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The stock photo market is an arena where literally all categories of visual imagery is welcome. imaggio has always sought the imagery of lifestyle, interiors, business, computer graphics, eating and drinking, Japanese and overseas scenery, textures, and so on. We look forward to seeing work which reflects your enthusiasm for your art.
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Photographers who are thinking of submitting images to be sold in Japan should start off by mailing at least 100 shots on CD or DVD meeting the following conditions: approximately 600 pix in JPEG format. At the same time, please attach a brief personal and professional profile of yourself. After the sample images have arrived, we will consider each submission and if we consider the work appropriate to the Japanese market, we will contact you with further details about the contract, including the conditions of sale, copyright considerations, conditions of use, the shared distribution of earnings, payment and reporting methods and duration of the contract. [Please understand that, regardless of the result of our considerations of any submissions, we will not, in any case, return the photographic data or profiles to you]
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The following are the digital data specs for images which we are able to accept for marketing:
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| File type |
TIFF |
| Bit rate |
8bit |
| Profile |
AdobeRGB(1998) |
| Size |
350 dpi (output), to meet the requirements of printing a full A4 sheet (210mm x 297mm) |
| Recommended digital camera |
16- 21mega pixels ( or a minimum of 12mega pixels) |
| Name of Image File |
maximum of 15 characters (letters & numerals) |
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NB: As the above specs do not apply to the case of digital data created from film, please inquire in advance in this case.
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As the photo and illustration market becomes more and more specialized, imaggio intends to keep pace by offering more carefully segmented audiences a greater variety as well as a greater specificity in imagery. More clearly defined age groupings, each with its own lifestyle differences are being presented to clients. One example is our current emphasis on the healthier, more enjoyable and carefree lives of the increasing numbers of Baby Boomers entering their 60s. Whether infant, small child, school kid, pre-teen, teenager or college student, we see an increasing demand for the age-differentiated expression of youthfulness, health, beauty. These themes also extend to requests for photography of younger and older adults, Baby Boomers and Seniors.
Our clients are not only interested in the people of these various age groups, but also in what they do, what they like and how they live. They want to see photography of real people doing the real things of daily life, as friends, couples and families involved in the enjoyable activities of talking, walking, sharing experiences and interacting in an atmosphere of happiness and relaxation. The themes here and above will also become the keywords that clients will use in their imaggio site searches to find these types of photos.
In addition to basic people photography, we would also like to express a newer concept in our photographic desires. We might call this “keyword photography.” By this we mean the type of photography that is categorizable not by traditional thematic descriptors, but by new keywords. One example of this conceptualization would be a baring of emotions and photography associated with descriptors of a variety of human emotions – for example happy, sad, surprised, disappointed, concentrating, eager, worried, crying, victorious, defeated, etc.
We also perceive a growing need for “topical photography. To take an example, the problems of global warming, climate change and other threats to the natural environment are much in the news today. Of course, clients are seldom interested in ugly images of environmental degradation. Quite the contrary, of course; the interest in and concern about the environment leads to a call for more expressions of nature at its best, nature which is unaffected by man. In this regard, we need more photography of nature at its fullest – that of new life, sprouting plants, and budding flowers, along with images of clean water, rushing streams, melting snow and beautiful blue skies. Because the destruction of this environment is much on people’s minds, photography which contrasts starkly with those concerns is in ever-greater demand.
For the sake of guidance, last year’s Top Ten (plus one) client categories included the following market segments: Financials & Insurance, Transport & Delivery Services, Medical & Pharmaceutical, Real Estate & Construction, The Book Trade & Publishing, Food & Beverage, Schools & Education, Electronics & Precision Instruments, IT & ICT, Cosmetics & Toiletries, and Civil Service & Government. By keeping these end-users in mind photographers and illustrators can delivery the best and the most marketable imagery to imaggio.
To give a few representative examples of the types of keywords associated with different client segments we could consider Financial Investments & Insurance. A few of the top keywords in this category are stocks, investment, foreign exchange, capital, global economy, energy resources, development, progress, business, business image, computer graphics, and photo collage. Images which can be keyworded in these ways have an increasing chance of generating sales.
Another example is Real Estate & Construction. This client segment was interested in images keyworded as people, family, lifestyle, still life, entertainment, enjoyment, food and drink, etc. As they want to represent the aftermath of the purchase of housing, these clients are particularly interested in representing the good life, people enjoying its benefits and sharing its benefits with friends and family.
Another particularly popular thematic area includes the modern aspects of life in metropolitan Tokyo and surrounding areas. The modernity of the high-rise office complexes and apartment buildings remains a popular image, but these are often juxtaposed with the imagery of the desirable suburban living experience – with greenery, open areas, people-friendly spaces, leisure activities, as well as personal prosperity represented in the image.
Although many of our sales are purely photographic, there is also a great demand for non-photographic imagery as well as the mixed imagery of illustrations and crafts. Whether non-photographic or mixed with photography, this approach to representation allows for greater creativity and expression – going beyond the reality of the photograph. Another advantage is the increased accessibility that the mixed media allow. For example, in areas where copyright and intellectual property rights may hamper the photographer’s access and use (as may be the case with kabuki theatre, fighting sports, other professional sports, etc.) illustration and other non-photographic media can reduce both the difficulty and the cost of creating imagery for client use.
RM vs. RF. Imaggio’s clients continue to inquire about and to request royalty-free images more and more. We have responded by offering both types of images to clients, according to use and as appropriate to the goal of increasing revenues for both imaggio and for photographers and other artists. We began offering royalty-free imagery to clients via our redesigned website in September of 2007 and anticipate a growing client call for this type of image marketing in 2008.
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For the purpose of captioning and the correlation of captions with images, please use imaggio’s designated MS-Excel file, utilizing the same file name as that of the images, and supply us with a CD or DVD containing this information. [as we will not return any sent CDs or DVDs, please be certain to keep your original copy of all data]
As we have expressed in this space in the past, the use of keywords is crucial for end-users and their representatives as they search not so much by category, but by keywords. This method is chosen widely because it is faster and more efficient, bringing the client effortlessly to the precise imagery required.
Because of the importance of keyword use, it is crucial that submitting photographers and other artists provide both detailed and accurate identifying information. Depending on the photographic genre, this includes location (country, state/province/region, city; name of resort, river, mountain, bay, channel, river, etc., as appropriate), object I.D. (its name, its use, constituent materials, its age, its history, etc., as appropriate). Whether it is a flower, a tree, a building, a park, a Balinese musical instrument, a part of a machine, or an antique cabinet, a name is always required. And any additional detail we can get quite simply improves our chances of selling the image to clients.
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imaggio Co., Ltd Yurakubashi Building 7F Ginza 2-2-17, Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-0061 JAPAN
info@imaggio.com
Tel: +81-3+5524-6654 Fax: +81-3+5524-6651
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