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ShutterPoint on Facebook!
October 8, 2009
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News and Trends | Tagged: facebook, news, sell photo online, shutterpoint, stock photography, stock photos | 
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Posted by Julie
Sorry Sheryl..
June 18, 2009So last night I was confronted with the fact that a mysterious mishap happened during the final compilation of the Marketable Photography Guide 2009.
Apparently, a page containing an interview with photographer Sheryl Kasper has “fallen through the cracks” and did not make it into the final SP Guide.
At this point, we have updated the SP Guide with Sheryl’s interview and posted the new version on the site.
Sheryl, we at ShutterPoint would like to sincerely apologize for this mistake.
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News and Trends | Tagged: 2009, guide, marketable photography, photo, sell photo online, stock photo, stock photography selling photo | 
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Posted by Julie
Marketable Photography Guide 2009!
June 11, 2009It’s finally ready!
Yes, this year it comes a bit later than usual… but this is in part due to all the hard work put into the new SP Guide!
If you’ve never seen the SP Guide before, in short, it is an e-book in PDF format that consists of three parts.
- A comprehensive how-to guide that explains everything you need to know about selling photos. Starting from choosing subject and taking the photo, to image post-production, and to uploading the image to ShutterPoint.com.
- A collection of 800+ popular images that sold on ShutterPoint.com at least once within the previous year.
- Insightful interviews with some of the top-selling photographers, who offer practical tips on selling photos online.
The 2009 Edition of the SP Guide is longer and better. This year look for:
- 116 pages of quality content that gives you an inside scoop of how to sell your photos.
- Updated walk-through every step on the way to offering your images for sale.
- Improved categorization of images in the Showcase section. This year the images were broken up into four main categories: People, Animals, Objects, and Places.
- Added “Tip Boxes” within the Showcase of images.
- Photographer interviews followed by a sample of images from the featured photographer.
The Marketable Photography Guide 2009 is completely free to ShutterPoint members! Ready to read? Remember, the table of contents is interactive, which makes it extremely easy to navigate.
If you are not yet a member, take a look at the 5-page Preview of the SP Guide.
Enjoy!
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News and Trends | Tagged: e-book, guide, photo, photography, sell photo, shutterpoint, stock photo, stock photography | 
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Posted by Julie
Colorful Charts Woo-Hoo!
February 24, 2009I am so excited to present to you these cool-looking colorful charts!
These charts certainly bring out the kid in me with all their primary colors. OK now I will have to calm down and explain what all of this means. Here’s the breakdown.
ShutterPoint allows image contributors to submit either commercial or editorial types of images. The above chart shows that 90% of submitted images are classified as commercial – this is because these images either do not contain any recognizable people OR contain people but a valid model release has been submitted for each person in the image. The remaining 10% is classified as editorial.
As you should be aware, ShutterPoint’s pricing model consists of Standard License and Full License pricing. The Standard License prices are pre-determined based on the image size being purchased. Although the Standard License is very affordable, it has image usage limitations. The Full License price is determined by the image contributor and allows virtually unlimited usage of the image. Now lets look at this next chart.
ShutterPoint’s contributors have the option to either offer Full Licensing only for their images or offer both Standard and Full Licensing. The chart above shows that 60%, the majority of our photographers choose to offer both Standard and Full Image Licensing. These contributors understand that image usage limitations are dictated by the Standard License and they agree to offer it to designers on a budjet.
Here comes the fun part! Now lets look at charts representing actual image sales on ShutterPoint.
The chart represents image sales where the Full License was purchased.
This pie is split almost equally! Out of all images sold with Full License, 53% of images are offered with Full Licensing only. The other 47% of images sold with Full License could also be purchased with a Standard License for much less, but the buyers chose to pay the premium price for unlimited usage and got the Full License. This means that for many serious image buyers the Full License price – the price photographers set – is still affordable.
The next chart will further prove this point. Lets look at how much ShutterPoint image buyers pay for Full License images.
The chart above reflects price ranges of Full Licenses sold on ShutterPoint.com. As you can see, most of the images are sold in the range of $20-30.
Now lets see how much image buyers are paying across all License types available.
The chart above represents image sales on ShutterPoint.com by price.
Notice that one out of three images sold on ShutterPoint is purchased with a Full License – at the price photographers set. This means that image buyers do not mind paying the premium price because - a) it is still affordable and, b) they want to feel confident that they have full rights to the image and can use in whatever way they need.
Another third of images gets sold with a Standard Web License. This license costs $0.99 and the image file being sold is pretty small – about 1000 px on the long side at 72dpi. Such size dictates web-only use because print quality would be poor at this size.
So there you have it – now you know how photographers price their images and how much designers are paying for them. Now is a good time to go over your own pricing strategy and make appropriate adjustments if needed.
2 Comments | News and Trends | Tagged: charts, photography, sell photo, selling photo, shutterpoint, statistics, stock photo, stock photography | Permalink
Posted by Julie
Happy New Year!
January 5, 2009Happy New Year to everyone! May 2009 bring you happiness and prosperity!
This is the first year when I continuosly wish prosperity to everyone. My standard wishes usually include non-material things as health and love, but this year is different. I think we all need a little hope in the financial department this year.
I hate to sound pessimistic, but heck the whole world is struggling in the economy slump and there’s no point to deny it.
Still, I’d like to point out several photographic opportunities that arise from current hardship. I am referring to various “hot” concepts that can be portrayed in a photo.
Economic Hardship
Lost jobs, bankruptcy, foreclosures, etc – all of these happenings got many people struggling right now. It’s a good idea to think of creative ways to portray these concepts.
Future/Looking Forward
Although economic hardship and related images make the most sense right now, keep in mind that advertisers need positive imagery for the majority of campaigns. Naturally, the next step would be to come up with solutions to all of our current problems. I’m referring to imagery that brings out hope of better times ahead of us.
Simple Pleasures
The final point that I would like to make is that people tend to turn to life’s simple pleasures when going through hardships. For instance when a person can no longer afford to go out, he/she spends more time at home with their family, playing board games, talking, maybe strolling at a local park, or playing sports with friends. Material things are less of importance and happiness comes from human relations. As long as basic needs of food and shelter are met, people feel healthy and happy.
I always say that a little planning before the photo shoot goes a long way! Of course don’t forget to have fun!
Leave a Comment » | Home-school, News and Trends | Tagged: advertising, buy photo, commercial, imagery, photography, photos, sell photo, stock, stock photo | Permalink
Posted by Julie
Obtaining Ideas for Your Next Shoot
October 14, 2008A little planning goes a long way when your objective is to shoot stock photography.
Many of us are not full-time photographers. We shoot because we love it and do not consider it a job. Due to our casual shooting habits, we do not like to plan. We simply carry the camera around and shoot whenever something or someone interesting shows up. Often, some stock photos come out from the random photo shoots.
If you would like to increase the number of your stock-worthy images, read on for some handy pointers on how to come up with ideas for your next photo shoot. No, it doesn’t mean that your favorite hobby will become tedious work. It will still be fun, I promise!
- The news
Its a good idea to stay current with the news, especially now that so many major issues exist. Presedential elections, economy struggles, war in Iraq, global warming, etc. – all of these topics have a direct effect on everyday life. Obviously these are not so easy to portray in stock photography. Start paying attention to imagery that often accompanies the news and ideas will start coming to you naturally.
- Existing advertising
This is the easiest way to obtain shoot ideas. Flip through magazines, look at posters taped to store fronts, billboards, online banner ads and website design elements. If you go this route, you might be duplicating what’s been already done, but it does not have to be frame for frame. You can come up with your own take on the same subject matter.Remember if the image has been already published and appears in advertising, then its a proven concept that is in demand by designers.
- Human relations
If you love to photograph people, like me, this will be super easy to incorporate into any casual photo taking. Basically the idea is to capture how people interact with one another or simply catch the emotions of your subject. If you think about imagery often used in advertising, you will realize that people are depicted more often than objects. People respond to advertisement containing people a lot better because they can relate to the person shown. Therefore, your task is to capture a wide array of emotions so that the general pupulation can relate to your subject.
Keep in mind that your models should appear neat, wearing simple clothing and neutral make-up. Ideally, they should not be overly fashionable and good-looking, but sort of common nice-looking people. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.
The emotions that speak well in the photo are generally those that are exaggerated. It is in your best interest to explain to the model that the emotion you are trying to capture should be emphasized by exaggerating facial features or adding other gestures.
In summary, a good place to search for ideas for your next shoot is your every day life. Pay attention to what is happening around you throughout the day and come up with ways to portray it conceptually in your images.
4 Comments | Home-school | Tagged: photo shoot, shutterpoint, stock image, stock photo, stock photography | Permalink
Posted by Julie
Green photography! Huh?
July 8, 2008I am sure that by now everyone heard the “GO GREEN” phrase many many times!
Many years ago the world was made aware of the global warming phenomena. It took a long time before real and practical solutions began emerging. Now there is a flourishing “going green” trend in response to the issues arising from global warming.
Nowadays, companies are proposing specific solutions to people who want help protect the environment. Supermarkets encourage re-usable bags instead of the plastic bags. Car makers are developing hybrid cars. The eco-minded restaurant businesses buy local and seasonal food. Then there’s the organic food movement, natural birth movement, and many other trends, which are either truly eco-minded, or just claim to be so with clever marketing strategies.
Now, what does all this have to do with ShutterPoint and the stock photography industry you ask? Easy! Images assist marketers in conveying the message through advertisement and you, my friend, is the photographer who provides the visualization for a specific message.
You have a tough job ahead of you because the “go green” trend images are mostly conceptual. Yeah there’s the new green growth coming out of soil image, which is excellent visualization, but think beyond the obvious. How do you illustrate the benefit of using re-usable shopping bags? How do you show that less driving yields less air pollution? Illustrate recycling?
The people are finally realizing how important our planet is and want to make an effort to take care of it. We need to come up with commercial type imagery to help designers convey specific ideas of what can be done to “GO GREEN!”
I am sure that a solid “green concept” image, when used commercially, is a step toward a greener environment on its own.
Got any ideas? I hereby give you a title of an official treehuggerographer!
2 Comments | News and Trends | Tagged: go green, green movement, green photography, images, photography, photos, stock photo | Permalink
Posted by Julie
The 4th of July Theme Contest
July 4, 2008July 4th – The American Independence Day. This is a very patriotic holiday in the United States. Flags are everywhere, parades, barbecue parties, and of course fireworks. One woman told me recently that she loves this holiday so much that her anticipation and preparation efforts are comparable to what many people do for the Christmas holidays. Many people enjoy all the festivities and of course the imagery that can be associated with this holiday.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this contest! The five winners will be awarded with 500MB of additional storage space and a one year storage extension (extension will be added to the current expiration date) on ShutterPoint.com.
The winners of the ShutterPoint July 4th Contest are:
| Mike & Connie Mosteller for “Historic Signing” |
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| Gianna Stadelmyer for “A United Nation” |
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| Bruce Becker for “American Flag and Eagle” |
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| Paul Cavill for “November 5″ |
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| Jennifer Ralston for “For the Fallen” |
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Congratulations to winners!
PS: Gianna, another win for you and people might think you work for ShutterPoint! Dear members, Gianna does not work for us – she is just an awesome photographer!
1 Comment | Contest Winners | Tagged: image contest, images, independence day, photo, photography, shutterpoint, stock images, stock photo | Permalink
Posted by Julie
Mother’s Day Theme Contest
May 11, 2008Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Mother’s Day Image Contest!
The five winners will be awarded with 500MB of additional storage space and a one year storage extension (extension will be added to the current expiration date) on ShutterPoint.com.
The winners of ShutterPoint Mother’s Day Image Contest are:
| Jennifer Ralston for “Mother & Daughter” |
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| Jane Spencer for “Mother’s Day” |
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| C Atkinson for “Fairy Mother’s Day Gift” |
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| Bonnie Linahan-Rastatter for “A Mother’s Love” |
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| Barbara Brown for “Waiting” |
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Congratulations to winners!
Leave a Comment » | Contest Winners | Tagged: contest, design, graphic, image, mothers day, photo, photograph, photography, photos, stock photo | Permalink
Posted by Julie
Earth Day Theme Contest
April 21, 2008Thank you for contributing to the Earth Day Image Contest! This was a complex concept to portray. While many of you submitted wonderful images, we noticed that quite a few images were off topic.
The Earth Day topic is a good example of what an image buyer may actually need. Success in stock photography relates to successfully portraying concepts such as this one.
The five winners will be awarded with 500MB of additional storage space and a one year storage extension (extension will be added to the current expiration date) on ShutterPoint.com.
The winners of ShutterPoint Earth Day Image Contest are:
| Bob Snook for “Save the Oil” |
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| Gianna Stadelmyer for “Conservation” |
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| Michael Kaal for “Growth” |
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| Dan Jesperson for “Global Warming” |
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| Annika Strömgren for “Global warming” |
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Congratulations to winners!
Leave a Comment » | Contest Winners | Tagged: contest, earth day, images, photos, stock photos | Permalink
Posted by Julie
