Photo Research -
Easier Than Ever
Easier Than Ever
Advance Notes: In the last century photo researchers had the unrewarding task of searching through file drawers filled with transparencies in order to find that 'just right' picture. Thanks to the
Twenty years ago, I established a daily marketletter that appealed to photobuyers who were having trouble finding highly specific pictures for their publishing projects. It was called the PhotoDaily. It was enthusiastically received by both photographers and photobuyers.
Ten years later, when "micropayment" on-line photo galleries (sometimes called 'portals') came along, people told me they were going to put the PhotoDaily out of business. Photobuyers would be able to find the picture they needed on-line and at a dollar a picture. Well, it didn't happen. In fact, today PhotoDaily is getting more photo requests than ever before.
The reason is simple. Photobuyers and researchers know that they can better illustrate their publishing projects with a highly specific photo, that perfectly matches the theme of their text project, by locating the source of an arcane photo through a time-saving service such as the PhotoDaily.
Photobuyers found that searching the micropayment sites was too labor-intensive. They said, "Why use a micropayment site and get weary eyeballs spending time finding that 'just right' picture when I can request it through the PhotoDaily and negotiate directly with the photographer."
You might say, "Wouldn't it be better for the photobuyer to use a generic picture for their project rather than paying for a higher-priced Rights-Managed picture?"
Human nature doesn't work that way. Would you jump in your car, drive through traffic, wait in line for service, to buy a specific part for your automobile at a 'parts store,' if the same product were available on-line and delivered overnight? The cost is secondary to most people.
The PhotoDaily is alive and well. When all a Photobuyer needs is a generic photo of a covered bridge or a hot air balloon, they'll resort to an agency or a micropayment site but when they need a specific covered bridge, in a certain state, in winter time and a horse and buggy are passing through, - they know they have a good chance of locating a quality on-target image using the PhotoDaily.
Because photobuyers at books and magazines and other editorial markets have a longer deadline
To illustrate, here are some recent photo requests in the PhotoDaily. It wouldn't be easy to find them on the microsites of iStock, Corbis, Jupiter, Alamy, et al.
* River sedimentation in Blackfoot River
* Mirror reflection Whatcom Pass North Cascades National Park, Washington.
* Trekkers at Reykjavik Iceland lava fields
* Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum in Utah showing the exhibits and children in the Discovery area
* New Canaan Nature Center in Connecticut showing hands-on programs
* People drying fish at Ducie Island
* Aluminum can production in Georgia
Photo researchers have learned the power of the PhotoDaily, and photographers have proved what a powerful adjunct the PhotoDaily is to their marketing systems.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of "PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter," has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute, practical information from an experienced picture professional intimately familiar with both sides of the stock photo desk. For more info: http://www.photosource.com/photobuyer/.
 Tommy Thompson |
 Kerry Kolb |
 Jon Saban |
 Jake Nelson |