Business Photography

What is Stock Photography?

Stock Photography is existing photography that is available for commercial use - as opposed to assignment photography, which is custom made to someone's specifications.

Who Buys Stock Photography?

"Magazines, book publishers, particularly text books and encyclopedias, advertising and design agencies, calender and greeting card companies, television and film producers, CD ROM manufacturers, political campaigns, government and not-for-profit organizations."

What is the advantage of purchasing Stock Photography?

Why not hire a photographer on assignment?

There are many advantages for photography buyers who use this existing stock imagery:

Price: Stock is usually cheaper than custom assignments would cost because photo-buyers are only required to pay a rental fee based on the size, distribution and exclusivity they require.

WYSIWYG: The image they purchase is the image they publish — that is, what they see is what they get.

Ideal Situations: The photos that are available for sale in stock photography libraries are often of better quality than photos that are obtainable from an assignment because the images are frequently created under ideal situations (ie weather conditions).

Time: Tight publishing deadlines have become easier to fill because stock images are readily available.

Ideas: If an art director is having trouble coming up with a concept for a design, they can easily review existing images to help spark ideas.

What advantages do photographers have in shooting Stock Images?

Photographers who shoot Stock Photography usually have more creative control over the images they create. In addition, photographers are free to retain full copyright and can re-sell their images many times over.

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