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Stock photography. Is that a bad word?We have been online for one year, and we have heard a lot of very interestingopinions. In summarizing them, we would like to highlight some misunderstoodconcepts.
- Stock photo is a 20 cent photo
Big and successful micro payment Mega-distributors payouts may be not so much perdownload, but they can provide a reasonable income because they sell a lot. Why not?We (at FeaturePics.com) are offering a different model. Photographers are settingtheir own prices and getting generous returns (70%). We are not a micro paymentsite, and if your images are competitive, better, unique  feel free to set a pricethat is not even close to 20 cents.
- Stock photos are "Handshake of Synergy" /"Business woman on the phone" type of photos
This is wrong. Stock photography consists of existing photographs  no less, nomore. The beauty of stock photography is that a photograph can be used and reusedmultiple times. This photograph can be about family, business, agriculture, nature,traveling, you name it.
- Stock photography is killing professional photography
Wait a minute. Professional photographers have the powerful benefits of 24/7e-commerce capability. The point being is to find a good match with an agency oragencies. Some of our FeaturePics.com Authors prefer to set a higher price for theirprofessional images, and distribute the images less frequently. For the higher pricethey believe that it is worth their time and expense for equipment, models, studios,etc, and therefore a better product.
- The Photographer is losing the image control
There is always a chance... A client may use an image after the license has expired,beyond the license parameters, or an image can be transferred to someone else whohas no right at all to use the image. The reality is, that our buyers ask severaltimes in what way they can use an image. Why? Because they are usually extremelycareful and do not want to be sued.
A few times we faced situations when "Authors" uploaded photographs that did notbelong to them. The stock photography world is very big, but it is a "small world"from the inside. FeaturePics.com has the privilege (due to not being oversized) toknow the majority of our Authors by communicating with them through electronicmeans, phone, and sometimes meeting them personally.
A quick reminder to our Authors  please include a copyright notice in your image.You make a client sleep better and protect your image in a better way.
- Stock photography is just for the money
We have a lot of examples of when Authors were very happy to see their free images(with credits) published in articles, or on big sites. Recognition is veryimportant. A possibility to discuss photography subjects with other Photographers isvery important. We believe it is "A Basic Need" to present your point of view andyour artistry through photography.
- If you license your images through agencies  there is no need to do something byyourself.
I would disagree. First of all it is fun to create your own site, to show yourimages the way you want, to write articles, and run discussion groups. The second  it helps a lot to promote your own images. When you see 1,000,000 photos, 1,500,000photos in stock  it is easy to be lost in this world.
- I just take a picture. People will find it because it is good..
Just type "stock photos" on Google. What do you see? 71,100,000 results. I think"image description" should be a subject for our next talk.
Yes, we were talking about technologies that can "recognizes and describes images inwords" It will take a little time to build a real technology that can describe your imagecorrectly. In the mean- time we take very seriously, this job on ourselves.
No, it is not the end of our observations. We are learning and analyzing working inthis wonderful world of stock photography.
The only thing we can tell for sure  thanks to stock photography and internetdistribution  everybody has a chance to express himself/herself by taking pictures(photographers) and by putting these images into work (designers).
