stock photo distributors
with Lookstat

* Snapixel Opens Stock Photography For Next Generation of
Photographers

* Christina Vaughan from ImgeSource Lines Up for Asian Honour

* Dreamstime Partners with Other Images

* FeaturePics.com Announces New Alternative to Stock Photo
Subscription Model

* Since Last Stock Photo News

* White-list Stock Photo News

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Archive of earlier issues of Stock Photo News at http://www.StockPhotoNews.com

>>> Subscription information at the end of this ezine. ........................................................

FROM THE EDITOR

The crisis is still over us even a small window of light is visible judging from the optimism shown by in the stock markets worldwide and a few better than expected economic key indicators. Anyway the challenge for any business is hard and we should all rethink our business to make the best of the situation. Downtime is time for innovation and sharpening our goals.

The present double issue of Stock Photo News is bringing you a selection of important information and advice for your work with stock photography, equally useful for readers being image professionals publishing photos or producing photos. Remark that I have included ideas to take into account that you might not be thinking of as obvious at the present time. For example to start thinking of the potential of the fast increasing use of the Kindle 2 book reader from Amazon is opening up new perspectives for marketing and distribution of publications. And even more important how to implement a trustworthy backup system to avoid the catastrophe with loss of data in a time of tuff business conditions.

Together with the previous issue the present information should be more than a helpful hand for your success - so read, print and keep.

Enjoy reading Stock Photo News!

Soren Breiting, Editor.

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A-Z FOTOS "Find Stock Photos from most of the World" http://www.azFotos.com
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Comments, tips and relevant articles are appreciated. Send email to sb@TAKETHISAWAY-azfotos.com (please remove the inserted part added to avoid email harvesters).

*** Important note: I will not sell or rent the email addresses belonging to our subscribers - I respect your privacy. This mail list will only be used to send you the monthly ezine. - This ezine uses opt in addresses.*** Soren Breiting

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Buy one quality stock photo and use it in many ways in one publication

You can squeeze more out of the cost for stock photos if you make use of different ways of showing the same photo. Here are some different ideas for the application of the same stock photo in one of your creative productions. At the moment such a creative approach might be seen as a discount approach fitting to the present difficult world economy but you can make use of repeat use of just one picture as an advantage in itself.

Of the two main categories of stock photos: royalty free stock photos and traditional licensed stock photos you need to pick your stock photo from the royalty-free category. When you buy a royalty-free stock photo you can use it as many times and in as many applications you want.

If you only find your preferred stock photo in the traditional licensed category you can still use the photo several times in the same publication with some advantage but you will need to pay for it according to the conditions at the stock photo agency. You might be able to negotiate some overall lower royalty than just summing up the number of applications in the publication, anyway.

First we have to remind ourselves that human beings are extremely good and fast picture readers. Repeat use of a stock photo will therefore be easily recognised as exactly a repeat use with some negative reactions by the reader. Accordingly we have to recreate the picture in different ways. We should avoid the situation rather common earlier, that a nice cover photo of a book is reproduced as a full page picture in the book. That will easily signal some kind of discount approach, even the history of the situation might have been that the picture in the book was chosen first and then later selected as the cover photo, too.

The creative way of using a cover picture could be like follows:

We select a rather detailed stock photo with a number of elements included but nevertheless also useful as a more iconic picture for the cover of the book or folder. If the book is about a place and it is relevant for the content let us imagine that the picture is showing a landscape, people, animals and plants. Then each of these elements can be used as highly cropped pictures in the book where they are relevant. Depending on the final size the reader will recognise these smaller pictures as elements from the cover photo or not. If they are recognised as such it isn’t a problem as that will just remind the reader of the whole story the present section is a part of.

Using small crops of the stock photo as vignettes:

In a book it often looks appetising if a small vignette photo or drawing is included on the title page. In our case a highly cropped part of the main photo might do fine as such a vignette and add to the whole look and feel of the publication. Using soft borders of the vignette is often extra nice.

Likewise vignettes can be used in different places of the publication.

Another way of using the same stock photo in a publication is to use ‘extreme cropping’. By this is meant cropping the picture in formats that we normally do not use for photos. Some have experimented with cropping the stock photo in unusual shapes like stars, triangles of different shapes besides more used like circles and different ‘stripes’. If such an approach to the layout is functioning depends on the kind and style of the publication.

A special use is to remove the background of selected elements, like removing the background around an animal, so much used and to perfection by the book publisher Dorling Kindersley (but not with the idea in mind to make use of the same photo several times).

To tone the picture into sepia style or to give it another dominant colour is another obvious way of reusing at least parts of a stock photo for more.

And finally I will mention the use of the photo as a background picture on a page or a spread with faded colours if needed to make the text on it readable.

A warning about using the same picture in its original version and in addition as a flipped version, unless you have a special point doing so. Readers will normally not be thinking of the possibility of flipping a picture so that will challenge their beliefs in ‘rules of nature’.

I have shown some examples of possible crops of one of my own stock photos at cccccc

Soren Breiting is the editor of Stock Photo News

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Backup your computer and avoid loosing any data files with remote backup

Your life and success depends more and more on data on your computer. But computers break down, they get stolen or your house burn. We don’t like to think of that kind of impossible risks, but they happen and you should be prepared. Read on to learn the simple procedure to be 100% risk free with your computer work.

Of cause we should always make backup of our work on the computer. We know it and we do it from time to time. You might have a good back up system running every night at your work place but what about your work when you are not in office or in general when you do your private things on your computer.

According to Online back up Reviews the main causes for data loss is the following:
- 44% Hardware Failure: Most hard drive manufacturers have reduced their warranties from 36 to 12 months
- 30% Human Error: Accidental file overwrites and deletions
- 12% Software Corruption: Programming errors, improper application terminations
- 7% PC Virus: Inferior anti-virus software, updated signature files.
- 7% Theft, fire, flood or other natural disaster

All hard disks crash after some time as a hard disk uses moveable pieces in its hardware and hard disks are in every computer. The computer’s hard disk is the storage of all the recent new files and additions you have made on your computer, as we all very well know.

As my own professional work is divided between a university with excellent backup systems working all the time and my own business with a multitude of activities including writing a lot and taking pictures I have a vulnerable working situation concerning my data at home.

I have used a system of external hard disks that I could put in safe places and store away from my computers. Earlier I used taking backups on CDs (in the beginning when they seemed to be the solution) and later on DVDs when they became available. In reality I have my old data spread on terribly many different kinds of media and locations. The good thing is that I haven’t been loosing any serious data yet. The worst has been my problem about how to find the files that I needed from older work.

As a writer and photographer I have loads of files, older manuscripts, ideas and sketches. Not to mention hundred of thousands of photographs. With my working time always the limiting factor for my productivity the time needed for backups is a demanding thing to live up to. All too easy I forget to do it properly or just delay this important process.

I think I have found the proper solution for myself and want to share it with you as I want to spread such a good solution. I use remote online backup. I pay for it with an annual fee, but not that much. It is something like 2-3 hours of work salary for me, and just for a whole year covering all my back up needs. With all my needs for backup of photos and written pieces I needed an unlimited online backup that work automatically and in the background of my computer work. I don’t want to let the computer work all time if I am not working on it. It costs too much of electricity and CO2 production.

As I also need to have backup of more sensible files with passwords etc. it is mandatory for me that the remote backup is using a trustworthy secure and encrypted system.

Before I went with my chosen provider of remote data backup I researched the market for cheaper or better solutions. What I found was that they were either with a limited amount of storage, too expensive or too new in the business of online data storage. We all know that the world is full of entrepreneurs and new start-ups in business and what I wanted least was a company that would have a short life. I wanted to be sure that my selected online back up company would have a good track record of being in business even in tuff times.

You can find my selected online backup solution here: http://www.stockphotonews.com/ccc I started with a free trial membership to check if the system was functioning well for me. In addition I can now have access to all my files from any online computer in the world.
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Free Webdesign for Wordpress blogs and websites

Wordpress becomes more and more THE basic web application not only for blogs but for all kinds of websites in general. The advantages are rather overwhelming because so many developers are engaged in the development of is underlying functionality. You can download the scripts etc. from http://www.wordpress.org free of any charge, now in version Wordpress 2.7.1 with remarkable new automatic features.

Webdesigners are equally eager to design new versions of the look and feel of Wordpress blogs, the so-called Wordpress themes or Wordpress skins. Thousands of the Wordpress themes are free and the payment for using them free is just a link to the web designer at the bottom of the Wordpress template.

I have just come across a collection of free Wordpress themes for photo blogs, see
http://www.reencoded.com/2009/04/05/26-free-wordpress-photo-gallery-themes/

My own favorite is the Wordpress theme Fotolio (no 23 of the list above), see demo at:
http://demo.wordspop.com/fotofolio/ .

Fotolio is among the most elegant Wordpress themes I have seen. I just wonder how well it is doing in the search engines, but maybe some of the additional features of Wordpress (widgets and plug-ins) will do the job for optimising the occurrence in Google and other search engines of Fotofolio photo websites. Rather plenty of focussed text is needed on each webpage to do well in Google.

Fotofolio isn’t for selling stock photos but more to present the work of the individual photographer or designer.

It is one of the kinds of webdesign you are eager to start working with, in my opinion.
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Better Photos More Often - Market Research For Stock Photographers

By Matt Brading

Most photographers never really get around to it, but there's no denying, the more time you put into identifying the markets for you work and researching their specific needs, more saleable your work is going to be.

There's no big secret there: the best marketers in any field are those who identify a market, research it and create a product that their new customers simply have to have.

The good news is it's quite straightforward to apply that approach to your photography. The added bonus is that when you do take this approach your volume will increase significantly as well!

It's a simple three-step process that you can start now and keep adding to as your skills develop and your interests expand. Don't let the simplicity fool you; this is very powerful. I'd suggest you get yourself a ring folder and a packet of divider cards so you can add extra pages to various sections as required. Here's how it works:

1. Make a list of your main subjects ... aim for about 10 for now. You will keep on adding to this for years to come so you don't need to make an exhaustive list right now. Just write down a few of the main subjects you like to shoot, those you shoot well and those you'd really like to shoot more often.

Write each one down at the top of a fresh page. If you are using a ring binder, make these the divider pages so you can insert additional pages between them.

2. Now make a list under each of those 'Subjects' of the kinds of photo buyers who might be interested in photos of that material. Write these under the 'Subject' heading and be as specific as possible.

3. Now set up a page for each of those Subject-Buyer combinations. You need to go looking for specific examples of that buyer type using an image of that subject. You need to find examples and really study the image to try and work out what was about each image that the buyer just had to have.

Make a note of any technical details of interest if you like, but your main focus should be on the content and composition. Your are researching your market so some study of the competition is useful, but the real value here is in understanding exactly what it is your potential customers are spending their money on.

In every published photo you see there will usually be one or two elements that the buyer simply had to have and they won't always be the obvious subject.

Even when the photo is a fairly 'bland' portrait; human, animal or object, there will usually be some specific trait or feature captured and conveyed that caused the buyer to select that particular image.

Other times it won't be a physical element, but something less tangible. Maybe a mood or emotion or other message. They are the images you need to study closely so you can see not just the message, but how the photographer used the physical elements of the image to convey it?

Has the photographer used props to add to the story? Are there more subtle symbols in play? How do all the elements fit together? How has the photographer used mood or emotion or lighting?

Until you start to recognize these kinds of elements in other images, it will be hit-and-miss whether you capture them in your own work. However, once you do start to look for these elements in other images, you'll start to see them in your own photo opportunities, and then you can start include them in your own work.

When you do that I'd almost guarantee you'll find yourself shooting much more marketable shots. You'll also find you're shooting a lot more prolifically as well!

Over time you might end up with notes on dozens of potential buyers for any subject you like to photograph. So when you're faced with the opportunity to shoot a specific subject, you'll have an extensive list of what buyer-types are going to be interested in images of the material, and you'll have specific information on the type of images they want.

Instead of getting one or two 'photographer' shots you could easily walk away with dozens of highly marketable images, each custom shot for a different specific market.

Stock Photography 101 - A Guide For Photographers
Thinking about getting into Stock Photography? There are a lot of options and a lot of considerations, so this no-fluff report will guide you through the maze, quickly and easily.

Work out if you're ready by assessing if your work is good enough, if your work is commercial enough and if you have enough of it to be successful.

Includes priceless information on what buyers are really looking for and what elements you need to include in your images to make them top stock sellers! http://www.StockPhotographyProfits.com/

Stock Photography 101 is published by OzImages International. The 100% Stock Photography Solution For Independent Photographers http://www.ozimages.com.au/photographers/

Amazon Kindle How-To Series - Convert Free E-Books to Kindle Books
By Michael Piston
While the Kindle wireless reading device lets you carry literally hundreds of e-books, newspapers, and magazines anywhere you go, your Kindle is actually pretty picky about the types of documents it will let you read. Free e-books, articles, white papers, and other documents you might wish to read on your Kindle are everywhere on the Internet. The problem is that they are not in a format that is "Kindle-friendly."

The Kindle "naively" supports the following document formats -

Kindle documents (.azw)

Text documents (.txt)

Mobi Reader documents (.mobi or .prc)

But, if you have a document you wish to read on your Kindle that is in another format - for example = a free e-book that is an Adobe Reader (.pdf) file or a Microsoft Word (.doc) file then you have to convert it to the proper format for use on your Kindle. Fortunately this is not something that is hard to do.

Amazon has a service for which they charge a nominal amount allowing you to convert documents such as .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader) files to Kindle files. To do this you must first have an active Kindle e-mail address. You can make sure you are set-up with a Kindle e-mail address by visiting the "Manage Your Kindle" section of the Amazon web site. Typically, your Kindle e-mail address will be "yourusername@kindle.com".

1. Make sure the document you want to convert is in one of the following formats

Microsoft Word (.doc)

HTML (.html)

Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf)

2. Check to be sure the file is not "protected." This can occur with e-books you have purchased with DRM (digital rights management) restrictions. You also might have documents that include passwords or other means to restrict access. You will not be able to convert these files.

3. Create an e-mail to your Kindle e-mail address and attach the file you wish to read on your Kindle.

4. Send the e-mail - Amazon will convert the document and send it to your Kindle via the wireless connection.

5. The cost for this service is $.10 (ten cents) per document.

If you want to convert your document at no charge, or are in an area where you cannot access the Kindle's wireless service you can do so with a slight change in the steps above.

Rather than send the e-mail with the attached document to your Kindle e-mail address send it to "yourusername@free.kindle.com". Amazon will convert the document and send it back to the originating e-mail address. When you get the e-mail back from Amazon you can transfer the document to your Kindle using the USB cable connected to your computer.

It's as simple as that!

A few important things to remember. First, as stated above, if the files you wish to convert have any sort of DRM (digital rights management) restrictions then the file won't be converted. Also - this is an "experimental" service for Amazon. Documents with complex formatting, or certain .pdf files, may not convert as expected. While this may not prevent you from reading the document, it will make it a bit more difficult to navigate through and around your e-book.

Congratulations! Now you know how you can quickly convert e-books in Microsoft Word, HTML, and Adobe Acrobat Reader format to "Kindle-friendly" e-books. This process can help you add a lot of great content to your Kindle wireless reading device.

Get more great how-to information, news, and tips on the Kindle wireless reading device by visiting http://www.guidetokindle.com. Sign-up for the Guide to Kindle e-mail newsletter and keep informed and up-to-date on everything Kindle.
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Track your pictures on multiple stock photo distributors with Lookstat

Rahul Pathak & Casey Zednick writes about their service Lookstat that is now in beta. - Lookstat might interest many stock photographers involved in selling microstock through several microstock agencies:
“Lookstat is a web service that lets you track your online sales by image at multiple sites. Automatically. Lookstat is currently in beta and our current focus is on portfolio performance tracking. While the service feature set is currently limited, we are releasing it to the community in order to help it evolve with your feedback. We hope you'll give the service a try and give us regular feedback so we can improve the service and make it a valuable part of your day to day activities.
We believe that analytics is a critical component of microstock and we're committed to making sure our users have a great experience. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know.”
See more at https://www.lookstat.com

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Snapixel Opens Stock Photography For Next Generation of Photographers

Snapixel Launches Openstock(TM) Ready-to-License System to Sell Photos
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 28, 2009 –
- Snapixel (www.snapixel.com), a new photography site that combines elements of the photo sharing site Flickr and the popular stock photography site Istockphoto, announces Openstock(TM), an innovative system that provides photographers with an easy-to-market solution to sell photos.
"The Snapixel model extends selling power to all levels of photographers. While not every image belongs in a stock photography marketplace, our ultimate goal is to widen the creative spectrum of traditional stock photography, without decreasing the value." said Ivan Wong, COO and Co-founder of Snapixel.
In the past, the price-point of semi-professional digital photography equipment and the high level of technical knowledge posed a barrier-of-entry. Now with the emergence of affordable DSLR cameras by electronic manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Sony and others, a larger pool of talent are producing higher quality photos.
Everyday, people throughout the world post creative photography on the web with no intention of selling their work. Whether it be the complex and lengthy application process posed by popular stock photography sites or a hesitation to acknowledge their work as commercially viable, these talented individuals produce diverse and engaging photography.
"We are creating an opportunity for the next generation of photographers and photo-enthusiasts, by offering reliable tools, secure storage and a platform that offers incremental income in a competitive market." said Adam Oliver, CEO of Snapixel.
Instant Scalability and Secure Storage
Built using the powerful scalability of Amazon Web Services(TM) cloud-computing platform, people can quickly and securely upload and organize their photos. Photos for sale can be distributed with a standard and extended license, or Creative Common licensing can be applied to images that are not-for-sale. Photos can be easily purchased with Snapixel credits, and prices will vary depending on the license type and size of an image.

Snapixel offers 1GB of free storage or a premium package for unlimited storage. Focused on community and fostering a positive environment, Snapixel is where photographers can connect with others to share comments, tips and critiques by starting or joining forums and groups.

About Snapixel
Based in San Francisco, Snapixel is a Flixya Entertainment LLC company that operates a network of media-related sites which include Imagebam, a global top 300 website hosting over 40 million images and Flixya, a social networking site that pushes 100% revenue to it's members via the Google Adsense API.

Snapixel is a photo sharing community and stock photography marketplace, providing all levels of photographers and photo-enthusiasts with the tools to upload, store, organize, share or sell their photos. The company's innovative Openstock(TM) ready-to-license system promotes the sale of unique, creative and commercially viable photos. Snapixel makes it easier for photographers to sell photos and receive a fair return. All transactions are processed and delivered by the eBay company Paypal.

For more information on Snapixel, visit http://www.snapixel.com

Press Contact:
Alexandra MacArthur
310-574-2826
alexandra(at)snapixel.com
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Christina Vaughan from ImgeSource Lines Up for Asian Honour

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - London, United Kingdom, 04/28/2009 - Christina Vaughan – founder of the world’s leading independent royalty-free stock photography production company, Image Source – has been shortlisted for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award, part of the Asian Women of Achievement awards.

The Lloyds TSB sponsored awards were set up to identify Asian women making a significant contribution to British life, across the media, business, arts, politics and voluntary sector.

Since launching the business to the international market in 1999, Image Source now trades through over 200 photo agencies in over 80 countries. Christina was also the first non-American to be voted onto the Picture Agency Counsel of America Board in 2003 and is currently serving as their Vice President.

The judging panel was chaired by Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross and this year’s shortlist includes several prominent figures from the Asian community, including Seetha Kumar, head of BBC Online, Yasmin Qureshi, a leading barrister who is set to become the first ever female Muslim MP, and Hong Kong born choreographer and producer Carolyn Choa - wife of the late Oscar-winning film-maker Anthony Minghella.

The Asian Women of Achievement Awards, whose patron is Cherie Blair, will be announced during a ceremony at the London Hilton on May 20.

Founder of the awards, Pinky Lilani OBE, said: “Over the past 10 years the awards have become a real barometer of social change. The standard of this year’s nominations has been incredible, with the shortlist demonstrating the wealth of talent in the Asian community that we are keen to support and promote.”

Christina Vaughan comments: "It's an absolute privilege and honour for me to be recognised by these Awards. Image Source has a phenomenal success story to tell and I believe part of that success comes from the marvellous opportunity that I have had in my generation as a woman growing up in a modern day Britain that celebrates diversity, mixed heritage and shared culture from Asia. I am immensely proud of this heritage and the grounding it has given to me."

The Asian Women of Achievement Awards are hosted by Real Business magazine, in association with Lloyds TSB.

The full shortlist for the 2009 Asian Women of Achievement Awards in the Entrepreneur of the Year category is:

• Christina Vaughan, Image Source;
• Hajira Ahmad & Sadia Siddiqui, Caramel Asian Model Management;
• Dr Mah Hussain-Gambles, Saaf Pure Skincare;
• Kavita Jnagal & Rani Uppelle, Simply Recruitment;
• Nasreen Karim, Platinum.

About Image Source
Image Source (http://www.imagesource.com) is the world’s number one independent creator and producer of premium royalty free imagery. Headquartered in London, UK, with regional offices in New York, the company also supplies imagery through over 150 partners worldwide. This strong international sales network enabled the company to win the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade Category in 2005. Image Source has also been shortlisted by The Sunday Times Best Employers Guide 2008 as ‘One to Watch’ and is in The Guardian’s 2008 book of Britain’s Top Employers. The company is also accredited with ISO 9001 and achieved a place on the 2008 Media Momentum Top 50, a list of the fastest growing digital media companies in the UK.

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Dreamstime Partners with Other Images
To Become First Latin American Microstock Agency
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE December 02, 2008)
--Dreamstime.com, an intercontinental community-based stock photography distributor and leading provider in the microstock industry, expands its worldwide presence by announcing its affiliation with the South American image agency Other Images (http://www.otherimages.com).

Ushering in a new facet to deliver content, the South American public will be introduced to the premium advantages of the Dreamstime microstock community through http://dreamstime.otherimages.com, a newly branded website created by Other Images, one of the largest distributors of stock photography in the region. Dedicated exclusively to make Dreamstime images and services readily available to its users in the countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean, the navigation and search functions have been integrated to include Spanish and Portuguese language options.

Entering into this partnership enables Dreamstime access to the Other Images client base across the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
“Partnering with Other Images is just a minute part of our aggressive marketing strategy to open the door to international markets and lessen the language barriers to reach out to photo-shoppers we otherwise could not attract,” said Serban Enache, CEO and co-creator of Dreamstime. “Following on the heels of the successful Korean launch, we will now also provide the best microstock service in Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world.”
Created by renowned Colombian photographer Carlos Angel in December 2003, Other Images is an entity provider of visual content that began operations in January 2004. One of the most respected firms in South America, Other Images offers the highest quality of copyrighted and royalty free images for a variety of enterprises including publicity firms, print and electronic media and graphic designers.
“After studying other suppliers of the same material, we found that Dreamstime had the most comprehensively structured site, the fastest growing collections and the most professional portfolios,” said Carlos Angel. “This agreement allows us to be the first Latin American microstock provider while Dreamstime gains an established network of offices in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil for distribution of their material.”
“The knowledge and experience that Other Images has in this area represents a huge asset. They are an undisputed leader in the area. They know the specific characteristics of the market, allowing us to deliver absolutely correct and desirable content to the audience,” adds Enache.
Striving to strengthen the relationship between traditional distributors and microstock collections, this innovative union with Other Images (the leading stock image agency in South America) follows Dreamstime’s efforts to provide quality microstock images at attractive prices to a universal audience.
One of the highest ranking stock photography agencies in the world, Dreamstime has a gallery of more than 4 million images and boasts a growth rate of over two million images per year. Recognized as one of the fastest growing agencies in the world, Dreamstime has nearly 1 million members with more than 60,000 new members added each month. Dreamstime offers an unprecedented collection of royalty-free and high-resolution microstock images at low prices and some are ABSOLUTELY FREE! For more information, visit www.dreamstime.com.
Contacts: Dreamstime.com
Press and Media Inquiries:
Kat Atwood, Dreamstime.com PR, 615-770-2994
pr@dreamstime.com
or
Dreamstime.com customer service and information:
615-771-5611
office@dreamstime.com
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FeaturePics.com Announces New Alternative to Stock Photo Subscription Model
From: WEBWIRE
Fremont, California — December 05, 2008
— FeaturePics, stock photo web service, announced its new form of agreements with major photography consumers adding significant changes to the way subscription model works within stock photography markets. By signing an individually tailored agreement, publishers subscribe to FeaturePics web service without having to pay monthly fees and having full access to permanent collection of the entire web site. The approved customer can download exactly the required images and pay only at month end.

Typical stock subscription service currently gives consumers access to a block of photographs they do not necessarily need for a limited amount of time. The new FeaturePics agreement is an easier, more reliable, method to buy images that will actually be used.
Agreements have been signed with major publishing houses, independent newspapers, and advertising agencies. The new enhanced subscription-free model came as part of close collaboration with these companies. “The way people consume images has changed. With the constant shift to digital media users no longer need access to endless list of images – value comes from having easy access to a the right image at any given time” said Elena Oryol, development lead at FeaturePics. “Publishers want the freedom to buy whatever they need, combined with the confidence that they do not need to pay for the service, only for images actually used.”

FeaturePics has focused on the idea that photographers are able to promote themselves and publishers can always find information they need. The new enhancement to subscription-free service offers extraordinary value for major publishing companies and Internet developers.

About FeaturePics.com
FeaturePics gives its customers unlimited access to thousands of images that can be easily purchased and downloaded using a monthly invoice feature.
FeaturePics stock photography: http://www.featurepics.com/
Contact Information
Greg Ward, manager, FeaturePics, 5107947168, contact@featurepics.com

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SINCE LAST SPN

More than half a year has passed since the last issue of SPN and I apologize for not being present with an issue of SPN for such a long time. I have had to focus very much on my business activities including work with my blogs.

As usual I have had a lot of travels abroad, including to Cape Verde Islands, Chile, Easter Island, Iceland, Austria, Germany several times, Belgium and Sweden. Always on lookout for good stock photo opportunities. The processing of all the commercial viable digital files is a Herculean work.

See you in next SPN.
Soren

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The same goes for support e-mail. Some spam filters: Place the domains azfotos.com and StockPhotoNews.com on the filter's white-list. You may need to search a filter's help for how to do this -- and depending on software/version, they may call it a "white-list," a "good list" or similar name.

Other ISPs: If one of your Stock Photo News issue is being filtered, add the "azfotos.com" and "stockPhotoNews.com" domains (or SPN´s 'From' or 'Reply-to' address) to your address book or contact list. THANK YOU! / Soren ........................................................

Copyright 2009 by Soren Breiting, A-Z FOTOS. http://www.azFotos.com "Find Stock Photos from most of the World" Email me at: sb@ azfotosTAKETHISAWAY.com (email spaced etc to avoid email harvesters).

You are welcome to forward this newsletter to a friend or to post it on your own website as long as you keep ALL content, including the copyright notion and contact information, intact and keep all links.

Stock Photo News is 'in principle' a monthly newsletter edited by me, Soren Breiting. Due to many travels abroad it is impossible for me to keep the schedule of the issues strictly fitting to each month. My intention is to bring quality information that isn't outdated a month or two later.

To sign up for Stock Photo News: Go to http://www.stockphotonews.com/subscribespn.htm

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