Who knew? With all of the stock photo prices dropping, and as the big suppliers keep buying up the small upstarts, the market has changed dramatically.
The folks at Photoshelter , known for being a photographers online sales service, are poised to make a strong logical move in this world, and they did their homework.
By polling the people that BUY stock photography, they found out what was lacking.
Specifically, what categories of shots.
And with the current, more natural, or UGC style trends in marketing, the existing images seem staged or worse, outdated.

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This is a HUGE opportunity for photographers to jump in and service the needs of your future clients. Ad agencies, publications and broadcast networks are waiting for your work.
The door for these new images is wide open right now.
But MAINLY for certain categories.

Someone else did the research for you and found out what the buyers are buying.
Now you just have to shoot it.

This next part will give you all the info you need:

PHOTOSHELTER ANNOUNCES ‘SHOOT! THE DAY’ GLOBAL EVENT & COMPETITION
AND LAUNCHES ‘SCHOOL OF STOCK’ EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE
With Co-Sponsors Nikon, Adorama Camera, Shoot Digital,
Event Will Mobilize Photographers Worldwide in Movement to Replenish Stock Photo Supply;

School of Stock to Provide the Definitive Guide for Meeting Image Buyers’ Needs

New York, NY, June 12, 2008 – PhotoShelter Inc., the leading online destination where more than 32,000 photographers sell stock photography and access powerful solutions for e-commerce and image storage, today announced two initiatives designed to replenish the global stock photo supply in areas of the greatest buyer demand. Together with sponsors Nikon, Adorama Camera, and Shoot Digital, PhotoShelter kicked off registration for Shoot! The Day , a first-of-its-kind event taking place on July 20, 2008, that will bring together thousands of photographers across the world to share insights and take pictures in key categories. In addition, PhotoShelter today launched The School of Stock , the definitive new online guide to understanding what stock photo buyers’ want and how they want it – directly from the minds of leading image buyers and successful photographers.
Today’s announcements are a direct response to insights from a recent stock photography industry survey conducted by PhotoShelter that captured the impressions of over 700 photo buyers, editors and art directors. The survey confirmed the stock photo supply is outdated and has run dry in key, often used areas. With these new initiatives, PhotoShelter is mobilizing the global community of photographers to address buyers’ most critical needs.

“It’s surprising to see such a huge communication gap between two sides of an industry that depend on each other to succeed. Buyers are searching in frustration for fresh images, while thousands of talented photographers worldwide continue to invest time and resources into shooting for stock without any awareness of buyers’ most pressing needs,” said Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. “Starting today, PhotoShelter is closing the gap. We’re creating an unprecedented dialogue between photographers and image buyers. We’re then empowering photographers with access to new information to create an evolving pipeline of imagery that is precisely attuned to customer demand. And, we’re all going to have some fun together while we do it.”

“This industry has been missing fresh thinking for a long time,” said Doug Schneider, director of photography, Benchmark Education Company. “It seems like PhotoShelter has nailed a solution for us. I’m so excited to see how the photographers across the world respond, and of course, how quickly I can access their new images.”

“From professional shooters to casual shutterbugs, this is a great chance for photographers across the world to learn about the important role that quality stock photography plays in everyday life,” said Edward Fasano, general manager for marketing, SLR System Products at Nikon, Inc. “By actively contributing as the exclusive camera manufacturer for Shoot! The Day, our aim is to educate the photographer, and provide them with the equipment and the knowledge that helps to unlock the creative potential that resides in all of us.”

Shoot! The Day: July 20, 2008
On Shoot! The Day, photographers worldwide are invited to help replenish the current supply of stock images in five key categories – active seniors, youth culture, family and kids lifestyle, business settings and still life. All participants will have the opportunity to compete individually and in groups for prizes provided by sponsors, and for recognition and sales. Simultaneously, at Shoot Digital Studios in New York City, hundreds of photographers will gather for a full day of symposiums, and 20 photographers will be chosen to accompany renowned experts for live, on-location photo shoot seminars focused on the same five image categories, with best-in-class gear provided by Nikon.

Beginning today, photographers can register free of charge, at www.shoottheday.com to participate in all Shoot! The Day events including:
• Shoot! Anywhere Online Community, and Remote Groups. Photographers worldwide are encouraged to register for the event and participate remotely either individually or as part of a regional group or association. Participants can create their own local events that include organized shoots in the day’s five main image categories and where appropriate, additional instruction and parties. Several PhotoShelter partners have already started assembling online groups and remote events in key cities worldwide, including the Advertising Photographers of America , Slideluck Potshow , and The Strobist . The Shoot! The Day global community, accessible through www.shoottheday.com, will begin growing online starting today.
• Shoot! On-Location. 20 spots are available, by application only, for PhotoShelter Collection contributing photographers to join recognized experts for live photo shoots based on the day’s five key image categories. Top-of-the-line equipment will be provided by Nikon, and models, stylists, makeup artists and photo assistants will be provided by PhotoShelter. The application deadline is June 25, 2008 and selected photographers will be announced June 30, 2008.
• NYC Live Gathering. 500 spots are available, on a first-come, first-served basis, to register and attend this all-day event at Shoot Digital Studios filled with demonstrations and panel discussions featuring photographer, technical and image buyer experts. Partners Nikon, Adorama and other leading industry brands will be on hand offering hands-on product demos and special discounts. The event will culminate with an evening party and a sampling of the five on-location photo shoots from earlier in the day.
• Competition, Prizes, and Image Sales Opportunity. All photographers who take pictures in the five Shoot! The Day categories are encouraged to submit their work to the PhotoShelter Collection, PhotoShelter’s stock photo marketplace, where images can be licensed as stock photography to top buyers. By submitting images by July 27, 2008, photographers will be eligible for prizes and large scale recognition. Best images from Shoot! The will be selected by a panel of leading image buyers. Winners will be announced September 8, 2008.

Photographers Get Schooled on Stock…by The Customers
The School of Stock is PhotoShelter’s groundbreaking new effort that will provide photographers with clear guidance on how to succeed in the stock photography business.
Online articles and discussions on an ongoing basis will provide practical insights culled from interviews with stock photography’s “power users”– art buyers, photo editors and creative professionals at leading magazines, advertising agencies, publishing companies and corporations. Moreover, recognized pro photographers provide production insights on shooting for stock. Participating buyers for the features include professionals from media outlets like McGraw Hill, Discovery Communications, American Express Custom Solutions, MTV and advertising firms like Grey Worldwide and Agency RX. School of Stock content is presented for all experience levels including the seasoned photographers looking for new ideas, the art or commission photographer who wants to get into stock for the first time, or the hobbyist who believes their work might have commercial potential.

PhotoShelter Industry Survey: Buyers Are Bored
Through its industry survey, PhotoShelter uncovered stock photo buyer discontent, with nearly 75% of respondents indicating they have seen all the content currently available through major channels. Buyers indicated the worst categories in stock photography, in terms of quality and breadth of available imagery, were healthcare (87.7%), multicultural and diversity lifestyle (86.1%), senior citizens lifestyle (85.6%) and consumer technology and products (84.4%). The full results are available at the School of Stock .

About PhotoShelter Inc.
PhotoShelter is an online photo community where 32,000 of the world’s photographers find new opportunities and liberation from the traditional model of selling their work.
The PhotoShelter Collection is a global stock photography marketplace where photographers from 130 different countries contribute over 4,000 new images daily for rights-managed and royalty-free licensing. Through PhotoShelter, photographers keep an unprecedented 70% of every sale as compared to the industry standard of 35%. The Collection provides image buyers with a freshness that results when accomplished pros and undiscovered hobbyists share their distinct perspectives in an edited collection designed to add diversity and authenticity to any project.

PhotoShelter Personal Archive is the leading online solution that enables independent photographers to succeed in selling their images directly to clients. Personal Archive provides state-of-the-art tools for image storage and protection, searchable galleries and slideshows and ecommerce capabilities for easy website integration and instant online sales of prints and licenses. A true solution designed to make the business of photography easier to manage – Personal Archive offers security, global accessibility, and advanced marketing tools so photographers can make their images work harder for them.

To join our community, visit www.photoshelter.com.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.”

So there you have it. Pretty big news, right?
Seems like they’ve just given you an assignment and an opportunity.
All you have to do is create great photographs.
Of course. Like always.

And for those new to stock here are some guidelines for submissions:

The photos must be submitted through the Collection and in JPEG or TIFF format only and at the highest possible resolution. For a detailed answer I cut and pasted this from the Collection specs which should give you more than you want to know:

For JPEG files, you should save the images at a very high quality (minimum JPEG Level 10). File format is based on the file extension only. TIFF files should be saved as PC-byte order using uncompressed or LZW lossless compression. TIFF files submitted using Zip or Jpeg image compression will be rejected.

File Size:
11MB – 125MB Uncompressed Only

We encourage you to submit the largest file size you have, up to 125MB uncompressed. This will enable us to create the widest range of sellable sizes to buyer (e.g., from cell phones to billboards). Files exceeding 125MB uncompressed will be rejected by the file uploader.
At a minimum, files must be 11MB (uncompressed). This file size equates to roughly a 4-megapixel camera. You can best determine this by opening an image in PhotoShop and selecting “Image ->Image Size” from the file menu. For a standard 4:3 sensor size, the dimensions would be approximately 1700×2300 to attain this file size.

To determine the appropriate file size, the formula is:
Width x Height x 3 (3 bytes of data per pixel)/(1024*1024) = File Size in MB

Got all that?

Good luck to all!
Cheers!
Damon