The Best of 2005 . . .
By
Ron Rovtar
Managing Editor
December 23, 2005
What a difference a year makes!
In important ways, 2005 changed the stock photography landscape forever. But, it may be years before we know the full impact of events that took place this year, which made it a little hard for The Stock Asylum to compile our "Best of 2005" list. We did it anyway.
Think about it.
Just 365 days ago zefaimages, Creatas, PictureArts, Action Images and Digital Vision were all independent companies. Photonica West and Iconica were owned by Amana of Japan. All of these libraries are now brands of much bigger image suppliers.
And JupiterImages, which now rounds out stock photography's grand trilogy, was merely a conglomeration of small royalty-free and subscription brands.
Yet, despite all the consolidations, it seemed like new business ventures sprung up everywhere. Miles Gerstein, the owner of the Punchstock, a royalty-free supplier, started Uppercut, a high-end rights managed brand with images from a number of well-known photographers. At the same time, Gallery Stock, Ltd., launched with images from established fine art photographers.
Two companies, PhotoShelter and Spy Media, opened shop with business plans that let photographers bring images to market quickly, with little "friction" in the middle. Spy Media is for pro and amateur editorial shooters while PhotoShelter is for editorial and commercial photographers.
In addition, subscription services and digital image capture came of age in 2005, many new web sites were launched, PicScout scoured the internet for copyright infringement,Getty Images went to China and dollar-an-image "micropayment" sites made some observers wonder if stock photography will even be worth pursuing as a profession in a few years.
In a wider arena, Apple Computer surprised professional photographers with the release of Aperture, a robust digital asset management program that just happens to include some basic image editing features normally found in Photoshop.
Meanwhile, Adobe released the second version of its Creative Suite graphics software bundle. The big news that came with CS2 was the launch of Adobe Stock Photos, a new royalty-free stock distributor that can be accessed while using the various CS2 programs.
Then, as if to round off the year in blockbuster fashion, Adobe Systems acquired competitor Macromedia. The two joined forces in a $3.5 billion deal that closed on Dec. 3.
It was an amazing year, to say the least. So, without further ado, here are The Stock Asylum's picks for The Best of 2005:
Best promotional piece (online division): Corbis for its Hotline
Calendar.
Did you know that Liza Minelli will be 60 years old on March 12? Bet you didn't realize that the Battle of Verdun started Feb. 21, 1916? Will you be ready for the Jan. 6 release of the movie Bandidas?
As a promotional device, the Corbis Hotline Calendar is deceptively simple, but potentially very effective. Anyone who has ever worked in editorial department of a newspaper or magazine knows how hard it is to keep up with all those important dates -- anniversaries, major events, celebrity birthdays and obscure holidays.
But, the calendar is not just for editorial types. As consumers become increasingly adept at tuning out ads, one way advertisers can cut through the defenses is to skillfully attach a product or service to an event that interests a particular market segment.
Corbis' calendar makes it easy to remember that the 48th Annual Grammy Awards will be on Feb. 8 this year, which, incidentally, is also the 75th anniversary of James Dean's birthday.
The Seattle company also makes it easy to license related images. Simply click on a handy link to view the appropriate image collection.
Best promotional piece (print division): Veer's "Another
Big Summer Activity Book for Creatives."
Working fonts, illustrations and photography into a book of puzzles, riddles and games may not be the best way to actually show the product. People can get distracted by interesting content. But this is a great way to brand your product -- especially if your primary market is the creative community, which always loves clever design.
So, while word scrambles, crossword puzzles, and basic drawing lessons may or may not actually sell a lot of visual elements, this 98-page booklet certainly earned Veer some loyal customers -- and that's even better. The word from Veer is that creatives were asking for extra copies.
Best Search Engine: Getty Images.
Getty Images' Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Klein proudly boasts that his company has the best search engine in the industry. He's right.
Though no "perfect" search engine exists, Gettys' comes closest.
For one thing, it does a truly remarkable job with phrases. Try "dog eating from bowl" to see how accurate this search engine really is. Phrases give many search engines fits.
But, Getty's search software also knows when it doesn't have enough information to be accurate. In such cases, it simply asks. For example, type in "turkey." On most sites you will get images from Turkey (the country) along with pictures of turkeys (the birds). Getty's web site wants to know which "turkey" you are interested in, then assembles the appropriate images.
Best example of good salespersonship: Cindy Lewis, owner of
Cindy Lewis Photography.
Lewis, who offers some 12,000 automotive stock images on her web site, told PDN (Photo district News) that, "By the time you've dealt with the location owner and gotten permits and police to block a street, it can be expensive (shooting transportation), and the agency takes that into account when pricing those images."
Hallelujah and pass the ammunition! Finally someone understands the value of quality photography and communicates that value to clients!
In a day when some image sellers seem too busy to stop and think about what they are charging, Lewis' statement shows that she understands at least four things about salespersonship.
First, her statement indicates she perceives the real value of her product. Second, it shows she knows price is only one factor (usually not the most important one) in making a sale. Third, it proves she has picked up the notion that her clients will value her product only as much as she does. And, fourth, it strongly suggests she understands that businesses are built on strong relationships. Were she not forming good relationships with her clients, she would not be able to communicate the first three factors and, thus, would probably be doing something other than selling quality stock photography.
Unfortunately, many photographers and distributors have forgotten (or, perhaps, never learned?) these basic lessons.
Best boutique distributor: Lebrecht Music & Arts Photo
Library.
This is a unique collection of art and photography that spans hundreds of years. From Ludwig van Beethoven to Dmitri Shostakovich; from Shakespeare to Ian Fleming; from the Beatles to Courtney Love, and from Salvador Dali to Anthony Van Dyck: it's all here.
Founded in 1992 by Elbie Lebrecht from an archive of classical music images, the Lebrecht collection has grown to encompass all forms of music, including jazz, blues, rock and popular. It now contains images about literature, philosophy, and drama and even the most practical art of all, politics.
Today, this British supplier claims access to over 10 million images from museums, institutions, photographers and partner libraries.
But, perhaps even more important, the Lebrecht Music & Arts Photo Library is known for its proactive approach to licensing its collection. These people do not wait for buyers to come to them. They go out and solicit sales by pointing out appropriate connections with dates and current events, a rarity in this computer age.
Best new software: Adobe System's Creative Suite 2.
Adobe's updated bundle of programs for creative professionals is really an incredible package. Launched in the spring, Creative Suite 2 (CS2) includes updated versions of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and GoLive.
In addition, CS2 includes Adobe Bridge, a digital asset management program that just happens to make it easy for users to buy royalty-free stock photography from Adobe Stock Photos, a new distributor, set up by Adobe.
Adobe, has recently announced even more inclusive software packages. A new design package combines CS2 Premium with Macromedia's Flash Professional 8 software. A new Adobe Web Bundle joins Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Macromedia's Studio 8.
More software integration is promised. Is it possible that Adobe will eventually let customers create their own packages? It might be an interesting idea.
Best new web site feature: Veer's "Shuttleboard."
This is more that just a good tool. This is fun!
Veer's new Shuttleboard utilizes Flash technology to let browsers intuitively play with image and font selections as they previsualize a final project.
Users can drag photos, illustrations and fonts into various juxtapositions. All elements can be re-sized and even placed into overlapping positions. Two registered Veer customers can work together on a single Shuttleboard and then e-mail the finished product to a third party.
It's certainly not a design program, but it is a great aid. The only thing missing is a feature allowing users to import some of their own elements. Certainly Veer wants to encourage sales of Veer content, but real world creatives buy from many sources. If a customer wants to see how a SuperStock image looks with a Veer font, why not provide the opportunity?
Best new web site: JupiterImages.
By the company's own admission, this web site has a way to go. But, without question, JupiterImages' new site, launched in late October, offers more than any other new site in the stock industry.
With over 600,000 images from 21 rights-managed, 27 royalty-free and seven subscription brands, this is not an offer to be taken lightly.
The web site has a credible search engine and reasonably good light boxes, both necessary components of any world-class stock photo web site. Additionally, the site lets searchers choose between three preview sizes.
And, regardless of the preview size, searchers can see a mid-sized version by placing the computer cursor over the preview. Searchers will save a lot of time with this simple, but effective feature.
Jupitermedia president Alan Meckler says the new web site is a work-in-progress. He said Jupitermedia, which owns JupiterImages, will be working on the site until March. It will be interesting to see what other new features are added and how the features compare to those of arch-competitor Getty Images.
Best new image collection: Gallery Stock.
Just four months ago, The Stock Asylum rejected Gallery Stock for inclusion in the Stock Asylum 103, an annual collection of the best stock distributors. Back then, it seemed the library was too small with too many holes.
What a difference a few months can make.
The company has clearly been busy uploading images from photographers like Grant Delin. Alesia Exum, Larry Fink, Micheal McLaughlin, Bill Owens, Marcy Robinson, Joseph Rodriguez, James Waddell and others.
While gaps still exist, searches of significant keywords like "business," "food" and "family" produced at least modest selections. In fact we had trouble finding any keywords that did not return some imagery.
The artistic nature of this collection helps separate it from some other contenders. But, more importantly, the uncontrived nature of many Gallery Stock photographs stand as a challenge to an industry that lately seems interested in producing many images instead of good images.
Best image portal: Alamy.
With some four million images amassed in just six years, Alamy has to be the the best and most widely-used image portal in the world.
This British company was one of several that decided at the turn of the century to experiment with new ways of bringing images to market. With the bursting of the internet bubble and the 9/11 terrorist attacks , it proved to be a tough time to start a new business.
As such, some of those early portals didn't make it. Others are still with us, but still struggle. New ones have recently appeared, but are not yet forces in the market.
At the moment, Only Alamy appears to be running at full stride. The company is making significant sales and even claims profitability.
For the record, portals differ from a traditional stock agencies in that portals act strictly as a conduit between image sellers and the market place. In the purest form, portals are like e-bay while stock agencies are like a traditional store. Within reason, e-bay sells whatever contributors want to sell, while stores sell what the owners decide to sell.
In that sense, Alamy is one of the few true stock photography portals in that participating photographers and distributors edit, keyword and caption their own imagery with little influence from the people at Alamy who check only for technical quality rather than content and aesthetic appeal.
Best acquisition of an existing stock distributor: Corbis'
purchase of zefaimages.
This category may not appear in future years, but 2005 was the year of the acquisition so it would be impossible to not talk about it here.
Without question, the biggest coup was pulled off by Corbis when it announced the purchase of European giant zefaimages in early January.
Not only did zefa potentially add over $40 million to Corbis' sales, it gave the Seattle company a strong presence in Europe and a quality commercial collection to complement the Corbis archive, which is best known for its editorial content.
Other acquisitions (such as Getty Images' purchase of the Photonica and Iconica and JupiterImages' purchase of PictureArts) were significant, but no transaction did as much for the buyer as zefa did for Corbis.
Best overall collection: Getty Images.
Saying Getty Images has the best overall collection probably doesn't surprise many stock industry observers. With anticipated revenues of $735 million this year, it is clear that a lot of people like shopping at Getty.
But, with all the cross marketing of brands that goes on in today's stock industry, we decided to look exclusively at collections owned by the primary distributor. In other words, for Getty, we looked at brands like Stone, Taxi and Photonica, because Getty owns these brands. We did not look at brands Lonely Planet, Workbook Stock or Bridgeman, because, while Getty subdistributes these brands, it does not own them.
Getty still had a comfortable, though not commanding, lead.
With brands like Iconica, Photonica, Stone and Photographer's Choice leading the way, Getty has a quality offering of its own. It will be interesting to see if the world's largest distributor can maintain this lead as it moves relentlessly away from working directly with freelance photographers, preferring to build its collection through photographic production shoots and acquisitions of smaller distributors.
Corbis can be found at: http://www.corbis.com
The Hotline Calendar is at: http://pro.corbis.com/creative/hotline/calendar.asp
Veer is at: http://www.veer.com
Getty Images is at: http://www.gettyimages.com
Cindy Lewis Photography is at: http://www.cindylewisphoto.com
Lebrecht Music & Arts Photo Library is at: http://www.lebrecht.co.uk
Adobe Systems is at: http://www.adobe.com
JupiterImages is at: http://www.jupiterimages.com
Gallery Stock is at: http://www.gallerystock.com
Alamy is at: http://www.alamy.com
Apple Computer is at: http://www.apple.com
Uppercut is at: http://www.uppercutimages.com
PhotoShelter is at: http://www.photoshelter.com
Spy Media is at: http://www.spymedia.com
