PHILIPPINES, APRIL 27, 2011 – Looking for Filipino-looking subjects on stock image websites can be a pain, and former ad agency art director Mich Guerrero knows this. “When I was still working [in the agency], I would search for images on stock websites and all I got were Caucasian subjects. I’d end up just coloring their hair and changing their skin color in Photoshop to make them look Filipino,” she says. “When you’re working for local clients, they want to see locals in their ads.”
So Mich decided to turn her stock-image frustration into a entrepreneurship opportunity. Together with her husband, Luigi, she put up PogoStock (www.pogostock.com), the first Philippine-based stock image website.
With PogoStock, searches for distinctly Philippine photos is a breeze. All photos are tagged with English and Tagalog words, making it easy to fish for photos of local items, say, dilis (dried anchovies) or palitaw (a rice delicacy). Even photos with emotions or words that some people have a hard time translating into English can easily be searched for.
“A lot of people find it difficult translating words like ‘gigil’ or ‘kikay’ to English,” Luigi explains.
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Although the couple have communication backgrounds (Luigi was a VJ and DJ), both had no knowledge in business. “We had to buy books and read stuff online,” recalls Luigi. “Good thing we had friends and family who helped us along the way. We also had to learn how to apply for permits and whatnot with different government agencies ourselves. It’s a process that we slowly learned.”
The pair also had to start their stock library, which was easy at first, as Mich herself is a photographer. “We sent out surveys to friends in advertising agencies as to what photos they most need for projects,” she recalls. “And then we rented studios and shot them.”
Mich and Luigi enlisted the help of their photographer friends, professionals and hardcore hobbyists, to build their stock image bank. Enthusiasts such as Bob Guerrero, Dan Gil, and even celebrity photographer Jason Tablante have contributed their photos to the site.
“The composition has to be good, since ad agencies will be using the images,” says Luigi. Hopefully PogoStock can help put a stop to re-coloring blonde, blue-eyed models in Photoshop.
Image: Apy Arevallo
