Less and Less of Less: The Stock Photographers Problem

This image above was licensed through one of my stock photo distributors. The license granted to the client was for the cover of a textbook, on up to 100,000 printed copies and unlimited e-books (no # given so it seems it was just thrown in to the deal and they could sell as many e-books as they want), English language only, the image would be across the whole cover, and the duration of this license is for 10 years.

For all of that use of my image I will get paid $135 which is 60% of the gross license amount of $225. The other 40% goes to the distributor. This is one of the best revenue splits in the stock industry among the large distributors of imagery (most big distributors take at least 70% of the gross fee). So for 10 years use of my image on up to 100,000 book covers and seemingly unlimited e-book covers I get $135.

I then did the math to see what I would get per printed book cover if they printed as many as they legally could, which is 100,000. It turns out I would get .00135 cents per book cover (135 thousandths of a cent per printed book). The textbook publisher would be paying .00225 cents per printed book cover in total. Even if the publisher only printed 20,000 books they’d still only be paying .01125 cents per book for the cover.

I then asked myself what an average textbook is sold for these days. With a little online searching I saw that printed textbook costs have been spiraling upward in recent years and that e-books through Apple are coming in at $14.99 for an electronic version of the book (no printing no paper and online delivery). That $14.99 is 11,103 times more than what I received to provide the cover art for one printed book. I found that in 1999 the average cost of a college textbook was $61.61 (that’s 12 years ago). I also found that ” A General Accounting Office report in 2005 noted that textbook prices rose 186 percent in the U.S. from 1986 to 2004″. That is certainly not the case for textbook photo licenses in that same time period.

For fun let’s say this printed textbook costs a student or consumer $25.00. This is very cheap by textbook standards. The publisher would have to sell 10 of these books to cover the license to use my image on the cover of 100,000 books and unlimited e-books for 10 years. So if they sell 1/10,000 of the total they can sell they will have covered the cost of my photograph. If the book retails at the average cost of a college textbook in 1999 then the publisher would only have to sell 4 printed books to cover the cost of licensing my photograph.

My point is that considering the potential number of books being sold (both printed and electronically), the license fee for my image is an extremely small amount and would still be low if the license fee were doubled. If it were doubled, I would be happier with the license and be able to have a sustainable stock photography business and career. My guess is that the publisher would also still have a sustainable business especially with the lower costs of producing e-books coming into the mix.

Low price points and lowering revenue splits for photographers by the major stock image distributors (in order to keep their businesses viable) are the two biggest problems for pro photographers in the stock photography business.

http://bit.ly/xNkwOi

http://www.back2college.com/shock.htm

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2008/04/youve_just_started_your_freshm.html

Functional Art in iPhone Cases

I recently decided to try out RedBubble.com to sell prints and other items using my photography.

I have just recently uploaded a bunch of imagery to be used as iPhone Cases. Check them out!

Tim McGuire Images iPhone cases

I’ve only uploaded a few images for prints (canvas and regular photographic), cards, and posters but more will be coming soon.

Agave Plant Detail

20111227_PHXXmas_0166, originally uploaded by Tim McGuire Images.

This image was made on a recent visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. It really is a spectacular garden.

Via Flickr:
Agave at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona, AZ

Black and White Cactus

20111227_PHXXmas_0200-2, originally uploaded by Tim McGuire Images.

Cactus are cool! Taken at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden on a recent personal trip.

Autumn Trail Running Shoot at St Edwards State Park

Last month I did a test shoot with sports and fitness model, Corey Wise (Sports + Lifestyle Unlimited) at Saint Edwards State Park between Kenmore and Kirkland, Washington along the shores of Lake Washington. We got a few choice pieces of clothing from The North Face store in downtown Seattle to include in our shoot along with those items we already had.

The leaves and colors were great and the weather cooperated with some filtered sunlight. The short days at this time of year shut us down a little earlier than we wanted (it just got too dark to capture the action) but overall it was a great shoot! Corey’s friend Ryan, an accomplished distance runner also came along and added a second runner in some of the shots.

In this edited grouping of shots I’ve added an affect using Adobe Lightroom 3 that some might call a bleach bypass look. It’s roughly based on an old film technique / look where the developing lab would skip a bleaching process on color film. It’s kind of a cross between a black and white image and a color image. I also added  some vignetting which I feel lends itself to this bleach bypass look. Tell me what you think.

Nature Photos From Red Rocks National Conservation Area, Nevada

Last month I spent two days hiking the canyons of Red Rocks National Conservation area outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are a few images made on those hikes.

What a spectacular place! Enjoy.

There are some laws that Congress can change. The laws of nature aren’t among them.

Our two big lies (it will costs us too much and the jury is still out) VS. the laws of nature.  Who will win?

Some may think that I am mixing partisan politics with my business on this blog.  Perhaps.  But as an artist I must express myself and in this case I see the issue as a moral issue rather than a political one.

Occupy Seattle protest and march, 10/15/2011

Occupy Seattle March and Protest, 10/15/2011, a set on Flickr.

Some photos I made during the Occupy Seattle protests and march in downtown Seattle on October 15th, 2011.

More on Plastics… good news this time!

Climbing at the Sunshine Wall, Echo Basin near Vantage, Washington, USA.

I always find visual inspiration in the high desert of Eastern Washington. I captured these photos on a climbing outing to Eastern Washington. The photographs are of Phil and Heather from Spokane, WA as they took turns leading a route called “Mid Summer Nights Dream”. It is an off-width (wide) crack trad climb that turns into a bolted face climb up higher and is rated 11a in difficulty.

These photos were taken on the upper portion of the climb. It is a dramatic route to photograph because of it’s prominence on the Sunshine Wall which puts the climber out on the edge of the cliff against the sky. This prominence lends itself to graphic and dramatic compositions. I love images that show a big landscape and people within it. Enjoy!