New Image Ideas for your new year shoots

At Cutcaster, we have been speaking with more and more with the magazines out there and are hearing from quite a few that they are working on their spring issues. This is a great time to think about upcoming shoots. Here are some ideas we heard kicked around from our calls.

1. Spring Break travel spots/Concepts
2. Kids activities inside or outdoors
3. Fixing up the home/Home Renovation
4. Diet/dieting concepts
5. Upcoming fitness season
6. House/Spring cleaning
7. Home Gardening
8. Moving Season

Lets kick around some ideas here and see what new shots we can come up with. I will make sure it is seen.

New Cutcaster watermark. Better than the old one?

What do you guys think? Here is the old one.



Here is the new one.



Let me know your thoughts.

How to add your Cutcaster studio to Google?

Share your place on the net with Major search engines and get more views.
Adding your Cutcaster studio link to major search engines is really simple and really effective to get more exposure. Here is a link to my, John Griffin's Cutcaster studio page i.e. http://www.cutcaster.com/studio/pub/582007626.




See the last paragraph under the bottom of the "About me" section. That is where your public link can be found. To submit your Cutcaster studio to Google, you can follow this link. Or you can copy and paste this link into your browser as well, http://www.google.com/addurl/.

If you have problems, let me know.

Advanced Search at Cutcaster

Cutcaster is developing one of the most targeted image search engines on the Internet in order to save you time and return the most relevant, highest quality results from the start. Try it and never reach for the aspirin bottle again after every photo and vector search.

Four easy steps to find the perfect choice from the first keyword searched.

1. Start with basic keywords or a compound phrase, then Refine
2. Enter singular or plural terms. We recognize either.
3. Our system supports Boolean operators like AND and OR so you are free to use them within a search. We do not offer NOT at this time.
4. Click Advanced Search to see a more detailed set of search filters. Check any desired box and find what you are looking for.

You can use several modifiers to narrow down your searches.

Use AND between search terms to find images that contain ALL the words you type. Or just separate words with a space, which will be interpreted the same way. Note: Typing & or + between words also finds images containing all those words.

Use OR between words to find images that contain any of your search words. Note: typing a comma (,) or vertical bar (|) between words also finds images containing any of those words.

Use quotation marks around several terms to find a phrase.If your multi-term search already exists in the Controlled Vocabulary as a phrase, those search results will be returned, with the option available to see other results as well.

For advanced keyword searches, enter a specific keyword in the search area box. Then you can apply any of the search filters in the advanced search before you press Find (such as file types, Categories, Model or Property released or Exclusive to the site).

Search by Members- If you want to take a closer look at a Members portfolio, click off the Members check box and type in the person’s name.

Adult Content - you can set or unset the 'Adult Content Filter' by checking / unchecking the box.

Search by Categories - You can select up to 5 categories that you wish to search by.

And if you really can not find the perfect image or vector in our Library please contact us by emailing content AT cutcaster DOT com.

Top 10 best selling categories of the year

1. people- adults, mature adults, senior citizens

2. business-business tools and concepts

3. objects on white background

4. business people

5. vector graphics and illustrations

6. travel- transportation

7. signs & symbols

8. food

9. sports related

10. architecture & interiors-building exteriors

Thanks for you all your great images and keep up the good work in the new year. We have an exciting year ahead of us at Cutcaster.

Beware of the Doghouse, Cutcaster Men ;-)

Great video from JCPenny on "the Doghouse." We have all been there. I'll probably be sent back there again by the time the year is over ;-) Will bring a smile to your face. Have a great weekend and go get your holiday presents.

Full Credits
Client: JC Penney
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
Chief Creative Officer: Gerry Graf
Executive Creative Director: Amie Valentine
CD/Copywriter: Josh Rubin
CD/Art Director: Jason Musante
Head of Digital Production: John Swartz
Integrated Producer: Kwame Taylor-Hayford
Senior Producer: John Doris
Director: Bryan Buckley
Production Company: Hungry Man
Executive Producer: Kevin Byrne
Producer: Mino Jarjoura
Post Production: Big Sky
Editor: Chris Franklin

Another Milestone reached

Just hit 500 blog posts the other day at Cutcaster and we keep on rolling strong. I can remember writing my first one and having no idea what a long and great trip this would become, plus all the amazing people I have met and have supported the site. I was still trading stocks on Wall st. then. Thanks to everyone who has participated in the discussion, help educate us and added to the laughs. We try to use the blog as a tool to communicate what is happening at Cutcaster but also to let you know what else we are seeing that could be of interest to you or bring a smile to your face.

Lift your glasses in a worldwide toast for 500 more posts and beyond. Thank you.


As a side note we are a few thousand files away from our goal of 100k files by the end of the year. I couldn't be happier and thank everyone. Just picture me with a huge smile on my face and giving you all a big high five ;-)

Travel Images Requested

Request made - Please let us know if you can help. Just add a note to the upload in the submit area so we know you are sending us material for this.

Thanks.


I am looking for a front cover photo for the books

San Francisco with Kids
500 Places to take your kids before they Grow Up
Travel Guide for Norway
Travel Guide for Ecuador


Both the kids books are horizontal in format. I need to convey San Francisco specifically, so it can't be generic. Happy kids with a landmark, not cluttered.

The 500 Places title-- need to show white kids as tourists in a exotic locale. Turkey, Egypt, something recognizable. I am open to the place. (I showed kids wioth pyramids already, so I am open to other locales.

See what you have in stock. I don't want to limit you.

Ecuador-- need exotic birds, colorful landscapes. I don't want iguanas, they never are picked. Go with colorful birds and exotic scenics. Needs to be VERTICAL with room at top for the title of the book to have space.

Norway-- a great water scenic or people shot, or a not crowded image of Begen. Any of these might work. Needs to be VERTICAL with room at top for the title of the book to have space. Something simple, graphic, and bold.

The Importance of Public Clipfolders, How to Promote Them and How to Make Them….

We have recently been noticing an increasing click through rate on our existing Public Clipfolders here at Cutcaster. This also shows us that buyers are going directly to the Clipfolder area to do their searching. So how can you help them.

Clipfolders are Cutcaster's version of Lightboxes. A Clipfolder or lightbox refers to a folder used on stock photography websites that allows a user to organize digital photos. Photos can be assigned to a public Clipfolder by subject, for later convenience, or used to compile unrelated photos for a specific project layout. Lightboxes also allow graphic designers to show clients options for a project in one simple uncluttered folder.

At Cutcaster, you can make Clipfolders with from your own work or you can take a variety of contributor's work and make a mixed Clipfolder. We suggest using as many different contributors' photos as well as your own in the Clipfolders you create. It is all about creating the best and most diverse Clipfolders from a wide array of contributor's work.

Clipfolders are a way to showcase, share and promote your work and the work of others. This makes is easier for a buyers to find what they are looking for right away, by simply clicking on a Clipfolder that specifies what they are searching for.

Clipfolders can be emailed to a friend or colleague who may be searching for something specific. To e-mail a Clipfolder you simply go into your Clipfolders and choose the little envelope next to the Clipfolder you would like to send to a friend.

Now, I know what your thinking….how the heck to do I make one. So without further delay…..here is the ‘How To’ on creating Clipfolders at Cutcaster:

First log into your account. In the upper right-hand corner of your screen you will see “My Clipfolder” – click on that.


Now, simply click on ‘Create New Clipfolder’ – this should be about mid-screen for you to click on.


This brings you to the Create New Clipfolder section. Here you want to name your Clipfolder, being as specific as you can such as: "Music – Piano’s" or "Woman – Smiling." Seasonal or holiday clipfolders are great too! You just fill in the information ‘Clipfolder Name’, ‘Description’ and ‘Keywords’. Please be sure to use only relevant keywords and no spamming your Clipfolders! Then you just click ‘Submit’. Buyers will search for clipfolders using keywords so they have to be accurate.

Once you click on the submit button, you now need to make the Clipfolder ‘Public’. To do this, click on your ‘Clipfolders’ tab and choose which Clipfolder you would like to make public by clicking on the pencil icon under manage. Then under ‘Sharing:’ – choose Public.


Now all that is left is to put some pictures relevant to topic or concept into the Clipfolder. You can do this by choosing your own pictures from your portfolio or you can do a keyword search and add several different contributors’ photos, as well as your own, by simply clicking on the folder with a plus sign under the photo. Clicking on the folder with a plus sign with give you a pop-up that will allow you to choose to add it to an existing Clipfolder or a new Clipfolder.


Let us know what you think and looking forward to seeing your clipfolders. If you have one that you are particularly proud of let us know and we will link to it from the homepage.

The PLUS Coalition. Your thoughts?

I had a conversation last week with Jeff Sedlik from PLUS about using their licensing framework at Cutcaster. How many of you have heard of PLUS?

If you don't know about PLUS it is an international non-profit initiative on a mission to simplify and facilitate the communication and management of image rights. So what does that mean in English...well, PLUS is a system of standards that makes it easier to communicate, understand and manage image rights in all countries.

What are peoples thoughts on using PLUS as an option for licensing images on the site? What do you feel are the pros and cons? I want to open this up to discussion because this site is as much yours as it is ours.

I think some really interesting news for people who are selling their images is that "three major publishers have called for the adoption of the PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) standards by picture archives, photographers and all other image suppliers. Representatives of McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Pearson each announced that they will adopt the PLUS Picture Licensing Glossary definitions in their contracts, and that they encourage image suppliers to begin embedding PLUS license metadata in all images within one year." Personally I think more will follow and this will be a good opportunity for contributors to Cutcaster but we are all ears here so let us know what you think.

For the latest news on PLUS to see what they are doing check this out.