Microstock photography
Encyclopedia
Microstock photography, also known as micropayment photography, is a part of the stock photography
industry. 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 (RF) image.
A number of microstock sites also sell vector art
, and some sell Flash animations and video as well as images.
, who created iStockphoto
, originally a free stock photo site that quickly became an industry phenomenon. Livingstone sold iStockphoto to Getty Images
in February 2006 for $50 million US dollars. Many other sites sprang up in the years after iStockphoto's inception; some of the larger ones are Dreamstime
, Fotolia
, 123RF.com and Shutterstock
.
After a few years of initial growth microstock industry stepped into phase of mergers and acquisitions. The acquisition of iStockphoto
by Getty Images
in 2006 was followed by acquisition of StockXpert by Jupiterimages during 2006. Consequently Jupiterimages was bought by Getty Images
in 2009 which resulted closure of StockXpert in 2010 because of being non-strategic for Getty compared to iStockphoto. BigStockPhoto was purchased by Shutterstock
in 2009.
Microstock industry isn't mature yet and continues to change. Starting from limited RF license all agencies added various Extended Licenses; sites based on "pay per download" principle introduced subscription and vice versa Shutterstock
which was the only 100% subscription-based microstock agency introduced a pay-per-download scheme and later acquired BigStockPhoto to extend their presence in pay-per-download niche. Newcomer Cutcaster.com extended the pricing model by introducing a model where contributors could set their start price or could choose to use a pricing algorithm and they allowed a buyer to pay the price shown or bid on the content and name their price. Microstock prices were significantly adjusted several times by the respective agencies in the last 3 years across multiple sites. Many microstock agencies started to sell video in addition to static pictures; and some started to sell sound clips.
A recent entry in the microstock industry is Envato
which has a "the best chance of joining the top microstock agencies than any other entrant in the past six years". While PhotoDune, its stock photography marketplace, was only opened to the public on 8 August 2011, Envato has the benefit of leveraging a significant community membership garnered through its network of many other marketplaces trading in a variety of digital media. Some criticism has been made of the low nonexclusive contributor rates offered by Envato, brought over from its plethora of other marketplaces.
There is no fee to post photos on a microstock agency website. However, microstock agencies do not accept all submitters or all photographs. Each employs a team of reviewers who check every picture submitted for legal issues and technical quality, as well as artistic and commercial merit. Photographers add keywords that help potential buyers filter and find pictures of interest.
The mindset of microstock supporters is that quality will prevail and some photographers believe that they will end up earning as much income from many small sales as they would from a few large sales on a traditional stock photography site. Others participate simply as a hobby or for a side income. Although not many microstock photographers post their income levels online, those individual small sales multiplied by volume can add up to thousands of dollars.
Some professional photographers who do not participate believe that microstock devalues the practice of photography, and that the business model is unsustainable. They see the growth of microstock sites as reducing their own incomes.
Stock photography
Stock photography is the supply of photographs licensed for specific uses. It is used to fulfill the needs of creative assignments instead of hiring a photographer. Today, stock images can be presented in searchable online databases. They can be purchased and delivered online...
industry. 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 (RF) image.
A number of microstock sites also sell vector art
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
, and some sell Flash animations and video as well as images.
History
The pioneer of microstock photography was Bruce LivingstoneBruce Livingstone
Bruce Livingstone is a Canadian entrepreneur who founded iStockphoto, an online distributor of stock photography. Livingstone started iStockphoto in 2000 as a project offering stock photos for free over the internet. In 2002, high monthly bandwidth bills prodded him to implement a payment/credit...
, who created iStockphoto
IStockphoto
iStockphoto is an online, royalty free, international microstock photography provider operating with the micropayment business model. Images cost between 1 and 150 credits, depending on size and image collection .- History :The company was founded by Bruce Livingstone in May, 2000...
, originally a free stock photo site that quickly became an industry phenomenon. Livingstone sold iStockphoto to Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...
in February 2006 for $50 million US dollars. Many other sites sprang up in the years after iStockphoto's inception; some of the larger ones are Dreamstime
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a community-based stock photography agency and a major supplier of high quality digital images constituted in 2004 by Serban Enache . As of November 2010, the company had over 10 million images online, close to 100,000 contributors and more than 2,5 million users. Dreamstime is among...
, Fotolia
Fotolia
Fotolia is a microstock photography agency that is based in New York, New York. It was started by Oleg Tscheltzoff, Patrick Chassany, Thibaud Elziere in November 2005...
, 123RF.com and Shutterstock
ShutterStock
Shutterstock is a microstock photography website which maintains a library of royalty-free stock images available by subscription. Visitors can browse the entire image library for free, and can license and download images online through a variety of subscription offers.Shutterstock adds to its...
.
After a few years of initial growth microstock industry stepped into phase of mergers and acquisitions. The acquisition of iStockphoto
IStockphoto
iStockphoto is an online, royalty free, international microstock photography provider operating with the micropayment business model. Images cost between 1 and 150 credits, depending on size and image collection .- History :The company was founded by Bruce Livingstone in May, 2000...
by Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...
in 2006 was followed by acquisition of StockXpert by Jupiterimages during 2006. Consequently Jupiterimages was bought by Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...
in 2009 which resulted closure of StockXpert in 2010 because of being non-strategic for Getty compared to iStockphoto. BigStockPhoto was purchased by Shutterstock
ShutterStock
Shutterstock is a microstock photography website which maintains a library of royalty-free stock images available by subscription. Visitors can browse the entire image library for free, and can license and download images online through a variety of subscription offers.Shutterstock adds to its...
in 2009.
Microstock industry isn't mature yet and continues to change. Starting from limited RF license all agencies added various Extended Licenses; sites based on "pay per download" principle introduced subscription and vice versa Shutterstock
ShutterStock
Shutterstock is a microstock photography website which maintains a library of royalty-free stock images available by subscription. Visitors can browse the entire image library for free, and can license and download images online through a variety of subscription offers.Shutterstock adds to its...
which was the only 100% subscription-based microstock agency introduced a pay-per-download scheme and later acquired BigStockPhoto to extend their presence in pay-per-download niche. Newcomer Cutcaster.com extended the pricing model by introducing a model where contributors could set their start price or could choose to use a pricing algorithm and they allowed a buyer to pay the price shown or bid on the content and name their price. Microstock prices were significantly adjusted several times by the respective agencies in the last 3 years across multiple sites. Many microstock agencies started to sell video in addition to static pictures; and some started to sell sound clips.
A recent entry in the microstock industry is Envato
Envato
Envato is an Australian based, privately held company that provides tutorial sites that teach people skills in a variety of creative areas as well as providing a means to sell their digital goods via a family of online marketplaces...
which has a "the best chance of joining the top microstock agencies than any other entrant in the past six years". While PhotoDune, its stock photography marketplace, was only opened to the public on 8 August 2011, Envato has the benefit of leveraging a significant community membership garnered through its network of many other marketplaces trading in a variety of digital media. Some criticism has been made of the low nonexclusive contributor rates offered by Envato, brought over from its plethora of other marketplaces.
Practices and controversy
Each microstock agency uses a different pricing and payment scheme. In some instances the same photo can have several prices. Photographers can upload the same pictures on multiple sites or, with some agencies, become an exclusive supplier and receive an increased commission and additional benefits.There is no fee to post photos on a microstock agency website. However, microstock agencies do not accept all submitters or all photographs. Each employs a team of reviewers who check every picture submitted for legal issues and technical quality, as well as artistic and commercial merit. Photographers add keywords that help potential buyers filter and find pictures of interest.
The mindset of microstock supporters is that quality will prevail and some photographers believe that they will end up earning as much income from many small sales as they would from a few large sales on a traditional stock photography site. Others participate simply as a hobby or for a side income. Although not many microstock photographers post their income levels online, those individual small sales multiplied by volume can add up to thousands of dollars.
Some professional photographers who do not participate believe that microstock devalues the practice of photography, and that the business model is unsustainable. They see the growth of microstock sites as reducing their own incomes.
External links
- Robert Levine, "Photo wars: A $2 billion business gets rough", Business 2.0 magazine, April 2, 2007