Stock Photography: The Five Most Common Confusions

"Part of the difficulty in trying to be both an artist and a businessperson is this: you make a picture because you have seen something beyond price; then you are to turn and assign to your record of it a cash value."

-Robert Adams

After all the art centric posts of last month, it is time to address a business topic this time.

As the photographer and owner of a stock photography website, I get several confused queries about what is the business of www.lensdepictions.com , particularly from those who are not related to photography industry in any direct or indirect manner.

Here is my attempt to set the record straight by answering the top 5 fundamental questions asked most frequently:

1. What does a "Stock Images Website" mean?

The original question that needs to be answered is - what does a stock image mean?

A stock Image or a stock photograph is a photograph shot in advance, later to be licensed for specific creative and/or commercial use.

For their creative assignments’ needs publishing and advertising professionals often use stock images instead of getting images shot by a hired photographer… because stock images is a cheaper as well as a faster way to get quality images.

You can see stock images used at several places...starting from right on your desk to the corner of your street! calenders, postcards,brochures,catalogs,news-papers,magazines, product packaging,advertising pamphlets,hoardings and so on...

Nowadays, stock images are purchased and delivered online almost all the time.

And, www.lensdepictions.com is a website selling the license of stock images specializing in nature and conceptual stock images.

2. What does the "lightbox" mean?

Simply put, a light box is a place where you can save or collect the images you are interested in, and later, go back to decide if you want to purchase a license for it.

This way it becomes easier for the customer to take his/her own time and review the images conveniently.

3. What does it mean to “License an image” and can anyone buy the “copyrights of the image”?

At www.lensdepictions.com I do not “sell” my images, because as the creator of the images, legally, I always retain the ownership and the copyrights of the images.

Instead, I "license" the rights to the buyer for use of the image. Licensing is similar to leasing. The ownership of the image does not change and a licensing fee is paid for the rights to use the images based on the licensing model and the rights the customer is purchasing.

It is highly unlikely that someone will buy the copyrights of an image; in fact, it is next to impossible. Any image cannot actually be "sold" unless the photographer legally transfers ownership of his/her copyright to the buyer. It is very rare that a customer will choose to purchase the copyright of the image outright, because the fee is extremely high. Also it is the photographer’s prerogative to decline the copyright buy-out.

4. What is a "Royalty-free license" of an image?

Royalty-free license is based on the image size or dimensions, and pricing is available right when you select an image to buy. Royalty-free means you don't have to pay any additional royalties for successive uses of the image– it's an unlimited-use license.

Buying Royalty-free license of an image is always cheaper than its Rights-managed counter-part but it does not provide the exclusivity.

Royalty-free images can be used by the customer for an unlimited time frame. This type of licensing is good for customers with small projects and budgets, and customers who aren't concerned about who others are using the same image.

5. What is a "Rights-managed license" of an image?

Rights-managed image licensing is based on usage, and pricing is calculated once you provide usage specifications. Generally, Rights-managed images are much higher quality, in terms of size as well as the resolution, and consequently provide high production value. Some rights-managed images can be licensed with exclusive rights also on negotiable terms.

Rights-managed images need to be re-licensed for any new use or for extending the region of use, distribution or time-duration. This type of licensing works well for customers who want their control over the use of the image.

Note: Readers can find details on licensing of lensdepictions images by visiting this link.

Image & Article Copyrights 2011 Gyaneshwari Dave

Agony and Ecstasy Of Being A Photographer!!

Disclaimer: This one is loosely based on my observations of what others observe about me. Fellow photographers may find resemblance with their own experiences; 

I know this is bound to happen :)

You know you are a serious photographer when:

1. You have deleted a far larger number of images from your camera than you have kept in your hard-drive!

2. Hard-drive reminds me this one too; you have back-up of back-up of back-up!

3. After every visit to some tourist attraction or famous place you have hundreds of images in your high-resolution camera but only one or two, sometimes even zero image of yourself.

4. People have not seen your face since months even if you have shared hundreds of photographs on internet.

5. You always need “one more” lens…

6. People who are traveling with you are afraid of “getting late” all the time!

7. People can spot you stopping, climbing, crawling, bending all of a sudden, in the moments no one can expect!

8. When you are looking at some spot from some distance, you don’t gauge the distance by miles or meters, you calculate it in terms of “mm” (Focal length of the lens is measured by mm)…

9. When watching a movie, instead of trying to figure out the plot, you are busy figuring out the lighting in all the frames!

10. Every beautiful thing you look at is a photograph for you. Whether you click it or not.

11. You have your own list of must visit spots at famous destinations and the ones figuring on travel brochures are almost never in there!

12. You are never happy with your own pictures because YOU could not take it.

13. You keep taking self-portraits using tripod (Like the one with this post!)

14. You have arguments with the Sun!

15. Every sunny day is nothing but an over-exposure for you!

16. You always travel with 2-3 pairs of clothes less than the minimum requirement, because you want to accommodate your camera, lenses, tripod…

17. You cannot tolerate when someone tries to capture a good scene with his/her cell phone camera (How could he/she waste such good frame…!)

18. You start editing out the unwanted cables from a scene even before you take the photograph of that scene…

19. At every birthday-party, wedding, anniversary etc. you arrive minus your beloved camera and people regret it big time. However, you don’t have a shred of regret on your face!

20. You struggle with your camera every time people want to use it themselves, because you don’t remember where the “Auto mode” of your camera is…

21. You feel panicked when someone give you a point and shoot camera and you are not able to control practically “everything” because the poor compact camera can’t let you do that…

22. You have consumed and thrown away an insane number of batteries (The rechargeable ones those are...)

23. You no more care being left behind by your friends when you are taking photographs even at the weirdest of places.

24. You are constantly searching for the lens-cap…

25. You are the unpaid brand-ambassador of Canon or Nikon (Or whatever be the case!) :)

Image & Article Copyrights 2011 Gyaneshwari Dave

 

God Likes To Please Us Too!

"The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears"

- Native American Proverb

Finally, the sun hid behind the suddenly arriving army of rain clouds, and I heaved a sigh of relief. I thought, the dark clouds were there to stay, the Sun should not appear any time soon now…

It was perfect for the trip...cold breeze started flowing and in no time, it was drizzling with those graceful, gentle drops of rain…

But then, after a while, looking adamant on spoiling my trip, the Sun came out once again…

As the drive progressed, with the complaint in my eyes, I kept gazing the sun in front of me-“NOW FOR WHAT HAVE YOU COME AGAIN?”

After few moments passed, I spotted a beautiful river on the side of the road; I got down to take a picture of that river there.

I looked down, pointing my camera towards the river. But the sun annoyed me there too…it was right in front of me, and of course, was making it impossible for me to create a good shot…

Disappointed, I looked at the Sun in a helpless manner; it was there, staring at me, smiling cunningly, almost as if it was trying to tell me- "Look Behind!"

Suddenly, I turned my back, and then what I saw was something absolutely larger than life…

…I had got the answer for my question- “NOW FOR WHAT HAVE YOU COME AGAIN?”

The sun had come again to write his poetry this time…the most beautiful of all…

I had learnt my lesson, when it rains but the sun refuses to go away, never look down and look up! You may miss god’s own smile otherwise…The rainbow!

It was the most splendid rainbow I had ever seen in my life.With the VIBGYOR shining in all their vibrant glory, with both the ends pointing the horizon in a neat and sharp manner, and the whole trail clearly visible in the background of dark sky. 

Flawless! Perfect! Immaculate!

What a grace, what a splendor, it was surreal; it was divine…The display of God’s generosity was in its full swing…

For the longest time, I had hard time believing it, how come the creator can exhibit something so angelic, so casually... just like that... by the road side!! I wonder why do people go and brave those maddening crowds of religious pilgrimages; stand in those long queues, and sometimes even bribe priests to have a glance of “God”...

Whenever people ask me, do you believe in god? Most of the times, my reply is- I don’t know about that, but when I see nature in all its grandeur, I get goose bumps…may be that is what we call the realization of god being there…

In most of our religions we believe that pleasing the god is everything, by rituals, by offerings, by doing good did and so on…

But sometimes I really think, he/she likes to please us too! 

Imagine a child who is asking for one little toy since hours…begging, crying and shouting for it…and suddenly but quietly enough too, he discovers a hidden room in his home... with a huge pile of toys in it.

I was just as happy, even more…

Before leaving that spot, I looked at the sun and whispered silently… Thanks!

Image & Article Copyrights © 2011 Gyaneshwari Dave