Microstock photography
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.
Many newer companies have attempted to duplicate iStockphoto's business model. ShutterStock, Fotolia, BigStockPhoto and Dreamstime are among the competitors to iStockphoto, all with hundreds of thousands of photos available for download.
See also
External links
- Industry News
- Industry Associations
- 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
Mailing lists
- Micropayment (Microstock) Yahoo! mailing list, 996 members
Forums - general
- Microstock Group A meeting place for microstock photographers.
- Micro Stock Forum & Agency Ranking
- Talk Micro Micropayment Stock Forum
Agency forums