[Leica] The reality of virtual photography

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

Steven Alexander wrote:
> 
> As a business photography will seek the largest profit and if that is
> using electronic capture it will go that way.  Today a good deal of
> daily news is being recorded by electronic media not film and as
> equipment cost fall, not quality improve, more newspapers and small
> publication will use less film.

I attended two seminars on digital stock and new media and a keynote
address by ASMP exec director R. Weisgrau and you know what?--shooting
on digital media was never mentioned, other than to say ignore it for
now.  What is changing, and changing faster than LUG argument topics, is
delivery.  

Weisgrau said he was in a meeting with giant publisher who buys $7
million worth of book pix a year.  He was explaining digital deliver to
editors and the attorneys.  He told them with digital delivery, no
liability for lost images.  Said the editors--it's too slow.  Said the
attorney, we have at any one time, at standard $1500/image rates for
loss, $100 million worth of images in the building.  Imagine a fire. 
For the cost of reduced insurance, we can afford to buy the best
computers on the market.

And if you want to see the face of future stock, see photostogo.com. 
You can search 300,000 images and buy them on line for a few dollars for
minimal use.  Said the owner of the company, with automation it costs
him 17 cents to make a sale.  He can be profitable selling images for
$1.  These are not Clip photos.  Photographers get standard 50%).  And
he emphasized that for use rights granted (say, number of copies), the
useage rights fees are higher than for traditional ad licensing sales. 
And a very high percentage come back for extended use--standard stock
sales.

Most reps from agencies and other organizations dealing with photography
emphasized staying with film, but go immediately to digital for storage
and delivery.  

Best of both worlds.

donal
- -- 
Donal Philby
San Diego
http://www.donalphilby.com