Hello 2010.

Photography News that's Fit to Blog (This Week)
by Kerry Raminiak

Greetings and happy new year! We all hope your holidays were happy and healthy. Let’s kick off the new year with some industry goodies of last month that deserve a look:

PDN Online has two articles we have enjoyed and re-read…
1. How to make your photo subjects look like a pop star using Photoshop. Featuring a New York photography exhibition about famous 60’s star Gigi Gaston by Josh Gosfield, this interview gives brief tips on how to shoot and modify images to visually create superstardom using just about anyone as your subject. How does this all come together you ask? Gigi Gaston never existed… but her photography memorabilia would make you think otherwise.

2. Scott Nathan’s ads on Facebook featuring pop musician Katy Perry has been pulled. The Facebook ads were disabled because the photos he took of Ms. Perry were commissioned for a Too Faced Cosmetics advertisement while he was using the photos to promote his photography business. The conflict has nothing to do with ad-rights or usage policies… but rather, Facebook deemed the advertisements as “irrelevant or inappropriate.” Sure, sure… Katy Perry posing like a pin-up maaaay be construed as inappropriate but I don’t think that’s the point (since the booze ads on FB are certainly more scandalous). Do artistic photographers have a unique challenge in promoting their commercial experience? The comments section of the article takes many stances which I thought was rather thought provoking.

Marathon Press offers free blog header downloads…
The first set are holiday themed (if such still floats your boat rather than remind you of bloat) but if you scroll down there are more “generically” themed items for you to use as you wish. Kudos Marathon Press on your work to help photography professionals better market themselves.

Blend Images wins with innovations in stock photography
To directly quote the announcement (found here with the images): “Blend Images, a stock photography agency focusing on multi-ethnic imagery, has won an award for design at the The American Graphic Design Awards, a national design competition sponsored by Graphic Design USA magazine. The ad campaign, with three print advertisement, ‘Strong’, ‘Spiritual’, and ‘Family’, challenges stereotypes by rethinking labels we place on people and culture.” Beautiful photography and buzz worthy, especially if you are seeking a great introduction to the new look, feel and emotion that is the most recent revolution in commercial stock photography.

Update on our tradeshow participation
Just a head’s up… after much deliberation we have decided to not attend any upcoming tradeshows. We’ve got nothing bad to say about them in any way which is why you can still get free badges from us if you are interested in attending ImagingUSA (starting this weekend) and WPPI (in Vegas in early March). Click here for the details. Bad news if you wanted to meet and hang out in person. Good news if you were looking forward to our 2010 announcements to come a little bit early.