What From: Buyers Want Photographers

what
BUYERS WANT from
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Preferences and habits of the most influential image buyers.
presented april 2011 by

contents
3 INTRODUCTION
6 MARKETING
18 PORTFOLIO WEBSITES
31 SELLING AND DELIVERY
37 RESOURCES
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scanning or otherwise, without the prior written consent of PhotoShelter, Inc. or Agency Access.
PhotoShelter, Inc. and Agency Access make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifi-
cally disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable
for every situation.
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | I N T RO D U C T I O N
introduction
What’s the best way to understand how to How do buyers like to receive
information?
attract and serve your clients better than anyone else?
How often?
Listen. You need to ask them specific questions.
Via what medium?
These questions are not unique to photographers and their clients at ad agencies, publications, and What marketing messages do
corporations worldwide – in fact they’re universally asked across all businesses. Yet despite living in they notice more than any other?
the “everything social” era of hyperconnectivity 24/7, the information gap between photographers
and their commercial and editorial clients continues to loom large. Photography remains a silo-based What’s the best way to package
industry where little information is shared between the suppliers (photographers) and the buyers and deliver a final product?
(photo editors, photo buyers, art directors, etc.)
Our 2011 survey aims to break down some of these information barriers and address many of the
questions that photographers really need answers to – how to best reach the clients, attract their at-
tention, and serve them in a way that keeps a client coming back for more. Inside you’ll find powerful
data and suggestions straight from the minds of buyers. Essentially, it’s like having a cocktail party
with 500 potential clients and getting a chance to flirt with every one of them.
3 photoshelter.com • agencyaccess.com
why we do this what to expect

Since 2008, PhotoShelter and Agency Access have worked together Some really juicy information and insights from a diversity of photography
to field a survey that helps illuminate the needs of clients who consume buyers. Respondents included art directors, photo editors, art buyers,
photography, and we provide that information to photographers who aim graphic designers, photo buyers, directors of photography, picture
to grow their businesses by better understanding the customer. researchers and other creatives – all united by the common thread of
hiring photographers or licensing their work. They told us all about:
We recognize that it’s hard for individual photographers to ask ques-
tions like this on their own (especially to a group of this size), and • Preferred methods for finding photographers
the reality is that it’s not typically information that prospective clients • How to capture their attention
simply volunteer to share. We invest our own resources in gathering • What separates good and bad photographer promotions
this information to serve two main purposes. First, to empower our • What they love and hate about photographer websites
clients and the greater photographer community with key information
that can help make smarter marketing choices for their photography If you focus on these insights – doing what they appreciate and avoid-
businesses. And second, to continuously stay aware of the needs and ing what they hate, this guide should help you grow your business.
interests of the client community so we can both advise photographers There is, of course, no magic bullet for this stuff. While one photo
and optimize our own services. buyer may love connecting with emerging photographers on Face-
book, another may prefer rock solid direct mail promotions.
PhotoShelter provides portfolio websites backed by powerful archiving,
sales and marketing tools that help photographers attract more busi-
ness online. Agency Access provides a one stop resource for photog-
raphers to effectively promote themselves – from list memberships
to direct marketing and specialized consulting services. So, gathering
data like this really helps all of us do our jobs better.
survey methodology
In March 2011, we sent a 35 question survey via the Agency Access Facebook | Twitter Facebook | Twitter
database to 55,000 global recipients. All of the recipients have self
identified as someone who either hires photographers for commis-
sion/assignment work or licenses still photography. 500 total recipi-
ents responded to the survey.
job titles
Who are the participants? Creative Director 26.0%
Art

Director 22.1%
what they do Photo Editor - Editorial 7.6%
Hire photographers for assignment 45.1% Art Buyer 4.5%
Graphic Designer 4.1%
License still photography 42.2% Marketing Manager 4.1%
Associate Creative Director 3.9%
Hire photographers for still and video shoots 6.2% Design Director 3.9%
License video 2.5% Designer 3.9%
Editor in Chief 3.9%
Other 4% Picture Researcher 1.9%
Project Manager 1.9%
Director of Photography 1.2%
Senior Designer 1.2%
sample companies Art Producer 0.8%
Photo Editor- Advertising 0.4%
Editorial Advertising In-house Design Book Publishing
Copywriter 0.4%
Discover Magazine DDB Acquity Brands Harper Colliins Artist 0.2%
Essence DraftFCB Kiehls McFarland
Public Relations 0.2%
Martha Stewart J Walter Thompson Safeway McGraw Hill
The Atlantic Fallon Toys R Us National Geographic School
USA Today Publicis Universal Orlando Publshing
Wells Fargo Random House
MARKETING
7 What is the best way to get noticed?
8 What gets your attention?
9 What makes a good email?
10 Meet the Buyer: Whitney Lawson
11 What makes a good direct mail piece?
12 What do you search for on Google?
13 Do you use social media to find photographers?
14 Meet the Buyer: Alyssa Adams
15 Which social media sites do you prefer?
16 Do you use photo contests to find talent?
17 Do you follow photographers’ blogs?
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | M A R K E T I N G
key insights
What is the best way to get We asked this open-ended question
noticed by a new client?

and received 354 responses. “What
is the best method you would sug-
gest a photographer use to capture
your attention, share their work, or
share new work?”
Of the 354 responses provided:
• 134 buyers said email is the best

approach
Email • 75 suggested any form of communication
– but to ensure it is uniquely targeted
38% to their needs

• 36 buyers said direct mail is the best
approach
• 27 buyers suggested an in-person
portfolio visit
• 81 other responses were provided, from
Customize your pitch social media, to personal introductions, to
sourcebooks and directories, to reps and
22% agencies.
• Study the agency’s clients or the

publication’s content and only send port-
folios, emails, or direct mail that clearly
relate to their regular work.
What gets your attention?

Show samples of Share recent as well Personalize it
your work from as historical work. with my name.
other publications.
Find out what I need— Do some really good

or don’t send anything.
work that stands out.
Connect by Linked
In and then follow up Avoid Flash Hook me with a good
with email intro. presentations. blog. Tell me stories.
Present some-
Send a piece that’s thing unusual, Contact us direct with
innovative or flashy. out-of-the-box. work or ideas that are
relevant.
What makes a good email?
Do Don’t
• Images must be beautiful, striking, high quality • Irrelevant content (don’t know the product, market, demographic)
• State relevance in subject line • Website inconsistent with sample photos in email
• Image(s) and copy immediately relevant • Poor subject lines
• Unique style or technique • Boring or over-the-top images
• Images truly represent a photographer’s work • Emails that lack photos (only links to a site)
• Highly targeted vs. clearly a mass mailing • Image display errors
• Simple and direct • Too many/ large attachments
• Emotionally riveting/ evocative • No context around the new work being shared
• Demonstrate problem solving • No indication of location
• Clever and creative copy/ headlines • Conversational tone with no prior relationship
• Share work in use by other campaigns • Links that don’t work, or link to a slow loading site
• Sensible, accessible geographic location • Repeating the same email/ too frequent
• Good self promotional design • Single image with no copy
• Highlight the photographer’s abilities, specialties • Careless errors (e.g. spelling mistakes, agency/publication title
• Consistency/ regularity in sending promos incorrect, photographer or rep name & contact info missing)
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | B U Y E R P RO F I L E
meet the buyer key advice

Whitney Lawson “I need to be able to download a comp of
an image if I am doing photo research for
Photo Editor, Travel + Leisure a story. It’s fine if it is low-res or water-
marked. But if your photos are in a Flash
animation that I can’t download individually,
To get noticed by Whitney Lawson, your best bet is to start thinking like she thinks. “It is our job at the I will usually move on.”
magazine to tell stories,” she explains. “So a small edit that tells a story is best for me. Of course this is
totally different from advertising, which asks you to sum everything up in one single photo.” “I also have a soft spot for holiday card
promos,” she says. “I like to keep them in
a little silver tray on my desk. It is a good
Whitney still favors a unique printed promotional piece that features a small series of photos (or maybe way for you to show your style, and even
even a set of six cards in a series). “I’m more inclined to look at anything with a home-made or personal your humor.”
vibe. One of the best promos I ever got was a little Moleskin book with cut-up contact squares taped to
each page, made from a personal trip. The images were varied: food, scenics, portraits. They were all
very personal and they went very well together. I hired the photographer soon after I got it.”
When it comes to getting noticed via email, Whitney says the subject line really determines if an email
gets opened. “New Work from [Photographer Name]” doesn’t compel Whitney to open a message
because it simply isn’t very interesting or appealing. “It is already implicit that the email is touting some
new work,” she says. Rule #1 is to be sure the subject line says the photography is relevant to Travel +
Leisure. Rule #2 is to be as specific as possible.
Whitney often uses Google to find new photographers and individual images. “If I am working on a
2-page story about nightlife in Croatia, the first thing I will do is use Google to find photographers in
or around Croatia. Then I will contact them to see if they have covered any of the locations that I need.
This in turn may lead to an assignment.”
Whitney finds several photo contests helpful in identifying new talent. She includes among her
favorites: PDN 30, American Photography, Hey Hot Shot, New York Photo Festival, National
Portrait Gallery Wessing Portrait Prize (UK), Visa Pour l’Image awards (France), and Surface
magazine’s Avant Guardians award.
What makes a good direct mail piece?

Do Don’t
• Striking images • Bad photography

• Relevance - specific to our needs/work • Not well researched: content irrelevant to buyer’s needs
• Customize/personalize - a personal note helps • Low production quality photos
• Postcards help see the images immediately • Waste of paper/resources
• Provide information, i.e. include a description of • Poorly written, bad grammar and misspelling
featured assignment • Complicated to act on, lack of contact information or website
• Produce something unique that shows effort vs. mass produced • Hard to obtain pricing/ rates
• Creative production/ paper choice • Doesn’t exhibit problem solving/ strategic thinking
• Creative in presentation but not “out of reach” • Poor print quality; especially for postcards
• Contact details
• Action - include an event, show opening, or request direct meeting
• Make it useful (i.e. as notepaper, a calendar)
• Great design
• Unique size and packaging
• Simplicity
• Mind the environment - don’t overuse paper
key insights
What do you search We asked two separate questions:
for on Google?
• Do you search for PHOTOGRAPHERS
using the major search engines?
• Do you search for IMAGES using the
major search engines?
Respondents are regularly using search

engines like Google to find images, less
often to find photographers.
Looking deeper, we learned that respon-

dents at Editorial Publications (38%)
61%
& Book Publishers (39%) use search
engines more regularly to find photogra-
phers than their counterparts at Advertis-
ing (32%) & Design (16%) agencies, and
Corporate In-House designers (23.4%).
30% Meanwhile, over 75% of book publishers
use search engines to find images (well
above the average).
Images Photographers
key insights
Do you use social media We asked “Do you search for photogra-
to find photographers?
phers, or have you discovered new pho-
tographers using social media, includ-
ing Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?”
A majority of respondents don’t heavily rely

on social media to find photographers.
Advertising and editorial buyers use social

media a bit more (38%) than the average
survey respondents, while book publishers
and design agencies report using social
Yes media significantly less (less than 22%).
33% Many buyers told us that they prefer to

use social media to follow photographers
they’re previously worked with, rather
than to find new photographers.
No
67%

Alyssa Adams “Don’t make me scroll down too far in an
email promo to find your photo,” Alyssa
Deputy Photo Editor, TV Guide Magazine suggests. She also is turned off by emails
when photographers act like they know her
despite never having met or worked to-
Alyssa Adams hires photographers for celebrity portraits to accompany the feature stories that run in gether before. Alyssa is also amazed at how
TV Guide Magazine, and also handles licensing celebrity stock photography for the publication. frequently photographers neglect to include
a link to their website in the email.
Alyssa saves photographer emails when they make an impact, and offered some sound advice for pho- Alyssa suggested a different tactic we don’t
tographers trying to capture her attention using email. Alyssa suggests varying the timing of email sends always hear. “Get me to act on something
according to different weekdays to test when the audience is most receptive, and that sending a new promo other than a meeting.” Given that most promo
emails do exactly that, Alyssa suggested
every other month was a reasonable amount of email to receive from a single photographer.
sharing some self inspired/initiated work
and an invitation to an event (e.g. a gallery
Alyssa will also use search engines to find photographers, for example, who have experience shooting showing). Further, she suggests photogra-
a particular celebrity. Social media, however, she prefers to use for keeping tabs on photographers phers can benefit from working with public
relations pros to help get their work seen in
she has worked with previously, or cares about personally.
more places. “If I see you’ve been published
or featured elsewhere and like your work, I
Contests are useful to Alyssa, not necessarily to motivate Alyssa to hire new talent, but rather they will file it away for inspiration.”
help her understand trends. She pays particular attention to the PDN 30, the Society of Publication
Designers, and the American Society of Media Photographers annual contests.
For photographer websites, Alyssa recommends keeping the website updated frequently with new
work. She echoes the same recurring suggestions about user experience - that photographers should
focus on fast load times, simple design, image viewing and navigation.
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | MARKETING
key insights
Which social media sites Among buyers who do use social media to
do you use most?

discover and connect with new photogra-
phers, the top choice is LinkedIn.
In one category – Editorial – respondents

indicated a greater preference for Face-
book (47%) vs. LinkedIn (42%).
54%
36%
10%
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter
key insights
Do you use photo contest Among buyers who do use photo contests,
results to find new talent?

the top competitions tend to be the indus-
try’s largest awards and those run by top
publications.
American Photographic Artists
Applied Arts
American Society of Media Photographers
BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Communication Arts
Coupe
Creative Review
Yes D&AD
Graphis
15% Kitcatt Nohr Photo Comp

The Lucie Awards
Lürzer’s Archive
National Press Photographers Association
Best of Photojournalism
The One Show
No
PDN 30, PDN Photo Annual, PDN Self
Promo Awards
Pictures of the Year International
85% Print Magazine

National Geographic
Travel Photographer of the Year
World Press Photo
Notably, 97% of book publishers said

they do not use photo contests.
key insights
Do you follow any While having a blog may be critical for
photographers’ blogs?
optimizing your online presence for
search engines and your fans, the majority
of buyers won’t necessarily subscribe or
frequently return to your blog.
However, in the editorial segment, 39%

of buyers do actually frequent/subscribe
to photographer blogs in contrast to the
26% average across all respondents.
Yes
26%
No
74%
PORTFOLIO
WEBSITES
19 How long will you wait for a website to load?
20 At what size do you prefer to view images?
21 Do watermarks impact your decision to
hire or license?
22 Meet The Buyer: Kat Dalager
23 Which background color works best on a website?
24 What do you look at on a website?
25 What do you hate to see on a website?
26 What features should photographers include?
27 Do you view photographer websites on your mobile?
28 Do you open photographer emails on your mobile?
29 How do you like to view a portfolio?
30 Do you like to see video alongside stills?
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | P O R T F O L I O W E B S I T E S
key insights
How long will you wait for For a busy potential client, speed is
a website to load?
essential. Buyers will bail if your website
loads slowly. After 15 seconds you’ve lost
81% of buyers visiting your site.
41.3%
19.7% 19.7%
10.9%
6.3%
.8% 1.3%
5 10 15 30 1 5 any
SECS SECS SECS SECS MIN MINS AMOUNT
key insights
At what size do you prefer We were surprised that the “bigger is better”
to view images?
axiom doesn’t always apply for buyers when
viewing a photographer’s website.
Buyers preferred sizes that fell in the 700

pixel (wide) to 900 pixel range.
Even in the advertising segment, the pref-

erence for +900px was only marginally
greater than average, at 9.6%.
43%
31.1%
11.1% 7.8% 6.8%
500 700 900 +900 Don’t

PX PX PX PX Care
key insights
Do watermarks impact your While many commented that they respect
decision to hire or license?

photographer’s rights, their guidance on
watermark usage is loud and clear. If
you’re going to watermark, make it subtle
and ensure a buyer can easily get ahold of
an unwatermarked version for layout and
client presentation.
notes
• Don’t cover so much of the image that the
feel for it is lost.
Yes • Highly distracting watermarks are a deterrent

to licensing/ reviewing a portfolio.
24% • When agency clients see the watermark, they

sense the “stock” image and it is difficult to
convince the client of the image’s value.
• Agency clients often ask to get images with-

out watermarks so they can fully visualize
how an image will look in a layout.
No • Some watermarks obstruct the image so

badly you can’t discern the quality of the image.
76% • Some agencies don’t like letting clients know

what the photography source is.
· Clients feel that photographers serious about

a working relationship will grant the use of a
watermark-free image for layout purposes

Kat Dalager Kat advises photographers to be very
specific about the email subject line. “Tell
Art Producer, Campbell Mithun me what’s featured in the promo,” she
instructs. For example “Lifestyle Photogra-
phy // On Location in Vancouver” or “Food
Kat Dalager handles hiring photographers for Campell Mithun’s variety of client projects as well as Photography // Seafood for Conde Nast”
licensing stock photography. She suggests that photographers take care to use multiple channels to work well in her system, while “URGENT!
promote themselves. “What may not reach one audience may reach another.” Please open immediately” is useless for
future reference.
She prefers email promotion from photographers because they can be processed on her own terms, Regarding websites, Kat suggests pho-
rather than more interruptive methods like cold calling. Kat keeps a completely separate email ad- tographers keep their websites as simple
dress which she gives out to list services, and she files her favorite emails in very specific folders, and easy to navigate as possible. “We’re
not looking at your web development skills,
generally by specific clients or specialty.
we’re looking at your work and trying to get
a hold of you!” Among pet peeves, Kat lists
For direct mail promos, Kat takes notice of more substantial pieces, books and other interesting items roving scroll or “next” cursors, slow upload
like clear or distinctive envelopes, and even smaller mailers. times, loud music, “Agree To” conditions.
Kat suggests photographers make it very

Kat does use Google and other search engines to find new photographers and their websites. “I turn easy for clients to request and download
to the search engines when I’m looking for inspiration, usually to find a photographer I don’t already hi res images for comping. She points out
know, outside my normal realm.” For example, if Kat needs a photographer in a different country. that Corbis and Getty do this - that’s what
“Photographers from New Zealand don’t typically send me promos.” photographers are competing against.
For photographers who use blogs as their primary website, Kat suggests being very careful that the
navigation includes a very clear link to view a portfolio or direct access images. “Sometimes it’s nearly
impossible to get out of the vortex of commentary to see the work or find the contact info.”
In terms of social media, Kat prefers to use LinkedIn to connect with photographers - primarily just
photographers she has worked with in the past. She maintains other social network profiles but uses
them for personal connections only.
key insights
Which background color Buyers loved (and liked) black and white
works best on a website?

backgrounds the best. Color and texture
were most hated because they tend to
distract from images. We suggest avoid-
ing backgrounds that strive for unique-
ness in favor of simplicity.
92%
75%
54%
39%
21%
17.5%
9.6% 8%
2.4% 3.2% 0.9% 0.2%
Black White Dark Light Color Texture

Grey Grey
= Love = Hate
What do you look at on a website?
How many Galleries/ Portfolios? Will you watch slideshows?
35% 35%
0-3 Yes
42% 65%
4-6 No
11%
7-10
12%
10+
What do you hate to see on a website?

Slow loading, Flash I hate when the site
No Flash.
heavy, hard-to-navi- opens full screen with-
Keep it clean
gate sites. Just show out user’s control.
and simple.
me the (money) shots!
Too many other

I don’t like auto-running things on their site
Don’t make it too clever slide shows.
or busy. I’m on there to that aren’t related
look at the images. to their work.
Music drives
I don’t care that me nuts. It’s annoying when the next
a website looks button jumps around and
“cool” if it isn’t you have to “re-find” it after
quick. each click.
What features should photographers

include on their websites?
Do Don’t
· Fast image loading · Music

· Email address always visible · Ads (ie Google text ads)
· Phone number always visible · Full-screen ‘intro’ (e.g. animated photographer name/logo)
· Ability to click to view all thumbnails that plays before you get to main menu
· Search all images by keyword · Slideshows as default/slideshow-only galleries
· Ability to send or copy a link to a photo or gallery · Contact forms instead of listing email address
· Showcase a ‘newly added’ section · Slideshow as intro
· Captions below photos or on roll-over · Photographer’s recent Facebook/twitter status
· Ability to view at full screen • Hidden “next” arrows that move
· Ability to create/send a lightbox of select images • Long, Flash intros that can’t be skipped
· Ability to price/purchase/license images right on the site • Complex, unique navigation
· Navigation menu consistent on all pages
· Ability to email a photo
• Make browsing easy and logical
• Simple navigation
• Group photos in logical categories/ galleries/ portfolios
• Enable a buyer to request a comp download
key insights
Do you view photographer Despite the massive shift to mobile com-
websites on your mobile?

munications, a surprising majority of buy-
ers most often view photographer websites
from non-mobile devices. Only 4.1% claim
to view photographer websites regularly on
a mobile device.
Never 50.4%
Infrequently 26.2%
Sometimes 19.1%
Regularly 4.1%
Always 0.3%
key insights
Do you open photographer When viewing photographer emails, buy-
emails on your mobile?

ers tend to follow the same pattern as
photographer websites, with a surprisingly
small segment claiming regular interac-
tion on mobile devices.
Never 44.8%
Infrequently 26.1%
Sometimes 20.5%
Regularly 7.9%
Always 0.8%
key insights
How do you like to view a We asked “What is your preferred
photographer portfolio?
method of photographer portfolio pre-
sentation?”
For editorial buyers, the photographer’s

website stood out as preferred (75%)
more than any other segment. Meanwhile,
advertising agencies indicated “all of the
above” at 29% (above average) while the
photographer’s website was less signifi-
cant in this segment, preferred by only
62.6% 53% of respondents.
21.1%
7.2% 7.7%
1.3%
Website PDF Printed iPad All
key insights
Do you like to see video If you’ve got the skills, you’ve got to show-
alongside stills?
case them.
66.5% of buyers said that for photogra-

phers with video skills, they want/expect
to see video as part of the photographer’s
portfolio and marketing.
Yes
66.5%
No
33.5%
SELLING&
DELIVERY
32 Where do you search for photography to license?
33 Where do you get stock images?
34 How do you prefer to handle pricing?
35 How do you prefer to receive images?
36 Meet The Buyer: Lisa Smith
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | S E L L I N G & D E L I V E RY
key insights
Where do you search for • 87% of buyers use other stock agencies
photography to license?
beyond the industry’s largest names,
Corbis and Getty
• 55% of buyers use individual
photographers’ websites
• 44% of buyers use consumer
87%
sites like Flickr
Corporate in-house designers indicated a

greater than average propensity to strictly
stick to the big stock agencies, with 21%
55% stating they only license from Getty & Corbis.
44% Editorial buyers indicated the greatest us-

age of individual photographer websites to
find images, with 64% stating they search
using this method, while 57% of advertis-
ing buyers claim to do so.
Book publishers reported an above average

(55%) use of sites like Flickr to find images.
Stock Photographers’ Consumer

Agencies Websites Sites
Where do you get stock images?

We asked buyers to tell us each of the websites they visit to license photography beyond the industry giants
Getty & Corbis. Their open-ended results yielded literally dozens of different sources.
172 mentions 81 mentions 53 mentions
Alamy Fotolia Photolibrary 16-30

mentions
AP Images Jupiter
Dreamstime Masterfile
age fotostock National Geographic Society Superstock 8-15
Flickr Photos.com ThinkStock mentions
Fotosearch PhotoShelter
Gallerystock Punchstock
123 RF Common Ground Imagebank Media Bakery Photostogo Stock.xchang 7
4Corners Comstock Imagestate MedicalRF Phototake Stock4B mentions
Action Images CP Images Imagezoo Millennium Picsearch StockFood
AFP CSA Images Inmagine Minden PictureDesk Stockthat doesn’t suck
AgstockUSA Cutcaster Interiorarchive.com Morguefile Plain Pictures The Image Work
APA Ericksonstock IPN Narratives.com Pond5 The Travel Library
Ardea Eurostock JPI Nature Picture Library Redux Topham
Art Resource Everett Keystone Newscom Retna Trevillion
August FirstLight Landov Noor Reuters Trunk
Aurora Foodstock Lensmodern Oseeris Rex Features US Presswire
Axiom Glow Library of Congress/ PA Photos Rubberball VII
Bigstock GMA US National Archives Panos Science Photo Library Visuals Unltd.1
BlackBook Granger Lonely Planet Photographers Direct Sipa Wallace Garrison
Bloomberg Grant Heilman Loupe Photonica Smyle Media Wallpaper
Bridgeman Graphic Obsession Magnum Photoshot Spiderpic Wikimedia
Camera Press Greatstock Matton Photostock Splash Wireimage
Celebrity Icon SMI MCT Photostogo Sportsshooter Workbook
Citizenstock IDS Startraks Zuma
key insights
How do you prefer to When licensing an image from a photog-
handle pricing?
rapher’s website, buyers shared mixed
preferences for getting the deal done.
Instant 44.6%
Online
Negotiate 10.7%
Instant & 37%

Negotiate
Don’t 7.8%
Care
key insights
How do you prefer to Buyers had the opportunity to choose their
receive images?
preferred method of image delivery.
After an image has been licensed, or a

shoot has been completed, the busy client
clearly wants the image in their hands as
fast as possible.
*Among other methods, many buyers cited

delivery of a hard drive.
72%
53%
31%
24%
6%
FTP Upload/ DVD/ Email Other*

Download CD

Lisa Smith Lisa does frequent her favorite photogra-
phers’ blogs and will search their individual
Art Buyer, Target Corporation websites for images to license. So, she of-
fers some key points for photographers to
consider: “Websites should be simple,” Lisa
Lisa Smith primarily handles licensing still photography for Target. Like many of the buyers we says. “When it gets too slick, it takes too
surveyed, to capture Lisa’s attention and have a chance at working with Target, the promos that long to load the images, I move on.”
photographers send her must first be relevant - demonstrating strong work that is suitable for
retail advertising - and the images must be extremely strong.
However, Lisa frequently receives promotions that are way off base. “Photographers don’t send
relevant images for consideration. I work in a retail corporation where we present the photogra-
phers work to our creative directors. If the work is not relevant it can be difficult to sell them in
for consideration.
Lisa does not use search engines, social media, or photography contests to find new talent. So, if a
photographer wants a shot, they need to succeed at the traditional methods of promotion - direct
mail and email, with email (from photographers and reps) being her preferred medium. She sug-
gests sharing recent work that was done for other retailers or publications. Beautiful, unique work
will catch her eye.
Among critical website features and designs, Lisa encourages photographers to focus on achiev-
ing fast website load time, showcase an about/bio page, and give buyers control of viewing both
thumbnail and full screen images. For photographers with multimedia skills, Lisa suggests that it is
essential to display video alongside still photography.
RESOURCES
38 More Resources
39 About PhotoShelter
40 About Agency Access
W H AT B U Y E R S WA N T F RO M P H O T O G R A P H E R S | R E S O U RC E S
More Resources
In addition to this survey, each of our companies regularly publish photography business content you may find
helpful. Below you will find some sample links:
PhotoShelter Resources Agency Access Resources
Free Photography Business Reports – download more guides like this Create An Estimate That Gets The Job
Free Photography Business Webinars How @photojack Found Twitter Success
Top 13 Ways to Piss Off a Photo Editor 8 Tips For That All-Important Meeting
10 Ways to Make a Photo Editor Fall in Love With You Is Your Website Marketing Smart?
Selling Yourself: 10 Traits of the Master Marketers Is Direct Mail Worth The Investment?
10 Secrets to Successful Online Photo Portfolios Cold Calling For Artists
Positive Vs. Negative Photographers: Which Are You? Building A Marketing Database That Gets Results
4 Photographers Describe Their Social Media Workflow 5 Ways To Get More Meetings
About PhotoShelter SPECIAL OFFER

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39
About Agency Access

Agency Access was created in 1996 because we saw that photographers, commercial
artists and their reps needed a single source for promotional mailing lists and mailing
services. Before Agency Access, no one offered that kind of convenient, professional
service. Today, no one else does.
Save 20% on any
Agency Access
As the art of marketing grew and technologies changed, so did we. We added a com-
prehensive suite of email solutions and services, quarterly membership payment plans,
Database Membership
and postcard printing services. And now that the Internet’s made global business easy,
we’ve also expanded our list to include contacts from across the world.
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offer expires May 13, 2011 Learn More
Our latest program, Campaign Manager Pro, is a complete marketing program for the
busy photographer. We take care of everything for a whole year, leaving the artist to
focus on what they do best. Watch Erik Rank talk about how we helped him here.
Agency Access CEO Keith Gentile was recently interviewed by Thomas James over at
Escape From Illustration Island. Listen to the podcast as Keith discusses how to main- GET A FREE 3-Day TRIAL
tain a database, build relationships, branding and much more.
To learn more about Agency Access and our marketing services, contact us anytime. We
build strong, personal relationships with our members because that’s the way we like to do
Questions? Call us anytime at
business. Let us know how we can help you.
1-800-704-9817 or email us at
To sign up for the new Agency Access newsletter The Lab, click here. Sales@agencyaccess.com
www.agencyaccess.com This offer expires May 13, 2011 and is available to new
Agency Access members only on the purchase of a
sales@agencyaccess.com 275-S Marcus Boulevard North American database package.
1-800-704-9817 Hauppauge, NY 11788
40

What From: Buyers Want Photographers

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what

BUYERS WANT from

presented april 2011 by

why we do this what to expect

noticed by a new client?

Of the 354 responses provided:

• 134 buyers said email is the best

38% to their needs

• Study the agency’s clients or the

What gets your attention?

Find out what I need— Do some really good

What makes a good email?

meet the buyer key advice

What makes a good direct mail piece?

• Striking images • Bad photography

Respondents are regularly using search

Looking deeper, we learned that respon-

A majority of respondents don’t heavily rely

Advertising and editorial buyers use social

33% Many buyers told us that they prefer to

meet the buyer key advice

do you use most?

In one category – Editorial – respondents

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter

results to find new talent?

15% Kitcatt Nohr Photo Comp

85% Print Magazine

Notably, 97% of book publishers said

However, in the editorial segment, 39%

Buyers preferred sizes that fell in the 700

Even in the advertising segment, the pref-

11.1% 7.8% 6.8%

500 700 900 +900 Don’t

decision to hire or license?

Yes • Highly distracting watermarks are a deterrent

24% • When agency clients see the watermark, they

• Agency clients often ask to get images with-

No • Some watermarks obstruct the image so

76% • Some agencies don’t like letting clients know

· Clients feel that photographers serious about

meet the buyer key advice

Kat suggests photographers make it very

works best on a website?

Black White Dark Light Color Texture

What do you look at on a website?

How many Galleries/ Portfolios? Will you watch slideshows?

What do you hate to see on a website?

Too many other

What features should photographers

· Fast image loading · Music

websites on your mobile?

emails on your mobile?

For editorial buyers, the photographer’s

Website PDF Printed iPad All

66.5% of buyers said that for photogra-

Corporate in-house designers indicated a

44% Editorial buyers indicated the greatest us-

Book publishers reported an above average

Stock Photographers’ Consumer

Where do you get stock images?

172 mentions 81 mentions 53 mentions

Alamy Fotolia Photolibrary 16-30