What is Stock Photography?

In a Nutshell, Stock Photography is sort of like a Private Library of images for sale. To give a long answer you might want to look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_photography WikiPedia are the definitive source of information.

The definition of "Stock" is changing all the time and there are many Business Models out there. In the year 2000, the most common Model was where a Graphic Artist would purchase a CD entitled "Food" or "Italian Food" hoping to get half a dozen images out of 250 that they could use for a Menu or a Fast Food Flyer. The CD would cost upwards of $100.

The "Stock" Market changed a few years ago when Microstock Websites hit the Market, "Hit" might be too gentle a word, "Turned the Market on its head" might be more accurate. Now Graphic Artists can buy Images, Vectors or even Video's for as low as $1 each.

The largest Microstock Agency is Alamy.com, they have approx 12 Million Images and represent over 50,000 Photographers and Artists. The competition is fierce but as always, the Cream rises to the top.

Stock Photography is much different than taking "Snapshots" of things, there are many Legal Issues to contend with because of the risk of Litigation and the cost of Insurance for Microstock Agents. You can take a picture of the Eiffel Tower by Day but not at night as this infringes on the Copyright of the Lightshow displayed by the Tower at night. You can't take a picture of a Horse because of the risk of being sued by the Owner; the same applies to Private Homes and Businesses. If you use a Company Logo in the Image or design it may end up being used on a Racist or Pornography Website causing damage to the Company or its products.

In the not so recent past many of the images were out-takes or low quality shots and customers had to troll through pages and pages of poor shots to find a few good ones. There are thousands of "Stock" Photography websites online these days with people hoping to cash in on the boom but very few make money. There are many websites where Photographers post out of focus, uninteresting, boring, over processed and repetitious images and as I said, none of them make money.

To shoot Stock Photography you have to think "Stock", the image is probably not going to be hanging in someone's Office or Living room; it's not going to be used in a Calendar or Postcard although a very small percentage of Graphic Artists cater to this market. It will more likely be used on a Website as part of a Montage on the Flyer for your local Fast Food Outlet.

Magazines, Book Cover's, Financial Reports, Company Prospectus, Catalog's, TV News and Advertising, PR Companies, Home Builders, Feminine Hygiene Products, the list is endless of where Stock Shots will be needed.

The Quality issue is one of the biggest factors for Graphic Artists and Print Makers. Contrary to popular belief, Size is not a big factor; Noise is the single biggest reason for rejection by Photo Editors. Daytime shots are more popular than Night, Portrait is preferred to Landscape, Children sell more than Adults, Females sell more than Male, Young outsells Old, Tight Shots are more interesting than Wide Angle, Colour is better than Black and White.

How do you compete with 50,000 other Photographers? Personally I don�t worry about competing, I focus on Quality and the rest takes care of itself. I think it was Anthony Robbins who said that; �The harder I work, the Luckier I get�.

Digital Photography has opened up a Pandora�s Box in the World of Photography, it seems everyone with a Digital Camera calls themselves a �Photographer� these days and I personally think this is a good thing. It has �Raised the Bar� substantially forcing everyone to deliver a higher standard. Getty Images plan to sell images from Flikr, I say good luck there are many "Nice" images on Flikr but not very many that would get past Photo Editors.

As a former �Film Purist� who thought that Digital would take years to get up to the quality of Film, I was pleasantly surprised when I got a Canon D30 (3mp SLR) and found that I could take hundreds of shots for free compared to the �50 or so a week that I spent on Film and Developing. I also found that the quality of my work improved significantly because I could shoot the same subject many times with different settings.

Photography has never been about equipment for me at least, the �Left Brain versus Right Brain� struggle to balance Artist versus Technician, being enough of an Artist to spot the opportunity and being enough of a Technician to capture it, and constantly trying to improve. The best equipment in the World does not take the best Pictures in the World. For me Stock Photography is a constant challenge to be more creative and less repetitive, I'm making money so I must be doing something right.

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What is Stock Photography?