Stock agencies 101? Getty/Alamy etc

Peter Blake

Peter Blake

Well-Known Member
So, I had an invite via Flickr, to Getty. On investigation it seems I can make 20% for RF, or 30% for RM, images, thru them.

Alamy I seem to recall offered 60%? I don't have images with either at the moment, is there a 'Stock Agencies 101' site that will give a rundown of the associated advantages or disadvantages of each outfit?

Getty I know have received bad press in respect of their bullyboy tactics regarding stolen images (then again, they are protecting our interests, I know); and I am fairly sure that their contributors' terms were seen to be extracting the unmentionable, for some reason?

Thanks in advance
 
Having no experiences at all of selling images in this way I cant really help
I searched Google: Let me google that for you
A lot came up ... stock photo expert may be of use!
[URL]http://www.stockphotoexpert.com/
http://dslrblog.com/how-to-choose-a-stock-agency/
http://www.danheller.com/biz-agencies2.html

otherwise, I fear I am probably useless to you!
I have had clients who have had a run in with Getty... my response was "yeah, dont **** with getty" ... i suppose if you are working for them maybe you are in the best position...?

Id like to see the flickr stream that they invited you from ...
I suppose if you are looking into getting into stock photography you wont be to interested in sharing images in the forum?
I assume you have a library of many thousands of photos??
 
I know stock is a numbers game. And I'm far from a young man. Still, never hurts to ask.

Thanks Hamish.
 
Peter,

First off congrats on getting a call from Getty. Less that 1% of flickr users get the call so your trepidation aside it's still a nice accolade, is it not? (Sorry, that’s not really meant as a question).

I’ve been with them for some 3 months now & have 28 images on their site for sale. I must admit I have a very matter-of-fact attitude to this whole Getty thing; I know nothing of their T&Cs (didn’t even read them) or what I stand to gain when/if someone buys one of my images (it hasn’t happened yet… by all accounts it takes a while, if at all). I’m just happy for the accolade & if I happen to make a cent from it then great. So really I can’t offer you advice, especially as you seem to know more about stock images than me (honestly I don’t even know what RF & RM are & I never heard of Alamy before today).

David M
 
Very interesting history you have - and a great span of subjects and themes

Must have been an interesting journey?

Loving the movement and energy in the mountain bike shots

petermblake-4b2203c4172e7a.jpg
 
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Indeed!

You meet some interesting folks on here - especially at night when Blighty are all asleep :D

Always wanted to visit Japan - fascinated by the completely 'alien' culture, from a western perspective.

How do they take to an ex pat shooting there?
 
Chris Dodkin said:
Indeed!

You meet some interesting folks on here - especially at night when Blighty are all asleep :D

Always wanted to visit Japan - fascinated by the completely 'alien' culture, from a western perspective.

How do they take to an ex pat shooting there?
Click to expand...

There's a degree of fascination with the foreign shooters, a different eye, etc. Photography is so much a part of Japanese culture, that it's almost revered, rather than despised as so many in the West are finding. My customers are mainly foreigners but also a few Japanese; the language barrier is the biggest problem by far.
 
There was a interesting article in BJP recently (last issue, or the one before) about the stock photo agency issue. It seems that the stock agencies has completely ruined the market and devalued photography and the photographers. From what I gather photographers make no where near as much money as they thought they were going to. You might find the article on their website.
 
Peter Blake said:
There's a degree of fascination with the foreign shooters, a different eye, etc. Photography is so much a part of Japanese culture, that it's almost revered, rather than despised as so many in the West are finding. My customers are mainly foreigners but also a few Japanese; the language barrier is the biggest problem by far.
Click to expand...

Interesting to see how culture effects the final image.

I notice the difference in film colours for example - with the West attracted to warm tones, and Japan favoring cooler tones, with stronger greens and blues.

You can see it in a direct Kodak vs Fujifilm test.

film+test.jpg


And then you look at the colour of the film packaging, and you see Kodak is yellow and red, and Fuji is blue and green...

Interesting.... even extends into digital, with Fuji digital cameras echoing their film predecessors in their colour rendition.
 
Paul Lange said:
There was a interesting article in BJP recently (last issue, or the one before) about the stock photo agency issue. It seems that the stock agencies has completely ruined the market and devalued photography and the photographers. From what I gather photographers make no where near as much money as they thought they were going to. You might find the article on their website.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're right, Paul. I think it very much depends on one's expectations. I was with a few agencies back in the good old days. There was a lot less competition, and it was perhaps a more realistic proposition, especially if you were reasonably good.
 
Chris Dodkin said:
Interesting to see how culture effects the final image.

I notice the difference in film colours for example - with the West attracted to warm tones, and Japan favoring cooler tones, with stronger greens and blues.

You can see it in a direct Kodak vs Fujifilm test.

film+test.jpg


And then you look at the colour of the film packaging, and you see Kodak is yellow and red, and Fuji is blue and green...

Interesting.... even extends into digital, with Fuji digital cameras echoing their film predecessors in their colour rendition.
Click to expand...

My take on that is that the Kodak colour scheme is screaming Look at Me, where the Fuj is more placid and understated. National traits if you like, embodied in the product. Then again, it could be my eyes.
 
Spot on I'd say :)
 
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