Microstock photography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Microstock photography or Micro Stock Photography is an offshoot of traditional (macro) stock photography. What defines a company as a microstock photography company is that they (1) source their images almost exclusively via the Internet, (2) do so from a wider range of photographers than the traditional stock agencies (including a willingness to accept images from "amateurs" and hobbyists), and (3) sell their images at a very low rate (anywhere from $.20 - $10) for a royalty-free image.
The mindset of microstock is that quantity will prevail and the photographer will end up making as much from many small sales as they would from a few large sales on a traditional stock photography site. Many people disagree whether or not this is giving the photographer a just price for their image; many professional photographers believe microstock devalues the industry.
The pioneer of microstock photography was Bruce Livingstone when he created iStockPhoto, originally a free stock photo site that quickly became an industry phenomenon. Ultimately, Livingstone sold iStockphoto to Getty Images on February 9, 2006 for $50 million USD. Other leading microstock companies include: BigStockPhoto, Fotolia and ShutterStock.
[edit] See also
- Stock photography
- List of Stock Photography Archives
[edit] External links
- British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies Trade association for stock agencies in UK.
- Coordination Of European Picture Agencies Trade association for stock agencies in Europe.
- Picture Archive Council of America Trade association for stock agencies in US.
- Stock Artists Alliance worldwide photographers’ trade organization.
- BigStockPhoto a leading, low-cost, royalty-free stock image provider.
