I disagree that stock can't keep up though. In fact unless you are looking at something particularly unique its probably already out there. I recently read a story on strobist about a guy, Danish I think, had a studio of 10 or so employees and tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment to sell images at a dollar a piece. The guy doesn't seem to realize he will be the victim of his own success. He is destroying the market which is paying his bills and fostering a mindset that images have little or no value and that includes his.
Actually no one at NM would ever do business with a Walmart, but maybe the same suppliers. grin To sell the jeans new they have to be new, so they a premium to get the same suppliers to do custom runs of jeans like they sell at Walmart, wash them repeatedly so they have the old jeans comfort. No if I have a choice do I get the brand new pair jeans to put on, or my old comfy worn ones that have been through it all? Personally for me there is nothing better than broken in jeans, and the rich just pay big bucks to not have to wash them a number of times themselves.
That's no problem and 2 totally different markets. Where the problem is when you take the high value NM jeans and sell them in Walmart for Walmart prices.
The guy in the strobist article was creating NM product with all the best equipment, models, props ect and selling them at Walmart prices. That's the big problem.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Free-almost free pictures?
From: lookaround360@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, August 07, 2009 9:32 am
To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
<photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Mark,
The niche I was referring to was subject niche not price. Go to Corbis
or Getty and search any subject and look for gaps. For example, look for
out-dated images. I was looking for office cubicles and all the desks
had CRT monitors! BTW that subject was full of gaps. People's hair
styles change quicker than stock can keep up! What will we do with all
the shaved heads and tats in a few years?? PS tat and wig plug-ins?
90% of the bread-and-butter editorial and illustration stuff I have
looked through in stock sources are zzzzzz.
Stores like NM re-manufacture (wash) worn out denims bought at Wallmart
and sell them to wealthy mental deficients. What's wrong with that?
AZ
Build a 120/35mm Lookaround!
The Lookaround E-Book 5ed.
NOW SHIPPING
http://www.panoramacamera.us
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [SPAM] RE: Free-almost free pictures?
> From: mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Thu, August 06, 2009 6:10 pm
> To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
> <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Well it is one thing to be in a niche market, but its another thing to devalue the product as a whole. You might not realize it, but EVERY good image has some type of commercial value.
> I'd like to use a retail analogy that I think applies. Walmart has a business model selling largely less expensive products. It sells a large volume of products, to a large number of people to people of all income levels.
> Nieman Marcus sells to a very select group of high income people. Price isn't an issue for these people. I took my mom, a simple Southern lady, to the branch on the mile in Chicago one time years ago. She saw a coat and said, "Oh that coat is so pretty." When she looked down at the price tag and saw $2500 she literally jumped back, hoping to not to have to buy it for touching it to look at it.
> The problem is we have Nieman Marcus product in Walmart at Walmart prices.
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: Free-almost free pictures?
> From: lookaround360@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Thu, August 06, 2009 2:11 pm
> To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
> <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Emily,
>
> It would seem so at first glance - remember when the cheap photo and
> clip art CD's came out way back when? There was a violent but futile
> reaction to that from the folks on the street.
>
> As a some-times picture researcher I have found that there is room in
> the market for everyone who has quality, up-to-date pictures. There are
> lots of interesting empty picture niches to fill. My stuff is either way
> non-commercial or simply decorative.
>
> AZ
>
> Build a 120/35mm Lookaround!
> The Lookaround E-Book 5ed.
> NOW SHIPPING
> http://www.panoramacamera.us
>
>
>
> > -------- Original Message --------
> > Subject: [SPAM] Re: Free-almost free pictures?
> > From: "Emily L. Ferguson" <elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Date: Thu, August 06, 2009 12:40 pm
> > To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students
> > <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > At 8:36 AM -0700 8/6/09, lookaround360@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > >Andrea,
> > >Just what I was looking for! Thank you. I think the plain vanilla CC
> > >license you suggested is fine. I wonder what kind of feed-back CC
> > >licensees get from users?
> > The product is free. Why wouldn't they love them? And they ignore
> > the license too.
> > > I'd like to see how the images get used.
> > everywhere you go - billboards, full page ads in magazines, web sites
> > all over the internet.
> > Licenses like that make it much harder for me to earn a living.
> > --
> > Emily L. Ferguson
> > mailto:elf@landsedgephoto.com
> > 508-563-6822
> > New England landscapes, wooden boats and races
> > http://www.landsedgephoto.com
> > http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/
