 Interview with Jack Hollingsworth
Jack Hollingsworth is one of the most well known names in
stock photography. An early and very successful pioneer in RF, Jack not only
sells stock through Getty, Corbis and his own site, but was a founder of BLEND
images as well as Red Chop Sticks and IndiaPhotos. Jack has been described as
“Indiana Jones with a camera” due to his constant world travel. Jack teaches,
lectures, blogs and has a column in Shutterbug magazine.
John: You have
a reputation as someone who is a pioneer, who doesn’t shirk from change, but
embraces it, and certainly someone who is an entrepreneur at heart. I believe
you are also a realist. In my book, these qualities make you someone who is
well suited to dealing with the current market realities. Are you optimistic or
pessimistic about the future of stock?
Jack: I’m
optimistic about the future of everything. Stock is going through a difficult
time right now but it will be back. There will always be a need for images. It
might not come back in the same way we knew it, but it will be back.
John: My
strategy is two fold: Make the best, most relevant images I can, then get those
images in front of as many potential buyers as possible. A huge part of my plan
is the development and optimization of my web site. Can you share your strategy
for dealing with the future?
Jack: Online. The web is everything. The web is the center, the hub of the
wheel that all the spokes radiate from. You have to learn to use web 2.0, learn
the tools, learn to explore and exploit what the web has to offer. I am
revamping everything, my blog, my site, everything from the ground up.
John: Do you see the consumer as a viable potential
client?
Jack: Yes! I
don’t yet know how to reach them, but there are millions, and millions and
millions of them well beyond the channel of commercial distribution. The money
is in getting the photography in front of the consumer. This is an entirely new
kind of market. There are 60,000 to 80,000 commercial buyers of stock in the
world. That number doesn’t really change. Now, with a push of a button, we can
reach a billion people. Think about that!
John: I do think about that!
Jack: We are
at a crossroads, an intersection. Very few can continue to have the cool
lifestyle of shooting stock that we have had. Now it is about reaching the
consumer. It is about building community and then monetizing it. People don’t
get this: Our future success has little to do with our past but rather what we
do from today on. It is not about your past, what you shot before. It is about
what you do from now on. It is about what you shoot now, and how you shoot it.
You can’t rely on your legacy. You can be a Micro celebrity on the net in 12
months. It is about developing a fan base. With a fan base of 1,000, or maybe
5,000, you can make a good living.
John: Micro, RF or RM…or some combination?
Jack: Add
footage to that as well. All of them are going to be around. It isn’t either
or, it is a little bit of everything. Some people will do all of it, some will
do two or three of them. You have to find out what works for you, what you love
to do and then do it. My priority is first footage, then Rights Managed and then
a split between RF and Micro.
John: How about prints? Are you planning on getting into
that arena?
Jack: Yes!
Possibly through Imagekind, or something like that. Right now I am going
through my collections cherry picking the images that I think would make good
print sales. I really believe in merchandising. I have big plans for what
people can do with my images. It can be coffee mugs and that sort of thing or
it can be a whole lot more. We don’t even know all the ways people are going to
be using photos.
John: Jack,
you are undergoing a major re-branding with your website. When do you think you
will have that ready for us to see?
Jack: Hopefully mid February.
John: Is there anything you can leave us with?
Jack: Check out:
www.prophotoresource.com I love that guy…I love what he is doing!
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