Deciding which stock photography library to leave work with can be
a very frustrating business for photographers. This is mainly because
most photographers won’t know if they've made the right
choice for several years, by which time it's a little too late to
regret the decision.
To prevent this from happening photographers should study the market
and come up with a shortlist of stock photography libraries that may
be suitable. If the photographer specializes in one subject area, such
as sports, cars, trucks or travel, it may be worth looking at stock
photography
libraries that specialize in those areas also; they will give your
work exposure to the right people. Most stock photography libraries
cover all subjects and deal with all facets of the publishing, advertising
and media world, so in theory they offer a much bigger market for the
photographer.
The bigger stock photography libraries are usually based in or close
to the capital cities of each country, mainly because that's where the
heart of the stock
photography market is. All of the big book, newspaper and magazine
publishers, and major advertising agencies and TV stations that would
use stock images can be found there. For that reason, it makes sense
to go for a stock photography library based in a capital. At the same
time, if you specialize in subjects that are relevant to a specific
area you may be better off looking at stock photography libraries in
other cities in the same region because they're likely to have a ready-made
market for your work.
In terms of stock photography library size, it's tempting to try and
get in with the biggest and the best, thinking it will automatically
make you rich. This isn't always the case however. The bigger stock
photography libraries do have a bigger market, but your work will be
competing with that of hundreds of other photographers. The bigger stock
photography libraries are so clogged with stock images, especially travel
and landscapes that they take on very few new pictures these days.
If you have several thousand top quality stock pictures available, getting
in with one of the bigger stock photography libraries may make sense
because you can make a reasonable impression from the start. However,
if you're starting from scratch, you're better off looking for a stock
photography library that's still getting established, so you can grow
with it.
Once you've put together a shortlist of stock photography libraries,
get in touch and ask them to send out any information packs they might
have for new contributors, plus a copy of their latest catalogue and
contract. Stock photography libraries that don't produce catalogues
should be put at the bottom of the list. They may be successful, but
as much as 75% of the business
is generated by catalogues, so they represent a massive earning potential.
After that it's a case of making a final decision. Avoid any stock photography
libraries that charge a registration or membership
fee to new contributors. Reputable picture libraries don't need to do
this as they make their profit from picture sales, not gullible photographers.
