IMPORTANT! JumpStory ceased their operation in September 2024 so the content of this article may no longer be relevant or present any value to those who search for “non stocky looking images”. Also, all links to JumpStory website have been removed.
Today, I’m thrilled to have a chat with Jonathan Low, Co-founder of JumpStory, the platform that is changing the stock photo industry!
If you are getting tired with the so-called “stock in the past”, I’m sure you will love reading this interview.
Hi Jonathan, thank you for your time and our invitation to share your story with our readers.
Why JumpStory?
When Anders Thiim and I founded JumpStory in the Summer of 2018 we wanted to totally change how the world of stock images works. We simply HATE stock photos, but we LOVE authentic images, simple business models and great storytelling!
What we strive for is NO cheesy, boring, cliché-looking or overused images, no more complex license terms, and no more search experiences like on Altavista 20 years ago. Anders and I are focused on transforming the stock image industry.
I want to give you the example of our Swedish neighbour Spotify, as they completely transformed the music industry many years ago. Daniel Ek and his visionary colleagues at Spotify managed to totally change the user experience. So, it wasn’t just a matter of putting a lot of music online, but to re-invent the way that we search and get inspired by music, which was simply brilliant.
Such transformations haven’t taken place in ‘our’ industry yet, but it’s about to happen, and JumpStory is leading the way.
What kind of images can we find at Jumpstory.com?
JumpStory curates authentic images created by passionate amateurs. Images of real people in real-life situations.
We use machine learning (AI) to look for this kind of authenticity. So, where some tech-companies want to use AI to generate fake images, we’re going in the completely opposite direction. We want to contribute to a more authentic and real world. Not a fake or AI-generated one.
In the stock-photo industry amateurs are often viewed as less competent than the professional photographers. But for us amateur photographers are amazing at being the creative flies on the wall. They capture real life, as it happens, and they focus on the photo itself instead of thinking about staging, model releases etc.
What makes JumpStory different compared to “old school” stock photo agency?
We tend to have a different style of images than our colleagues in the industry. JumpStory focuses on images that move people. This means that we primarily offer access to images of lifestyle, people, emotions, nature, travelling, marketing, health, food, holidays, landscapes, wallpapers, countries & cities. So, if you are searching for breaking news photos, we are typically not the right choice.
How in your opinion “Images with impact” can transform current stock photography industry?
Images with impact create a completely new standard in the industry that’s overflooded with photos that not only don’t perform, but often actively contribute to low content performance. Some of the typically stocky looking photos you can find, almost create the uncanny valley effect in the viewer – they look so fake and strange, that looking at them evokes negative emotions. Using images like that is a great way of making sure you don’t reach a single content-oriented goal.
What influences human perception positively are images that are authentic and relatable. That’s why Images with Impact have such transformative power, they show real people and real emotions – the life as we live it.
Do you think that business models different to what you call “stock in the past” have their chance to be successful?
Definitely! If something isn’t working, it must be changed. The business models of the stock photo industry make using them overly complicated, and it reflects in how these businesses are rated by their customers. JumpStory was named the stock image platform with the highest customer satisfaction in the world, while most of our competitors are increasingly struggling to make their users happy.
Finding the real issues your customers experience and solving them is what will guarantee your success, and that’s what JumpStory is focusing on.
Most of start-ups founded in Denmark moved abroad to grow their businesses, but you decided to stay in Aarhus. Why?
Silicone valley, New York and Shanghai are very trendy places to have your headquarters, but the notion that you must be located in these areas in order to succeed is absolutely false, and we are proving that. Aarhus is already home to many fast-growing tech start-ups, meaning the city is attracting great talent from all over the world, so the future outlook on the city’s business potential is very bright, and we want to be here for it.
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But most importantly, Aarhus is our home, and that makes it the most special place on the planet for us, Silicone Valley just doesn’t compare.
FREE access to JumpStory for all residents of Aarhus? Nice move!
Aarhus has given us so much, from secure childhoods to great education and opportunities, so it’s only natural we want to give back. Like I mentioned earlier, the start-up ecosystem in Aarhus is growing day by day, and we hope that our initiative can be another element helping in attracting talent. We want to contribute to the sustainable growth of all businesses and NGOs in the city of smiles.
Can you tell us more about the people behind JumpStory success?
JumpStory team is a combination of young creatives and skilled tech-entrepreneurs. At out office in Aarhus, we are from 8 different nationalities, so we get to experience each-others cultures, which is very exciting. We are a widely ambitious bunch, and we are continuously expanding the team with new, incredibly talented colleagues.
Image licensing and usage rights are your priority. How does the image insurance protect JumpStory users compared to other free image platforms?
An issue we often see is when a person decides to use a photo from a free stock image website, and is taken to court over it, because as it turns out, despite the initial appearances, the image was not copyright free. When the users search for images with JumpStory, they only access images with an international standard licence.
Furthermore, we have a global Insurance to keep our users safe.
What unique tools can we find on Jumpstory that are not available elsewhere?
Our goal is to make finding the perfect image as simple and seamless as possible, which is why we develop features and solutions to help our customers in doing just that. For example, JumpStory’s TextMatch feature allows the user to pair their text with the most adequate photos in matters of seconds, all it takes is pasting the written content.
Additionally, you get access to a sophisticated editing tool with a background removal option.
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For the ones searching for a very specific image, we have launched the Private Assistant feature – here the user describes the photo they are looking for, we find it and send it out to them within 24 hours.
Additionally, we have implemented exclusive content and living images (JumpStories), which can only be found on JumpStory.
Where will we see JumpStory in the coming years?
We are not slowing down on innovation, and you can expect JumpStory to come up with many things the stock photo industry has not seen before. Above all, we will be staying laser-focused on our mission to make images more impactful, so that businesses can focus on what they do best: building and selling their products and services.
Thank you Jonathan for sharing your vision with our readers. I keep my fingers crossed for further success of JumpStory and showing us that there is something different and beyond the “stocky” content.
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