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Posts Tagged ‘COVID19’

Lensrentals survey: 19% of professional photographers are considering a career change due to COVID-19 pandemic

23 Apr

Lensrentals has published the results of its COVID-19 pandemic survey that’s attempting to gauge how the ongoing pandemic has been and will continue to affect the work and outlook of professional photographers and videographers (defined as making the majority of their income from photo and video work) around the world, many of whom are self-employed.

Over 1,000 self-labeled professional photographers and videographers responded to the survey, which was specifically designed ‘to focus on the main source of income per participant to gain an understanding that will align with the unemployment resources for each state,’ according to Lensrentals. While many of the resulting data points from the survey were —such as 96% of respondents stating their income and/or work has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic—there was one stand-out data point.

According to the results of the survey, 18.6% of respondents said they are considering leaving their respective industries due to the loss of income caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 18.4% of photographers and 20.4% of videographers who took part in the survey said they are actively considering leaving their line of work. Seeing as how it was simply a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, it’s difficult to gauge how likely it is these particular respondents will follow through on their considerations, but roughly one out of every five professionals is a rather serious number.

Other less-surprising data points include 74.5% of respondents saying ‘all or almost all’ of their jobs (defined as >80%) have been cancelled for the month of April with 59.7% and 20% of respondents saying the same for the month of May and June, respectively.

To read a more detailed breakdown of the numbers, head on over to Lensrentals’ blog post. In the closing paragraph, Lensrentals links to numerous resources its compiled the help creatives amidst the ongoing pandemic and social distancing initiatives.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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GoPro and VSCO lay off employees, change business models over COVID-19 pandemic

18 Apr

Amid ongoing social distancing efforts, both VSCO and GoPro have announced major business changes resulting from the economic downturn. In a post on his LinkedIn account, VSCO CEO Joel Flory revealed that his company had to lay off 45 employees this week. The announcement was followed by a similar message from GoPro, which revealed that it will be reducing its number of employees by 20%.

Many companies are struggling to stay above water as a number of states and countries implement lockdown measures. Many businesses have been forced to temporarily close down, and while others remain in business, a drop in consumer purchasing has left some companies struggling to keep their revenue up.

In a post on his LinkedIn account, Flory said that VSCO had expected 2020 to be ‘a year where we would continue to forward invest into our business.’ However, things didn’t go as planned and Flory said, ‘Overnight our environment changed. We realize that we would need to shift towards running a self-sustaining business.’

The company is giving its laid-off employees a minimum of two months of healthcare coverage and seven weeks of severance pay, according to Flory, who says that the company is also assisting them in other ways. VSCO plans to continue releasing new features this year, though details on what the company has planned weren’t revealed.

GoPro, meanwhile, published its preliminary Q1 financial requests on April 15 and withdrew its 2020 guidance in light of the pandemic. The company said that it is restructuring its business model to focus on direct-to-consumer sales and that as part of its global restructuring, it plans to lay off more than 20% of its workforce.

These layoffs will contribute to a $ 100 million reduction in operating expenses for the year, according to GoPro, which plans to shed another $ 250 million in operating expenses next year.

Company CEO Nicholas Woodman said that GoPro’s distribution network has been hit by the novel coronavirus pandemic and that as a result, the company must expedite its shift to a ‘more efficient and profitable direct-to-consumer-centric business’ model this year, something GoPro had already been pursuing. ‘We are crushed that this forces us to let go of many talented members of our team,’ Woodman said, ‘and we are forever grateful for their contributions.’

Though GoPro will primarily sell directly to consumers, the company says it will continue to make its products available through ‘select leading retailers’ in only ‘key regions’ for consumers who prefer to buy items indirectly and at physical stores. Other planned changes include reducing office space in five different locations, reducing its sales and marketing throughout this year ‘and beyond,’ as well as cutting spending in other unspecified ways.

Despite the changes, GoPro said that it still plans to move ahead with its 2020 product roadmap, which will include releasing new software, subscriptions and hardware targeted at action camera and smartphone owners. Woodman has voluntarily decided to skip the remainder of his 2020 salary, according to the company, which says its Board of Directors has also made the decision to avoid any additional cash compensation throughout the remainder of the year.

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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BCN data shows mirrorless camera sales have dropped 50% YoY in Japan for March amidst COVID-19 pandemic

13 Apr
An illustration from BCN Retail showing the unit sales percentage, by manufacturer, of Canon (Blue), Olympus (Green) and Sony (Red).

It was only a matter of time before we started to see the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on camera sales, and today we’re getting our first glimpse at just how brutal the global pandemic has been on the camera industry.

BCN Retail, an analyst firm that collects daily sales data of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras directly from online and in-person points of sale in the Japanese camera market, has shared the numbers from its March data, and it’s not pretty. While January and February saw a year-over-year (YoY) decline of 9.9 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, March saw a decrease of 50.5 percent (compared to March 2019).

This decrease is well above the relatively consistent 15–20 percent YoY decrease we’ve seen over the past few years and goes to show just how hard the coronavirus pandemic is affecting sales, even if BCN’s data is only a relatively small sample size.

As far as sales volume goes, BCN says Canon, Olympus and Sony have all dropped YoY, while Fujifilm stands alone as the only manufacturer to increase its share of the market.

A chart showing the most popular cameras in the Japanese market, based on BCN Retail’s data.

BCN also shares what cameras have performed best, based on sales volume, with the Canon EOS M50 barely edging out the Olympus Pen E-PL9. Sony’s a6400 rounds out the top three, with the a6000 still coming in fifth, despite being six years old.

It’s safe to assume these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg as near-global stay-at-home mandates and quarantines continue in an effort to #flattenthecurve of the COVID-19 pandemic. CIPA’s data won’t be here for a while, but it will likely tell a similar story at a much larger scale.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lensrentals wants to know if the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your professional photography work

11 Apr

Our friends over at Lensrentals has created a survey to help determine what kind of impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the livelihood of professional photographers and to better learn how Lensrentals can assist the photography community.

We’re pleased to support Lensrentals in their effort to gather this information and if you’re a professional photographer, below is a link where you can participate:

Lensrentals Survey

As a disclaimer, the survey starts out by asking whether or not you’re a professional photographer; if you answer no, the survey will immediately end. In keep the integrity of the data intact, we ask that you refrain from taking the survey if you do not earn an income from photography.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon temporarily suspends repairs to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19

24 Mar

Nikon USA has announced it’s temporarily suspending equipment repairs at its service facilities and no longer accepting new repairs due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The move, which was done ‘in accordance with mandates issued by the federal government and various state governments,’ according to the announcement embedded below, ‘prioritizes the health and safety of [Nikon’s] employees and customers.’

A screenshot of the notification on Nikon’s repair service page.

Nikon Inc. President and CEO Bo Kajiwara also shared a letter, embedded below, with Nikon’s customers and partners to further explain the decision to shut down repairs and explain what other steps Nikon is taking amidst the pandemic.

Letter from Nikon Inc. President and CEO Bo Kajiwara

Dear Valued Customers, Partners, and Friends,

We are all experiencing unprecedented circumstances around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the virus. Nikon’s top priority is the health and safety of our customers, employees and the communities we serve.

I am proud of the dedication of our Nikon team who are working remotely and remain focused on providing the highest level of support possible at this difficult time. We are closely monitoring the situation and following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal/state/local health authorities.

Nikon Inc. has taken steps to ensure the safety of its employees by instituting office closings and remote work strategies in line with state and federal government mandates. These include the temporary closure of our repair service centers to prioritize the safety of our workforce and help limit the spread of the virus.

For information about our repair service center change or to get in touch with a remote support representative, please visit: https://nikonusa.com/support

In the interim, Nikon online resources for education are available on the Nikonusa website: https://www.nikonusa.com/learnandexplore

We encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions to stay safe and to support their communities during this difficult time. We look forward to overcoming this global issue with great resolve and unity.

Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2020/03/21/nikon-usa-no-longer-accepting-equipment-for-repair-covid-19.aspx/#ixzz6HYFGt6JM

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Professional Photographers of America is offering free access to its 1,100+ classes amidst COVID-19 quarantines

22 Mar

The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has announced it’s unlocking all of its more than 1,1000 online photography classes for the next two weeks as a way to help those who are quarantined amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the sign up page to access the free classes, PPA says:

‘Times are tough – we need to be at our best. More kindness. More patience. More giving. And we at PPA want to pitch in to make things a little easier. What better way to spend your time at home than preparing your business for when things kick back into high gear? That’s why PPA is opening ALL of our online education to ALL photographers and small business owners worldwide for the next two weeks.’

To access the more than 1,100 classes, all you need to do is sign up for a free account on this page. There, you are asked to enter your first name, last name, email, a password and the city, state and country you reside in. Once the account is created, you’ll automatically be sent to the page shown in the screenshot below, from where you can choose the class(es) you want to partake in.

The available classes range in topics and genres, from classes on how to get started with your photography business and create contracts to guides on how to balance natural light with flash and how to organize keywords and metadata in Lightroom.

PPA CEO David Trust also shared a letter to the photography community, which you can read on the PPA website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photokina 2020 is cancelled due to COVID-19, but is set for a May 2022 return

19 Mar

It’s confirmed—just three weeks after announcing everything was set to go on as scheduled, Photokina 2020 has been canceled. In an email sent to DPReview, Koelnmesse GmbH, the organizers of the international trade show, announced the event won’t be taking place this year, due to ongoing concerns and restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other factors.

While the writing was on the wall for Photokina 2020, with CP+ being canceled and The Photography Show being postponed, Koelnmesse notes the recent restrictions put in place by the German federal government to shut down trade fairs and exhibitions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic sealed its fate. Koelnmesse says the next iteration of Photokina will take place in May 2022 and lists the following factors as the rationale for canceling this year’s event:

‘Even before the appearance of the coronavirus, the imaging market was already subject to strongly dynamic movements. This trend will now gain momentum and must be factored into plans for the upcoming photokina. Added to this is the fact that our customers’ resources are already under heavy strain in 2021 – as a result of general economic trends as well as rescheduled events on the global trade fair calendar. The orientation towards 2022 gives everyone involved time enough to design the next photokina with an eye to the needs of the market, and of our exhibitors and visitors.’

Below is the full statement from Koelnmesse GmbH:

Photokina 2020 is cancelled

After intensive consultation, Koelnmesse GmbH has decided to cancel photokina 2020, originally planned to be held 27 to 30 May 2020. The next instalment of the leading international trade fair for photography, video and imaging will be presented from 18 to 21 May 2022. The Imaging Innovation Conference will not be celebrating its première in 2020 as originally planned; a new date will be coordinated.

In general the management team of Koelnmesse has decided not to organise any own events on the part of Koelnmesse until the end of June 2020. This decision is supported by the crisis management team of the City of Cologne, which also recommended in its meeting on 18.03.2020 to cancel the trade fairs during this period.

This also happens against the background of the agreement reached on 16.03.2020 between the German federal government and the governments of the German states – laying down common guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus epidemic and explicitly including the general closure of trade fairs and exhibitions. This impairs the planning security for Koelnmesse and the participants of the trade fairs in Cologne far beyond the scope of the current scenarios. With this early announcement, Koelnmesse wants to give its exhibitors and visitors planning security.

The decision not to host the next edition of photokina until May 2022 was made with in view of several factors: Even before the appearance of the coronavirus, the imaging market was already subject to strongly dynamic movements. This trend will now gain momentum and must be factored into plans for the upcoming photokina. Added to this is the fact that our customers’ resources are already under heavy strain in 2021 – as a result of general economic trends as well as rescheduled events on the global trade fair calendar. The orientation towards 2022 gives everyone involved time enough to design the next photokina with an eye to the needs of the market, and of our exhibitors and visitors.

Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of the Photo Industry Association [Photoindustrie-Verband e.V. (PIV)]: “It goes without saying that PIV completely stands behind the decision taken by Koelnmesse to cancel photokina 2020. The health of exhibitors and visitors is top priority at the moment. As the conceptual sponsor of photokina, we will do our utmost to assist the Koelnmesse with the planning of the next edition of photokina.”

Koelnmesse – Global Competence in Digital Media, Entertainment and Mobility: Koelnmesse is an international leader in organising trade fairs in the Digital Media, Entertainment and Mobility segments. Trade fairs like photokina, DMEXCO, gamescom, gamescom asia, INTERMOT and THE TIRE COLOGNE are established as leading international trade fairs. Koelnmesse not only organises trade fairs in these areas in Cologne, but also in other growth markets like, for example, China, Singapore and Thailand, which have different areas of focus and content. These global activities offer customers of Koelnmesse tailor-made events in different markets, which guarantee sustainable and international business.

Note for editorial offices:
photokina photos are available in our image database on the Internet at www.photokina.com in the “News” section. Press information is available at: www.photokina.com/Pressinformation

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe announces free at-home Creative Cloud service for students and educators impacted by COVID-19 outbreak

15 Mar

Adobe has announced it will be providing students and educators at-home access to Creative Cloud applications free of charge due to the increasing amount of remote learning current taking place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to qualify for this service, a student must otherwise only have access to Creative Cloud applications on campus or at a school computer lab.

In order to access a temporary license to use Adobe Creative Cloud software at home, an IT admin must request access for students and teachers from Adobe. The access application can be found here. Once access is granted, users will be able to remotely access Creative Cloud apps through May 31, 2020, or until their educational institution reopens if this occurs before the end of May.

Remote education can be challenging, especially for students who are only able to access certain services on campus, so it’s nice to see Adobe working to help those affected. Per PetaPixel, the initial request for help came from RC Concepion, a professor at Syracuse University. He told PetaPixel, ‘We have been running around—like every other university—quickly coming up with an action plan to keep serving our students through COVID-19. Teaching communications, we rely a huge amount on Adobe Software—reporters, cinematographers, photographers, designers. It dawned on me that a lot of student access was here at school and that with any students at universities, there would be many that couldn’t afford using the software.’

Image credit: Adobe

In addition to free at-home access to Adobe Creative Cloud for students and teachers, Adobe announced earlier this week that it would make Adobe Connect, its web conference application, free to all users until July 1, 2020. This decision has been made to facilitate remote business and education, and also allow healthcare and government institutions to coordinate their efforts in real-time. Of the decision, Adobe states, ‘We believe that Adobe Connect has a vital role to play for enterprises looking to continue business operations despite travel restrictions, canceled conferences and delayed projects, all while keeping their people safe.’

As more students, educators and other workers are forced to work remotely, access to technological services becomes even more important. It’s great to see a large company such as Adobe working to make people’s lives easier in what are trying times for many.

Adobe Enables Distance Learning Globally for Schools Impacted by COVID-19

March 12, 2020: The past few weeks have shown us that, even in times of uncertainty, our schools and business communities remain strong and resourceful, all while continuing to find creative ways to maintain learning and business continuity.

With many schools facing physical campus closures and moving to online learning due to COVID-19, we’re announcing that we’re giving greater access to Adobe Creative Cloud desktop apps to facilitate distance learning. We believe that doing so will make it possible to keep coursework, teamwork, and student progress on track through at-home access to Creative Cloud for students and educators.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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World Press Photo cancels 2020 Photo Contest award show, festival due to COVID-19 concerns

13 Mar

The World Press Photo Foundation has announced it is canceling its awards show and festival, originally planned to take place in Amsterdam from April 16–18, due to COVID-19 (the coronavirus).

The decision comes after following the assessments of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and coming to the conclusion that World Press Photo ‘can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.’ Due to ‘on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus,’ World Press Photo has decided to altogether cancel the event rather than postpone it until later in the year.

Despite the two events being cancelled, the show will go on. The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest will still be announced on April 16, 2020, and shared online for the world to view. The nominees will also continue to be shown as part of World Press Photo’s worldwide exhibition tour, with the next exhibition set for a showing at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on April 18, 2020.

To see the nominees for the 2020 World Press Photo awards, visit our previous gallery.

Email:

World Press Photo Foundation cancels the Awards Show and Festival because of COVID-19

We have decided, after intense deliberations, that the global situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, requires us to cancel the World Press Photo Awards Show 2020 and the World Press Photo Festival 2020, due to be held in Amsterdam on 16-18 April.

We are devastated that we will not be holding two of our major events that honor and showcase this year’s contest winners in person. Both events have become pivotal occasions for the visual journalism community to come together and we are all going to miss this moment.

We were well advanced with the planning for these events and to bring that to a stop is not an easy decision. Combined with the on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus, this means it is not possible for us to postpone the events until later in the year.

However, the safety of our community, staff and society outweighs all other considerations.

We have been following the assessments of trustworthy sources such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and they report that in the coming weeks there is a moderate to high risk of more countries reporting more cases and clusters. ‘Social distancing’ is the way the risk of the COVID-19 virus is being managed, and we have concluded we can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.

The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest – including the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year and the three other major awards – will be announced on the evening of 16 April 2020 (under embargo until 22:00 CET) and presented to our global audience through a wide range of online and media channels.

We will be working hard to give those winners the recognition they deserve. The nominees for those awards can be seen now at worldpressphoto.org, the worldwide exhibition tour continues, and we are also looking forward to finding new ways of fulfilling our mission: connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Important dates

  • 16 April 2020 22:00 CET: 2020 Contests winners announced
  • 18 April 2020: World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 starts its worldwide tour at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. See all confirmed exhibition locations at worldpressphoto.org/calendar. More locations are added regularly.

Connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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NAB Show cancelled due to COVID-19, but alternative options are being considered

12 Mar

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith has confirmed the NAB Show has been called off, at least for the time being, due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19 (the coronavirus).

In the announcement shared on the NAB Show website, Smith says:

‘In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April. We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community.’

Later on in the post, Smith notes NAB is ‘still weighing the best potential path forward’ and is ‘committed to exploring all possible alternatives.’

The five-day event was set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada starting April 18, 2020. In addition to CP+ and The Photography Show being canceled or postponed, Adobe, AJA and Nikon all confirmed they wouldn’t be attending the NAB Show, putting a damper on the already doubtful event.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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