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March 14, 2006
Town Hall Discussion of Custom Stock, Copyright and Intellectual Property
 Image: ©Steve Whittaker
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Imagine the following scenario: An Art Director sketches a description of a photo required for a global advertising campaign and submits the request to an image library. Upon confirmation with the client, the library quotes the price and provides an estimate for delivery. Immediately, photographers around the world spring to action. Spread throughout dozens of countries and numbering potentially in the hundreds, each photographer receives the identical client specification and applies his or her individual talents and vision to produce a series of images--completely on speculation.
Within two or three days, the client checks an online light box and pours through the hundreds (or thousands) of images shot specifically to match the desired mood, feel, and atmosphere, as requested by the client.
The client selects the one or two suitable images and rejects the others without explanation or implied commitment. The library, in the meantime, handles all pre- and post-production work, including image retouching and securing model and property releases, as required.
Welcome to the brave new world of custom stock. Companies such as OnRequest Images and Index Stock Imagery are creating disruptive new business models based on a somewhat imaginative merger of assignment photography and stock images.
Made possible by the hypersonic speed of the Internet, OnRequest Images, for example, argues that custom stock "combines the creativity and quality typically associated with custom photo shoots with the speed, usability, and pricing of stock photography."
But does it? Join us for a lively and informative Town Hall discussion that encourages you to consider the following:
- The relationship between the new phenomenon of custom stock and longstanding issues such as copyright and intellectual property
- Whether custom stock is really all that different from the growing field of conventional, specialized stock libraries
- Whether custom stock represents a serious threat to the craft and profession of photography, or whether it is simply a natural evolution of the business, offering yet another opportunity for the nimble and proficient to bypass the old and entrenched
- The implications of competing against over 1,600 photographers based in 53 countries for that next commercial shoot!
Whatever the outcome, our Town Hall meeting promises to offer new insights and strategies for addressing the challenges posed by this new development, together with tips for working with today's generation of cost-conscious image purchasers.
Sponsors:
TBA
Venue:
Blue Sky Rental Studios
2325 Third St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.626.7232
Date:
Tuesday, March 14
7:00 PM -- 9:00 PM
Social hour: 6:00 PM
Cost:
ASMP members Free
Students $10.00
General $20.00
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