Apple Updates RAW-Capabilities of Aperture 2 and iPhoto

Apple just released a new update for the Mac OS X System which also includes some RAW-Updates. RAW files are supported by the professional photo tool Aperture, the consumer-oriented iPhoto and the system-wide QuickLook preview-feature.

The update can be downloaded with your software update app!

Which cameras are new on the list can be found after the click.

• Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / Kiss Digital x2 / EOS 450D
• Epson R-D1 / R-D1s
• Leaf AFi 7
• Leaf AFi 6
• Leaf AFi 5
• Pentax K200D
• Pentax K20D

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The secret of finding the right tags I/III

Ever heard about tags? Well you should have, because considering the relevance and amount of tags per image, your Microstock sales rise and fall. In this series I'll tell you about the importance of tagging and how to find the right tags for your images.

To start we need to define what a tag is, Wikipedia says the following:

A tag is a (relevant) keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information (a picture, a geographic map, a blog entry, a video clip etc.), thus describing the item and enabling keyword-based classification and search of information.

Tags are usually chosen informally and personally by item author/creator or by its consumer/viewers/community. Tags are typically used for resources such as computer files, web pages, digital images, and internet bookmarks (both in social bookmarking services, and in the current generation of web browsers - see Flock). For this reason, "tagging" has become associated with the Web 2.0 buzz.

Typically, an item will have one or more tags associated with it.

So what does that mean for Microstock photographers? It means by choosing the right tags the chance of making your customers find your images increases a lot!

Tags are short and very descriptive, you don't often use more than one word per tag. The more relevant tags you enter, the better for your overall sales. Why? Because it is very unlikely that a potential buyer enters more than 3-5 keywords to find an image.

So if your image shows exactly what the person searching wants, but you missed to enter one important keyword, the sale will be left to other contributors.

In part II you'll find out how to find the right tags to describe your image!

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Get Firefox 3 directly via FTP, not the web. Works with your Browser!

Like many of you I've waited a long time to download the final version of Firefox 3. Today is the day not only the final version was released, but also the day the guys at Mozilla want to set a world record.

If you are having trouble reaching one of the many Mozilla sites that offer the download, try clicking the link below!

Here's the link, it should work directly in your browser, otherwise just use your FTP program!

ftp://releases.mozilla.org/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.0/

If the link doesn't work, try out surfing to:

ftp://releases.mozilla.org

and navigate this way: mozilla.org>firefox>releases>3.0 then chose your system and language (en for example is english, de german and so on)!

There you go, enjoy your new Firefox version!

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The Long Tail of Microstock Photography

Ever heard about the long tail? Learn why Microstock is the ultimate weapon of choice if you want to use this niche marketing idea!

Let me briefly describe what the term 'Long Tail' means: The idea of the long tail was invented (or published first) by the well known tech magazine Wired back in 2004. It says that theres a niche for everything because at some point there will always be someone willing to pay a few bucks for exact that object/service, no matter how popular it is.

These niche products will not be your star products, but combined with other niche products they can be accountable for a remarkable benefit.

Take a look at this diagram to understand what the long tail exactly means:

Image Copyright by Wired.com

Transferring this idea to the Microstock business means that there's quite a chance for pictures to sell, even if they are not that 'everyday stuff' people search for. But don't think about animals dressed up like kitchen equipment! A niche could also be covered by some nice holiday shots you took on a place which is not a major touristic area.

If you've been to places which are not that touristic, deliver ideas/feelings or just show a prominent sight in a gorgeous light and atmosphere (or the opposite) take your time and upload these images. Remember: Once uploaded (with good tags and the right categories), you need nothing more to do except watching how your images start to sell.

Maybe you will only have a few sales a month with every niche-image, but if you sell 20 different pictures once every month, it's 240 sales a year. Together with your 'normal' stock material it does justify the work of editing, tagging and categorizing.

Here are some ideas for your long tail/niche Microstock business:
- Exotic hobbys
- Exotic animals
- Take pictures of people who listen to the same music like you do
- Try to capture your favourite spots in town from a different angle
- Take pictures of 'strange' emotions or faces
- Visit your friends and take pictures of their kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms and so on
- Visit your favourite places in town at night
- Always press the shutter you see an interesting texture (rust, patterns...)

If you want to learn more about the principle of the long tail try the book below, it's really worth a read and you can learn many things about your future Microstock strategy (or if you are interested in marketing it simply is a must read)!

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Time Management for Microstock Photographers

Today we'll talk about Microstock time management. Learn how much time you should spend on taking, editing, tagging and categorizing your media!

Time management is essential for Microstock. It's not that important when you start your Microstock career, but later, when you have to manage hundreds, thousands, millions of pictures, footage and whatever, it'll be a true time saver!


50% Taking photos
This is the most essential part. Since the name of the game is photography, one should take quite some time to take pictures!

15% Editing photos
Because you know about your gear and try to get exact the image you want when pressing the shutter, fortunately there are just minor corrections to be made.

30% Tagging and editing iptc datas
This almost is more important than editing your images! Since users (=potential buyers) search for words, not images themselves, they'll need as many describing tags as they can get. Give them the possibility to find your images! But don't du 'tag spam', just describe what is on your image, which feelings and ideas it transports and you'll be fine.

5% Choosing categories
Since you can 'only' choose a maximum of three categories on most sites, this can be done very fast. But: Would you search a picture with a happy, smiling family under the category architecture? There you go.

Bottom Line
Of course these tips are just clues, you need to find out how to spend your time on the mentioned points on your own, but take this as an advice and develop your own approach for a efficient time management!

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iPhone 3G Offering Native Photo Geotagging [Update]

Ever dreamed of having the option to geotag you images without additional devices? The new 3G iPhone offers this feature- with built in software.

Geotagging solutions are either bulky hardware add-ons bundled with more or less crappy software or they are simply not built into you cam. With the presentation of todays iPhone 3G you can instantly geotag the photos taken with your beloved iPhone.

Since the device will be launched on July 11th, we don't have screens to show yet, but the facts published on the tech specs page definitely say that there's a built in option to geotag your images taken with the integrated two megapixel camera.

Of course the cam is still very limited because of the small sensor and 'just' two megapixels, but if you want to memorize small trips or just want to have fun, this function is just right for you.

Surely Apple will add the possibility of instantly showing you pics on Google Maps, additionaly third-party apps will be able to use the GPS module, which will bring up some very interesting photo apps in the near future.

My prediction: This will be THE No1 Flickr phone in 2008 and 2009!

Update:
Before a photo is geotagged or your location is located using GPSin Google Maps (or any other, upcoming application), the iPhone will ask you for your permission to use the GPS-module.

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Review: TinEye

I've talked about TinEye before, today this neat piece of software will get a brief review. Including the Firefox Plug-In running with the current Firefox 3.

As you already know, TinEye can help you find your images on the net. If you are a Microstock photographer at some point you have to ask yourself what to do if someone steals your images. Therefore you need to know where they appeared on the net.

TinEye is a very interesting approach since it is easy to use, seamlessly integrates into Firefox and the company standing behind it, Idée Inc., has a lot of experience with searching images on the web (they work for Adobe and other big players).

Learn about the services TinEye can offer you, but also about what can be made better after the click!

Let's start by explaining how TinEye works:

First you need to register at TinEye.com, after you requested you invitation, it should arrive very quick (at least mine did). After you've installed the plug-in from their web page, restart Firefox and you're ready to go. Now you can just right click on any image which is visible on a web page, using the point 'Search (Background) Image on TinEye' to search the web for this very image.

After you clicked the menu item, a new tab opens, showing your search results. The site is well structured and it's easy to spot where your appears on the web. Alternatively you can upload an image on the tineye.com website itself. The 'Cool Searches' page is, by the way, not so cool.


Verdict
TinEye is a nice piece of software making it easy for almost everybody to search for specific images on the web. It does not only find 100% matches, but also recognizes modifications. Especially the high ease of use and the integration with beloved Firefox scores. The only thing I can criticize right now is the fact that the indexed images are still very small (at least for internet dimensions), but the company is constantly expanding its databases.

Suggestions for future versions
It would be great if TinEye could be integrated into Microstock services, being able to batch-search images. This would not only be great in terms of image theft, but also because you could find out where your images are used online, an information which otherwise would be hard to find.

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Review: Dreamstime

Dreamstime, one of what I call 'the big four' Microstock agencies is not only green and twirly, but also a powerful and top selling Microstock site. In this review you'll learn about what makes this dreamy Microstock site so special.

Website
Dreamstime.com

Support
International: (+1) 615 771 5611
Toll Free (US): 800 243 1791
Fax (US): 615 778 0899
Regular business hours: Monday to Friday, 10 AM - 6 PM EST

Business Model
Credits can be bought in packages, additionally there are several subscriptions

$$$ per download/ Subscription
800X600 pixels are between 1 and 5$

3MP- up to 5MP are between 2 and 6$

5MP- up to 8MP are between3 and 7$

over 8MP are between 4 and 8 $

RAW files: Double the amount of the largest size available

The special thing about the Dreamstime pricing is the fact that images become more expensive the more they are downloaded. This 'forces' the buyers to look at other images covering the same subject.

Media types
Only JPG files, RGB, at least 3 Megapixels, saved at the maximum quality will be accepted (70 Megapixels max resolution).Vector files should be saved in a very high quality JPG file. Furthermore Dreamstime allows you to additionally upload a RAW file for each image.

FTP Access
Yes

ITPC usage
Yes

Approval Procedure
Not really, just start uploading your images. Generally I think Dreamstime refuses quite a lot, so better check your images twice before uploading.

Ease of use
While the front site is relatively well ordered, the member sites are quite confusing for the first time. After you've figured out how the site works, the UI is efficient and offers the user many options at once, very nice.

Chance of being granted as a contributor
High. But double check your images first before uploading, they really take a close look at your images!


Chance of selling your media
Due to the system Dreamstime uses, image sales are constantly high and new images have a realistic chance of being discovered by potential buyers.

Chance of survival
As one of the biggest and entrenched agencies out there, you won't have to worry about Dreamstime going bancrupt.

Notes
- Good User Interface
- Long review times
- System that allows new pics to compete with popular ones
- Allows RAW files in addition to normal JPEGS
- No EPS files allowed, save them as large HQ Jpeg's
- Lots of great tools and statistics
- Fast FTP upload
- You can write your own blog if you like

Verdict

Dreamstime is one of what I call 'the big four' in Microstock. It offers many features, statistics and options for Microstock photographers. This is definitely one of the agencies you should start with, chances of selling pictures are high and they offer a system that raises the prices for popular images, therefore newcomers have a realistic chance competing against them since they are cheaper. A definite recommendation!

Get started at Dreamstime and register today!

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Fotolia Strikes Again, Adds Images to Microsoft Office Online

Fotolia expands ambitions by making a deal with Microsoft. 500 Pictures and illustrations will be available for Microsoft Office Online users.

Here's the official press release:

New York, NY, June 3, 2008 – Fotolia (http://www.fotolia.com), a global online marketplace for micro-priced digital stock images, announced today a program that makes available a free collection of 500 images and illustrations to Microsoft Office customers through Microsoft Office Online. The collection size will increase over time as the partnership expands to additional markets in the future.

The collection offers a wide variety of Fotolia images in various themes that Microsoft customers can add to their Microsoft Office documents. Customers can go directly from downloading regular resolution images on Office Online to purchasing a higher resolution file on Fotolia."Fotolia prides itself in being a tool for the small business owner to easily and affordably access imagery for a wide variety of professional uses," explains Fotolia co-founder and president Oleg Tscheltzoff. "Our mission has always been to provide users with the best deals on professional quality stock imagery. This partnership allows us to take this a step further – offering images to Microsoft Office customers for free."

Microsoft Office Online offers individuals and businesses access to Microsoft products, downloads, Microsoft tutorials and how-to resources, templates, stock photos and illustrations for use with Microsoft Office programs. Fotolia's image gallery will be among 150,000 free images offered to Microsoft Office customers through Office Online.

"Microsoft strives to offer its customers the best and broadest selection of tools for their personal and professional needs," says Christopher Mascis, Business Development Manager at Microsoft Corp. "As the worlds largest provider of individually-licensed microstock imagery, Fotolia is a great partner for providing our customers with high-quality stock photos and illustrations. We are pleased to add them to the family of Office content providers."

Microsoft Office customers can access a large library of free stock photos, illustrations, sounds and animations directly from http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/results.aspx?qu=fotolia.

About Fotolia

Fotolia, LLC, based in New York, with offices in nine countries around the globe and offering Web sites in eight languages, is the world's largest provider of micro-priced stock images. Launched in early November, 2005, Fotolia's image marketplace has acquired nearly 3.5 million images in its database and nearly 625,000 international members. In December, 2007, Fotolia became the first independent microstock agency to enter the traditional stock marketplace, with the launch of Fotolia Infinite Collections. For more information about the company or to access the Fotolia Web site, visit www.fotolia.com

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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Fotolia Launches Subscriptions, Joins the Crew

More and more Microstock sites offer subscription based models in addition to the traditional model of buying images and media one by one. Here are the details about the recent release of Fotolia.

There have been many recent rumblings about Fotolia these days. After the 'leader of the pack' iStockphoto launched their subscription service, Fotolia made their move today.

The prices are as following:

The prices are reasonable and the model is well structured so that both customers and photographers will hopefully be able to buy/sell more!

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Why I don't publish any numbers about how much money I make with Microstock

You may have already asked yourself at which time I'll publish some of my earnings generated with Microstock. Unfortunately I'm not going to publish any numbers in the near (and far) future. And I have good reasons for acting like this.

The story about why I'm not publishing any numbers on this blog is also a story of how I started with Microstock.

Years ago I registered some accounts on some major Microstock sites, uploaded some pictures, most of them got rejected and I asked myself why I couldn't compete with the rest of the world.

Of course I started reading blogs (which were called websites back in these days) and tried to figure out about the secrets of Microstock photography. I also found some good tips and tricks for editing my pictures, uploading and everything else. Unfortunately there was one thing that really got me down these days:

Numbers.

There are some Microstock related blogs out there that publish their incomes every month and none of them earns less than around 100$ per month with the major agencies (per site). The confusing thing is the fact that they partially have very small portfolios for being Microstock photographer. So how can these people earn hundreds or dollars a month with only a 'few' pictures and a reader base round about 20-50? In my point of view there are only two explanations:

1) They are some of the most talented Microstock photographers on earth, producing top selling pictures every day. Quality rules quantity.

2) They lie.

Well as always the truth must be somewhere in between. I'm quite sure that some do not completely lie, but 'pimp' their numbers from time to time to get more 'respect' from their readers. Of course there are lots of great photographers out there who are able to produce exactly what the buyers want, and it is their good right to earn as much as they can from Microstock photography.

But back to the reason why I don't publish numbers here:

I don't want to put an artificial pressure on my readers.

Photography should be fun in the first place if you're just someone who takes pictures for fun or to earn some extra money.

Back in the days I suddenly stopped my Microstock attempts and went back to 'just' taking pictures.

As my skills grew and more and more people told me that they really like the images I take I thought again about starting over with Microstock. I realized that this artificial pressure generated by reading earnings from other peoples blogs is not the way it should be, it doesn't make me a better (Microstock) photographer. I unsubscribed all of the blogs who publish their numbers and concentrated on my own skills, creating a good workflow, how to do keyword research and all the little details concerning Microstock photography.

I started reading blogs that focused on photography itself, but also the the ones who teach how digital imaging works 'at the bottom'. This really brought some new motivation to my Microstock attempts and also made me see photography from a totally new angle.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great blogs concerning Microstock photography with great photographers as editors, but I hope that you'll understand why I'm no going to publish numbers in the future.

Now grab your cam and get out :)

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The production of an optical camera lens

Lenses have been one of the most important technical parts of photography ever since. Today I'd like to show you three videos which will give you a brief introduction into the process of lens manufacturing. Enjoy!

The production of lenses takes both time and a lot of accuracy. After watching these videos you'll know why you have to pay a bit more to get high quality glass for you camera, but also that it is really worth it.

Material processing:


Lens machining:


Lens assembly:


Of course in times of mass production not every single lens is completely assembled by the experienced hands of technicians, but still (even if there is a lot of tech supporting these guys) optical glass/lens production is such a serious business where humans are needed to handle the difficult tasks.

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