Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/07/02

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Subject: [Leica] Re; Buying Leica
From: imagist3 at mac.com (George Lottermoser)
Date: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:22:09 -0500
References: <8D04550A5A1B0C5-1A60-653D7@webmail-m299.sysops.aol.com>

On Jul 2, 2013, at 10:33 AM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote:

> She should realize that stock agencies are the curse of working 
> photographers. Every sale by a stock agency takes the bread out of the 
> mouth of a working photographer who would otherwise be employed to take a 
> similar picture. The availability of stock photos of almost every 
> description is the justification of the mass layoffs of working 
> photographers from newspapers and magazines. If you want to show how poor 
> folk live in Guatemala, don't pay to send a photographer down there. Just 
> buy one of Tina's photos from an agency. It will be much cheaper and the 
> magazine will not be troubled by transportation or medical costs.

I don't know if you have worked as a professional photographer or not Larry.

Most every photographer I've known has worked towards acquiring and 
maintaining "Stock" libraries.
When I worked as a photojournalist I fought to own the rights to my 
photographs and to resell them under stock licenses.
When I worked as a commercial "assignment" photographer I contracted to 
maintain control of the photographs;
to put them in Stock and license them at a later time.

Magnum is a professional stock agency.
Back in my early days Four By Five was one of the top Stock Agencies for 
Commercial Studios.
We all shot Stock during periods when we were not "on Assignment."

Documentary photographers who work on their own projects are by definition 
producing Stock images.

Creating and selling professional quality Stock images, at professional 
rates, is not a problem for professional photographers.
Selling images for pennies certainly has a negative impact on the markets 
for professional work.

Whether working on documentary, wildlife, landscape, commercial, fashion, 
portrait, editorial, fine art, et al
we all want to sell the use of the images in our libraries, as well as 
prints.
It has always been so.

Regards,
George Lottermoser 
george at imagist.com
http://www.imagist.com
http://www.imagist.com/blog
http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist







In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com) ([Leica] Re; Buying Leica)