A lot of the questions I hear from people who are new to stock photography, are in regards to how the images are used. Photographers want to know if the idea they had when they were doing a shoot, corresponds with what the designer saw. And of course, there is a certain amount of satisfaction, in seeing your work being put to use, and so another common question is about finding and seeing the work in action.
It used to be that almost all the buyers of microstock images were small design agencies, freelancers and part-time designers. The major agencies were still too used to shopping at the traditional stock houses, where images cost up to several hundred times the price on the microstock market. The argument would be, that the quality on the microstock sites was too low, because the pictures were primarily taken by amateurs. This attitude has changed over the past couple of years.
The people who were buying microstock images in the early days still represent the bulk of buyers, but more and more larger ad agencies and in-house designers for major media houses are finding their way to iStockphoto and similar agencies. And the reason is simple: Amateurs do not necessarily produce sub par work, and at a small percentage of the price you’d pay for traditional stock, it is worth looking through the microstock collections first. Add to that, that more and more professionals are adding their images to the microstock databases, heightening the overall quality of the collection.
Finding Your Work
Because of microstock being so cheap, designers often download more images than they need, often for making comps and sketches. Other times people download images for their own use, to print out and hang on a wall or to use as a desktop background. These are some of the reasons why it is fairly rare, that the photographer gets to see his image in use.
On iStockphoto, there is a section of the site called Designer Spotlight. This is a sort of gallery, where downloading members can show off their work in return for free credits, allowing them to download even more. At the same time, the Designer Spotlight has a rating feature, where designers get their work reviewed by their peers and photographers alike, and the top-rated ones are browsable by everyone. Every week, one design is chosen to be displayed on the front page, giving the designer some extra exposure. Whenever a design is put on display in the Designer Spotlight, any photographer whose work is part of that particular design, get an automatically generated notification.
However, Designer Spotlight is not the only way for photographers to find their work in use. On the iStock forums, there is a section called ”In Action”, where members of the community frequently post sightings of other people’s images. It never ceases to amaze me, how often other photographers actually recognize their fellow shooter’s work, and though there is no automated notifications tied to the forums (unless you are already subscribing to a particular thread), it is here I have found most of my own shots put to use.
Finally, one way to find your own images in use, is simply to google your name or username. This will only lead to sites that actually credit their photographers, which is rare, but it does happen.
Don’t Take My Word For It
I asked two designers from Designer Spotlight, whose designs were featured in the ”Top Rated” section, if they would answer a few questions about their work and iStockphoto. Both were happy to do so – another testament to the kindness and helpfulness of the community members. Debora (olandesina) is a freelancer operating from The Netherlands and Andy (coolpink) is part of an agency from the UK.
First, I asked why they were using iStock in the first place. Debora tells me, she got an economics degree and went to work in marketing and through that stumbled onto iStockphoto. Seeing that she could submit her own photos as well as buy images for her work, she took an interest. Eventually, she was able to start up her own business, and she boils her final answer down to this: ”So you ask why iStock? Because it made me quit my day job and pursue what I love most, graphic design and photography. When I found iStock I knew I had a passion for graphic design and photography but I didn’t know how to combine the two things and make a living out of that.“
Andy from Coolpink adds that the price and the sheer size of the image collection is an important factor. ”I guess the main reasons are that it’s fairly in-expensive and there is a huge range of imagery spanning a vast selection of catergories. I also use it to obtain vector artwork which i can then manipulate to suit my needs saving me from having to spend hours illustrating from scratch.”
When asked what the images are typically used for, Debora said: ”I have been using iStock images and files in all sort of projects. From marketing presentations to any kind of marketing material as posters, flyers, brochures, web banners and websites.” Andy’s answer was similar. “I mainly use iStock imagery for website concept work, as well as for imagery for final websites when the client is struggling to provide a particular shot. I’ve also used the imagery and illustrations for print work and even branding.”
To give an example, Debora referred to a recent client of hers. ”For a beauty salon I recently built a new website that integrates a flash menu navigation and lots of different images from iStock. I also worked on a series of posters for the same client. She was really happy with the images chosen for the website that we decided to reuse the same images for the posters. I downloaded the Large (high resolution) files as they were going to be printed in A2 format.”
Another question was, how the designers found the right images for their projects. Andy said this was the tricky part, which is also the case for photographers, when they are trying to figure out how to successfully market their images. Andy adds: ”Sometimes I search by concept (office and love), others I tend to be more specific (ie: man and and woman hugging in an office). I usually have a pretty rigid idea of the photographic stlye I want to use and the subject. I’ll then hunt around for a few hours trying to find either the photographer’s style which suits, and/or the image which contains the specific subject matter and refine the search around that.”
Debora takes a step back before answering. ”I find the right images in the first place by asking the right questions to the client, and then by searching for it.” She goes on to mention how she has some photographers, she might turn to directly, because she is already familiar with their style. “I normally run a search on the complete collection but sometimes, when I am in a time squeeze, I already know which portfolios to search to find the right image for the job.” More specifically, she describes the process like this: “I tend to sort the first results by downloads, to see what other designers downloaded based on the search terms. This also helps me to refine my search. Then I filter the results by Newest first and along the way I add the files […] to an ad hoc created lightbox.”
I wondered how many of the downloaded shots are actually used in the finished designs. Andy puts a number on it. ”I’d say around 60%-80% as an average. It always depends on the client.” Debora agrees: ”Mostly all of the images I download are used in my final design.” She also adds that when it does happen, that an image doesn’t make it to the final design, she still finds a use for the image, either in another project or the Steel Cage (where iStock designers battle each other for credit prizes). Also, she says, she finds it an added bonus to study the EXIF data of downloaded images, to learn more for her own photography. “It happened few times that I bought an image just because I found it great and couldn’t resist the temptation to look at it closer, even if only for the pleasure of studying it and learning from it.“
Finally, I wanted the designers to pass on a few tips for all the stock photographers out there. Debora starts out by saying: ”I believe if you enjoy what you are doing the results will come.” She embellishes this by stressing the importance of being selective in your uploads. “The other day I saw the portfolio of a guy that just covered all the possible position on a feet going to slide on a banana, from above, from below, from the side, of a man, of a woman, with black pants or with a skirt. It’s just a waste of time and effort, in my opinion.” Andy adds another angle on this “[Photographers] should pick a market, i.e ‘Leisure Activities in the City’ and fill that category with lots of great shots. Too often I struggle to find the right shot as the subject material hadn’t been explored enough,” and he finishes off with a practical tip, asking photographers not to crop their images, so that he may have more freedom when composing his designs.
It’s not easy to predict how your images are going to be used. My own most sold image has appeared on everything from a billboard, advertising a small church in Texas, to banner ads on eBay, advertising leather handbags. Nevertheless, it never hurts to aim at a specific theme and listen to the designers you talk to along your way.
This post is part 3 in a series about my experiences with stock photography, tips and pointers, meant to offer a little inspiration to those interested in such things. The next episode will be about picking the right camera for the job. For a complete and chronological list of articles, check out the Microstock Photographer’s Guide.
