It’s going to come, there is no doubt about it. Within the next 5 to 10 years, computer software will allow the creation of fully realistic photos from scratch.  Already, researchers are experimenting with various ways to achieve this, including some without any human intervention. But before photographers drop their cameraContinue Reading

Some acquisitions have far wider implications than others. While it made perfect sense for Shutterstock to acquire a company like Rex Features in order to grab a foothold in the editorial space, it was just that. A simple acquisition of content along with established corresponding sales channels. Shutterstock recent acquisition of FlashStock, however,Continue Reading

Similarly to what occurred a few years back with the introduction and rapid rise of low-cost microstock, current trend indicate the steady rise of free stock photos and its potential wide effect on the industry. Two years ago, when we produced a panel for the DMLA annual conference called theContinue Reading

Google is about to help sell the content of images found in Google Image Search without sharing a penny with anyone.  Here is how it works: Using content recognition, it will scan all images found in a Google Image search and display the matching items to users that can, inContinue Reading

Word on the street was that if Getty sneezed, the industry was sick. But what about Shutterstock? Has it taken a dominant enough position in the marketplace to become the health barometer of stock photography? Is this week’s quarterly report, covering a less than stellar quarter along with a less optimistic forecast, aContinue Reading

At a recent DMLA panel I organized, Craig Peters, COO of Getty Images, pointed out that the vast majority of image consumption happens in places where images are not licensed. Which is true: People spend more time on various social media sites than anywhere else.  Just Snapchat ( 8,796 photos sharedContinue Reading

For most of the 80’s and throughout the early 2000’s, the recurring motto in the stock photo industry was “It’s the content, idiot”. Key to any growth of photo agencies and successful career of any photographer was the ability to offer great content. Rule number one was to appeal to clients and crushContinue Reading

Calling all photo buyers: Are you sick of having a gazillion tabs on your desktop while toggling through different photo agencies for the stock image you need? Former  Vanity Fair and Travel + Leisure contributing photographer Andrew Rowat and technology developer Vache Asatryan created Haystack— which launched its beta in October–Continue Reading

As the flow of news coming out of the stock photo industry major – and not so major – players keep on pushing one press release after the other, it is always good to take a step back and analyze trends. It’s been a hectic first six months of 2016Continue Reading

An Interview with Ulf Schmidt-Funke by Stefan Hartmann for PICTORIAL Magazin 04/2016. It was – actually – a discussion about an entirely different topic. But Ulf Schmidt-Funke was just about to travel to the USA, where he planned to meet with major market players – including Reuters, New York TimesContinue Reading