All of you should read the following post in the CEPIC Blog which debates the recent Dreamstime Microstock offer of over a million images for free use, based on the pedestrian thinking that people that get images for free will eventually pay for them sometime in the future…
CLICK to read the article in the Cepic Blog
Our photographers’ chatroom has been humming with backlash. Here’s just a few of the photographers’ reactions:
“I’m not allowed to talk about the “old” days but back then the bosses of the agencies cared passionately about the business and often were artists as well, now it’s all about money for them and lack of it for us.It won’t be too long before photographers have to pay to sell their photos that are being given away free.”
“I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that shooting stock in this type of environment is rather pointless and perhaps not worth the effort for the 99%. Luckily I have other more marketable skills.”
“I might be the eternal optimist, but I think there is still a decent paying place for high quality niche images. One that a micro shooter could not produce and one any jackass can’t take with their iPhone. I try and produce them all the time.”
“There is certainly no NEED for FREE content in today’s ADVERTISING market. If you want to advertise, PAY the creator of the content you’d like to use! When one person (or business) WANTS to use free content – that doesn’t mean another person has to deliver it at his own expenses.”
It is clear that digital technology and the Internet has opened the door for new business models that favor the distribution process that balances the lowering of selling prices with the generation of volume. While this may initially sound logical, the ugly side is that photographers in general and the stock photography industry in particular will fall into decline because photographers cannot generate enough revenue to continue producing great images.
Cheap prices have devaluated photography to unimaginable levels in just a few years and have demoralized professional photographers. I believe that the only way to maintain the value of photography is to produce high quality content that attract clients attention because it is unique, innovative, creative and experimental and which maintains a more than decent price. age fotostock maintains the same principles, shooting the best images we can and trying to sell them for the best possible price.
We have entered into a vicious circle that we can only break out of if photographers and stock agencies demolish the fence that separates them and openly discuss certain pricing logic – otherwise the future will be uncertain for both of us.
