Maria Piscopo

Publicity is one of the most overlooked areas of marketing for photographers. The protocol for obtaining this less conspicuous but very important promotional tool has three basic steps: submission of information about your work to the media; confirmation of acceptance; and final publishing. Publicity provides benefits without the high cost of ads or the labor-intensive effort of...

Since my first explorations of the stock photography industry, there have been many changes and upheavals in the business. In this column, I hope to sort out some of the most important changes that have occurred. One is the relationship of the photographer and the stock agency and the changing nature of the agency business itself. Indeed, many stock agencies are now called stock distributors since they no longer work as agents to “represent” photographers. For photographers, there is an even higher degree of specialized subject knowledge and/or access to a subject required for a reasonable sales return on the work.

The lure and magic of wildlife and nature images tempts many photographers to jump into the field. However, it’s not nearly as easy as many aspiring pros think or hope. The all-important “look before you leap” challenges to this photo field can be considerable and the start-up time longer than the usual commercial photography business.

While commercial advertising photographers (and other specialties) might be touched negatively by the economy and changing technology, event photographers continue to expand their work and markets. Yes, the economy has changed with every parent bringing a high-end digital camera to their kid’s school events. Yes, event photographers today must invest in equipment to print and sell photos online. But there is work here, for both the consumer and corporate event photographer.