How normal people get their photos featured in Apple's ads and wallpapers for iOS, OS X

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2015
One of the things that has defined Apple for the past decade is its dedication to and admiration for photography, whether it's improving the iPhone's camera or creating advertising campaigns centered around famous images. Here's how the company selects the images that it features on billboards, in commercials, and on your desktop.




TL;DR: Don't call them, they'll call you -- with an offer that includes financial compensation for licensing.

Reports from around the web suggest that Apple spots great photos from a number of sources. They almost certainly monitor Flickr's feed of images captured with iPhones --?and likely other image sharing sites, like Google Photos, as well --?but they've also been known to contact photographers directly after having found a picture on their portfolio site.

"(Apple) contacted me about my photos of Yosemite before the reveal of OS X Yosemite," Reddit user LostConstruct wrote in one thread. "I was in talks with them for quite a bit but ultimately they didn't go with them. :( They contacted me through my website though and not through the social sites."

Photographer Brandon O Se --?whose black-and-white photo of people walking through Copenhagen's Superkilen Park is widely featured in Apple's "Shot on iPhone 6" campaign --?said that he was contacted by an Apple representative after his shot became popular on Flickr.

"Then out of the blue in December I got a Flickr mail from a person who had zero photos asking me to contact them about a research project. I ignored it. It was spam. But when the person sent the mail again urging me to be swift in response, I replied. Details were sketchy. There might be interest in my photo, would I be interested? Ehm...OK," he wrote.

"Then to my amazement I saw the name Apple and I was definitely interested."

According to O Se, the licensing process took around two months from start to finish. Apple compensated him for rights to the work, and even called to let him know in which cities his photo would be featured.

It seems, then, that the best way to get your work featured by Apple is simply to keep taking great photos and sharing them with the world.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    Look AI, if these folks are using iOS they are not 'normal', they are exceptional people. ;)
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  • Reply 2 of 11
    Look AI, if these folks are using iOS they are not 'normal', they are exceptional people. ;)
    Ok, "How exceptional people get their work featured by Apple".
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  • Reply 3 of 11
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    No ballpark on their payout?
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  • Reply 4 of 11
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Can we get an upload of this black and white photo?

    Also I feel sorry for all the people who thought the contacts were spam.
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  • Reply 5 of 11
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    Who's not normal?
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  • Reply 6 of 11
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by knowitall View Post



    Who's not normal?



    Each person is normal to someone.

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  • Reply 7 of 11
    paulmjohnsonpaulmjohnson Posts: 1,380member

    These have been my favorite Apple adverts for a while.  All of the ones I've seen look stunning - it's amazing a phone can do that.

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  • Reply 8 of 11
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member

    This is a great story. Especially because it highlights the fact that a typical user can shoot great photos with the iPhone.

     

    It would've been easier, and much less meaningful, for Apple to hire professional photographers to shoot photos on the iPhone for this ad campaign. But opening up the search criteria to anyone shooting with an iPhone, gives the ads that much more oomph.

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  • Reply 9 of 11
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    caleb2168 wrote: »
    Ok, "How exceptional people get their work featured by Apple".

    There you go. :)
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  • Reply 10 of 11
    APPLE IS TANKING TECH STOCKS GLOBALLY.
    The march within the information tech tenants encroaching into traditional office areas continues unabated, while using the colossus, Apple, coping with residence within the prime of Martin Place.
    Source: http://thelatestupdates.com/apple-is-tanking-tech-stocks-globally/
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  • Reply 11 of 11
    rivertriprivertrip Posts: 146member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post

     

    These have been my favorite Apple adverts for a while.  All of the ones I've seen look stunning - it's amazing a phone can do that.




    A phone can't "do that." A photographer with a camera (that happens to be included with a phone) can.

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