.PICS Domain Extension

Why choose a .PICS domain?

This is an amputated word, and deliberately so. “Pictures” was shortened to “pics” by use, the way “weblog” became “blog”. Such clippings are rare in the root zone, where almost every word is whole — and they all say the same thing: an informal register, spoken language rather than written. That is exactly what separates .pics from .photography or .gallery. The first is on first-name terms; the others are not.

An amputated word

“Pictures” clipped by use, as “blog” was before it. Rare in the root zone, where almost every word is whole.

The portfolio

Series, projects, prints, rates by type of session. Twenty strong images beat two hundred adequate ones.

The tone

The word is casual: it suits the spontaneous, less so the corporate. For a high-end wedding studio, .photography sits better.

Sharing

Private galleries, proofs to approve, client downloads. A short address is dictated over the phone after the shoot.

Rights

Usage granted, duration, retouching, credit lines. Put it in writing before the shoot: that is where misunderstandings start.

What it actually changes

• It is a clipping, not a whole word. Like .blog, and for the same reason: it comes from speech.
• It announces a casual tone. That is what separates it from .photography, distinctly more formal.
• No registration restrictions. No photographic practice to demonstrate to the registrar.
• Four letters, no trap. Typed quickly and dictated without spelling, in French as well.