If your career goal involves content creation and digital media management, you need to maintain control of your online identity by building a portfolio website. This past weekend in the MCDM, we’ve discussed the fundamentals of creating an effective online portfolio. If you haven’t had the chance to attend this workshop, this 9-step tutorial presentation will give you an outline for developing a content strategy, selecting appropriate work for publication, as well as building and maintaining your portfolio without falling into common pitfalls.

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Every year, the University of Washington honors the extraordinary accomplishments of a small number of its 23,000 classified and professional personnel through the Distinguished Staff Award. Nominees consistently surpass the bounds of their basic job description by embodying the University’s values of integrity, diversity, excellence, collaboration, innovation, and respect. This year, we are pleased to announce that our MCDM Associate Director, Scott Macklin, was nominated for this prestigious award. As part of the nomination process, Scott’s colleagues had this to say about him and his work.

“With all of his past accomplishments, the decision Scott made to join us full time in a leadership role at the MCDM says everything about him.  He’s a seeker and a storyteller, someone who does not rest easily on title, but is driven by a commitment to make better teachers and learners of us all through his unfailing service and remarkable ability to communicate.”

– Hanson Hosein, Director, Master of Communication in Digital Media, UW

“Scott’s visionary leadership of UWired, Catalyst, and PETTT had been lauded by many, on our campus and beyond. UWired fundamentally and permanently altered the culture of education at the UW and the results have been astounding.  Scott is reticent to speak about his accomplishments, but as Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.”  What he brings to his work goes far beyond what is required and expected.  Scott is magnanimous with his expertise, generous with his knowledge, unbridled and energetic, inclusive in word and deed, and resilient (a quality much in demand during these times.)”

– Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, Dean of University Libraries, UW

“Scott’s work extended to the practical, but always in creative ways: he helped us design and build new online systems for collecting and reviewing applications; for tracking student progress and keeping clear information on advising; and for monitoring course planning information. Scott also taught us to “tell our stories” in the College of Education using video and multimedia.  Scott worked with a group of our Teacher Education Program students to create a video that described feeling of separateness and alienation experienced by minority students in that program; we showed it many times, and we still use it to make the point that we need to actively listen to our students’ experiences.”

– Stephen Kerr, Chair, Area of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, UW

“Scott’s dedication to forging alliances between the MCDM program and the greater community continues to pay dividends for both the Department of Communication and the University of Washington. By consistently providing both students and partner organizations with win-win situations, he had created a truly self-sustaining course framework that will thrive for years to come.”

– Filiz Efe, MCDM Alumna and Multimedia Project Coordinator, College of Education, UW

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In order to have a better idea about the expansion of the industry, I will particularly examine the market leader Getty Images and its major acquisitions beginning with its foundation from 1995.

In 1995, the bankers Mark Getty and Jonathan Klein founded Getty Images to bring the fragmented stock photography business into the digital age. It was the first company to license imagery online. They stepped in the stock photography business by acquiring the London based Tony Stone Images.

In 1996, Getty Images acquired the Hulton Deutsch collection, which shored up Getty’s historical archives of 19th and 20th century photography. (McDonald, 2004) In the same year, the acquisition of Gamma Liaison helped Getty gain a foothold in contemporary news and photojournalism. (DeFoore, 2008)

In 1997, Getty Images acquired PhotoDisc with the foresight to invest in royalty free imagery and illustrations years before the business really took off. (DeFoore, 2008) In 1998, the acquisition of the Allsport agency cemented Getty Images’ position as the go-to agency for sports imagery. (DeFoore, 2008)

In 1999, Getty Images acquired The Image Bank from Eastman Kodak for $183 million in cash. The Image Bank was the leading stock photography corporation for the previous twenty years. It also led the stock photography to a global business form. (McDonald, 2004) Getty Images acquired the Art.com for around $110 million in the same year. (DeFoore, 2008)

In 2000, the acquisition of Visual Communications Group for $250 million reinforced Getty Images’ strong leadership position in the visual content market and brought the Company’s collection to approximately 70 million images and an estimated 30,000 hours of film. (Getty Images, 2000)

In 2003, Getty Images strengthened its entertainment coverage through ImageDirect’s experience. ImageDirect was a big provider of music, entertainment and fashion photography to leading newspapers, magazines and websites around the world. (Getty Images, 2003)

In 2005, Getty Images acquired the London-based Digital Vision, one of the world’s leading royalty-free photography businesses, for $165 million. This acquisition confirmed the company as the leading creator and provider of royalty-free imagery worldwide. (Getty Images, 2005 Apr)

In the same year, Getty Images signed a licensing partnership with Universal Studios, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies. The footage from Universal Studios Film Library became available for licensing exclusively at the website of Getty Images. The wealth of subject matter – all shot on 35mm or Super 35mm and transferred from the original camera negative to High Definition – includes fire, explosions, stunts and special effects, along with popular categories such as nature, military, and business. (Getty Images, 2005, May 23)

2005 was also staged the acquisition of Photonica and Iconica, producing and distributing two of the world’s leading collections of cutting edge, high-end rights-managed imagery from some of the most talented and creative photographers in Europe, the United States and Japan. These collections are considered the “hidden gems” of the imagery business – highly respected by creative professionals but with limited global sales, marketing and distribution. As a result of this acquisition, both Photonica and Iconica started to be distributed via gettyimages.com. (Getty Images, 2005, May 13)

In 2006, Getty Images acquired Stockbyte, a leading independent creator of royalty-free imagery. Getty was no stranger to buying out Web 2.0 companies anymore. Acquisition for $135 million in cash brought significant wholly-owned content imagery. (Getty Images, 2006)

In 2007, Getty Images made a licensing partnership with Warner Bros. Entertainment. This partnership offered editors, publishers and filmmakers a convenient new way to access to a Compelling Collection of imagery from the Studio’s movies and television programs. Customers who visit the website of Getty Images could access thousands of original stills and film clips from Warner Bros. (Getty Images, 2007, March 13)

In the same year, Getty Images stepped in the citizen photojournalism with the acquisition of Scoopt, an emerging source for user-generated editorial content, opened the doors of mainstream media to amateurs. Amateur photographers who find themselves in the right place at the right time would soon have exposure to a worldwide audience. (Getty Images, 2007, March 12)

At the same time, Getty Images has entered the commercial music licensing business with the acquisition of Pump Audio, a leading provider of quality independent music to content creators around the world. Getty Images expanded to a platform that allows customers to license pre- cleared, original professional quality music to enhance their broadcast, film, video, advertising and online projects. (Getty Images, 2007, June)

Again in 2007, Getty Images strengthened its position in the entertainment business with the acquisition of WireImage. Getty Images generated new imagery for their celebrity and entertainment collections and make it available for online distribution globally. (Getty Images, 2007, April)

In 2008, Getty Images made an exclusive partnership with Flickr, a division of Yahoo! Inc. and one of the world’s largest photo sharing communities. This partnership allows Getty Images to invite Flickr members to participate in a Flickr branded collection on the website of Getty Images for licensing to Getty Images’ creative, commercial and editorial customers. (Getty Images, 2008, July 09)

In July 2008, Hellman & Friedman, a leading private equity investment firm, acquired Getty Images, Inc for $2.4 billion. (Getty Images, 2008, July 02) In the same year, Time Inc. and Getty Images jointly launched LIFE.com. This provided access to the most comprehensive iconic and professional photography collections available anywhere online. (Getty Images, 2008, Sep. 23)

While I was preparing this report, the two major competitors of Getty Images were Corbis, which is also a Seattle based company owned by Bill Gates and New York based Jupiterimages. On February 23rd 2009, Getty Images acquired one of its two major competitors, Jupiterimages for $96 million. The sale of Jupiterimages to Getty Images positioned Getty Images to the unquestionable leading corporation of the visual content industry. (Getty Images, 2009, Feb. 23)

Above acquisitions and agreements demonstrate the expansion and transformation of stock photography in fifteen years. Getty Images not only acquired the biggest visual archives in the world but also stepped in web 2.0 by user-generated content websites such as Flickr and Skoopt. Getty Images transformed the business to visual content industry by including footage and multi-media products, as well as other forms of premium digital content in its product range. Today, images of all kinds and from all periods have become increasingly visible and are available for everybody with a wide variety of uses. Anybody who has access to a computer has the potential of publishing images for online sale.

REFERENCES

DeFoore, J. (2008, February 25). A History of Getty Images’ Acquisitions, State of the Art, Retrieved February 27, 2009, from http://stateoftheart.popphoto.com/blog/2008/02/a-history-of-ge.html

Getty Images, Inc. (2000, March 22). Getty Images Completes Acquisition of Visual Communications Group [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2003, January 23). Getty Images Acquires Entertainment Photography Company ImageDirect [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=69&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2005, April 20). Getty Images Acquires Digital Vision, Significantly Expands Imagery Market Leadership Worldwide [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=106&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2005, May 13). Getty Images to Acquire Photonica and Iconica [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=104&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2005, May 23). Universal Studios Film Footage Now Available for Licensing Exclusively at gettyimages.com [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=103&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2006, April 06). Getty Images Acquires Stockbyte, its Largest Image Partner and a Leading Independent Creator of Royalty-Free Imagery [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=133&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2007, March 12). Getty Images Acquires Scoopt With Vision of Making Citizen Photojournalism More Accessible to the Mainstream Media [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=148&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2007, March 13). Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Star-Studded Photography and Footage Now Available at gettyimages.com [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=147&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2007, April 26). Getty Images Completes Acquisition of WireImage [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=144&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2007, June 20). Getty Images Enters the Commercial Music Licensing Business [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=140&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2008, July 09). Getty Images and Flickr Announce Exclusive Partnership to Offer New Collection of Creative Imagery [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=180&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2008, July 02). Getty Images Announces Completion of Acquisition by Hellman & Friedman [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=179&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2008, September 23). Time Inc. and Getty Images Jointly Launch LIFE.com [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=185&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2009, February 19). Getty Images Introduces New “Grants for Good” Program [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=191&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

Getty Images, Inc. (2009, February 23). Jupitermedia Announces Completion Of Sale Of Jupiterimages To Getty Images and Change Of Jupitermedia Name to WebMediaBrands [Press Release]. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://company.gettyimages.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=192&isource=corporate_website_ind_press_release

McDonald, S. (2004, October 15). Hulton Archive – History In Pictures. Inside the Archive in Getty Images. Retrieved February 28, 2009, from http://corporate.gettyimages.com/masters2/conservation/articles/HAHistory.pdf

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“With the introduction of digital technology, our sector, the markets we service, the rights we grant, and our workflow have dramatically changed.”

- BAPLA – British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies

I want to discuss about the dramatic change on this industry with the advent of digital technologies from 1990. The apparent two changes are the workflow and the product of stock photography.

First, the structural model of the stock photography business has transformed from ‘picture libraries’ to ‘visual content industry’ with the expansion into new areas of image production and supply.

Second, digital technologies have changed the overall workflow of stock photography industry. I divide this workflow in three categories: (1) production, (2) storage and (3) distribution. The major differences between the pre-digital -until 1990- and digital period clearly shows the structural transformation in stock photography industry. I made a comparison chart to picture these differences on the production, storage and distribution stages, changed with the advancement of digital technologies.

The year 1990 was a turning point for a technological infrastructure transformation: Internet browser developed leading to World Wide Web. Digital distribution systems started with CD-ROM technology and continued online via websites. This fundamental shift in the communication technologies had caused a radical reorganization stock photography industry. All the aspects of stock photography workflow moved online. In other words, digital technologies disrupted and accelerated the ‘stock photography business’ to ‘visual content industry’.

Initial Reference

Frosh, P. (2003). The Image Factory: Consumer Culture, Photography and The Visual Content Industry. New Technologies/New Cultures Series. London: Berg.

Image Credits: I randomly picked the thumbnail images on top of my chart from Getty Images collections in order to describe the stock photography product. I used them in low resolution for educational purposes.

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