1. Market Intelligence and Competitive Analysis
Online Professional Photographer Services
Team: Shai Maskit, Shelly Rosenfeld, Dvir Rosenfeld, Adi Yankovitz, Ori Zohar
Advisor: Uri Paz

2. Agenda Research Results Conclusion Target Market
Online pro/semi-pro photographer services
Research Results
Industry analysis
Competitive platform analysis
How photographers operate? Surveys and Interviews
Conclusion
Conclusions
Recommendations

3. Research Methodology Industry Analysis Competitive Platform Analysis
Market research*
Photography in the United States
IBISWorld, May 2015
Industry Analysis
Online research
Competitive Platform Analysis
Structured interviews with photographers
Online survey in photography forums
Marketing in key Verticals
* Acquired by Kodak

4. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

5. US Market Analysis - Segmentation
Full-time Pro Photographers
170,000
Full-time
Photographers
Schools - higher barriers than other segments due recurring business going towards the incumbents.
Lifetouch is a company that has major presence nation wide
Total $10.1bn
Yearly revenue
Source: Photography in the United States, IBISWorld, May 2015

6. US Market Analysis – Key Points
44.5
5.9
Low profit margins of 5.9%
Margins and wages are low
Expected to further decline
Reducing costs or increasing revenue is key
Employed as
Independent
Under
10%
Over
90%
Average wage is $26.6k per year
Trend to increase value-added services
Expected Annual Growth Until 2020
Technological innovation has significantly boosted participation in the Photography industry in recent years because it lowers barriers to entry.
Instead of booking studio appointments with professional photographers, consumers now have access to a pool of independent, amateur photographers who can produce high quality photographs using the latest digital cameras and photo editing software
They spend most of their money on wages (44.5%) and purchases (21.1%)
Photographers do not need to hold any formal qualifications or accreditation; however, photographers who have been through courses offered by institutions in this field are more highly regarded than others, because clients typically prefer those with years of experience to those with less experience
Despite a constantly shifting technological landscape that has dramatically changed consumers’ preferences for photographic services, the Photography industry is expected to grow moderately over the next five years. This growth will come as consumers continue to regain spending power and players offer a broader range of products and services beyond conventional photography. Increased spending on advertising will also propel growth in commercial photography services. As a result, IBISWorld anticipates total industry revenue to expand an annualized 1.3% to $10.8 billion in the five years to 2020, with rising disposable income expected to boost industry growth by 3.2% in 2016
American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) assists their members in protecting their copyright claims and help them license their works for creative or commercial use by others.
Generate less than 1% of photographers’ revenue
> =
Average
Revenue
Decline
2.4%
1.3%
Industry Employment
Revenue
* Source: Photography in the United States, IBISWorld, May 2015

7. COMPETITIVE PLATFORM ANALYSIS

8. Competitive Platforms Research
Total 30 platforms reviewed
Full details:

9. Platform Classification
Eastman Kodak Company
4/25/2017
Platform Classification
Photographers
Directory
Website
Services
Stock+
Images
Stock
users
Imaging services
Cloud
storage
© 2015 Kodak. Kodak is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company.

10. Platforms Researched Stock “Stock+” Yes Search by Image Wix No
Smugmug
PhotoShelter
ImageBrief
500px
Yes
Search by Image
Pixieset
Pixpa
Wix
Zenfolio
ShootProof
OnlinePicProof
APhotoFolio
FolioWebSites
Orosso
FolioLink
FolioHD
InstaProofs
Cloudspot Sq
Space
Livebooks
RedCart
SmartShoot
Photographer Central
Photographers
HoneyBook
Gigsalad
ThumbTack
The Knot
Gigmasters
Fearless Photographers No
Website Services
Directory No
Yes
Photography only
General platforms
Search by Photographer
Scatter plot data: Monthly visits, June Source: SimilarWeb

11. Traffic Sources Stock “Stock+” Yes Search by Image No Wix
Smugmug
PhotoShelter
ImageBrief
500px
Yes
Search by Image
Pixieset No
Pixpa
Wix
Zenfolio
ShootProof
OnlinePicProof
APhotoFolio
FolioWebSites
Orosso
FolioLink
FolioHD
InstaProofs
Cloudspot Sq
Space
Livebooks
RedCart
SmartShoot
Photographer Central
Photographers
HoneyBook
Gigsalad
ThumbTack
The Knot
Gigmasters
Fearless Photographers
Stock+ is also hosting
Website Services
Directory No
Yes
“Consumers”
“Pros / Photographers”
Search by Photographer
Scatter plot data: Monthly visits, June Source: SimilarWeb

12. Search Implementations
Search by features
Locate photographer or image using various criteria
“Blind request”
Get quotes for jobs or images according to “specs”
“Pull”
Customer screening
“Push”
Photographer in control
Platforms that offer dual-implementation: ImageBrief, SmartShoot, Fearless Photographers, Gigsalad
Platform with combined offer might be stronger

13. Business Models – All Monetize Photographer Side
Stock
“Stock+”
Subscription
Commission
$3-$50 / month
8%-30%
Yes
Search by Image
Subscription
Affiliation
$4-$70 / month
(Differ by features)
Affiliation with external labs for prints fulfillment
Freemium
Subscription
Generic platforms
$4-$33 / month
(Photography specific platforms) No
Stock+ is also hosting
User side –
Stock+ - pricing set by photographer OR consumer (Brief – ImageBrief) OR platform fixed (500px)
Directory - pricing by photographer services
Lab fulfillment affiliation: Fotomoto, WHCC - commission
Website Services
Directory No
Yes
Search by Photographer

14. Legal Aspects Copyrights:
Photographer content ownership retained on all platforms
Promotional
License
31%
Basic
69%
Type of License
License:
Display content* on platform – All
Use content* for promotion – 31%
With or without attribution
Typically no cost to platform
PIXSY encounters unlicensed imagery on the web.
They seek a fair license fee on behalf the photographer as an alternative to aggressive legal tactics.
* Photographer content:
Directory – profile pictures
Stock+, Website services – pictures and galleries
Source: Terms and Conditions of 30 platforms

15. Pixsy What does Pixsy do? Locate unlicensed imagery on the web
Seek fair license fee on behalf the photographer as an alternative to aggressive legal tactics
Business model – success fee (50%)
Litigation is costly and returns are low1:
$1250-$ Five hours of legal consultation at the average rate
$150,000 – Maximum statutory damages for copyright infringement in the US
$373,000 – The average cost of taking a copyright case to trial
PIXSY encounters unlicensed imagery on the web.
They seek a fair license fee on behalf the photographer as an alternative to aggressive legal tactics.
1 Source: Pixsy Website

16. Search by Photographer
Funding Aspects
Stock
“Stock+”
VC, $22.3M
VC, $4.2M
VC, $3M
Bootstrapped
Family owned
Yes
Search by Image
Photography Specific
Most – bootstrapped
Generic Platforms
$5M-$78.5M
Photography Specific
Most – bootstrapped
Generic Platforms
$1.3M-$148M No
Website Services
Directory No
Yes
Search by Photographer

17. HOW PHOTOGRAPHERS OPERATE?

18. Surveys and Interviews
Online Survey
65 pros
Phone Interviews
7 pros (approached ~40)
NGOs
Corp.
Actor Portraits
Family
Portraits
School
Sport
Weddings
Real Estate
Family
Portraits
Journalism
Pets
Events
Personal
Portraits
Fashion
Artists

19. Learning on the go (examples)
“Business Is Hard”
Learning on the go (examples)
Building a business is a big unexpected challenge.
Photographers are in need of business management solutions
Pay per click marketing leads to price competition. Not effective after the business matures.
“To do well you need 90% business and 10% photography.
“You need to know how to market yourself… Would be great if someone could do that for me but that’s another cost…”
“Considering leaving the business because it’s so hard”
“Learning a lot about building a business”
Physical media an important mean for customer communications. (Also in, NY for tax purposes)
Wrong tax calculations for some US regions made almost all platforms unusable

20. Directories Don’t Generate Business
“What is your main directory platform?”
“Directories don’t bring in significant business”
Photographers don’t see the value of directories
“Never heard of these”
“On Photographer Central because was offered on Zenfolio”
Sources: Pro photographers survey (n=65); Pro photographers interviews (n=7);

21. Website Hosting – Zenfolio Rules
“What is your main website services platform?”
Zenfolio is the “go to” platform
Ease of use
Selling prints
“Good enough”
Selling prints - a criteria for choosing a platform
“Used the first that came up on Google”
“Important that the company knows photography, knows technology, has responsive support”
Sources: Pro photographers survey (n=47); Pro photographers interviews (n=7);

22. Marketing Is a Challenge
Main Promotion Method1
Sources: (1) Pro photographers survey (n=65); (2) Pro photographers interviews (n=7);
(3) Photography in the United States, IBISWorld, May 2015
Word of mouth dominant channel for new and recurring business2
Inefficient marketing – lack of knowledge and skills
Room for disruption
Websites are obligatory, but mostly minimally maintained as a virtual “business card” 2
Social networks have marketing potential, all expressed “they need to do more” in that medium2
Marketing expenditure is only 2.4% of revenue3
“People with marketing skills can start quickly”

23. Target Users – Initial Profile
Industry Customers
Source: Alexa (Traffic in Websites such as 500px, Smugmug, Zenfolio, Shootproof)
Online User Profile
Caucasian
Female
35-64
College
Graduate
Income
Over $30k/yr
Ages 18-20
Only a Small portion of consumers
Need to crack target user discovery and decision making processes
Ages 20-35
Small presence in family portraiture market
Strong consumers of wedding photography
Ages 36-55
Largest consumers of industry products
Source: Photography in the United States, IBISWorld, May 2015

24. Firm of Interest Atlanta, GA Founded 2009 Bootstrapped ~16 Employees
Tens of thousands of users in 32 countries
Product Offering – Website Services:
“Increase your word of mouth referrals and book more clients with ShootProof Mobile Apps”
Online storage and client proofing platform
Custom, “white label” mobile gallery apps
International – 12 languages supported
Potential Match:
Platform and cloud services backend
“Boosting word of mouth” expertise

25. Firm of Interest Founded 2000 Torrance, CA VC, $32M 2012
Potential Match:
Assets
IP and know-how
ShootQ
Tax benefits
Private
(Michael Grant)
Photo Holdings, Inc.
Aug 24, 2015
Image storage, retail fulfillment
Wholesale imaging fulfillment
Studio management software
Pictage was one of the first companies to create an online proofing system
Why?
Print sales decrease
Storage requirements increase
Faulty computing infrastructure

26. “Developed by photographers, for photographers”
Saves time and boosts sales by providing sales leads with an easy booking service:
Contracts – review and sign online
Marketing – lead tracking
Scheduling – never worry about double booking
Branding – customized look and feel
Integrated payment solutions – invoicing payment process
templates
Workflows and task reminders
Customers questionnaires
Subscription based - $39-$79/month
ShootQ and ShootProof announce integration partnership (Aug 27, 2015)

27. Conclusions
Pro photography margins and wages are low, expected to further decline
Photographers lack business and marketing skills, express interest in management solution
Discovery and decision making processes for photography target users unclear to photographers
Photographers don’t see the value of being listed in online directories

28. A full ecosystem to address photographers pains
Recommendations
Helping photographers reduce costs or increase revenue is key for platform appeal
A full ecosystem to address photographers pains
Users
Directory
Imaging Services
Website Services
+ …
“Business Management
as a Service”
Guidance
Tools
“Marketing as a Service”
Support and enhance word of mouth marketing
Lead generation through directory, search and social mechanisms
Note: we did not identify a single platform that has the “Full ecosystem”.
Zenfolio/Photographer Central are complementary, but currently mostly independent. Seems that Photographer Central doesn’t have much traction today.

29. Recommendations Directory service
Should be implemented in a clever way
Platform with combined “push”/”pull” implementation for best results
Pricing should emphasize website services rather than directory services
Consumer Side
We recommend researching consumer side to crack target user discovery and decision making processes

30. Thank You! Shai Maskit Shelly Rosenfeld Dvir Rosenfeld Adi Yankovitz
Ori Zohar