Landscape vs. portrait: What’s best for Licensing in the age of social media?

At the start of this year, the Special Covid-19 Edition of The CMO Survey revealed that social media spending increased to 23.2% of marketing budgets by June 2020, up from 13.3% in February. As brands turned to social media to connect with customers, the visual marketing landscape shifted to suit a new era—and new platforms.… Continue reading Landscape vs. portrait: What’s best for Licensing in the age of social media?

Bringing realness and authenticity to your commercial portfolio

You might not have heard the phrase “perfection fatigue,” but we’ve all experienced it. For decades, many brands have contributed to unrealistic beauty standards through the use of overly retouched photos, but fortunately, in the last few years, the tables have turned. Customers are speaking out about airbrushing and demanding more inclusive marketing—and companies are… Continue reading Bringing realness and authenticity to your commercial portfolio

What to expect when submitting your photos to commercial Licensing

2020 was the year of the “side hustle,” with people around the world turning their passions into passive income or planning to do so in the near future. For many photographers, in particular, that meant selling presets, opening an online print shop, or selling their work as creative stock photography. Stock photography, also known as… Continue reading What to expect when submitting your photos to commercial Licensing

2021 color trends in commercial photography

There’s a famous moment in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada where Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) lectures Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) about color trends, explaining how Andy’s seemingly average cerulean blue sweater was, in fact, influenced by years of high fashion. The scene is fictional, of course, but it does have some roots in… Continue reading 2021 color trends in commercial photography

Four commercial photography categories that are always in-demand

Commercial stock photography has been around for more than a century now, and in that time, the industry has undergone countless evolutions in terms of what photographers shoot and what buyers want. The past few years have been reshaped by trends ranging from in-demand topics like sustainability and technology to stylistic choices like minimalism and… Continue reading Four commercial photography categories that are always in-demand

Comparing traditional and contemporary commercial photography

You might still remember these memes: “Women wearing boxing gloves with business attire,” “First Day On The Internet Kid,” “Ladies Lounging (Uncomfortably) With Laptops,” “Internet Grandma Surprise.” Popularized in 2011-12, these viral memes incorporate and poke fun at obviously staged, overused stock photos. You know the kind of stock photo we’re talking about: models acting… Continue reading Comparing traditional and contemporary commercial photography

The photographer’s guide to copyright law

The last couple of years have been important for copyright law, and in many cases, the photo industry has been front and center. First, there was Goldman v. Breitbart News et al, then McGucken v. Newsweek, and most recently, the reopening of the Sinclair case. These headline-grabbing cases have drawn widespread public attention to the… Continue reading The photographer’s guide to copyright law

Capturing the new home hub in commercial photography

During the coronavirus pandemic, more than 70% of Americans took on home improvement projects and plan to do more in the new year, according to a survey from Bank of America. In 2020, home became more than where the heart is, and our houses and apartments became our offices, schools, gyms, and more. Although restrictions… Continue reading Capturing the new home hub in commercial photography

How to create a photo essay: Step-by-step guide with examples

In the 1930s, Life magazine did something radical; while most magazines of the time prioritized words, its editors published pages and pages of photographs, sometimes accompanied only by brief captions. Over the next few decades, Life’s photographers—Gordon Parks, Margaret Bourke-White, and W. Eugene Smith among them—would help pioneer a new genre known as the “photo… Continue reading How to create a photo essay: Step-by-step guide with examples

Visualizing mental health and wellbeing in Licensing

Studies suggest that mass media is one of the public’s primary sources of information about several mental health disorders, but research also shows that many of the portrayals we see are negative and stereotypical. These inaccurate depictions can have serious consequences. According to the World Health Organization, one in four of us will be affected… Continue reading Visualizing mental health and wellbeing in Licensing