The F Stops Here » iStockphoto

iStockphoto Creates a Collection of Free Stock Images for Google’s Blogger Template Designer

Jess — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:12:38 +0000

Calgary, Alberta, March 11, 2010. iStockphoto®, the world’s busiest online stock image marketplace, today announced a new collection of images and illustrations available free of charge to Google Blogger users as part of the new Blogger™ Template Designer.

Blogger is the leading blogging product in the world with hundreds of millions of page views per day and millions of active bloggers. The Blogger Template Designer makes it simple for bloggers to express themselves through unique and beautiful web design.

It’s easy to choose a base template, customize the background image, and modify the layout to create a professional site on the web. Users can access the iStock image collection directly from the Blogger Template Designer. There they will find a diverse collection of free images from iStockphoto. With just a few clicks, people can add punch and personality to their blogs.

“The Blogger Template designer empowers everyone to create a truly unique and beautiful blog, letting people express themselves in style on the web,” said Blogger Product Manager Siobhan Quinn. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with iStock, the market leader in the global microstock industry, to bring quality imagery to bloggers and help them create compelling designs for their content.”

Blogger makes it easy for bloggers to choose iStock images from the Blogger interface. Users seeking higher quality images or more options can easily click through from Blogger to iStockphoto where they can browse and purchase additional images. iStockphoto offers millions of photos, illustrations and videos to choose from at prices as low as one dollar.

“Being a content provider for Blogger will excite iStockphoto contributors and raise iStock’s profile with several new types of users, many of whom have not used micropayment stock images before,” said Danny Martin, iStockphoto’s director of business development.

Introducing Thinkstock: a New Kind of Image Subscription

Jess — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:36:25 +0000

New York, NY, Feb 01, 2010. Getty Images, Inc., the world’s leading creator and distributor of visual and digital media content, today launches Thinkstock (www.thinkstock.com), a new image subscription product that provides one of the most complete offerings available in the marketplace. Developed for value-conscious creative professionals, Thinkstock is one of the only subscription products to offer this level of quality, simplicity and value all in one place, with world-class legal protection.

“Thinkstock is the new industry-standard in the image subscription business,” said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. “Thinkstock will change both the reality and customers’ perceptions of image subscriptions. By delivering an affordable and simple offering with excellent legal protection, Thinkstock provides one of the most complete subscriptions available anywhere, with premium, professional and user-generated imagery all in one place.”

Thinkstock offers creative professionals access to a comprehensive collection of imagery that is unmatched in its quality and variety, and provides all file sizes regardless of the subscription package. Thinkstock offers millions of select royalty-free images, vectors and illustrations from the industry’s leading content providers: Getty Images, iStockphoto and Jupiterimages.

The collection combines both user-generated content and professionally art-directed images ensuring Thinkstock provides a genuinely diverse range of concepts and subjects with original and creative interpretations. Each week, Thinkstock will add thousands of new, premium images, all of which have been reviewed against the strict legal standards that Getty Images is known for in the industry.

The streamlined Thinkstock subscription plan complete with broad global usage rights, enables customers to begin using their imagery immediately after it is downloaded to their desktops. The monthly or yearly subscription options, priced at $249 and $2499 respectively, grant customers access to the entire library of Thinkstock images with downloads of 25 images per day, up to 750 images per month. Additionally, Thinkstock will soon offer multiple-shot image packs, with prices ranging from $59 – $999, ideal for customers with smaller budgets or who require imagery for a specific project.

Recognizing that today’s customers are working against accelerated deadlines to bring their creative projects to market, Thinkstock’s simple, user-friendly website – powered by Getty Images – makes it easier than ever to find the right image for any project. The site utilizes Getty Images’ proprietary keyword algorithms, with a vocabulary of 140,000 separate terms, to ensure the best image results are delivered, even for complex and conceptual keyword entries. More than just a convenient way to access imagery in an instant, Thinkstock also provides complimentary legal protection as part of any image pack, monthly or yearly subscription. For any image that is used in compliance with the licensing terms, Thinkstock will protect customers against copyright claims and will defend, and be responsible for, any damages and expenses up to $10,000 for each image downloaded.

For more on Thinkstock, visit www.thinkstock.com.

iStockphoto Legally Guarantees All Image, Video and Audio Files in Five Million-Plus Collection

Jess — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:15:17 +0000

Industry pioneer formally protects customers from copyright, moral right, trademark and other intellectual property and rights of privacy disputes up to $250,000

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Sept. 16, 2009. Starting today, iStockphoto becomes the first micropayment royalty-free image, video and audio provider to legally guarantee all files in its collection – at no cost to the customer. iStock promises that files purchased and used in accordance with the iStock license, will not breach any trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights or rights of privacy.

The iStock Legal Guarantee provides that, if a customer receives a claim, iStock will cover the customer’s legal costs and direct damages to a combined total of $10,000. iStock customers looking for additional peace of mind can also purchase an extension of the Legal Guarantee for 100 iStock credits, increasing iStock’s coverage for legal fees and direct damages up to a combined total of $250,000.

“Our first line of defense has always been – and continues to be – our rigorous inspection process,” said Kelly Thompson, Chief Operating Officer of iStockphoto. “The Legal Guarantee is simply an added layer of protection for our customers, many of whom are using microstock more than ever before.”

Guaranteed Multimedia Files — What it Means

The iStock Legal Guarantee provides added assurance for clients. From large advertising agencies and their clients to small businesses developing a website, presentation or blog, iStock is one of the safest and most affordable destinations for multimedia files.

Every file accepted into iStockphoto’s collection has undergone a meticulous examination. In addition to following some of the strictest quality standards in the industry, iStock’s seasoned team of inspectors go to great lengths to ensure submissions follow the appropriate legal and ethical guidelines.

“There are certainly millions of images available on the Web, but most are not cleared for commercial usage. Creative Commons images can be perfect for some projects, but there are little to no formal inspections on those files, so iStock offers a much safer and suitable alternative when using multimedia,” Thompson added.

As the microstock industry leader, iStock also keeps a technical wiki on copyright and trademark issues around the world, as it is not always obvious what is prohibited to shoot as stock, and the rules vary in nearly every country. Who knew, for example that certain stitching on jeans is protected by trademark? iStock knows.

iStockphoto Debuts Best of Breed Search Technology and the Vetta Image Collection

Jess — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:35:54 +0000

photo by kevinruss

Calgary, Alberta, June 24, 2009. A recent survey of more than 28,000 iStockphoto customers found that search and quality of collection are two of the top reasons for choosing iStock. Enter Best Match 2.0 and the Vetta™ Collection. The Best Match algorithm provides more relevant results and saves people time when searching. Seventy-eight percent of customers found it reduced search times – 20 percent of those said search times were reduced by more than 50 percent. Vetta is a collection of top-quality iStock images hand-selected for exquisite art direction and intelligently executed concepts.

“Part of why we remain the microstock market leader is because we challenge ourselves to do two things: keep iStock’s collection the highest quality in the world, and help customers find the right files faster,” said Kelly Thompson, COO of iStockphoto. “By improving search efficiency and relevancy with Best Match 2.0 while launching the high-caliber Vetta Collection, we’re again improving the customer experience.”

photo by Casarsa

Best Match 2.0

Best Match 2.0 is a new proprietary search technology. As it constantly learns from customer behavior, the advanced algorithm returns some of the most accurate and relevant search results in the industry.

Visitors can further customize their search experience by using the Best Match Sort Slider, located in Advanced Search. Setting the Best Match Sort Slider to ‘high’ causes the search engine to prioritize files with primary subject keywords. Setting it to ‘low’ gives more prominence to other factors such as concepts and secondary subject matter in the image. A ‘high’ slider position will find exactly what a designer is searching for whereas a ‘low’ slider position will show a wider variety of files and is great for brainstorming.

“What’s even more exciting is phase two of this technology,” said Thompson. “We’ve already started collecting search data based on the country and language in which the search originated. The next version of Best Match will use this language and country data to deliver superior, locally relevant search results.”

For a deeper explanation of Best Match, visit:

http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=630

Vetta Collection Details

Vetta, Italian for peak, is the answer for creative professionals looking for exceptional imagery. Submitted by Exclusive iStock contributors, every Vetta image is hand-selected by our seasoned inspection team for its art direction, well-executed concept and uniqueness.

On launch, Vetta will contain 35,000 images and vector illustrations meeting the collection’s strict acceptance criteria. Prices will range from $20 for small to $70 USD for XXXL. Visit iStockphoto.com/vetta or simply perform a search on the site and Vetta images will appear indicated by a gold camera icon.

photo by H-Gall

About iStockphoto

iStockphoto offers affordable inspiration with royalty-free photos, illustrations, video, audio and Flash® files. Using the most accurate search in the business, customers download a file at least every second from a collection of more than five million files for business, marketing and personal projects. iStockphoto started in 2000, pioneering the micropayment photography business model and has become one of the most successful and profitable user-generated sites in the world. iStockphoto pays out approximately $1.2 million weekly in artist royalties. iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images.