Stock photography is becoming increasingly subject for jokes. I am amazed at how much stupidity goes past the big stock companies moderators. For the past decade or so you’ve seen it becoming the norm on every facet of our lives, the perfect apple and hamburger, the smiling corporate women with the headset, the creepy business man who wants to shake your hand, and so on.
But it sure looks like there’s a shift in the trend. People are getting fed up with the irrelevant, silly, cheezy, cliché, uber-polished and tend to be drawn to the more real, contextual, yet aesthetic scenes.
So, yes – I applied twice to become a contributor on istockphoto, and was rejected both times. Now I know why. See, I would have grown tired pretty fast of that style. Wish I could shake the hands (with the same creepy man pose) of those at istockphoto who rejected my images and application because they actually helped me find and define my style.
You might have heard by know of Stocksy, the latest stock photography co-op. This is NOT your Grandma’s stock photography as you know it.
Stocksy spun off as a counter reaction to the ultra-saturated, stock photography market and was formed by a handful of people as a co-operative (read owned by the contributor artists) to offer an alternative to “promote photography that appears authentic, current, inspiring”.
Just by browsing the curated stream you will know what I mean. The collection gives the impression that you are watching a showcase as opposed to a stock photography site.
But must of all (for us photographers) as a venture that treats its artists in a fair way. Stocksy offers a whopping 50% of its standard license purchase compared to other giant stock photography places that boast giving the artists 20%, plus appreciates our photography. Each image is carefully curated, analyzed and if there are changes to be done, the curators write a specific message amended to that image. How much better can this get?!?
So I applied in June and I was accepted as a contributor artist (YAY!). I am stocked (haha) to say the least specially that I already had sales out of only 8 initial photos posted in June! Here are some photos from my collection:
