Canned Photography
An interview with Derek Schultz, Founder, Canned Photography
"There are plenty of stock image libraries out there already. What makes you think that we need another?"
"Well, I have been a designer for many years myself and have worked on a vast range of projects requiring a good quality, creative, photographic input. Some of these projects were for large clients who could afford to pay for the talents of a large photographic studio, in addition to the services of the designer, art director, etc, etc. But... and it's a big but - smaller clients really wanted to have the same kind of results but either could not afford, or did not want to afford the extra costs involved with employing specialist creatives.
"This invariably led to the rise in popularity of the 'budget' photo library, where single shots or even collections could be bought at a knock down price. The trouble is that there has been an explosion of poor quality images that designers are having to make do with, purely because of the clients' view of the cost factor. The other thing is that for the designer, if he makes a purchase of a collection, the temptation is to make the other images he has bought fit another job. This invariably does not work.
"Hence, we wanted to address that issue with a tailored solution that would help small to medium sized design houses, marketing departments, PR companies, local government in-house design departments, etc, thrill their clients and stakeholders with high quality, creative results, at a basic cost (£25) that will keep that smile on their faces."
"So you mean that you will have high quality images at a reasonable cost?"
"Basically yes. But don't get too hung up on price. The prime concern has to be focused on quality, creativity and service. People will pay for that if it gives them what they want. The added bonus and clinching factor in our deal though is that the cost is very, very, affordable for any graphic job someone wants to do. Our basic cost for an image is £25, but if you want exclusivity on the image, then obviously it will cost you more. We will be introducing other products where the cost will be cheaper or more expensive depending on the work and creativity involved - and if there is something that you would like to do with the image but you feel it may infringe our terms and conditions of use, then talk to us, we may be able to work something out. "
"You mentioned 'services', what sort of services did you mean?"
"Well, let me give you an example. A designer likes a particular image in our collection, but it's not quite the right crop. Maybe it's the colour balance, or format. What does he do? In the other libraries, it's just tough luck, but with Canned Photo, all you have to do is email us and we'll redevelop the original, re-crop it, etc., or even just supply the original RAW image so that you can adjust it yourself. We keep all the RAW files from the shoot and we shoot with the designer in mind, so that you have a variety of formats and layouts of the same image. You won't necessarily see them all on the site, but you only have to ask and we'll get it to you. Our philosophy is total flexibility. Another example would be of wanting to use an image for an exhibition panel. Instead of using your one sized image and trying to enlarge it from the developed data, you can come back to us and we will redevelop the image from the original RAW data to the new size. This results in excellent image quality with no degradation.
"Isn't it inevitable though that you will force your own ideas of what is good onto the customer?"
"No, not at all. We are working hard to keep all the options with the customer. We do of course like to do our own crops, etc., and to do something really creative with the image, but we want to stimulate the customer and not stifle their ideas. Therefore, look at the images on the site as suggestions rather than the final and only solution."
"Tell me something of where you get the images from?"
"Well, we shoot all the images available at the moment, depending on what customers want and what trends there are in the market place. But if there are good photographers who match our strict criteria and align with our philosophy and goals, then we are quite happy to look at submissions from them."
"What are some of the strict criteria you mention?"
"That's simple to answer - creativity and quality really! All we would ask is that images are digitally shot in the RAW format, catalogued and backed up correctly."
"How far does your bespoke service go then?"
"We will provide a full service if you require it. We'll take the brief, shoot the image or series of images. Then develop it, retouch it, crop it, even layer illustration on top of it! Whatever you want really. The customer just needs to ask. This is a personal service. We are even running a constant survey on the web site to poll what the customers want. Then we can target our photographers. You can check out our sister site at cannedphoto.com which deals with that bespoke service."
"What about copyright? How tight is that?"
"As part of our philosophy, we are keeping this as simple as possible. There are obvious things that we don't want to be done with our images. They could not, for instance, be used as part of someone else's collection for resale.
"There's a basic cost for using an image, but if the customer wants sole usage or the like, then the subsequent cost reflects that. Each job is different, so again flexibility is the key, we will look at any unusual projects and negotiate fairly. People who use images know the issues involved. They're not stupid, so I'm sure with the application of common sense, we can sort most requirements and avoid any conflict of interests."
"How many images are you aiming for?"
"I don't think that's a valid question really. I hate these sites where you have a billion photos to search through! A busy designer does not want to spend three weeks searching for the right image. That is a total waste of time and time costs money, particularly when you are working to a tight timetable. So our view is to build up images over time that are focused on designer needs and requests. Don't forget that I have been in this industry for many years, so I know the kind of thing that people will find useful. Rather than go for bulk then, we are researching and targeting certain areas to give a useful range of images. If of course we end up with a billion images, well maybe we'll have to have a rethink!"
"It's not a large mass market you are aiming for then?"
"Absolutely not! We see this service being useful to any image users, but we'd be quite happy with a few hundred clients worldwide who really appreciate a good image and can use them to their best effect. This takes a discerning and creative being who is on the same wavelength as us."