Yuri Arcurs
 |
This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (November 2012) |
| Yuri Arcurs | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jacob Yuri Wackerhausen 27 July 1979 Aarhus |
| Residence | Head Road, Upper Fresnaye, Cape Town, South Africa |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Education | Aarhus Cathedral School, Gardehusarregimentet, Royal Danish Army, First Class Sergeant - Special Support and Reconnaissance Company Aarhus Universitet Philosophy, Aarhus Universitet Psychology |
| Occupation | Photographer, Psychologist - Interaction Design, Speaker, Entrepreneur IT, Investor |
| Known for | World’s top selling stock photographer since 2009 and proposed as one of the highest earning photographers in the world |
| Net worth | +50mil USD |
| Spouse(s) | Cecilie Skjold Johansen |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
Yuri Arcurs, born Jacob Yuri Wackerhausen on July 27, 1979 is a Dane known for being the world’s top selling stock photographer since 2009[1] and owner of PeopleImages.com.[2] He is working mostly in the realm of online industry of stock imagery.
Contents
Career[edit]
Yuri started selling his images online as a hobby in 2005 whilst studying Psychology at Aarhus University.[3] His images were sold through online agencies like Shutterstock.
Yuri is most well known for selling microstock images. Microstock images are often accused of being under priced, and cited as devaluing the world photography market.[4] Yuri has completed minor formal education in photography [5] but is well regarded for his highly technical approach. He has an agreement with both Hasselblad and Profoto[citation needed]. Yuri has his own product line of photography equipment of which the Yuri Arcurs SteadyPod is the most popular item[citation needed].
Yuri attends larger microstock and macrostock related events and has, among other activities, given the opening lecture at Cepic in 2010[6] and taken part in a panel discussion hosted by B&H Photo.[7] Yuri asserts that he is the top selling photographer “on all agencies that represent his collection”,[8] this is difficult to prove as many sites do not have a public ranking list. The public ranking lists; iStockphoto[9] and Photodune[10] do however add credence to the claim. Yuri is thought to be the “best selling photographer period”[11] and currently sells an image every 8 seconds.[12] Stock photography journalist Jim Pickerell has written several articles supporting the claim that Yuri is amongst the best selling photographers online.[13]
Yuri also submits images to more traditional high priced agencies such as Cultura Images and Tetra Images.
Personal life[edit]
Yuri attended Aarhus Katedralskole (cathedral school) and matriculated as a mathematical "major". This unit conducted missions similar to that of the Danish Huntsmen Corps. In 2002 he served for 6 months in Kosovo. [14] Yuri won the international rifle sharpshooting competition for all NATO forces when representing Denmark in 2002 and was awarded a Firestarter made of Gold. Yuri is currently living in Cape Town, South Africa with his Norwegian fiancée Cecilie Skjold Johansen who maintains a job as a corporate psychologist. His father, Steen Wackerhausen, is a professor of Philosophy at Aarhus University and holds a dual doctoral degree in both psychology and philosophy. [15] Yuri's mother, Birgitte Krogh Wackerhausen, is a teacher with several courses completed in the field of Psychology.[16]
Business Structure[edit]
Yuri Arcurs Photography supplies images to the stock industry and allows licensing to buyers. The resulting royalties make up a bulk of earnings. As of 2012 the company employed more than 100 people; around 15 of whom are in-house photographers[citation needed]. The majority of staff are engaged in post-production such as retouching and keywording.[17] Yuri has also been involved with an outsourcing company in India [18] there has however been no recent mention of ongoing involvement. A newly formed subsidiary in Cape Town, South Africa Yuri Arcurs Productions appears to manage these aspects of the post-production. On May 3, 2012, Yuri launched www.peopleimages.com to serve as a direct sales platform for the Yuri Arcurs image collection. The launch leaked to the media and made the front page three days before the official launch date.[19] The launch was not a surprise to the industry and it coincided with an announced IPO filed by Shutterstock[20] and rumors of one from Getty Images.[21] The launch was covered by Danish television with Yuri’s top selling model Emma W. H. as a featured guest due to her status as the world’s best selling female model.[22] Yuri runs a 3 year trainee program he calls a “photography academy” in the style of reality TV [1]. The entrance examination is a 2 week boot camp that runs every year and is announced on Yuri’s blog. Yuri Arcurs Productions has a charity program to recruit and train new retouchers who come from poor circumstances and are unable to afford computers and software. This program, called "the ambition program", received a grant of R600000 by the Cape Town film commission.[23]
Growth Rate[edit]
Nothing specific is known about the company's growth rate as it is solely owned by Yuri Arcurs himself thus the books are not public. It is known that Yuri started shooting photography in 2005 and the number of images on People Images is 79,650 as of November 4, 2012. This growth rate is most likely above the average growth rate of the industry, although Yuri has been quoted suggesting that the industry is in decline due to image saturation[citation needed]. Total sales for Yuri's numerous collections are not known, but are estimated to be in excess of ten million downloads. Yuri is often referred to as the '#1 selling photographer in the world', it would however be nearly impossible to confirm this.
Impact and Exposure[edit]
PDN magazine recognised Yuri as one of the most influential photographers of this decade due to the volume of his collection and the impact he has had on the industry.[24] He has also been profiled by German Der Spiegel[25] and Photoshop Creative.
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.selling-stock.com/ViewArticle.aspx?code=JHP2540
- ^ http://www.peopleimages.com
- ^ http://blogs.photopreneur.com/danish-photographer-yuri-arcus-probably-the-best-microstock-photographer-in-the-world
- ^ http://blogs.photopreneur.com/stock-photography-agencies-for-amateur-photographers
- ^ http://hunchmag.com/interview-yuri-arcurs-the-top-selling-microstock-photographer/
- ^ http://www.mystockphoto.org/cepic-new-media-conference-yuri-arcurs/
- ^ http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/eventDetails.jsp/id/676
- ^ http://arcurs.com/who/
- ^ http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=295432
- ^ http://photodune.net/author/top_authors
- ^ http://blog.johnlund.com/2011/01/yuri-arcurs-leading-microstock.html
- ^ http://arcurs.com/who/
- ^ http://www.selling-stock.com/ViewArticle.aspx?code=JHP2540
- ^ http://www.microstockdiaries.com/yuri-arcurs.html
- ^ http://pure.au.dk/portal/da/filsw@hum.au.dk
- ^ http://pub.uvm.dk/1999/prakspor/8.htm
- ^ http://peopleimages.com/more
- ^ http://www.fastmediamagazine.com/blog/2010/06/14/yuri-arcurs-on-success-as-a-microstock-photograper/
- ^ http://arcurs.com/2012/06/www-peopleimages-com-has-launched-a-post-about-how-it-got-there/
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/14/net-us-shutterstock-brief-idUSBRE84D0N320120514
- ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/589b94b2-a41f-11e1-a701-00144feabdc0.html#axzz20yW9y9dP
- ^ http://go.tv2.dk/articledag/id-50113770:her-er-verdens-mest-brugte-model.html
- ^ http://peopleimages.com/more
- ^ http://www.pdnonline.com/Archived-Article-467.shtml?articletitle=FEATURES-PDN%20ONLINE_Survey%20Results_%20The%2030%20Most%20Influential%20Photographers%20of%20The%20Decade__56.xml
- ^ http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-64949445.html
