The New Age of Social Photography



Advance Notes: There is a trend toward "realness" brewing in the stock photography world. It's sometimes called "social photography." But don't pin your hopes on it. The public is finicky. The pendulum may swing back to make-believe photos.

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In 1987, I can remember talking with a California stock photo agency director who waved his hand toward his office files with the exclamation, "Editorial photos? We have plenty of those!" The pictures he referred to, of course, were clean-cut models in a simulated work situation smiling at a computer screen, or an immaculate housewife pleasantly choring away with her modern vacuum cleaner. The viewing public in those days, it was assumed, preferred fairytale "editorial" pictures.

Catalogs of historical B&W photos from the postwar era also reflect the aspirations of the public (or at least that's what the art directors figured), depicting a peaches-and-cream wonderland society, that, however, few people ever actually experienced.

Times have changed. Perhaps the shock of 9/11, or the turmoil in the Middle East, or the surge of social channels on TV, have all contributed to today's portrayal of reality as it really is. The public is growing up and getting real. Publishers are wakening up also. We are seeing a growing willingness of publishers to tackle controversial social subjects with natural lighting and hand-held camerawork. Even major Hollywood films today reflect a cultural acceptance of the "real."

Yes, the squeaky-clean advertising pictures we continue to see today have their place - in advertising. Magazine and book publishers, however, have shifted to a sense of realism in the images they choose for production. They perceive that their readership wants the "straight story."

THE OSCARS
The nominations for "The Oscars" back in 2006 also reflect this willingness to tackle gritty, topical issues head on. The top nominations ranged from race relations ("Crash") to the death penalty ("Capote"). In fact all four major nominees dealt with realism and the personal cost of making life decisions based on whether to conform to social norms or not.

Will the pendulum eventually swing back to the fairytale type of photos of the '80's and '90's? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, the focus on social photos today is creating valuable historical assets for the future.

Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and publisher of "PhotoRESEARCHER Newsletter," has provided on-line targeted information for photobuyers, photo researchers and editors for two decades. No other newsletter brings photobuyers such up-to-the minute, practical information from a professional intimately familiar with both sides of the stock photo desk. For more info: http://www.photosource.com/photobuyer/.
 



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For the freelance photo researcher…

Not Your Family Vehicle



Advance Notes: In your photo researching operations, do you use your car for business reasons? ("Car" can mean an automobile, van, pickup, or panel truck.) Say, trips to see clients or customers, or to attend meetings, a seminar, or, of course, to review or purchase photos? If you do, you'll find the tax code allows you to use one of two methods to figure your tax deductions: actual expenses, or a standard mileage rate.

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When you use your car for business, if you decide to use the "actual-expense" approach, the list of deductible items includes gas, oil, tires, repairs, license tags, registration fees, insurance, garage rent, lease payments, parking fees, tolls, and depreciation. (Commuting to and from your place of work is not deductible.) The interest portion of car payments is not a deductible car expense if you are an employee, but it is deductible if you are self-employed.

Opting for the actual-expense method in the first year the car is used for business, requires you to stick with that method as long as you have that car. Moreover, there are restrictions on depreciation deductions for cars used less than 50 percent of the time for business driving. Another limitation applies to cars used for both business and personal driving. You have to divide total costs between the two purposes; the cap on your deductions is the percentage of costs attributable to business use.

When you use the standard mileage rate, this method encompasses depreciation, as well as insurance and other car expenses. The standard rate spares you the bother of tracking actual expenses; you only need records of business miles driven for the year. For tax year 2007, the standard rate is .425 cents a mile.

The IRS restricts use of the standard rate. If you don't use the rate in the first year, you are precluded from using it for that car in any year. But if you do use the rate in the first year, there is some leeway. In subsequent years you generally have the choice to use either the rate or actual expenses.

When you claim the mileage allowance, remember to take a separate deduction for parking fees, and bridge, tunnel, and turnpike tolls paid while you are on business. (Parking fees at your place of work are nondeductible commuting expenses.) Reminder: Individuals may deduct up to $2,000 for a car that uses clean-burning fuel. (You can claim the deduction for a past year by filling an amended return.)

Figure your deduction both ways (actual expenses or mileage rate) to see which option provides a larger write-off for your particular situation. Usually actual expense is more advantageous than the mileage rate, particularly if your car is a gas-guzzler. But the reverse can be true for folks who have extremely low outlays or scant business mileage.

If the IRS audits your return and questions car expenses, they will not challenge a standard-rate deduction, provided you are able to substantiate the miles driven.

Keep a glove compartment diary where you list each business use, when, how far, and why you went, along with the cost of parking and tolls.

A final thought: I advise my clients to claim all car deductions to which they are legally entitled. In my experience, they should not let the possibility of IRS scrutiny cause them to put the brakes on breaks that can significantly lessen the amount siphoned off for taxes.

Julian Block, a former IRS agent and tax attorney, is the author of "Julian Block's Tax Avoidance Secrets," $33.95. (560 pages; mention you are a PhotoStockNotes subscriber and receive the book for $19.95), 3 Washington Sq, Station 5, Larchmont NY 10538-2032). Julian can be reached at julianblock@yahoo.com.