500px has launched a new, easy-to-use global
photographer directory with over 50,000 photographers from 11,000 searchable locations across 191 countries.
Customers may search for a photographer in a specific city or town who specializes in one of 18 different categories of photography. Some of the searchable locations (it’s not clear how many) have no photographers listed at the present time. Customers would then need to search a nearby city to find someone who could do the job.
Once a customers finds a photographer they can view all the images that photographer has submitted to 500px and any galleries the photographer may have set up. Photographers with a large number of images on 500px, or those with more than one specialty, are advised to set up galleries with a few of their best image in each specialty so customers can easily review the best of their portfolio. Most photographers indicate that they specialize in two to three of these 18 categories.
Customer can also search the 500px Marketplace using keywords. In a keyword search all the images in the 50,000+ photographer collection that relate to the keyword will be shown. Prices for stock image uses are:
| 1800 × 1196px / 25 × 16.6" @72dpi |
$34 |
| 2400 × 1595px / 16.6 × 11" @144dpi |
$99 |
| 4074 × 2707px / 13.5 × 9" @300dpi |
$149 |
| Product for Resale |
$648 |
| Multi-Seat |
$99 |
| Unlimited Print |
$299 |
| Extended Legal Warranty |
$199 |
Photographers participating in the directory may also supply a brief biography, availability information, equipment used and languages spoken. When a client finds a suitable photographer, they click the “Hire” button and are put in direct contact with the photographer who negotiates the fee for the job and retains 100% of what the customer pays.
The following is a list of the various categories, the total number of photographer in each category and a breakdown of the number of photographers in each category for four major cities – Moscow, London, New York and Los Angeles.
| |
Total In |
Moscow |
London |
New York |
Los Angeles |
| |
Category |
|
|
|
|
| Aerial |
1,135 |
14 |
8 |
8 |
13 |
| Architecture |
8,431 |
177 |
164 |
110 |
59 |
| Automotive |
1,512 |
30 |
24 |
8 |
16 |
| Event |
4,506 |
70 |
74 |
46 |
37 |
| Fashion |
4,914 |
109 |
83 |
69 |
51 |
| Food |
2,405 |
44 |
30 |
32 |
15 |
| Interior |
1,610 |
29 |
26 |
17 |
12 |
| Lifestyle |
5,999 |
126 |
80 |
78 |
65 |
| Maternity / Newborn |
1,061 |
19 |
15 |
1 |
4 |
| Nature & Landscape |
31,029 |
373 |
352 |
202 |
156 |
| Pets & Animals |
5,793 |
82 |
65 |
29 |
23 |
| Photojournalism |
4,595 |
98 |
78 |
49 |
37 |
| Portrait / Headshots |
16,366 |
398 |
208 |
149 |
104 |
| Sports |
2,562 |
38 |
33 |
10 |
19 |
| Still Life / Product |
4,605 |
66 |
50 |
56 |
30 |
| Urban |
9,277 |
158 |
184 |
142 |
66 |
| Wedding |
3,716 |
56 |
38 |
28 |
12 |
| 360° Photography |
899 |
14 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
It is interesting that three-fifths of these photographer specialize in Nature and Landscape photography.
The directory allows prospective clients to easily find photographers and opens the lines of communication for offline work. Photographers set their own rates and can gain assignments they otherwise might not have learned about.
In addition to the directory itself, 500px is working on a Directory API, which is currently in private beta. This extension will allow companies to embed lists of photographers on their sites.
500px CEO Andy Yang says of the directory, “The Directory is a natural extension of our world-class photography-on-demand offerings, making 500px the go-to destination for global image buyers to find the right photographer for any custom job, large or small.”