Photos still have role says Getty boss

A memorable moment captured - Tom Parsons of the Hawkes Bay Magpies holds up the Ranfurly Shield. Photo / Getty Images

Video images will define the future of online media. But Getty Images content boss Micha Schwing says that some marketers underestimate traditional still photography.

Schwing is global content strategy director for the company and was in New Zealand this week on a whistlestop tour, coinciding with a visit to Australia.

Combined, the two countries are Getty's fourth biggest market.

Schwing's role is to track trends and video is an increasing part of the company's content library,depicted as a big part of its future.

But Schwing says that photographs connect deeply with consumers and hold a special place in their hearts.

The market has been changing with the growth of digital media and marketing, and the widespread digital distribution of images outside the commercial market.

That has meant changes, including an acceptance that it cannot cash in on the social media distribution of its content.

But it has also forced a focus to make the library more diverse and attractive for commercial customers buying licences to use images.

She says global trends are for a shift to more "authentic" images in the West and aspirational tone in images used for advertising and marketing customers in Asia and South America.

News media, advertising and marketing companies increasingly outsource photographs from Getty which has several photographers in New Zealand focused on news, sports and entertainment.

Micha Schwing. Photo / Supplied

"During the past 10 years we saw a first wave of change due to the different workflow of digital media," she said.

There was a much faster turnaround of images online, which was distinct from traditional print media.

"A lot of content we have today would not have been accepted on our website 10 years ago because it did not fit technically. Lens flare, for instance was not allowed, where it is today."

The new approach reflects the expanding role of women in business,

"It was once the case that if we did a business shoot for images of chief executives we would have middle-aged white men.

"But increasingly we are seeing images of strong women. "

That stood out among Getty's New Zealand customers, she said.

Idealised images in advertising and marketing were still common, especially in Asia or South America,

Schwing says growth of online - including social media - has had a big impact on how it does business.

One new initiative has seen the company accept free access to images for personal communications such as blogs or social media.

Elsewhere Getty has negotiated links to the Flickr photo storage platform where it searches for images with a commercial appeal, offering photographers a share of fees.