People have been licensing photographs almost since the inception of the medium in the nineteenth century. Victorian picture agencies like the London Stereoscopic Company (c.1854 – 1922) dealt with all the same issues in getting their images to the B2B and home consumer markets as we do today: securing permission from their models for publication; observing copyright compliance; negotiating access and exclusive rights for events; employing staff and contributing photographers and utilising the latest technologies to disseminate their imagery.
They also exploited every opportunity to use pictures – our current thirst for celebrity imagery can be traced back to the Victorian public’s passion for collecting the carte-de-visite, small visiting card sized images of famous personalities of the day. Here also lie the roots of the illustrated press and glossy advertising market and, with every advance in technology, new opportunities have opened up.
Today, picture libraries have built up rich and diverse back catalogues of imagery and photographs appear in all media and all market sectors: home entertainment, education, advertising, publishing, television, and newspapers, to which we can now add the rapidly expanding market of the internet. Obvious uses for library imagery are obituaries, whether we react quickly to an unexpected death (such as that of Heath Ledger) or anticipate the market need with ready-to-go ‘packages’ of images of aging or infirm personalities.
Anniversaries and retrospectives are also a regular outlet. 2008 marks 40 years since 1968, often described by the media as ‘the year that rocked the world’ because of the number of momentous events across the globe. From student riots in Paris and assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in America to the Prague Spring and Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ – all the associated web, news and TV retrospectives have been very good for picture sales.
Managing ahead with a pre-researched ‘editorial calendar’ allows libraries to anticipate forthcoming anniversaries, birthdays and events months ahead and have the imagery ready for users before they even know they’ll need it. Archives can also provide context for breaking news stories – such as looking back at the rise of the oil industry, or past waves of immigration into Britain, as well as ‘softer’ tie-ins with timely events such as the Olympic Games.
For editorial clients whose remit is reporting the news, integrity and authenticity are vital – whether shot 100 years ago or yesterday, it is unacceptable to manipulate or alter reportage pictures beyond the simple act of cropping. In several recent well publicised cases, photographers have been sacked and editors vilified for posting doctored imagery.
However, editorial imagery is increasingly being sold into the publishing and creative markets and, here, clients can be more playful. Creative cropping, colourising historical photographs, isolating elements or weaving them into rich montages or overlaying graphics are all legitimate ways of using editorial imagery in contemporary and edgy ways.
The nostalgia value of archival imagery is a powerful selling tool whether for music bands wanting the ironic twist of kitsch 1950s or retro 1970s imagery on their album cover, or organic producers packaging their products with pictures of traditional farming methods. Abstract concepts are also popular in the B2B world where 1920s switchboard operators represent good communication skills and tug-o-war teams demonstrate winning and teamwork.
Selling editorial imagery to promote a product or service is also on the increase although this raises additional rights issues – celebrities, models, recognisable property, brand-names, trademarks and logos all have protection against their likeness being used to promote goods and services without permission.
This can be a minefield for clients – an image of Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and a Coke bottle would require clearance from both their estates and Coca-Cola, plus of the usage fee for the picture agency. Larger agencies now regularly offer users a rights and clearance service and these fringe services are very attractive to picture buyers.
The advent of digital technology has revolutionised how libraries operate in the last ten years. Speed of delivery and reduced costs combined with global reach via the internet are the most obvious benefits of the digital age – and rapidly developing technologies create new outlets and uses such as podcasts and multimedia streams.
However digital cameras, offering ever greater resolution and technical options, allow anyone with a good ‘eye’ to compete in what was once the preserve of the professional photographer. The biggest impact has been in the creative stock market, traditionally the cash cow of the picture industry, predominantly selling expensive studio or location shots into the big budget advertising sector.
Goodyear tyres and Ford car used in an advert for Saab
Above: In the original picture by Douglas Miller, Keystone Press Agency, 1961, a woman adjusts her stocking by the light of the new Goodyear illuminated tyres.
Below: The same image is manipulated for more recent use in an advert for Saab.
Web-based microstock sites where semi-pros or amateurs submit images for commercial use, shifting large volumes at significantly reduced prices, have blossomed. The big agencies, initially slow to react, have been forced to introduce new licensing models to compete.
Contemporary news, sport and entertainment markets are also impacted by the proliferation of digital and mobile phone cameras – although this is less new. It has never been possible to have an accredited photographer at every event, especially where no earth shattering news is expected, and agencies have traditionally sourced ‘exclusives’ from amateurs or semi pros.
However, today the number of high resolution digital cameras and mobile phones means any happening in the public domain from the 7/7 bombings to a dishevelled Charlotte Church can be captured and shared by an increasingly opportunist and media savvy public. Again the picture industry is reacting by formalising relationships and getting in on the action with sites (such as Scoopt, a commercial web outlet for so-called citizen journalists).
However, unlike the creative markets, amateurs will never replace the professional photojournalist. Access to celebrities, entertainment and sports events is ever more tightly controlled and the big agencies can secure permissions to which the amateur could never be privy.
Photojournalism in sensitive areas such as Iraq is only possible with the relevant permits or embedding photographers with the military. Equally the traditional photo-essay, whether documenting Roma communities in Europe or deforestation in Brazil, requires significant resources in organisation, time and funding that can only be realistically provided by the professional.
And one area where the digital camera poses little threat is that of the traditional picture archive. Archival imagery can rarely be effectively reproduced by a modern audience – either because it portrays unique, historical and unrepeatable events and long dead personalities or simply because of its rich and authentic period detail.
However, no matter what the source – amateur or professional, creative, editorial or archival – the same issues apply for image buyers: Is the image relevant to my needs? Is it of good enough technical quality for the intended reproduction? Is it saleable? Does it have the relevant releases? And can I access it within my deadline?
Picture agencies address all these issues on the client’s behalf, thus offering an attractive, hassle-free, streamlined and competitive access point. The beneficial result for users is they have increased choice and access to an even greater pool of saleable imagery.
Agencies are seeing that a value added, service-led approach, including rights clearing services, pre-packaged and exclusive imagery, are highly attractive to deadline- and budget-driven image buyers. One thing is certain: the picture industry will continue to evolve and adapt to the new opportunities and challenges afforded by digital media just as our 19th century counterparts embraced every new technological advance to disseminate ever more pictures to an even wider client base.
Sarah McDonald originally trained and worked as an illustrator before joining Mirror Syndication, the picture library of the Mirror Group of Newspapers. In 1994 she transferred to the Hulton Picture Library, now part of Getty Images, managing the metadata team for Hulton’s fledgling digital search engine and prototype website. In 1998 she was appointed curator, responsible for the preservation, management and promotion of Hulton Archive, a resource of over 40 million images dating from the beginnings of photography and beyond. She’s published numerous articles relating to the archive’s photographers and collections, and is currently studying for a Masters degree in Museum Studies.
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People have been licensing photographs almost since the inception of the medium in the nineteenth century. Victorian picture agencies like the London Stereoscopic Company (c.1854 – 1922) dealt with all the same issues in getting their images to the B2B and home consumer markets as we do today: securing permission from their models for publication; observing copyright compliance; negotiating access and exclusive rights for events; employing staff and contributing photographers and utilising the latest technologies to disseminate their imagery.
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