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

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

Confusion and mixed messages are creating a worried atmosphere in the world of Splash News contributors. First, the news broke that Silverhub Media signed a worldwide and exclusive distribution deal with Shutterstock. The news made no sense, SilverHub having little to no content of value for the microstock giant until itContinue Reading

Of the billions of images being shared today, the vast majority will live a life of anonymous orphans, forever separated from its original creator. Beyond its obvious disregard to original creation, it is an issue affecting hundreds of thousands of photographers worldwide whose only revenue depends on this attribution. PixelRights, a British startup, just introduced SmartFrame, a solution which elegantly attempts to solve this dilemma for everyone involved. We spoke with CEO Robert Sewell to learn more:Continue Reading

The greatest challenge facing photography online is the complete lack of persistent attribution. While sharing of visual content has exploded, with companies like Pinterest taking advantage of it while building multi-million dollar businesses, no one, whether amateur or professional, is given credit . Of the billions of images being shared today, theContinue Reading

We shop with our eyes. Whether buying fruits at the supermarket or a car, looking for a new pair of shoes or a hotel to stay, it is our vision that ultimately makes the final decision. It is no surprise then that visual tech is an emerging force in the retailContinue 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

The issue seemed simple enough: Find a photo of a green landscape with a clean blue sky, add the company’s logo and tagline and post it on the homepage of the site. Sure, they could easily find an inexpensive photo that matched their need but after that, emptiness. For aContinue Reading

Now that the flow of comments, rumors, anger and misled interpretations have died down and that more facts have flown through the pipeline, it is a good time to take a more  educated approach. Let’s kill the misinterpretations first: Getty did not buy Corbis.. …nor is it responsible for itsContinue Reading

Rumors have been rampant for a while. First Shutterstock was believed to be the buyer, a rumor quickly killed by no other than Jon Oringer himself during their last quarterly report. At the last DMLA conference, the target moved to China Visual Group and remained there. It is confirmed today:Continue Reading