Buyers of photography rely most heavily on colleague recommendations when looking for new hires. Email promos are an equally important resource to buyers in finding hires as reps and agencies were. And a majority of buyers say their budgets have stabilized or are increasing. These and other tidbits are part of a new report that provides insight into how photographers can best market their work to clients, which was recently released by portfolio Web site company PhotoShelter, and Agency Access, the creative industry marketing company. The report is free for anyone willing to register an email address with the companies.

“What Buyers Want From Photographers” was generated using data from a 25-question survey that went out to Agency Access’ database of photography clients, which includes art buyers, creatives and photo editors. According to the report, 1,000 photography clients answered the survey. The topics addressed in the report include: Where buyers search for photographers to hire and images to license; what personal characteristics and business skills buyers look for in photographers; information about typical mistakes photographers make in marketing their work; and tips for creating a good Web site.

The report also presents data on which social media sources buyers use to find photographers to hire, but its value is undermined somewhat by another section of the report that suggests that only 9 percent of the respondents use social media to find photographers to hire.

Additionally, “What Buyers Want” includes interviews with buyers from agencies GSD&M and JWT, a photo editor from Billboard, and an art director from Random House book publishers. Other clients contributed more specific suggestions. For instance a photo editor at Men’s Health provided tips on email marketing, and Real Simple‘s photo editor made Web site suggestions like, “Don’t hide your personal work.”

Anonymous quotes that appear throughout the report are interesting to read even if they are only one person’s (unattributed) opinion. For instance an art buyer at an agency laments tricks photographers use to try and “outsmart” him/her—for example into thinking they have already spoken with one another.

To receive the report visit: http://www.photoshelter.com/mkt/research/2012-photo-buyers-survey

©Matt Sayles/Invision--Pop star Katy Perry

The Associated Press and a group of veteran entertainment photographers have launched Invision, a new photo agency based in Los Angeles. The agency will cover entertainment and red carpet events, as well as take on assignments for consumer brands, film and TV studios, and PR agencies.

Invision’s goal is to take on the dominant player in the celebrity photo business: Getty Images, which has owned entertainment agency Wireimage since 2007.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people I’ve worked with that they weren’t happy with one choice. They wanted another option,” says Invision managing director Dan Becker.

Becker, who was formerly director of commercial content and services for AP Images, says Invision will operate as a separate company from AP. The wire service is the majority owner, and will provide distribution for Invision.

So far, Invision has just one staff photographer–Chris Pizzello. Other contractors and freelancers include Matt Sayles, Evan Agostini, Jordan Strauss, Todd Williamson, John Shearer, Jon Furniss and Casey Rodgers.

Becker says there will be opportunities for other photographers, too. “We will use AP’s freelance network, but we intend to recruit other photographers and grow our own freelance network,” he says. “It’s a big part of our mission.”

Becker says he relies primarily on word-of-mouth recommendations from photographers he’s currently working with to identify new talent. “We will try people out with entry level assignments,” he says.

Reuters reports that Getty Images, the largest stock photo agency, has retained Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to evaluate the possibility of a sale or an initial public offering (IPO). According to a source cited by the Financial Times, a sale or IPO could value the company at $4 billion.

Since 2008, the stock agency has been owned by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. (Full disclosure: Hellman & Friedman also owns Nielsen, parent company of PDN.) Hellman was reported to have paid $2.4 billion, or $34.00 per share, for the agency which had previously been a publicly traded company.

Since Getty Images went private, the company has not disclosed any financial data to the public. The agency has made cost-cutting measures in the past year that have affected photographers who contribute to the agency. For example, last year Getty introduced tough new contracts, cutting back royalties it pays to photographers,  telling contributors that rights-managed images that have not sold well will be moved to royalty-free collections while the royalty-free images would be sold as part of subscription packages.

Related articles:
ASMP to Getty Photographers: Time to Bail

Getty Cuts Pay for Editorial Contributors

Microstock photo agency Shutterstock has filed a business prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing its intention to sell shares through an initial public offering “as soon as practicable.” The filing sheds light on Shutterstock’s revenues, and the surprisingly low average price for the millions of photos in its database.

The business prospectus is incomplete, so Shutterstock has not yet specified the number of shares it intends to sell or the price. But for the purposes of its filing the company estimated it would raise no more than $115 million.

Founded eight years ago by CEO (and majority shareholder) Jonathan Oringer, Shutterstock was one of the first microstock agencies to offer subscription-based pricing. That allows users to download up to 25 images per day for a flat fee of $250 per month, or $2559 per year. Users can also license image on demand, for prices starting at about $10 per image.

Last year, Shutterstock’s total sales revenues were $120 million, a 45 percent increase over 2010 revenues of $83 million and nearly double the 2009 revenues of $61 million. The average price users paid per image download last year was $2.05, according to Shutterstock’s SEC filing.

Meanwhile, net income–which is income after administrative, marketing, and research and development costs are subtracted from total revenues–has hovered around $20 million for the past three years. Income has remained relatively flat despite the rise in revenues because Shutterstock’s operating costs have increased by about 50 percent per year since 2009. Operating costs were $97 million last year.

The company says it plans to use the IPO money for operations. Shutterstock says it plans to invest in new technology, and in its sales and marketing efforts to attract more contributors and customers. Most customers are small and medium-sized businesses, but Shutterstock says it hasn’t fully tapped that market. It also wants to increase revenues from large businesses, which currently account for just 10 percent of its revenues.

Shutterstock claims an image database of more than 19 million photos and illustrations and 500,000 video clips, provided by more than 35,000 contributors. The vast majority of contributors are amateur photographers.

After announcing last week that they would increase prices worldwide for their film and single-use camera products, FujiFilm’s North America division has clarified what those increases will mean for the markets in the United States and Canada.

In an announcement today, the company said that prices on all film would rise “approximately 20 percent.” The increase will take effect in August 2012. The company had originally announced that the increases would be effective beginning in May of this year.

“The price increases are a result of the continuing decline in demand for film products, the high costs of production, and the increased expenses associated with raw materials, including silver and petro-chemicals, and energy,” the company explained in its announcement. “Fujifilm is unable to absorb these costs entirely and must implement price increases at this time.”

Prices for FujiFilm’s one-time-use cameras, often called disposable cameras, will increase 15 percent, the company said.

Related: FujiFilm Announces Price Increase

The Copyright Office is proposing to raise fees to register new works, and is currently seeking public comments on the proposed hike. The fee to file copyright registrations electronically would go up from $35 to $65. The fee to submit a paper registration would rise from $64 to $100. (These fees cover the cost of bulk registration of unpublished images.)

The Copyright Office is accepting comments from the public through May 14.  Concerned that the increased fees will discourage photographers from protecting their copyrighted works, the Advertising Photographers of America (APA) is encouraging photographers and other artists to voice their opinions now.

The Copyright Office’s proposed new fees and rules are spelled out in the Federal Register, which can be downloaded here in a PDF.

The Copyright Office claims it needs the fee increase to cover costs: “In fiscal year 2011, the Office recovered only 64 percent of its cost to process an online claim and only 58 percent of its cost to process paper applications.” And given that copyright registration service “benefits both copyright owners and the public,” the Office figures copyright holders will cough up the extra money.  Registering copyright before a work is infringed, for example, makes you eligible to collect statutory damages if you win an infringement claim in court. That’s useful clout when dealing with infringers.

The problem is, of course, that many creators fail to register copyrights until after they’ve seen their works copied, and want to take legal action. A higher fee isn’t going to encourage photographers to make registering and protecting their works part of their routine workflow, but how many photographers will it deter?

Comments on the proposed fee hike can be submitted using a form available here:
www.copyright.gov/docs/newfees/comments/

Earlier this week FujiFilm announced that a price increase will take effect starting in May for its color negative films, color reversal films, black and white films and QuickSnap single use cameras.

Though the announcement (full text below) was short on specific details, it did say that the increases would be “substantial” and would be in the “double digits” for some films depending on where they are sold.

FujiFilm noted that, “The demand for film products is continuously decreasing, yen’s appreciation and the cost of production, such as raw materials, oil and energy, continues to rise or stay at high level.”

A representative for FujiFilm told PDN the company would issue specific information about increases in the US market in the next few days, so stay tuned.

For more on the future of the film photography business, be sure to check out our report coming in the June issue of PDN.

Press Release, April 23, 2012

FUJIFILM Corporation announces price increase of Photographic Films

FUJIFILM Corporation has announced that it will implement a worldwide price increase for its photographic films. The price increases are substantial and it would be double digit, but will vary depending on products, markets and regions.

1. Products: Photographic Films: Color Negative Films, Color Reversal Films, Black and White Films, and Quick Snap.

2. Date of Price Increases: Effective from May 2012

The demand for film products is continuously decreasing, yen’s appreciation and the cost of production, such as raw materials, oil and energy, continues to rise or stay at high level. Under such circumstances, despite our effort to maintain the production cost, Fujifilm is unable to absorb these costs during the production process and is forced to pass on price increases.
To sustain its photo imaging business, Fujifilm has decided to increase the price of photographic films.

Fujifilm remains committed to photographic products and asserts that even with the new price. Its photographic products remain exceptionally good value compared with other system products.
The new pricing structure will be applied to each market based on its individual conditions.

Related: Kodak Files For Bankruptcy Protection

A lawsuit filed by a disgruntled business partner of late fashion and celebrity photographer Francesco Scavullo has cast a spotlight on a charitable foundation that he established prior to his death in 2004, raising questions about the condition of Scavullo’s archive and the foundation’s fulfillment of its obligations under Scavullo’s will. Court papers and IRS filings suggest the foundation–which was supposed to keep Scavullo’s legacy alive–has gone dormant.

Philadelphia-based Motion Picture Group, a marketing group established before Scavullo’s death to help the photographer promote and license his archives, has sued the New York-based Francesco Scavullo Foundation for breach of oral contract in federal court in Philadelphia. MPG is seeking more than $150,000 in compensation for marketing efforts that it says it undertook on behalf of the foundation under informal agreements prior to an acrimonious split earlier this year. (more…)

“I am a photographer and since people are always looking for free shoots I assume that they must also do their job, or provide their services, for free.”

That’s the opening of an ad that was posted on the Talent Gigs section of Craigslist Atlanta back in October, and is once again circulating around the web. The photographer (we never found out who he or she was. Do you know? ) offers to hire all kinds of people –for no pay.  “I am looking for all types of people to do all sort of jobs for me, as long as I don’t have to pay you anything.” The ad does offer the chance to “gain more experience” and lots of love.

The ad has now expired, but you can find the full text on Consumerist.com.  It might come in handy the next time a friend, relative, or potential paying client asks you to take some photos for free.

©Amber Terranova. Sam Kaplan, Ryan Pfluger and Holly Stuart Hughes at the March 14, 2012 PDN's 30 Seminar at the School for Visual Arts Theater in New York City.

At the first in a series of educational seminars organized as part of the 2012 PDN’s 30 programming, three photographers named to this year’s PDN’s 30 spoke about the importance of establishing and unique esthetic perspective, and about being persistent in creating and promoting new work to potential clients.

The panel discussion at the School for Visual Arts Theater in New York City, which was moderated by PDN editor Holly Stuart Hughes, included PDN’s 30 photographers Sam Kaplan, Peter Ash Lee and Ryan Pfluger, as well as veteran photographer Andy Katz and New York Times Magazine associate photo editor Clinton Cargill. (more…)