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Digital Submission Guidelines
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INFORMATION FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Thank you for your interest in DDB Stock Photography, LLC. We are always interested in adding new talent to the 109 professional photographers we currently represent. We need to refresh our files on a continuous basis and show new perspectives from new photographers. We are a dynamic, growing agency, not a static one resting on old laurels. We aren't content to simply lease our current file of ca. 500,000 color transparencies and 15,000 black and white prints. We want new, current, vibrant pictures from new, highly talented photographers working their way up through the legions of the average. You must be a professional photographer to submit. We represent only true professionals. It's an extremely competitive world out there and only a professional photographer can compete successfully. Please stop reading now if you don't:

have at least 20,000 images from Latin America and the Caribbean on file, or;
are a working professional shooting regularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, or;
have several assignments to shoot Latin America and the Caribbean this year and next.

We represent professional photographers from throughout the USA and Latin America. We are interested in all Mexican, Central American, South American and Caribbean subjects. We also need a great variety of pictures that depict Hispanic culture in the USA, especially from areas with large Hispanic populations like California, Texas and Florida. The largest growth sector of our market was travel, but high fuel prices and devaluation of the dollar have shrunk that market. We have fallen back on trade and text book publishers who are relatively unaffected by economic ups and downs. The trade and textbook market is very large, but it's also demanding, highly focused, strongly buffeted by intense cultural normalization and increasingly restricted geographically. We can and will teach you to shoot for the textbook market if you are interested.

European sales of DDB Stock dupes and original incamera dupes are conducted through MARKA, Milano, IFA-Bilderteam, Germany, B&U International, Netherlands, Explorer Stock, France, AGE Fotostock, Spain, Stock Fotos, Spain, Michael Photobank, Czech Republic and Focus, Argentina. Several specialized stock agencies market our images in Great Britain and Asian sales are handled by Uniphoto, Tokyo. We are represented on a trial basis in India and Turkey, and are developing relationships with agencies in Australia, New Zealand and the richer Latin American countries.

We have an active digitization program and you can be sure that your best images will be available throughout the world. We don't do "Royalty Free" because we don't want to dilute our images by turning them into cheap commodities. We prefer digital submissions but still accept submissions of original 35 mm transparencies, regardless of the fact that we will have to spend a fortune to digitize, recaption, and keyword the best of them.

VERY IMPORTANT:

The agency does not review one shot series of vacation pictures period. Please do not send vacation pictures. You must be a professional photographer to contribute to the agency files. Only the very highest quality professional photographs are marketable in the EXTREMELY competitive stock photo business. Plan on submitting at least 500-2000 new images a year. We don't require this, but it is the only real track to success in stock photography. We always welcome submissions from established Latin American stock photography agencies and do very well marketing their work.

TERMS:

Rights to reproduction of color transparencies and black-and-white prints are sold on a 50% commission basis with remittance made to photographers quarterly. Exceptions to this include sales made through our affiliate offices around the world where we receive a 60% cut, leaving the photographer with 30%. DDB Stock negotiates only one-time use rights. The pictures on file remain the property of the photographer. The agency asks only that a photographer agree to place physical 35mm and larger images in the files for at least five years and digital images in the files for 10 years. Digital images scanned, keyworded, and recaptioned from physical images must be left on the server while active for 10 years. This assures that the agency will have ample opportunity to recover the high costs of digitizing, keywording, expanding captions, and placing a new photographer's transparencies on-line in the digital files. We do not charge the photographer a penny to convert slides to digital, even though it costs the agency $3-$5 per image to process and maintain images in the on-line, high-resolution digital collection. This also keeps the images in our files for the hottest selling period which occurs from the 12 to 60 month after they enter the files. It is important to have the images in the files when repeat interest is expressed by an editor who noted, but did not use them from the first request and review.

Photographers who want physical 35mm and larger transparencies returned from the files prior to the five year minimum must agree to pay a $15.00 hourly pull fee plus shipping charges for early return of physical imagery. We charge back our processing expenses to photographers that wish to pull images from the digital files before the 10 year minimum. Processing charges of $5 per digital image are charged for return before the 5th year. processing charges of $3 per digital image are levied for return after the 5th year. There is no charge for return of digital images after the 10th year.

DDB Stock has not found it necessary to enter into formal contract with photographers. The terms outlined here are more than fair and are equivalent to the well understood tenets of the trade. Over 90 percent of the photographers who have submitted material to DDB Stock over the past 10 years are still with the agency and are happy with their sales.

LIABILITY:

DDB Stock handles all prints and transparencies accepted for leasing with the utmost care. All images in our possession are carefully stored and shipped in protective mounts. They are very carefully archived against damage by fire, heat or humidity and are only handled by trained picture professionals. However, the agency cannot accept any liability what-so-ever for loss or damage of transparencies. DDB Stock does not have insurance against loss or damage resulting from fire, theft, vandalism, water, negligence, or accident to transparencies deposited with us.

If a slide is lost or damaged by a client, we make every effort to negotiate just compensation. The fees recovered as a result of loss or damage by a client are handled as if a sale had occurred, ie the fee is split 50/50 between the photographer and agency. This may appear exorbitant, but the average loss costs the agency more in staff time and legal fees than we net from compensation. DDB Stock recommends that photographers placing original transparencies and prints in our files maintain their own full insurance coverage on the images.

Please Read, Print, Sign and include with first submission

RATES:

Inflation adjusted ASMP '84 rates are received for most picture rentals, though competitive pressures dictate that quantity discounts be offered to clients who use over 10 images or agree to expanded program rates. Rates for common textbook, book and magazine use generally range from $190.00 to 1250.00. Model releases are welcome, but not absolutely necessary for our predominately editorial projects. The photographer should understand that model released pictures frequently bring an exponentially higher fee and it is well worth the time and effort to secure them.

CLIENTS:

include book, textbook, magazine and encyclopedia publishers, Website design firms, general design firms, post card companies, calendar companies, cd music covers, dvd movie covers, advertising agencies, public relations and audiovisual firms. Seventy percent of our clients are textbook and encyclopedia publishers. Another 20 percent are travel magazines, travel brochures, cruise brochures and other travel literature. Advertising and promotional clients and Website designers make up the bulk of the last 10 percent of our client base. We have done a large number of children's (age 6-12) country books and these seem to rotate yearly.

GOALS:

The primary goal of the DDB Stock picture agency is to develop the online, high-resolution picture files through photographer participation. A good strong photographer/agency sense of trust is central to this goal. We believe that what is good for an agency photographer is good for the agency. We make every effort to help photographers identify and photograph subjects that will sell. Tear sheets are secured whenever possible, because we understand how important a complete portfolio is for photographers seeking assignments. For our best photographers we offer assignment referrals. We provide letter, email, fax and phone support for agency photographers on assignment. Letters of introduction are provided, along with information on good foreign labs, digital service providers, and professional contacts. We know Latin America better than any other stock picture agency in the world; we know the geography, the people and the subjects that are in demand. Obviously the ultimate goal is to make money for participating photographers.

SUBJECT AVAILABILITY:

Good coverage of Mexico and all Latin American countries in Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Subjects include geography, archaeology, artifacts, history, depictions of historic events, Indigenous groups, peasants, capitals and major urban centers, civil unrest, markets, resorts, sports, political figures, people, students, schools, college classes and college campuses, children, refugees, soldiers, tourists, art, museums, murals, commerce, industry, agriculture, points of tourist interest, national parks, festivals, fiestas, crafts, fine art scenics and many more subjects than can be included here.

SUBJECT NEEDS:

Focus on education and the teen/college age population. Remember that we are most interested in the upper Middle Class. Pictures of this group should show them dressed in timeless chinos and button downs. The publishers want to get 10 years out of the average image, so blue hair and bell bottoms don't make it. We need all Latin American and Caribbean subjects, especially from Mexico, Chile, Brazil and other economically successful Latin American countries. Always need good scenics of the major cities and points of tourist interest in each country. Other needs include exterior and interior views of museums that show both general views and details of historic paintings and artifacts that reveal information about an important event or epoch. Historic buildings and monuments are useful, but must be very clearly captioned so our clients know what they are looking at. We need views of Latin American murals, contemporary art and the artists themselves. We need fine examples of pre-Colombian art, historic paintings and well captioned sketches. The files require coverage of well known tourist resorts and spas with an emphasis on either beautiful people, active elderly tourists, or adventure tourism. We welcome the moody art shot that typifies a specific place, but it must be very good. Our files are full of pre- Hispanic ruins and historic sites, but we need the new ones as well as the old ones on vibrant new film currently available. Pictures of flora, fauna, Latin people involved in activities, industry, agriculture, crafts, small towns and villages, native Indian groups in ceremonial costume and involved in traditional crafts, subsistence activities, and ritual are needed. Pictures of tourists having fun in Latin American countries are very welcome. Tropical deforestation is always a hot topic, as is urban and industrial pollution, as well as other forms of severe environmental degradation. These topics may be illustrated by pictures of burning tropical rain forest, pictures of new roads under construction that create paths for settlers moving into the jungle and show heavy construction equipment at work or the firey slash and burn clearing that follow closely behind. We need photographs that show erosion and degradation of the tropical jungle such as those seen along the Trans-Amazon Highway and adjacent to the illegal gold mining communities that are poisoning the waterways with mercury. The files are weak in photographs of tropical agriculture experimental stations. We need better coverage of urban Colombia and detailed tourist coverage of Jamaica, the less traveled islands in the Bahamas, the Caymans, the Turks and Caicos, and the Leeward Islands. Just follow the places advertised in the travel brochures at your local travel agency and pay attention to the places receiving editorial attention in the Sunday travel sections of the New York and Los Angeles Times. A better understanding of our current subjects in demand may be gleaned from the list of subject needs and past usages below. Updated usage data is being compiled now and will soon be available.

Detailed List of Subject Needs
Please read, print, sign and include with first submission
Please download W9 form (PDF), complete and mail with your submission

COLOR:

Prefer digital TIFF images between 40MB and 80MB with imageid, full caption, copyright, and keyword meta data in EXIF or IPTC format. Also accepts imageid, caption, copyright, and keyword data in Excel, Access, CVS, ASCI/TXT delimited, MYSQL, or other format that can be imported into Excel or Access. External data files must conform to field lengths provided in the Digital Submission Guidelines. An Excel form is available in the submission guidelines that serves as a handy tool for organizing imageid, caption, copyright, and keywords. Uses 35mm, medium format and 4x5 transparencies. Prefer Fujichrome Velvia 50/Provia 100 or as a second choice, Kodachrome 25/64. Fujichrome has richer colors, better exposure latitude and performs much better on cloudy days and on the high contrast beach than Kodachrome. Fujichrome also uses commonly available E6 processing and provides much deeper sky blues than Kodachrome. The agency will accept Ektachrome and Agfachrome, but these older transparencies don't do as well in our highly competitive market.

B&W:

We do not handle black-and-white prints because the digital age makes conversion from color slide simple and provides good quality. Hence our clients no longer need black-and-white prints. They convert from color as necessary.

TIPS AND SUBMISSIONS:

Special need for people, especially high school and college age in and out of class, with detailed coverage of all aspects of their daily lives. If you just shoot people, then you will do very well with my agency! Strong need for encyclopedia style coverage of all Latin American countries. (Consult any encyclopedia article on a Latin American country and note the subjects illustrated. These same subjects will be in demand again and again.) Also need colorful, travel-oriented Latin American scenics. Would like to see more journalistic/documentary style transparencies. In a portfolio, prefer to see 300 to 500 top quality slides of a photographer's best pictures in 20-slide clear plastic slide holders. Call the agency before leaving for a trip to Latin America or the Caribbean. This agency views the photographer/agency relationship as long-lasting and works closely with photographers to help them take photographs that sell.

HOW TO SHOOT FOR DDB STOCK

The DDB Stock Agency concentrates primarily on marketing images to the editorial publishing market, and concentrates on grade school, high school and college textbook and encyclopedia publishers. We also furnish the travel industry with editorial and advertising images. The information below is provided to help you understand the percentage breakdown of our book publishing market so you can concentrate on taking pictures that will sell. This will take you out of the tourist mainstream and into the schools, fields, harbors, factories, museums, and commercial outlets in the countries you visit. It will also concentrate your attentions on photographing people at work, at play and during ritual events.

If you are serious about taking pictures which will sell through my agency on your next photo assignment to a Latin country, then resolve in advance to spend at least 1 day taking pictures in a museum and another day taking pictures in a factory. A third day spent in a high school or college photographing students in and out of class would also be a very good idea. If possible, you should shoot these editorial subjects in both color slide and black-and-white negative film, as DDB Stock still receives requests for black-and-white prints.

In the museum concentrate on photographing typical artifacts from each culture period. Then carefully photograph all paintings which depict historic events like battles and ceremonies of state such as weddings or coronations. Also photograph portraits of famous historic figures. If possible, get pictures of urban and rural scenic paintings from the 18th and 19th century. Concentrate on photographing works from the best known painters and sculptors in each country you visit. Make careful notes to record the name of the painting/artwork, the historic event or personage depicted, the date of the art work and any other important information available. A good photograph of an important historic event by a well known artist is useful to both the historic and art markets, and may be picked up by the language or literature markets as well. Encyclopedias also use these pictures to illustrate articles on historic topics.

When selecting a factory to shoot, one should concentrate on the main exports of the specific country visited. In Honduras or Ecuador, shoot the coffee, fish or banana industry. In Mexico, shoot the oil industry, mining industry, or fabrication industry (for US goods like electronic components). It is usually possible to set up a visit to a factory if you talk to management a day in advance. They don't get many tourists, and are usually flattered when you show interest in their activities. You could substitute a port/harbor or agriculture shoot for the factory shoot if it is easier to set up. The photos you take in the factory, port or fields will be appropriate for a combination of categories including agriculture, language, sociology, technology and perhaps even travel. It is crucial that you include people in your photographs whenever possible. This will make your pictures much more competitive.

Photographs of grade schools, high schools and universities in Latin America are in demand by several book publishing categories including language and sociology. Few photographers spend time photographing higher education institutions on their assignments and travels, so the publishing industry has really had to scamper to get these subjects. A photographer should try to get students in class during a lecture, in a seminar discussion session, talking informally, studying with books, in the library, talking in the halls and walking on campus.

I hope the table and discussion have helped you understand my book market so that you will be able to concentrate on taking pictures which will sell. I hope that in your future travels you will schedule a visit to a factory or school. You might find that your experiences in these unfamiliar surroundings will be the most interesting of your whole trip. After a recent visit to Ecuador, my most poignant memory is the smell and noise inside a cacao (chocolate bean) factory near Manta on the Pacific Coast. The bitter sweet smell of chocolate roasting and the clanging of the grinding mechanisms even supplanted the vision of brightly costumed Quechua Indians and the majestic heights of the Andes.

CAPTIONING OF STOCK PICTURES

"Un croquis vaut mieux qu’un long discours."
Fr., "A picture is worth a thousand words."
-Napoleon

A picture may well be worth a thousand words, but a caption on a picture is worth its weight in gold if it is well thought out and informative. A picture is worthless if it is not carefully captioned.

Imagine a picture editor with a spec that reads find "a picture of Puerto Montt, Chile showing the town and harbor." Now, further imagine that editor is looking at one of YOUR spectacular pictures of Puerto Montt showing the town and harbor in glorious light. The editor is looking at your picture, but the caption reads: "Chilean port." The editor has never visited Chile, let along Puerto Montt and doesn't have a clue what it looks like, so she reluctantly puts your picture in the cull stack because she doesn't know WHAT Chilean port it is. She then selects a much lower quality image captioned "Puerto Montt and adjacent harbor, Chile. Puerto Montt is a regional center exporting timber products and seafood from the Pacific coast of northern Patagonia." The editor knows everything she needs to know from the well composed, complete caption on the lesser image and selects it for use. That picture is now worth exactly $375.00 when billing goes out.

DDB Stock Photography requires that every stock picture be individually captioned and copyrighted on specific areas on the slide mount(see graphic below). Both 35mm and 2 1/4" transparencies must have captions written or printed directly on the mounts, or printed on readily available 1/2 by 1.5 inch self adhesive labels (Avery® 5167, Maco LL-8100). Captions should be placed on the front of the mount (shiny, acetate side which does not carry the brand name of the film) so when viewed from the correct side, both the caption and the image are visible in proper orientation. Typed/printed captions are easier to read and are more accessible to a picture editor. Both WordPerfect® and Microsoft Word® have label format presets for the Avery 5167® or equivalent. If you use point sizes of 8-10 and reduce line spacing to .8, it's possible go get 4-5 lines of legible information on the labels.

If possible, please confine captions to one wide edge of the slide mount. If you must exceed this space, then place additional information on the back of the mount. Stamp you name and copyright on the narrow left edge or horizontally oriented images and on the top of those vertically oriented. Do not include your address or phone number anywhere on the slide mount because this is confusing for my clients and makes it very difficult to keep track of your material which might be returned to me or to you if they use your address on the mount. Reserve one narrow edge of the slide mount for the catalog number, which is discussed below.

CAPTIONS:

As noted above, captions should informative and brief with no editorializing like "Puerto Montt, Chile in beautiful afternoon light" or obvious observations like "A 35mm color transparency of Puerto Montt, Chile." The beautiful light is obvious and of course it's a 35mm color transparency, the editors aren't blind.
Most of our material is used for editorial purposes, so thorough, accurate captioning is VERY important as I explained in the example above, which I should add actually happened as I determined later in a phone conversation when I asked why they used the horrible shot of Puerto Montt instead of our really great. Distill your captions to include concise and condensed information not obvious from the photo. Simple and direct captions provide essentially what and where in detail. More complex captions are necessary when showing animals and plants where family, genus, and species should accompany the common name whenever possible.

It's important to include the name of a mountain, river, glacier, water fall, reef, swamp, wetland or other natural feature if known. It is sometimes useful to include where the photo was taken from ""...from Colombia River Gorge." Now some agencies are requesting northing and easting or latitude and longitude available through use of cheap, hand-held GPS units, but we aren't there yet. However, that information may well be important one day when GIS systems begin to really take off, so get it if you can even though it's not necessary right now. I know of many instances where complete caption information was the major factor in a picture sale (rental). Remember, picture editors swamped with deadlines rely on your captions for information. They weren't with you on the trip, never visited the country and don't ever guess the provenance of a picture. Placement of caption, catalog number and copyright is shown below

CATALOG NUMBERS:

must be placed on one of the thin edges of the slide mount by the photographer. The catalog number should be placed on the same side as the caption and copyright information. Your catalog number includes the initials of your first and last names (JEH for John E. Holmes), and a sequential number beginning with 1. Hence John E. Holmes first slide would be cataloged JEH1 and his 500 slide would be marked JH500. Check with us before submitting so we can determine that your initials have not already been used. If so, we will issue a two letter code. Placement of caption, catalog number and copyright is shown below

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

It is crucial that complete copyright information be included on all images submitted to DDB STOCK. If you don't copyright your work, then you may forfeit protection and your work may be placed in the public domain and become available to anyone who wants to use it. Once it is in the public domain it is lost forever, and you will never be able to get it back! If you have not already done so, you should have a rubber stamp made up with your copyright legend on it. The best copyright legend should read as follows:

Use of the "All Rights Reserved" places your material within the copyright protection of the Buenos Aires Convention which covers countries in South America. Please caption, copyright and number slides leaving at least one narrow or wide margin on the slide mount blank for the agency identification label. Please label the front of your slide mounts so photo editors can read all the caption information while viewing the images. Placement of caption, catalog number and copyright is shown below

CONTACT:

Doug Bryant at PO Box 80155 Baton Rouge, LA 70898
Shipping: 4845 Newcomb Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808
PHONE (225) 763-6235 FAX (225) 763-6894
E-mail - info@ddbstock.com