Q: What is the PhotoSourceBOOK?
A: It is a handy reference print photographer directory (407 pages) published annually by PhotoSource International for photobuyers. It contains source details of specific-content photos, and links to the PhotoSourceBANK. It advertises the stock photography of subscribers who are in the PhotoSourceBank, the PhotoSourceFOLIO, and the PhotoSourceGROUP. PhotoSourceBook is updated annually and sent free of charge to 3,000 active photobuyers.

Q: What is PhotoSourceFOLIO?
A: It is the exhibit area of the PhotoSource International website where subscribers display six of their exhibit-quality photos for potential customers to view, on the subscribers' own web pages on the PhotoSource International website.
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How PhotoSourceGROUP Works

Q: What is the cost?
A: The cost is $4.95 per month. If you are an active member of the above BANK, BOOK, or FOLIO or the marketletters PhotoDaily or PhotoLetter, there is no charge to post your images and text (2,500 images with up to 50 caption keywords or phrases for each photo) in PhotoSourceGROUP

Q: Am I able to purchase more space for my images?
A: Yes. You receive 5 gig (free) to start with. When you choose to expand your disk space, additional blocks of 5 gigs are available at $25 per year. Or, you may purchase one additional gig for $5 per year.

Q: What percentage do I receive from sales?
A: 75%; or if you choose to sign up for Plan 2 ($5 per month) you receive 80% of sales.

Q: How do I qualify to be included in the PhotoSourceGROUP?
A: As long as your images are of good technical quality, you can be included. Credits and copyrights remain at all times with the photographer. (PhotoSourceGROUP reserves the right to exclude photos it considers inappropriate for the standards of PhotoSourceGROUP, such as pornographic or illegal photos, photos in poor taste, etc.) You will be asked to submit an initial 15 photos to our Quality Control section for review. There is a one-time charge of $9.50 for this review, payable only after you are accepted for membership. After this initial review, there is no charge to post your images. Periodic reviews of your images are made from time to time.

Q: How many images can I submit?
A: Maximum 2,500. Eventually, this amount will be increased. You are allowed 5 gig at no charge. If you wish to employ more storage space, the cost is $5.00 per year for 1 gig, or 50 cents per month.) ($25 per year for 5 gigs, or $5 per month.)

Q: When I submit my photos, do I put them in any order or categories?
A: Yes. You can make up any category grouping system you choose, based on your collection of photos. (See the DEMO). The category system can be helpful for photobuyers who want to look at specific subject areas.
Photobuyers who arrive at your site via the PhotoSourceBANK – will land on the photo(s) that matches their keyword search.

Q: If a photobuyer selects an image of mine and would like direct download, do you have a facility for speeding up the delivery time?
A: Yes, you can FTP your hi-res image using our upload device. We then forward the selected image to the registered buyer, once their credit card transaction has been approved.

Q: Do I also include keywords with each image I submit?
A: Yes- you will be allowed up to 50 caption keywords for each submitted image. Since our system is text-centric, we encourage you to take advantage of this generous allowance, since "hits" to your page by search engines such as Google are based on the keywords you supply with your pictures. The more specific your phrases and words, the more chance you have of getting inquiries and sales. For a detailed primer on how to choose keywords for your pictures:
www.photosourcebook.com/instructions/hints.php

Q: Are the keywords to my pictures on PhotoSourceGROUP also included in the PhotoSourceBANK?
A: Yes

Prints:

Q: Can I also sell prints through PhotoSourceGROUP?
A: Yes. We charge you a specific fee and you decide what to charge your customer. Our printing services are handled by REED Photo-Imaging, of Denver, Colorado who has provided the highest level of quality photo lab services to an international market for more than 25 years. < www.reedphoto.com >

Q: How do customers purchase prints of my images through the PhotoSourceGROUP site?
A: Private or commercial customers can view your images on your PhotoSourceGROUP web page section, and purchase individual prints ranging from 5x7 to 16x20.

Q: How are they priced?
A: Using the PhotoSourceGROUP calculator (you set the fees), the customer selects the size of the print they want, and any other considerations such as frame, etc. and submits a credit card number to PhotoSourceGROUP. Orders are usually filled within ten days.

On-Line Purchasing:

Q: How do stock photobuyers license my work?
A: Stock photobuyers find your contact details either through our PhotoSourceBANK search method, or through a search engine such as Google. They land at your PhotoSourceGROUP page site. From this point, they can request to see an actual picture you have listed through the PhotoSourceBANK. If your image is not already on your PhotoSourceGROUP page, you’ll automatically be requested to post it, in hi-res. Using the PhotoSourceGROUP calculator, utilizing base fees decided by you, photobuyers will determine the one-time rights for use of your image. PhotoSourceGROUP bills the photobuyer’s charge card or corporate account.

Q: What is the PhotoSourceGROUP calculator?
A: It is a transparent chart that tabulates the license fee of a photo based on such elements as the picture’s use (editorial or commercial), picture size (¼ page, half-page, cover, etc.), print run, one-time use, Royalty Free or Rights Managed, multiple uses, electronic use. You determine the base fees for your images, that the adjustments for license usage are based on. The photobuyer is able to determine his/her costs and submits a charge card to PhotoSourceGROUP for payment. As soon as the payment is approved, the photobuyer can download the image..

Sales:

Q: How often can I expect payment for sales made on PhotoSourceGROUP?
A: Once a month if sales exceed $250; otherwise, whenever sales reach $250.

Q: Is “live reporting” of my sales available?
A: Yes. And at any time, you can check into your account to track your sales records.

Support:

Q: Is someone available to answer support questions, especially technical uploading questions or sales numbers?
A: Yes, support is available for both marketing and technical support. For support: support@photosource.com;

Q: Is training available for on-line beginners?
A: Yes, one hour of training can be purchased for $99.

Taxes:

Q: How are local and state taxes handled through the sales and licensing of my images?
A: All appropriate sales and other taxes are included in the financial transactions between PhotoSourceGROUP, the customer, and the photographer.

Defaults:

Q: What if I make a sale of one of my photos that is on the PhotoSourceGROUP site, but the buyer, after viewing the picture on the site, came directly to me to make the purchase rather than going through the PhotoSourceGROUP charge card system?
A: Photographers will be expected to submit 20% of that sale back to PhotoSourceGROUP.

Q: Do I have the option to sell to certain places in the world but not to others?
A: Yes. For example, if you direct us not to sell to business entities in Australia, or South America, etc., we can honor that. Or you may wish not to sell to certain companies that promote cigarette, alcohol, etc.

Q: What if I choose to terminate my contract with PhotoSourceGROUP?
A: Either you or PhotoSourceGROUP are able to terminate the contract. The length of time to process termination: 45 days.

Q: In case of power failure or other disruption of service, does PhotoSourceGROUP protect its subscribers with a backup system?
A: Yes, we have a backup system running at all times.

Q: In case of a hardware failure at my own site and I lose my images, am I able to retrieve the images that I have stored with PhotoSourceGROUP?
A: Yes, we serve as an insurance backup for your images. They all can be retrieved. The fee ranges from $50 to $150 depending on size.

General:

Q: What advantage do I have in signing up with PhotoSourceGROUP, over other similar sites on the Web?
A: PhotoSourceGROUP is a site that locates specific-content photos for the buying public, private parties, commercial entities, and photobuyers at magazine and book publishers. There are no other “similar” sites on the web, which employ the kind of specific words and phrases that PhotoSourceGROUP offers.
We own a unique text-finding system that saves the buyer time in their search to find the “just right” image. By using our PhotoSourceBANK (where you list up to 3,000 words describing photos in your stock files), photobuyers find the SOURCE of the picture (you) that they need.
Stage two, the photobuyer lands on the PhotoSourceGROUP site where they can see the actual picture. If the picture is not immediately available through your posted pictures (you can post anywhere from 25 to 2,500), the buyer will request to see a LightBOX version of the picture. At that time you will also FTP a high-res sample of the picture to be included on your PhotoSourceGROUP web page.
In addition to informing photobuyers about the benefits of using the PhotoSourceBANK/PhotoSourceGROUP search system, our promotional materials encourage photobuyers to use a search engine such as Google. In the search bar, the photobuyer is instructed to type in a word or phrase describing their picture need, a space, and then the word photosource. This will re-direct the buyer to PhotoSourceGROUP.
Another benefit you have with PhotoSourceGROUP is name recognition. Our business, PhotoSource International, has been dealing with photobuyers at magazine and book publishers since 1976, and has been one step ahead of the digital revolution ever since. Our new PhotoSourceGROUP is an example of this. Photobuyers prefer to spend their valuable time with a business that has a proven track record, and where they are confident they’ll get results.
Since the PhotoSourceGROUP site is an extension of our long-standing PhotoSourceBook and other services on our website, PhotoSourceGROUP members will benefit from the high traffic our site enjoys: average 45,000 hits daily; 4,000 to 5,000 daily unique visitors.

Getting Started

Step 1
a.) Go to: http://pattinson.photosourcegroup.com

b.) After you login, use your "Admin Menu" drop down located at the top of the page (this is where you will find all the tools needed to maintain your store)

c). In the admin menu go to "Add Contact Information". Add the appropriate information so buyers can contact you if they need to.

d.) Note that all images you upload should be high resolution JPEGs saved as 8-bits in Adobe RGB. Save at quality setting 11 or 12 in Photoshop. If you use a different image editing software save at the highest available quality setting. For specs on high resolution files for PhotoSouyrceGroup see the Technical Q & A at the end of this e-mail.

Step 2
a.) Click back to "Home". You'll see a "Royalty Free" category on your screen. This will be where you place all of your sub categories for RF photos, e.g. Nature, Aviation, etc. All categories and photos outside of the RF category section are "Rights Managed." So if you create any categories at the top level, they as well as any sub categories, will be RM. Any images uploaded to the RF category and any subcategories of RF are priced as RF. The category RF can't be removed. If you don't want to offer RF, don't upload any images to this category.

b.) Decide on the categories your submissions fall into. Go to "Add New Categories" in your Admin Menu. It is permitted to have categories with the same name in both RF and RM. You can also have as many sub categories e.g. Nature, Aviation, etc as you need to organize your site.

Step 3
a.) To upload photos, select Upload Photos in the admin menu. Select the category you wish to upload your images to and click "Upload Photos". A security notice will come up. Click "Yes" or "Always". A Notice will then remind you that only jpegs or tiffs are permitted. You can either drag your files to the middle of the "applet" or select the Browse button, then fill in File Name with location of your images. In some browsers, dragging and dropping of a file is not supported.

Step 4
a.) Add your keywords (up to 50 words) by clicking the link "Needs Keywords" or "Modify Keywords". If an image displays "Needs Keywords" this indicates that there are no keywords associated with that image and it is not registered with psBank. These links only show up when you are logged in as an administrator and are not shown to the buyer. Use any phrase or text you think a photobuyer might use to locate a picture on Google (or the PhotoSourceBANK).