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 I've been in the "website game" since about 1995, with my first website on my Compuserve webspace. My second website is still floating around the internet, housed on AOL's servers. I recall switching between NCSA Mosaic and NetManage's Chameleon. Each year, the web expanded, and I endeavored to keep up. Pre-Google, the game in town was Yahoo, Altavista, and the like. Staying abreast of everything took a great deal of effort, but being online, bleeding edge, has been profitable for me as a photographer. A few years ago, I was finally able to place my trust in someone to do re-do my entire site, with a critical concern being to remain in my current positions for the various search terms that were important to me. At the time, there were no effective turnkey solutions, and moreover, because of the 100+ pages of pricing and other information, only a custom solution would work for me. Since then, a field that was limited, at best, has grown. Anyone with Dreamweaver now calls themselves a website designer, and anyone with Google's ADD URL url calls themselves a search engine optimizer. Moreover, if you can compartmentalize your flash/javascript with a few variables, and tweak an e-commerce backend, you will call yourself a website service provider. Below are links to several really amazing studies and other click-able insights. (Continued after the Jump)
Some of these purveyors have built something, and they're being used, and they're not SEO optimized, nor really easy to use. It's like the programmer built it, sold it, and continues to sell it, without significant interest in additional revisions, with the "if it ain't broke, don't revise it..." mentality.
Yet one service - liveBooks, continues a commitment to excellence, and has now come on board as an advertiser here. I've meet with these folks over the past year on a variety of issues. At first, I was skeptical, for SEO reasons. They established, and have revised, their HTML/SEO-friendly shadow pages. They're made much of their client commitment doing everything they can to make it easy for their customers' sites to be found.
Rob Haggert, known better to most as A Photo Editor, wrote:Livebooks: I’ve said it before, “I love livebooks.” They revolutionized the online portfolio. Big, vibrant photos and not much else. I’m not shillin’ for them at all and I can honestly say photographers have risen a notch in my book by switching to their product. Contributor Terence Patrick coined it “the black leather portfolio book of the web.” That’s how I feel about it as well. If you can’t beat it, don’t bother. Yup, and I still have some of those black leather portfolios in my office from my analog days.
Last November, during a trip to San Francisco, I stopped in to liveBooks' offices, met their team of people - your potential team of people - and talked about all things web. From SEO, to functionality, update-ability, and so forth, we covered everything.
Think that liveBooks sites can't rank on SEO? Think again. I did a little research about how well they are doing on that front. Check the following sites where liveBooks sites are ranking extremely well (click the ranking link to see the position for yourself) :
One very valuable insight is this article, from awhile ago, about search position versus click-throughs, and just how where you fall is critical. They also did an "EyeTracker study" which is absolutely worth reading, and shows just how much attention there is on the first page. It's extremely insightful.
The one - and there's only one, really - concern I hear from people who've done some of their research into website options and liveBooks - and that is one of cost. It's just over $3k for their full package. Once those people have actually completed their research, they realize that it's atleast that much for a well designed site, if not more. Further, the update-ability of their new custom site isn't easy - certainly not as easy as liveBooks. And, there's no team of people that remains, on the backend, looking for ways to improve a product you've already purchased. Many site designers have moved on to their next project, and requests for updates/fixes take a back seat.
So, please join me in welcoming liveBooks as an advertiser here.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
 Over a decade ago, I sat in a seminar and heard photographer Charles Lewis talk about the risks of putting copyrighted music on videos you are delivering to clients - the chief risk being - it's a breach of the music owner's copyright, and good luck getting permission. Lewis offered a collection of music - on tape at the time - with all the necessary clearances. Times they have a changed, and now what options do you have? (Complete post, after the Jump) Enter Triple Scoop Music. These guys have some awesome music for all sorts of uses to accompany your photography, from slide shows to client CD's/DVD's, and so forth. All of my podcasts/equipment presentations use their music as background audio, and the titles where chosen by me. Their fees are extremely reasonable ($60 a song), and the depth of their collection impressive. Here's the meat of their 99-year license:FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:- Photo Slideshows for you and your photography clients
- Photo presentations on CD
- Photo presentations on DVD
- Website-based photo galleries/slideshows
- Powerpoint presentations
- Portfolio presentations
- Music for your personal or commercial website (one domain per license)
- On-hold music for your business
- Podcasts
So, go check them out, and see what they have to offer. They are good people making good music, and their contribution to your visuals will make a difference.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
 One of the pieces of software that I find as indispensible as Photoshop and Firefox, and thus, is parked right on my Mac's dock next to them is fotoQuote - simply put, the best and most up-to-date pricing solution for photographers, and one which I rely on. I've been saying this for years in my presentations, and believe it to be just as true then as it is today, so, there's no quid-pro-quo here, I am a true-believer when it comes to how great fotoQuote (and it's larger sibling fotoBiz) are. Back in 1992, Cradoc Bagshaw began a quest - to solve the pricing dilemas of photographers everywhere - and he has succeeded (and re-succeeded since then) in providing top-notch, real-world information. In 1993, after painstaking research, he released what I honestly feel was a landmark tool for pricing photography. The first tool was the ASMP pricing guide, which, while a milestone back in 1982, but which became problematic for them, as an organization, when the Federal Trade Commission slapped them with concerns about price-fixing. Further, for over two decades, photo buyers and photo editors have pointed to the now outdated pricing guides, that ASMP was prohibited from updating. Not Cradoc. He regularily updates his software. (Continued after the Jump)
So, what's his story? Well, Cradoc began when he was just 15 working for the Anchorage Daily News as...get this...Chief Photographer! Following that, he worked for Life, Forbes, Time, and countless others, as well as having his work represented by Black Star, West Light, and others. Cradoc really has earned his stripes as a photographer.
Aside from that pedigree, he maintains a very active and engaged life, speaking at NYU, the International Center of Photography in New York, UCLA and Brooks Institute of Photography.
 At right, is an example of the over 200 pricing categories that fotoQuote has - this one is for a retail book cover stock photography use.
But the software doesn't stop there, there's an entire coaching section, which is a must-read before you engage in a phone conversation with a prospective client or buyer. And it coaches you for every use category/type, it's truly a remarkable opus, at your fingertips, dealt to you piecemeal, just what you need for what you're negotiating on.
In one instance, in fact, one that appears in my book, I was negotiating with a educational textbook publisher, and I used the software to ask the right questions and, as you can see by the negotiations that ensued between myself and the client starting on page 192 of my book, I was able to move an offer from $275 to $950 each, for two images, all based upon insights from fotoQuote.
This was remarkable, because, in part, the negotiating coach section was developed with the help of a past ASMP National President, Vince Streano. In a prophetic citation from the a 1999 Central Virginia Newsletter "....How do you smoke out actual usage and budgets, and how can you tell how badly the person on the other end of the phone wants your image? Are you prepared to let a sale go for $200 that you might have gotten $900 for?" This is just what I did, and the ending numbers are remarkably similar. Crazy. But, crazy good.
Back in February of 1994, promoting one of the software updates, a press release from the company noted:FotoQuote automates the process of creating a quote for stock photography submissions. “Our research has shown that when a price quote is given in writing instead of verbally there is a much higher chance of getting the asking price,” said Bagshaw. “ There are fewer problems, including copyright infringement or rights grabs, if the photographer is willing to take the time to send the client the correct paperwork outlining the exact details of the job, including usages and rights that are to be granted." It goes on to report on how the pricing figures are researched:All of the prices have been carefully reviewed from actual sales records, and raised or lowered to reflect the current market. Their website goes on to note:To get accurate prices we reviewed thousands of confidential sales records from national stock agencies and photographers all across the US. We built a price grid and then checked back with experts in each category to be sure the prices were accurate. As a last step, we again checked the prices against thousands of actual sales records from agencies and photographers.
We scoured all of the available online pricing that we could find, looking for new patterns and checking to see whether or not there was any consistency in those patterns or if they seemed to be a quick and dirty solution to the new pricing situation. We worked with a pile of our own email requests for help from users looking for pricing solutions that were new to the industry and finally we monitored stock photo news groups to see what kind of pricing problems photographers were having and the possible solutions that were being offered. Finally, after building a greatly updated pricing model we started calling industry sources to check the prices we came up with. As a result, we "rewrote the book". You won't find the pricing information in the new fotoQuote anywhere else. Now, Cradoc has decided he wants to promote his software here, and advertise with us.
As a long-time registered owner of the software, I was upset to learn, in the same ASMP Central Virginia article: - On a sourer note, the program’s author reports that there are many unlicensed copies of fotoQuote in use by photographers and agencies. If that is the best behavior we as professional photographers can muster, then we deserve what we get. Come on, you know who you are and just howhypocritical that is. Buy the program. Yes, buy the program. Don't steal his efforts he's made for our benefit. Don't steal his software, it's just as much a creative endeavor as a picture you've made, and when someone steals your photograph, you get upset, so do the right thing and buy it. If you are using a copy that's not yours, now is the time to order your own legitimate copy. It's good karma (and the law!) to do so.
fotoQuote - $139.95 full version, with upgrade pricing.
FotoBiz -" If you need to get your paperwork out, keep track of your images, keyword and caption them, then this is the program for you." $299, full version, with upgrade pricing. (this includes fotoQuote in it!)
 UPDATE: For our foreign readers, fotoQuote has listed the conversion rates for currency. Those shown at right are the default figures, but what with exchange rates fluxuating, you may change the rate as markets change. In addition, if for whatever reason, you think that these real-world surveyed rates need a tweak, you may make an adjustment to a specific use, or an across-the-board percentage increase to all the rates!
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Ever ask yourself why the genius technicians didn't make the PC jack functional in all modes on your Canon 580 EX II, or did you want to, while holding your camera to your face, also be able to trigger a Pocket Wizard-controlled camera without much more than a flinch of your fingers on the lens barrel? These mods, and more, can be yours, thanks to the genius of Michael Bass, and I want to thank him for choosing to advertise here on Photo Business News & Forum. The last time I felt I had access to this level of access to the inner-workings of my camera's flashes was when I would visit Jorge Mora, former National Geographic equipment guru, at his small repair shop on Wisconsin Ave, here in DC. Jorge was able to give my Nikon 8008 a PC jack, among many other wonderful tweaks, to make my work better. So too, can Michael crack open a piece of gear, or create a mod that will make your work easier. Don't see some functionality or mod on his site? Just ask - he does CUSTOM work too. So, show him some love, and check out what he's got over on his site! (Comments, if any, after the Jump)
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
2+ months ago, I made this post - " They've Been Ordered" - referring to my order being placed for my Nikon D3 and my Canon 1Ds Mark III camera through Adorama. Now, I have the pleasure of inviting you to click on over to them as well to do your own (holiday) shopping. Hit that link above, and get an extra battery for friends and colleagues. Buy that young, up and coming photographer a wonderful D3 or 1Ds Mark III. All this, because they've opted to run an ad on the blog. Please take a moment to click over and peruse what they've got to offer. Why, you might ask, have I begun using them? It's not because they're an advertiser (but that'll sure help in the future), it's something else. (Continued after the Jump)
One name: Jeff Snyder.
As I said in a previous post, Jeff is their Pro Sales guru, and he's my longtime friend and fellow professional photographer , who used to be at Penn Camera (when he wasn't out covering assignments), but now he's moved up to the big leagues, yet still based in DC.
The other day, despite having no car available, he made his way to an informal lunch amongst several DC photographers, because he had a pair of D3's to show off. He wasn't selling them, nor taking orders on the spot, he was showing them off like a proud parent would to people who count him as a friend first, and a supplier second. I appreciated that he made the special trip, and hung out with us for awhile, but then again, that's just Jeff.
To e-mail Jeff and get to know him better, click this link: jsnyder@adorama.com
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
 The past few days, I've been mired deep in metadata hell, getting my images prepped to be distributed to the masses from wence they came from their analog prison. It's now 4:30 am, and I've just finalized 1,500 images, all of which could have benefited from the latest travelling seminar series from HP and Apple, aptly titled: 'Images - Organize. Edit. Print'. Brent Haley, who's earned his stripes at Adobe, Apple, and yes, the mystery that is Pantone, is travelling around the country over the next few months spreading the good gospel that is "The Ultimate Seminar For The Working Photographer". To that end, the "Images" tour has discerned that you, dear reader, are a solid audience to reach with the message, and announcement, so please welcome them as our newest advertister by clicking over, and checking out more about the seminar, and when they're coming to a town near you. Currently, they're slated for Boston, SF, San Diego, Culver City, Miami, and New York between 10/23 and 12/6, with more cities coming online in the near future. Oh, and did I mention, it's ** FREE ** ?!?! That's just how Apple and HP roll. (Continued after the Jump)
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
Please join me in welcoming Photoshelter as my first advertiser on Photo Business News & Forum. Back in April, their services were a part of the review I did, comparing online sales features and functionality here. Photoshelter is the backstop for many of the world's top photographers, Cameron Davidson was profiled by them as a Photoshelter user, and other high profile photographers such as Ami Vitale, Brad Mangin, and Vincent Laforet's archive rely on Photoshelter. They offer off-site archiving via the web, integrated e-commerce, automated sales transactions and much more. Oh, and did I also mention that they designed and power the Eddie Adams Barmstorm workshop (currently in it's 20th year), and, the legendary Contact Press Images chose PhotoShelter as their online image archive and distribution system? They use, as the back end for their pricing, FotoQuote, and if you'd like to learn more about the special they have for you to get your very own FotoQuote for your own desktop/laptop, click here. Lastly, if you're an advertiser that wants to reach the thousands of photographers that visited the Photo Business News & Forum site over 25,000 times last month, you can learn more about it here.
Please post your comments by clicking the link below. If you've got questions, please pose them in our Photo Business Forum Flickr Group Discussion Threads.
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