Credit: Sandralise/vivozoom

Summer vacation is nearly over and the big yellow school buses will be flooding the streets once again.

Before the school bell rings check out vivozoom’s collection of education images -

http://bit.ly/cWn90F

Prepping for school has never been so easy.

Copyright: aloysius patrimonio/vivozoom

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best – “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  So, start your voyage today and let vivozoom be your guide to exploring the wonders of the world.

Whether it’s via plane, train or automobile, pack your bags and let vivozoom lead you in the right direction.

Explore vivozoom’s latest adventures  -

http://bit.ly/bQbGWJ

Copyright: G Barskaya/vivozoom

Even in today’s chilly economic climate, people continue to plan and enjoy their summer vacations. From the trendy, economical “staycation” to extravagant European cruises; vacationers are taking advantage of a multitude of travel deals.

Regardless of the vacation budget, designers are in the market for a variety of summer travel images.  From backyard family barbeques to island hopping adventures, vivozoom has just the right images for your design projects this summer.

By: Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Check out this summer fun lightbox for your next design project –  bit.ly/al2z2T

Credit: Cheryl Casey/vivozoom

Summer is officially underway and it’s time to start taking advantage of those warm, sunny days.  Time to head outdoors before those sweltering dog days of summer heat up.  Slather on the sunscreen, grab your beach towel and head out to the shore to build sandcastles and campfires with family and friends.

School is out and summer fun is in full swing.  Neighborhood kids are chasing down ice cream trucks and running through backyard sprinklers.  Some little lemonade entrepreneurs are even launching their first business endeavors on the corner.  It’s time for peanuts and Cracker Jacks at the ballpark, backyard barbeques and catching fireflies on warm summer evenings.

Credit: Schmid Chris/Eyemage/vivozoom

So, while you are enjoying your summertime fun, tote along your camera to capture a few of these summer activities.

Enjoy this SUN-sational lightbox from vivozoom – bit.ly/al2z2T

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Copyright Rob Snow/vivozoom

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Excitement continues to build as the World Cup games kickoff later this month.  Every four years the top soccer teams from all over the globe compete for the ultimate bragging rights, the best in the world.  Soccer is considered the most popular sport worldwide.  Gaining popularity in the United States over recent years, youth soccer leagues have more than doubled their membership since 1990.

So, whether you call it football or soccer, the World Cup is sure to shine a spotlight on the sport once again.  Therefore, the demand for soccer images will be sure to increase over the upcoming months.  Don’t miss out on this portfolio opportunity.  Soccer images can represent more than just the sport itself.  Images can symbolize conceptual terms such as teamwork (passing the ball to a teammate to score), healthy eating (orange slices on the sidelines), success (scoring goals), success (scoring a goal), youth fitness, etc.  So if you are looking to get more bang for your production buck, plan a soccer shoot soon.

Copyright Christopher Edwin Nuzzaco/vivozoom

Check out this World Cup inspired lightbox from vivozoom – bit.ly/9mzRWs

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

Credit: Nico Smit/vivozoom

We all appreciate the wonders of life as we attempt to savor it for our personal appreciation; however, our grab shots are nothing compared to bona fide wildlife photographers. They aren’t wandering around zoos photographing incarcerated critters; they are out there trekking for weeks, lugging hefty equipment to the most remote locations, all in an effort to capture the glory of Mother Nature.

Wildlife photographers, much like the animals they photograph, evolve and adapt to their environment.  Beyond physically acclimating to their various ecosystems, photographers refine their own survival skills such as…

Patience is a virtue in this business as some photographers can wait for weeks, if not months, for everything to fall into place.

Ingenuity is another prerequisite for this career because the luxuries of a cushy studio are not an option.

Flexibility is yet another necessary talent as they literally “bend over backwards” to get the perfect shot.

Credit: Design Pics/vivozoom

Globetrotting for months at a time, these real life explorers live in solitude, completely escaping reality and become a part of their habitat.  But before you run out and purchase some trail mix and tickets to Africa, consider making these simple modifications when photographing within the animal kingdom.  Shoot with a shallow depth of field or crop tightly to avoid fences, cages or other manmade framework.  These structures are surefire giveaways that you paid an entrance fee for these shots. Also, be aware that some zoos and aquariums prohibit commercial photography – so check your ticket stub before clicking that shutter.  Quality lighting is also essential when attempting to mimic natural habitats. Harsh lighting will only distract from the textures of fur, scales and feathers.  Critters with character are tremendously lucrative. Who can’t relate to the loving bond between a mother and baby baboon or the curiosity of a young cub?  Like a legitimate wildlife photographer, be patient and wait for everything to fall into place before clicking the shutter.

What’s your story behind the picture?  We’d love to hear about your wildlife expeditions and how you accomplished your noteworthy shot.

Featured Wildlife Gallery – http://www.vivozoom.com/index.php?page=view_lightbox&sl=483&uid=e217fb35f69e29b6ca207c018df2ec53

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

1. How much am I prepared to pay?
2. What are the legal risks?
3. Will I find the right images for me?

1. How much am I prepared to pay ?

What is your budget? There is no point wasting time looking at images that you cannot afford. Stock images generally fall into 3 groups:

Microstock – $0-$10 per image
This is stock produced for the most part by talented semi-professionals, and increasingly now, full time professionals. A site like VIVOZOOM.

Traditional Royalty Free – from $30 – $500 per image
This is stock produced for the most part by full time image professionals

Rights managed – from $250 per image upwards
Also produced by professionals, but you have some elements of exclusivity available to you, at a price.

“Why don’t I just copy and paste from Google Images, its free isn’t it?”

It is not free. Images are copyrighted. The risk is you will be one of the many who get caught and receive a $2,000 bill from the copyright owner.

“Why should I pay more for my images?”

Historically image buyers have associated better quality with the more expensive images. There is some truth in this; the greater the production value, the greater the cost, the greater the license fee. However for most images the quality distinction is being eroded by expert semi-professionals using high quality, low priced equipment.

There is a case to argue that you get more exclusivity (less chance of a competitor using the same image) if you spend more, simply because less competitors are likely to spend more money. Rights Managed images go some way to address this issue, but do not actually guarantee exclusivity. If this really concerns you, you should be commissioning your own photographer so you own the rights to the images outright.

2. What are the legal risks?

You need to be aware of important issues regarding legal Gurantees and the license you are given.

A. The Guarantee

Considering the significant risks associated with just ripping an image off (from using Google Images, as above) , it is definitely worth making sure your library actually guarantees the images are “safe to use”. Only a very few microstock sites do this properly, the first to offer a Guarantee was VIVOZOOM.

B. The License

The license is the document you get which sets out what you can do with the image you download. Make sure you get the right license for the uses you have in mind.

Rights managed License
The rights for usage are restricted to that which you stipulate. For example, if you just ask for magazine print rights in USA, that is all you will get. And when you want to extend your marketing to Canada you will have to purchase another License

Royalty Free License
These give pretty generous reproduction rights, with some reasonable restrictions, like no onward sale of the image. However the image usage is restricted in practice by the size of the downloaded file – so although you may only spend $50, but you might well find you can only use the image as a thumbnail on the web as its digital size means anything larger (or print) will result in a poor quality reproduction.
Watch out here though because many microstock sites are claiming their license is “Royalty Free” when it is not. My advice is that if you read the terms carefully, particularly if you are paying under $50 per image.

Microstock License
A restricted version of the Royalty Free license, limiting: the print run size to 250,000 or 500,000, use of images on T-shirts, mugs, and in digital products . For your major needs the limitations can be bought out for an ‘enhanced’fee of around $75- $95 per image.

3. Will I conveniently find the right image for me ?

The image you want needs to express your message to your customer. The image must therefore be relevant to your needs. But how then do you find the right image?

It sounds easy enough but it’s really not. You’ve been there, searching for hours for the right image for your web site. Perhaps you just want an image of a lion, to illustrate that your product is the “king” of its kind. You want the best lion, one that illustrates the majesty of a lion. You will find one, but you will need to invest the time as web sites have many tens of thousands of images of lions available.

Therefore our advice to you is to go to a site where the editors have already undertaken a lot of the filtering work. This is our goal at VIVOZOOM, and why Tony Stone, the founding father of the modern stock photo library has joined us.

Lawrence Gould, CEO Vivozoom

credit: Sandralise/vivozoom

Living green is a trend that continues to grow in popularity every year.  Whether it’s recycling their old cell phones or bringing their reusable bags to the market, more people are making eco-conscious decisions regarding their lifestyles on a daily basis.  And with the introduction of the movie Avatar last year, the world was slapped in the face with the realization that we humans are destroying our environment.  If the movie did nothing else, it increased the awareness of growing environmental concerns.  Pandora’s box was opened and we can no longer ignore the breakdown of our delicate ecosystem.  What better time to shift today’s wasteful thinking than on the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day.

Believe it or not, Earth Day was established over 40 years ago and has been estimated that over 1 billion people in more than 190 countries will take part in an eco-friendly reminder to think globally and act locally to reduce our carbon footprint on this planet.  Various industries including the music and fashion communities are doing their part to raise awareness about growing environmental concerns.

credit: Sandralise/vivozoom

From carpets to cell phones, more and more products are being manufactured using recycled goods and the adjective “organic” is attached to just about everything – from shampoo to tank tops.  Green products are in high demand.  So, the need for “green” imagery is escalating.  Keep this in mind during your next lifestyle shoot – use reusable bags for your shopping shoot or use stainless steel water bottles during your fitness production.  These are just a few ways that you can revamp traditional lifestyle images beyond the wardrobe.

Earth Day Inspired Gallery – http://www.vivozoom.com/index.php?page=view_lightbox&sl=469&uid=e217fb35f69e29b6ca207c018df2ec53

Stacey Goldberg, Creative Director of the microstock company Vivozoom (www.vivozoom.com)

London, UK, and Jacksonville, FL (PRWEB) April 15, 2010 — Vivozoom announces today that Tony Stone, the founding father of the modern photo stock library, has joined the Vivozoom executive management team to lead the Creative Strategy.

Tony Stone created perhaps the most highly rated image resource in the world, Tony Stone Images, which in 1995 became the foundation of Getty Images Inc, and depite having left Getty Images in 1999, his legacy still lives on there, through the Stone Collection and through the editors he trained.

With so many image libraries swamping creativity through the mechanical delivery of often mediocre and irrelevant images, Tony’s mission at Vivozoom is to make the image buying process inspirational and efficient.

“We believe in high quality, and that includes honesty to the photographer and legal clearance, at low prices,” Lawrence Gould says. “It’s very simple. If images are taken by creative photographers and selected by well trained editors, a library can create ideas and inspiration for the designer. You don’t need millions of pictures, you need really effective images, beautifully shot, that you can use safely, at a low price. That’s what Tony did for Getty Images – and that’s what we are doing at www.vivozoom.com ”

More material is on our blog at http://blog.vivozoom.com, see also an interview with Tony on www.microstockdiaries.com

About Microstock

Microstock is the fastest growing sector of the $2bn Stock Photography market that’s currently dominated by Getty Images and Bill Gates’ Corbis Images. Microstock brings unprecedented levels of affordability to licensing commercial images but, until recently, has been handicapped by its failure to provide assurances that images have legal clearance for commercial use.

About VIVOZOOM

VIVOZOOM was founded by Lawrence Gould, the former CFO of Getty Images Inc. VIVOZOOM is available worldwide through its web site www.vivozoom .com and sales office in London. For more information contact:
Lawrence Gould, +44-208-458-2606 or email lawrence(at)vivozoom(dot)com

I wish it were true. However, what is true, is that you can get millions of images easier and cheaper now. But what about finding the RIGHT image, easily, at a fair price? That is still a problem; the image you want may be there, somewhere, but you have to wade through a mountain of irrelevancy and often rubbish to find it. It has actually gotten harder to find the “right” image.

That’s because you are now at the mercy of the computer algorithms, which have been fed by an avalanche of unselected and unedited images. They try to help you, but they are just machines, and they work on the principal that the greater choice, the better the service.

At Vivozoom we don’t try to cover for every eventuality of image. We have a very large library, but all our shots are selected first by the photographer or illustrator and then reviewed again by our experienced editors. Our editors review not only the image quality, but the keywords, captions, releases and marketability, as well. We are producing a collection of the best and most relevant images within a reasonable price bracket. You will not find an image of the Chinese Army Council in our collection, though we are sure you will find it somewhere if you spend enough time looking. Nevertheless, you are likely to find the very best and most telling image for your web site quickly, easily and at a very good price.