There are two
main types of photography to sell, that is assignment photography and
Stock Photography. Assignment photography is taking photographs of a
predetermined event, and stock Photography is taking photographs in the
hope that you will be able to find a future buyer. Most professional
photographers take both types, the weddings and portraits take care of
immediate bills, as they command a higher price, because they are
generally only of interest to a limited number of people. There are
exceptions like being hired for a specific assignment to photograph an
Olympic Event, and then being able to sell that photograph
Internationally. In general, stock photographs command a lower price,
but they are more saleable to a wider base.
Stock photographs’ are generally sold
on the Internet through what is known as “Stock Libraries”. They
generally all work on a very similar system, you take photographs and
submit them to a stock library and they sell them to interested parties
such as travel brochure companies, advertising agents, book publishers.
This way of marketing photographs has distinct advantages, if you are a
part time freelancer, or have just started your own business. Either
way you are probably too busy making portfolios, and taking pictures to
market them. Another factor, which makes this method of marketing
advantageous, is that when you are starting you do not have the network
of contacts to market your photographs. Added to that there are some
people who won’t or can’t perfect their marketing skills.
A downside of this marketing method is
that there is a little more to it than taking photographs and waiting
for the Royalty cheques to come in. Most stock libraries, will want to
re-caption your pictures to fit in with their image, this can be a time
consuming process and it can take months to get them online. Like many
aspects of selling it is a “numbers game”, the more photographs you
have available to sell the more you are likely to sell. This is a
fairly general aspect of marketing, but it is more specific in this
instance, as prospective buyers may look at other images, if they like
one particular one. Because of the time factor of getting your work to
the buyers or the public, many stock libraries, have insisted on a
minimum contract, which means that they typically ask to retain your
work for a minimum of two years.
Some of the stock libraries are
general and some are more specific. Marine Themes obviously specialise
in underwater photography, and they scan and correct all their images
before sale. They are then color corrected to ensure that any prints
will be the best quality. All this takes time, to get the images
actually for sale on the Internet. The benefit is that marine
photography is highly specialised, and this process does increase your
chances to merchandise your work.
In the past the market was limited to
buyers who were sent colour brochures and made their selection from
them, now the market is expanding, as many libraries have widened their
sales base by allowing customer’s to make their purchases directly on
line. This factor alone has increased the numbers game the more people
who have access, the more who are likely to buy. Some stock libraries
are general and some are highly specific such as South African images.
Some cover specialist areas such as marine photography, or nature.
So how do you choose the stock library
that will be the most beneficial to you? There are independent reports
covering the various strengths and weaknesses. The annual Freelance
Photographer's Market Handbook in the UK features a section on stock
libraries and is an excellent reference guide. Some of the stock
libraries have been established for ten years. They have hundreds of
photographer’s and hundreds of thousands of images. As a result of this
they may be reluctant to take on new clients. However if you have a
large portfolio available immediately it may be worth trying one of the
older companies. However you will be competing with established
photographers who have built up a client base. Many of the new
companies have less than a hundred photographers and you will start by
being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
At the end of the day, the choice has
to be your personal decision, and there is nothing to stop you from
registering with more than one library. Whilst the market is growing
and will continue to grow to encompass on line sales, remember to
consider that sales from a printed catalogue will be important for a
while, and it may be advantageous for you to choose a library with a
well referenced catalogue.
Every stock library has different
terms and conditions. In general most give you a straight 50% of the
earnings. However some do let the images go into the hands of “sub
agents”, and they will expect an additional cut from any sales. Read
your contract well before you sign and beware of copyright issues.
Normally when the photograph is sold the buyer is issued with a license
number, which only allows them to use the image the once. You minimise
your royalties if you allow a buyer to pay once and then get multiple
uses out of it.
All in all if you are prepared to look
at your market strategy over a long period of time, stock libraries
offer you an option. There are forums for professional photographers
that do address the issue, and it may be worth you looking into othe
peoples style and work. Here are some I recommend you look into and
consider selling your stock through:- PhotoStockPlus and Photo.com
There are also available a huge number
of royalty free sites. You may question why buyer’s would consider
paying for an image whilst they can obtain other’s free? The answer
here is that royalty free photographs don’t make them free, you do
purchase them, but you have the rights to re-use the stock photos and
CDs for as many different projects and clients as you wish without
paying further licensing fees.
