London-based moodboard is encouraging amateur photographers to get in touch prior to the launch of its next business phase, which the company said “will open up more earning potential for amateur and hobbyist content than rivals such as iStock.†Company founder and ex-Digital Vision owner Mike Watson said he planned to unveil developments at PhotoPlus in October.
Watson received $165 million from Getty Images for Digital Vision.
According to Watson, moodboard is the fastest-growing image provider on the Corbis Web site. moodboard also just sold what its founder believes to be the most expensive single royalty-free image, priced at $16,000.
moodboard accepts amateur contributions to all of its royalty-free image brands, spanning from the recently launched “pay what you want†collection to the highest-price moodboard+. Still, it does not intend to grow a large inventory. It edits tightly and is seeking to cherry-pick only the submissions that are, in its opinion, the most innovative and commercially viable.
The company has an eight-person support team that helps shooters generate ideas, provides written briefs and art-directs shoots. moodboard offers photographers two ways to earn: traditional royalties for those who fund their own productions and one-time payments for imagery.