iStockphoto has introduced its new round of price increases for 2011.
For those in the macro world (RM and traditional RF) who like to argue
that it is impossible to make money selling images on a microstock site
it may be time to take another look at what iStock is doing.
Readers new to this site want to know what they should read to get an
understanding of the stock photo industry. Sometimes regular readers
miss important stories due to the demands of their busy schedules.
Consequently, we’ve put together this list of 52 stories published in
the last eighteen months that outline what has been happening in the
stock photo industry, where things stand at the beginning of 2011, and
how the industry is changing. We hope you’ll find this list helpful.
The 2011 CEPIC Congress will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 18 to
22 May. This annual event, held in a different European country each
year, draws stock photography professionals from all over the world. The
2010 Congress in Dublin, Ireland welcomed 700 attendees from 352
companies, 37 countries and five continents. The Halic Congress Center,
on the banks of the Golden Horn in Istanbul will be the venue for this
Congress.
Masterfile,is hosting a ‘Master Finder Contest’ designed to promote the
company’s subscription plans while touting the benefits of their
revolutionary Endless Media search platform.
Beginning stock photographers often ask those with experience for numbers they can use to construct a "business plan." They start by asking what kind of annual return-per-image they can expect to earn from a collection of a given size. This story outlines some of the steps photographers need to take when considering stock photography as a business.
For many photographers seeking to earn some, or all, of their living
producing stock images, one of the most important decisions in 2011 will
be whether to retire from the stock photo business or get into
microstock. Many photographers who are licensing their images at
rights-managed or traditional royalty free prices have seen their
revenue decline significantly in the last couple of years. They are also
skeptical that it is possible to earn any significant money licensing
images at microstock prices. As a result quite a few are choosing to get
out of the stock photography business.
Getty Images, Inc., has unveiled its new Photos.com site, developed for
value-conscious small business owners, marketers, graphic designers, web
designers and other creative professionals. Photos.com currently offers
2.5 million royalty free images and illustrations.
Getty Images editors say that they are still seeing plenty of great
content come through from a wide range of sources, in particular Flickr
and iStockphoto. They say there is no shortage of photographers
submitting new imagery and that they are editing tighter than ever for
their house collections and in particular their RM brands.
Corbis Motion has expanded its collection of video clips to more than 500,000 with a recent addition of more than 200,000 clips. Approximately two thirds of Corbis Motion clips are available in high definition (HD) and the collection includes a large selection of royalty-free (RF) clips that provide customers added value and flexibility.
As it becomes more difficult to earn a living producing stock images some photographers are looking for other ways to use their photographic skills. Taylor Davidson specializes in business and event photography in the New York City area. In March 2010 he launched
Narratively, an agency that specializes in providing assignment photographers to cover events.