
I am not talking about the stock market, not that jungle. The jungle I am hacking through is the stock image jungle. From monsters like
Getty Images and
Corbis to the micro stock agencies where you can pick up a great image for $5 or less. Who are they and how does this all work. Here is what I know:
Most stock agencies sell images based on size and usage. So an image that is small and will only be used once in a limited small run may only cost you a few bucks. But an image that will be used on a hording (that is a billboard for us Americans) and plastered all over New York or London will run you big, big bucks. The photographer lets these agencies represent their images for "right of use". He makes his money from a cut or a percent. It can be anywhere from 25% to as much as 50% of the image sale. Micro stock is different. These guys deal in volume and will sell your images for pennies compared to the large stock agencies. In fact you won't even get a check till you have sold $75 to $100 worth of images. Not much profit for the amount of work that goes into imaging. So, the idea is to have large volumes of photos online and key worded so that when some one wants an image of a "crying boy" they key-in those words and your image pops up. That is of course, along with 150 other crying boys, so you still have to have great images that stand out above the rest.
So who are these micro stock agencies? Here are just a few. The most famous being
iStockPhoto also
Shutter Stock,
Dreams Time,
123rf.com,
Feature Pics. Feature Pics actually let's photographers set the price for their images. Then there is
Stock.xchng, these guys even have many images that are free! I found images on Stock.xchng that were priced images on iStock. Not sure how they do that, but for the end user it is a great deal.
At this time I have not taken the dive into the micro stock agency. I am represented by
IndiaPicture. Of course they specialise in ..er.. Pictures ...of India. One thing they have just started on their site, that I have not seen of the others is Live Support. Not sure how this is used but I guess it is at least fun to talk to someone in India for once about your image needs and not your credit card statement.
Labels: how to, Photography, website
10 Comments:
Here's my top 5 list:
http://www.scottkelby.com/
http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/
http://aphlog.com/
http://www.moosenewsblog.com/
http://rickleephoto.blogspot.com/
and a 6th ;-)
http://thedigitaltrekker.com/
Some of these I know ;) But the aplog.com led me to http://www.cameraporn.net/. Not crazy about the name, but check this out! http://www.cameraporn.net/2008/05/12/60-photography-links-you-cant-live-without/
Thanks for sharing.
I'm leaving a message because I don't want your mom angry but I have little to contribute. I like your list... included in mine are www.mytopography.com - great writer and insight with beautiful pictures. And then there's my blog... that is ... uh... under construction... that should be added to your list when it's up again. :)
My top are
http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/feed/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheDigitalTrekkerNews
http://feeds.feedburner.com/PhotoshopInsider
http://feeds.feedburner.com/AdobeLightroomKillerTips
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChaseJarvis
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/WOBq
http://www.earthboundlight.com/subscribe/phototips.xml
http://www.moosenewsblog.com/feed/rss
Mike
Looks like I dip into the same pool. I also check Flying With Fish once in a while, The Layers Magazine blog, and Rob Galbraith's site. That list of 60 sites looks good, but who's got the time? (plus, I wasn't on their list, so I'm boycotting... :-)
Thanks Mike for the list. Most of it look familiar.
David- I load all the blogs in iGoogle and use a tab or two to hold them. This way I can browse though them and look at the headlines and see if there is anything worth reading or any new news. Just a thought.
I don't have any to add, but thanks for sharing your list and this post. I now have lots to read, but your blog is first on my bookmark. Keep up your excellent work !!!
http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog
http://www.gavingough.com/blog
and of course
http://thedigitaltrekker.com/news
and that's pretty much it for me. I'm still quite new to everything, relatively speaking, and there's such a lot for me to take in that I end up having to play the 'quality over quantity' card or i'd never get out of the chair.
Hi there, yes I'm almost daily here! Yours is one of the logs I read. Nice to read/see your favourits! I'm a 'beginner photographer' from Holland and love it to see your work... it's a my dream to be one like you. I'm working hard on/to it ...
Greetz
Jonneke
(www.jonnekeoskam.nl)
Jonneke - Great to know I have readers in Holland. I love the Netherlands. By the way, for a "beginner" you have a very nice site with a lot of great work. If you really are a beginner, (and not just being modest) you have a very bright future ahead of you.
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