Stock Photography, Royalty Free or Exclusive

         >>  Digital Photography Secrets Revealed <<

 

Acquiring stock photography images can be costly; however, the cost is often worth it. Nevertheless, when do you pay for exclusive rights to an image, and when is it just not worth it? Images can be purchased with different license types, either royalty free, rights managed or protected or exclusive rights.

All stock photography services offer different types of licenses and these licenses are all different from each other-you can even negotiate some licenses. Before purchasing a royalty free image, read through the licensing policy to make sure that their license applies to how you intend to use the image. For 'exclusive rights' or 'rights managed' images, you may have to relate to them the exact intended use before they quote a price.

Royalty Free (RF)
Royalty free images are usually the least expensive choice ranging from as low as $1 to $450/ea. Many stock providers offer a subscription program for RF images that support multiple downloads for $20 to $600 per month. Although RF images are inexpensive to purchase, they do not offer any protected licensing, which means that an unlimited number of that image may be sold to others and used for a variety of applications. Keep in mind it is the buyer's responsibility to check for model releases before using an image. Usually RF images only have to be purchased once to be used multiple times in multiple projects.

Even though RF images do not carry exclusive rights, they are still a wise and budget-friendly choice for many applications. If you need an isolated object image, RF is an excellent choice. Some agencies even offer pre-masked images you can buy for a dollar or two. Object images are usually not the focus of an ad campaign, a picture of a lollipop or a stapler are literally a dime a dozen and there is no need to spend a lot of money on such an image if it is not the center of your project.

Secondary webpages or short-term ads can use RF images. For example, during the holiday season, an image of a wreath or a group of friends celebrating can be purchased for nearly nothing, they add a little spice and timeliness to your projects, yet are still usually not the main focus.

Background images, landscapes or other flora or fauna photos are not usually specific enough to warrant an exclusive license, unless you are using it for an application that requires a license such a greeting card, calendar and so on. For example, a picture of sunset may be used to evoke a mood, yet that mood is related to previous experiences, not that specific image.

Rights Managed or Protected

Rights managed or protected licenses will usually allow you to use a photo for a specific use for a specific amount of time; the stock agency will ask you where you intend to use the image and the duration. However, generally they are not exclusive rights. Some services offer different agreements depending on whether the image is for commercial or editorial use. These types of licenses may start at under $200 for a small image, but for something like a calendar or home page, use may reach $1000.

This is a good choice for home page, magazine or medium to high exposure use. Typically, rights protected images can only be used for one specific application so there are fewer chances that another company will spread the image all over its pages at the same time that you do.

Sometimes these types of licensing will support template use, greeting cards, calendars or posters and so on, but be sure to read or negotiate the terms before you use the image.

Exclusive Rights

'Exclusive rights' restricts others from purchasing the same image. This is necessary if you need an image that is going to represent your brand, logo or for high exposure use, like the front page of your magazine. Images purchased for a large campaign should be exclusive; you do not want to chance that the ad agency across town chooses the same image for its next billboard.

If you hire an assignment photographer or commission work, you will also want to negotiate exclusive rights. Exclusive rights should be secured for book covers, CD jackets and so on.

Exclusive Rights can get costly, but for the rights and protection, they are well worth it.

Overall, make sure that you read over all the terms that a stock agency sets to protect yourself and your image. Diversity is key, you may use a subscription program for isolated images and low exposure RF stills, another for right protected images and another for commissioned work or editorials. Working with several agencies may, in the end, save your time and budget.

Pamela Stevens

Pamela Stevens writes for TopTenREVIEWS.com, a review site that publishes unbaised reviews on a wide range of subjects, including software, online services, hardware, movies and actors.

How to Get Started in Digital Photography

         >>  Digital Photography Secrets Revealed <<

 

Whether you are a seasoned photographer or a novice, or just someone who want to do photography as a hobby, the first thing you need to be clear on is, what exactly is digital photography?

Digital photography is the use of a digital camera to capture / take an image that can be viewed on a computer screen. The main benefits of digital photography are:

You can see the result of your work right away

You can delete unwanted photographs instantly

You can easily and cheaply edit your photographs by improving the tone, retouching some areas, adding background etc.

Digital photographs can be send instantly via email

Except for batteries you do not need to constantly buy items to use in digital photography such as films.

Next you will need to decide on the type of digital camera to buy. This will of course depend on the following factors:

How much money you can spend

What is your goal, that is, why do you need to take digital pictures: business, hobby, personal What functionality do you want with your camera

There are two basic types of digital camera, the DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and automatic. If you are really serious about digital photography you will want to get yourself a DSLR since this type of camera gives you more control.

In making a decision on type of digital camera also explore the types of storage media available and see which one may be best for you. The two most popular storage media for digital camera are flashcards (digital film) and microdrives. The storage media in a digital camera is really important; it is what holds the pictures. It is important to read reviews and talk to other users of digital cameras to determine the type of memory, and the capacity of the memory (how much images can it hold) you will need. I recommend flash cards since they have no moving parts and are more reliable.

After you have decided on the type of digital camera to purchase, you must now look at the other types of equipment you need to make a success of digital photography. A good personal computer and printer is needed, especially if you do not wish to pay to have your pictures printed elsewhere.

Your computer is important because this is where you will download, store, edit, review and any number of other things to your photographs. If you are using an older computer, make sure your operating system is compatible with the camera and software you will be using.

If you plan to do this professionally, you will also need to invest in software to help you get the most out of your digital photographs. Software used by professional digital photographers include Adobe Photoshop and ImageReady.

How to take great digital photographs

There are seven main steps to ensuing that you take professional looking digital photographs. These are:

Subject: Pose your subject with care. Even with the best software some faults cannot be totally corrected.

Lighting: Right light is important in digital photography as the appearance of your subject will be affected if lighting is wrong. Too harsh a light will show up wrinkles

ISO calibration: To ensure that your pictures don?t come out looking like they were done by a total novice, check to ensure that your camera is properly calibrated. Getting the right camera setting can be the difference between brilliant pictures and blah.

Composition: Good photography is an art form, so your background is as important as your subject. Too much clutter in your picture will make the result look unprofessional.

White balance: If you want to ensure that your photograph has natural looking colors, then make sure to manually set the white balance.

Don?t be afraid to experiment: Do creative crazy things with your camera, the results may just surprise you. Remember, with a digital camera you can always delete the images if you do not want to keep them.

Zoom and flash: Practice using these features until you find what works best in different situations.

One point to remember about digital photography is that it cannot turn a lousy photography into a professional overnight, but with practice and learning you can become good at photography using a digital camera. And, with enough talent, business savvy, luck, downright determination and love of the craft you might even be able to turn it into a business venture.

Robert Provencher has been a professional portrait and wedding photographer for over 25 years. He has trained hundreds of professional photographers throughout North America in live workshops and through his online forum. Robert has authored several manuals on digital photography and photogaphy marketing. http://www.nobsphotosuccess.com

Delving into an Underwater Photography Adventure

         >>  Digital Photography Secrets Revealed <<

 

As years go by, the world of photography continues to reinvent itself along with the changes in technology. Its pillars continue to come up with better sets of equipment like cameras and constantly come up with new methods and strategies to produce better photograph.

Along with these changes is the emergence of modern photography method that enables man to reach and rediscover the beauty of uncharted territories like the ocean floor. This is called ?underwater photography.?

As the term suggests, underwater photography refers to the kind of photography that is done or taken under water. This is quite a breakthrough in the world of photography because underwater lovers such as divers and scuba divers because they can now take photos under the sea and share it with others with the use of modern equipment that can actually work well down under.

TAKING PHOTOS UNDER THE SEA

Aside from possessing the love and passion for the water and the creatures under, reliable equipment such as an underwater camera is the key factor for successful underwater photography. If you?re a diver who is not so much into underwater photography, you can now purchase disposable underwater cameras just to take photos. But if you would want to pursue a career in underwater photography, you will need much complicated equipment and gadgets.

The first thing you should consider is the camera to be used. In underwater photography, two kinds are usually used: the underwater or waterproof camera and the encased camera that has housing to protect the camera inside. Aside from camera, you should also take time to research and canvass what is the best lens, film, and flash you can use during your shoot.

Aside from the major technicalities and equipment, you should also consider several environmental factors that will greatly affect the quality of your underwater photos such as depth of water and transparency of water, available light, the angle of the sunlight on the top of the water, the backscatter, and the magnifying effect of water.

Here are some additional musts before you dive and click that shutter button:

1. Good or at least average diving skills. In order to be fully prepared for an underwater shoot, the underwater photographer should also possess good diving skills to be comfortable in taking photos.

2. An experienced underwater buddy. This person can serve as your model and can even help you carry your equipment and gear, hold the lights down under, and can even share the momentous experience.

3. Good managing skills?in managing resources, that is. You should learn to manage vital resources such as dive time, body heat, air, battery life, and the like in order to endure the physical strains under water.

4. Reliable camera housing. If you don?t have waterproof cameras, better look for a reliable camera housing so you wouldn?t put your investment to waste.

5.Gain expedition skills. Since your photo shoot will include exploration of different places under water, you will need to have great expedition skills to make the trip worthwhile.

6. Expect and hope for better chances. Since Lady Luck doesn?t smile at everybody, you should learn to prevent unavoidable circumstances by asking those who tried underwater photography before and learn from their experiences.

7. Take time to assess the weather. Overall weather condition, the waves, and visibility greatly affect and influence your underwater shoot. Make sure that you are ready to face these problems when they occur during the shoot unexpectedly.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy and may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more info on Photography, please visit http://photography.articlekeep.com