The Dangers of Stock Photography

I'd be smiling too if I had that many laptops. Remember to scope out your competition before buying stock photography.

Business Software for Photographers

ASMP put together this handy list of pricing guides and back-office software for photographers.

Work for Hire Contracts

I was asked recently to assemble a post about Work for Hire contracts to give artists and students the opportunity to read about this process and educate themselves before entering into one with a client. Generally it's considered a bad idea for an artist to sign a Work for Hire contract because it strips the artist of all rights and claim of ownership. There are exceptions of course, and ultimately it's up to you whether you sign it or decline it, but you should know what you're getting into. Let's start with a good 'ol Wikipedia definition of a Work for Hire Contract. Now let's take a look at an essay by Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin titled, Working with Freelancers: The Work for Hire Doctrine. In it, he represents the client hiring the freelance artist. Now for the artists point of view: Photographers should check out this primer on Work for Hire contacts by ASMP (The American Society of Media Photographers), while Illustrators and Designers can review this article, What does "Work for Hire" mean for designers? by AIGA, the professional association for design.

Photoshop Express

After a few months of teasing, Adobe has released Photoshop Express to the masses. Gadget blog Gizmodo has a write up, alongside Adobe's press release. This new online version of photoshop will sync with myspace, facebook, and eventually - flickr. The idea of free Photoshop for every myspace user is a little scary, but I guess when it's estimated that 60% of your product is being pirated, you have to make some changes to the business model.