Aaaah, stock photography. A few years ago, it used to be the promise land for many photographers. After that, it turned into the merciless killer of the mid level commercial shooter, all of this while being abused by businesses of all kinds, from multinational corporations to alley garages.
This repeated abuse has gone too far. I can no longer think of an image of success that doesn't have a happy businessman smiling somewhere in an open field. Every time I'm on the phone with an operator and I sense her anger, I have beautiful models with headsets in my mind and things don't add up. I haven't seen a black sheep in years, but I'm sure that if I did, I would automatically give it some kind of metaphorical meaning.
All this thanks to the abuse that has caused stock photography to ruin one of the coolest things about photography: the use of imagination. But anyway, this really funny video by Gerrit Basson & Kit Ballantyne says it all better than I can. Enjoy !
Recommended Reading:
- Photographer's Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age
- Legal Handbook for Photographers: The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images
- Business and Legal Forms for Photographers
- Taking Stock: Make money in microstock creating photos that sell
- Going Pro: How to Make the Leap from Aspiring to Professional Photographer
- The Photographer's Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business