Polylooks teams up with iSyndica

Polylooks brings a European look and feel to microstock

Polylooks has teamed up with online photo syndication platform iSyndica, meaning that microstock photographers can further expand the reach of their images to include Polylooks’ growing customer base. If you’re a microstock contributor and are unfamiliar to Polylooks, then that’s understandable, as the company only launched in the UK market in late autumn 2009. Our German site Polylooks.de has been live since June 2009 and has become one of the prominent sites for stock photos in the German speaking countries.

As a European stock image provider with predominantly European photo and illustration contributors, we believe we bring a much-needed European look-and-feel to the microstock market which has traditionally been dominated by North American image sites. This offers European stock photo and illustration buyers far more choice and relevance when searching for microstock imagery and we’ve now got more than half a million images on our database.

Rights issue

The market potential for microstock grows daily as thousands of new Web pages are created in addition to offline marketing, publishing and other materials which require images. Yet we’ve found, in the UK at least, that confusion abounds when it comes to the rights and wrongs of using images from the Internet.

In December 2009 we surveyed 200 UK marketing and PR professionals and found that more than a third (37 per cent) admitted to using images illegally from the Internet. Not only do many not pay for the rights, but there is also widespread confusion over common microstock terms such as “royalty free” and “rights managed”. Nearly half (44 per cent) believed that “royalty free” meant they could use the image without paying for it!

At Polylooks we’re trying to educate those that want to use images from the Web about what they should and should not do when it comes to image copyright.

Why microstock?

Polylooks is backed by Deutsche Telekom, one of the world’s leading service providers in the telecommunications industry, which often prompts the question; “why would a telecommunications provider want to get into the microstock market?”

We see microstock becoming more and more central to publishing going forward. Our survey found that in the UK marketing sector alone, 44 per cent of professionals legally download between one and five pictures each month, while seven per cent buy more than 11 stock images each month. In fact, while nearly half (48 per cent) do not have a microstock image budget, five per cent spend in excess of £100 each month on images, so there is huge demand out there.

Polylooks contains more than half a million images

For iSyndica’s contributors, it is reassuring to know that Polylooks is supported by a large parent company. It gives us reach and stability at a time of upheaval in the microstock industry.

Partnering for success

Currently, Polylooks operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and the platform is available in German and

English, but the partnership with iSyndica will enable Polylooks to draw on an extended pool of creative talent by reaching contributors in new territories.

We, in turn, look forward to thousands of new, high quality stock photos and illustrations being made available to customers from our archive. Why not take a closer look at www.polylooks.co.uk!

Norbert Weber, Head of Polylooks

Get Ready for the FIFA World Cup

Just one of many World Cup-themed images on Polylooks

This year sees one of the biggest events in the global sporting calendar – the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The last World Cup, Germany 2006, saw an estimated cumulative television audience of 30 billion people world-wide and was attended by more than 18,000 media representatives. So this year publishers, bloggers and advertisers will be looking for football-related stock photo images to accompany their stories. Photographers – get your cameras out because image buyers will want soccer shots. Buyers – make sure you know about image rights!

Don’t Stray Offside

Images of real sportspeople can come with expensive copyright costs and restrictions, so generic football stock images and illustrations will be in demand, especially with the rise in bloggers and Web publishers since 2006. Around 900,000 blogs are posted in any given 24-hour period.

Though the event is a way off, creative agencies and sports-related professionals around the world will need photos for marketing materials imminently, so photographers are advised to start thinking about stock photography earlier rather than later.

But it is essential that bloggers, advertisers and publishers only use images which they have the right to use, according to online photo agency Polylooks. The company recently surveyed the UK’s creative industries – heavy users of images – and found that the vast majority were ignorant of stock photography image rights. Many are using images without consent and many don’t even feel guilty!

And when it comes to sports image rights and their value compared to standard stock images, users can end up in hot legal water.

Norbert Weber, Product Manager at Polylooks, advises: “There is still a great deal of confusion when it comes to using photos or illustrations that photographers and artists have made available for sale online. Many people who should be paying for the right to use images are not doing so due to a lack of understanding on industry rules and terminologies.”

Top Tips for Football Photos

Polylooks contains hundreds of football-related stock images, so users can be assured that they’re permitted to use those images without infringing any copyright and attracting the attention of photo agency lawyers. These stock images include players, fans, stadia, officials and other peripheral elements of the “Beautiful Game”. Polylooks’ intuitive filters also ensure that image users can select football stock photos by colour scheme and emotion, and it promises to be a colourful tournament!

Fill your Christmas stocking: Buy Polylooks photo credits to get free iPod

Polylooks is offering you an early present to get you in the Christmas mood. Stock image users have the opportunity to pick up Apple iPods this Christmas with our special microstock purchase offer. If you’re looking to buy photos online this month, go to www.polylooks.co.uk. We’ve got around a quarter of a million stock photos and illustrations available for download and, if you’re buying in bulk, customers who buy a 200-credit package will receive a FREE 2GB iPod Shuffle with their purchase. And those who buy a 500-credit package will receive a FREE 16GB iPod Nano!

The process couldn’t be easier. Simply log on to Polylooks.co.uk, register (if you’re a new user) and make your image credit purchase. Then, email us with your username and postal delivery address at support@polylooks.co.uk with the subject “My iPod delivery”. We will verify your claim and reply with a confirmation email. Your iPod will then be posted to you straight away!

Not only will you have plenty of microstock credits to use for your publication, website or promotional materials, but you’ll also have a timely gift delivery, for yourself or a loved one.

So, if you’re surfing for bargains online this Christmas, add Polylooks image credits to your list, log onto Polylooks.co.uk and get shopping!

A Picture of Christmas

At this time of year the demand for stock images relating to Christmas and other winter scenes shoots up. With such a wide range of royalty free images available, how can publishers, bloggers and private stock image users make sure that they find the right stock photos?

Polylooks.co.uk alone has nearly 10,000 stock images tagged with the word ‘Christmas’ and almost 12,000 labelled

Polylooks' library contains 206 images of snowmen

‘winter’. Filtering out the right royalty free images for you is made simple, however, by colour scheme options and emotion.

Think of the three most prominent colours we associate with Christmas; red, white and green. These tend to be the most popular choices for those who buy photos from Polylooks, but you may be after something more sentimental – like black and white images. In which case, use the colour code in conjunction with the ‘emotion’ drop-down menu to find the right look-and-feel for you.

Tagged Up

Tags are incredibly important in the selection of royalty free stock images. These help narrow down the search, so you could be looking for a Christmas tree, but do you want it covered in decorations? Inside or outside? Star on top? Lights? Entering keywords helps refine the search.

Do you want to use a stock photo or royalty free illustrations? A lot of Polylooks’ customers tend to buy royalty free illustrations for winter use as opposed to buying photos online. Artwork often makes for a more fun image in step with the festive period than stock photos.

Picture This!

Whatever your Christmas stock image needs, you’ll find it at Polylooks.co.uk. We’ve got a multitude of mince pies, Christmas trees, presents, Nativity scenes, Santas and even 206 snowmen to boot! Most of Polylooks’ stock image contributors are from Europe, so our images have a distinctly European feel.

For more on selecting royalty free images read our recent post on stock image selection best practice.

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Seeking Perfection: How to Find the Right Stock Photo for You

Creative types are often perfectionists. When searching through royalty free stock images a publisher, designer or other user of microstock photography will have in their own mind a vision of the image they’re searching for to accompany their article, blog or design. This is where it gets tricky! For example, Polylooks.co.uk alone hosts more than a quarter of a million images. Someone searching through stock photo websites could easily spend hours looking for that perfect stock photo.

An image selected by mood and colour scheme from Polylooks.co.uk

Most microstock sites will offer simple drop-down, multiple choice menus which filter down the search experience but still leave hundreds or thousands of results to sift through. We at Polylooks have tried to simplify that process as much as possible to reduce the amount of time microstock image purchasers spend looking for photos and artwork by being a little more intuitive.

For example, Polylooks.co.uk enables stock photo purchasers to search by ‘emotion’. Do you want your image to have a friendly feel? Do you want it to convey fear? When contributors upload their photos or artwork, they categorise them by emotion so you can further narrow down your search according to look and feel.

It’s also possible to narrow the search further using colour schemes, so buyers of royalty free stock photos can best match the stock images they want with the background colours they’re already working with. You can also search by photographer, continent or country, and even take your chances with the ‘Random Search’ option.

Stock photography shoppers can also benefit from the size option. Do you need a web image or are you searching for a large format size that you can use for merchandise, such as billboard advertising? Use the size filters to help refine your microstock search.

Our top tips for searching for the right stock photo image are:

· Think about keywords – how would you describe the stock image you’re searching for? They’re probably the same as the photographer tagged them with

· Use the ‘emotion’ option when searching on Polylooks.co.uk – it helps whittle down your search to get a more accurate look and feel

· Think about the colour scheme you want. Many composition shots have a plain, white studio background anyway and are perfect for Web publishing, for example

If you think we missed anything here or you’ve got some tips – or queries – of your own, do please leave a comment and we’ll make sure we respond.

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Golden Brown: Capturing Autumn’s Glory

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun,” – this is how the poet John Keats captured autumn in words.  With golden leaves, ripened fruit and long shadows, autumn is also a fantastic season to capture on camera. Added to this we have colourful events, like Halloween and Guy Faulkes’ Night.

At this time of year publishers want pictures of autumnal scenes; yellow leaves, lingering sunsets, illuminated pumpkins. Polylooks has an extensive store of images for publishers to find their ideal shot to best encapsulate the season of autumn in all its glory. Have a search through www.polylooks.co.uk to find your perfect image. On Polylooks you can also search by colour scheme and emotion, which helps you slender down your options.

If you’re a professional or keen amateur photographer, you’ll already know how great autumn looks through a lens. Why not submit your pictures to Polylooks? There are three main types that really grab publishers’ attention:

An Autumnal Landscape

Landscape: The ghostly mists and playful colours of autumn make a forest or parkland scene perfect for publishers. Pick a clear day to get an atmospheric shot.

A Seasonal Portrait Shot

Portrait: Autumn is fun! Why not shoot families or children enjoying the crunchy leaves or dressing up for Halloween? Remember, if taking pictures of people you need the express permission of all identifiable persons in the image in the form of a model release.

 

Composition: Autumn is synonymous with the richness of harvest: apples, pears, nuts. Creating a composition of the

A Composition

season’s bounty could make an attractive photo for potential buyers.

We hope you enjoy autumn. Whether you’re searching for images for publishing and merchandise use, or a photographer thinking of getting into microstock photography, visit Polylooks.co.uk and see what we have on offer.

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