In todays fast moving world, no one has the time to wait
for a photographer, choose the right location, get models, pay them a high
price and also wait for months to have a campaign or advertisement start. Most
of the companies use Stock Photography Sites to find photos as per their needs
and start with the campaign. This works much faster and also saves a huge
amount.
But what companies use Stock Photos? Not all companies use
Stock Photos. There are specific companies who increase the bar of Stock Photos
by buying them, either through Micro Stock Photography Sites or Stock
Photography Sites.
Advertising Agencies use stock photography in national
consumer ads, which appear in publications circulated among the general public
and trade ads, which appear in publications directed at a particular industry.
Advertising agencies need to have multiple print runs and therefore, the
license they choose for Rights Managed License. This helps them having a
large amount of print run.
Corporations are also the ones who need Stock Photos. They
are very particular about what they select as these will be published and sent
to their shareholders and Board of Directors. Any wrong photo can hamper the
image at large. Corporations use images in creating their annual reports, in
brochures, and in internal magazines.
The Editorial Market is probably the biggest and most
diverse group of clients, ranging from top magazines such as National
Geographic and Sports Illustrated to the thousands of smaller publishing houses
which produce regional and special interest magazines. It also includes the
publishers of trade books, textbooks, and newspapers. Top houses are ones who
usually prefer buying staff photographers, whereas, the smaller operations are continually
revising, updating, and putting together new layouts, new issues, new editions,
new publication projects, and new or updated CD-ROMS and Web sites. These
projects are largely filled using stock images, licensed with both royalty-free
and rights managed contracts. These licenses help them having the benefit of
having print runs and less payment.
Last, but not least, there are hundreds of Auxiliary
Markets, which use stock photography for any number of purposes, such as in
creating calendars, greeting cards, checkbooks, and T-shirts.
There was a time, where Stock Photography was a small
industry and not many people preferred buying Stock Photos. Also, there was a
time when professional photographers, advertisers and commercial publishers
disregarded Stock Photography as a market. But today, everyone who wants to buy
photos, are on Stock Photography Sites like Getty Images, Istock, ShutterStock
etc.
If today Stock Photography is in market, it is entirely due
to the internet that is growing and the various new technologies are coming up
every day.
While using a stock image may seem at first to dampen the
creative spirit. But, what you get is, the image is ready to be reviewed and
used. In addition to this, the quality of images in recent years has increased
as professional photographers have embraced the industry. For these reasons
,
stock photography is an attractive option to photo buyers in any field where an
image is needed.