Here and right now we will learn how to photograph, process the photos and ... sell them.

You are no need art education and special knowledge of photography, graphic editors, and business. All this comes with time and experience. If the experience you already have and you want to share them - it will be warmly welcomed. 

What you need to sell photos online? Suffice that you have a digital camera (or a good scanner for traditional photo paper), little knowledge of English, interest in photography and the desire to make money. Since a digital camera in our time - this is not a deficit and not a luxury, I suspect many of you, dear readers, have more than one gigabyte captured "material." Perhaps among these files, there is a few hundred-dozen stories catabatic content? What is the use of photographs which forgotten on your hard-drive? Maybe something in the designer hardly looking for exactly that topic which lives in your archives. You can donate to this hapless designer this shot: as the saying goes I do not care, but he was pleased. And if you have money to pay ...

So, the question is: where to sell? The answer is - at microstocks. What are microstocks? Microstocks is the photos market. Initially, only photos. Over time, many microstocks included in the range of products are also illustrations, vectors, flash movies and video clips. Sales are no royalties (royalty free). That is, at very low prices but with the possibility to have sold an endless number of times. Benefits for buyers are low price product. Moreover there is no need to provide staff photographer going the world hither and thither by the employer. The advantages for the photographer are multiple sales of the same photos / illustrations. Everybody are happy and satisfied.

What is catabatic photo/illustration? This is the photo/illustration which was made without an order. That is usually the photographer/illustrator gets the order and then perform it in accordance with the requirements of the customer and the designer's idea. When the image is first made and then selected the designer of a multitude of other options, it is called “catabatic”.

Traditionally photographs have a high value of $ 400 and above. It really depends on photographer professionalism. If the photographer is very cool the show business Sharks themselves arranged in turn to him. If the photographer is not very steep but is a good professional you can publish your photographs in special registries and directories that are supported by few agency. All this costs a lot of money the photographer so enter in the photographic business in this case is not simple.

Everything is quite different for photo stocks. Anyone can register their photos in them and sell them. However before your pictures will be available for public viewing they are monitoring the photo inspectors. So the drunken neighbors random shots do not go for sale. Otherwise if the neighbors are shots with love and respectfully. But there is other underwater rock. All pictures of people with recognizable persons must be accompanied by a special instrument called a Model Release and must be signed by the model. In brief, the document states that the model rejects any rights to the photo. This is in case the your neighbor suddenly sees himself on billboards advertising pasta and raise the noise: "Pay me now money!" Everything must be explained to such kind of models advance.

As I said above the photos on microstocks sold without a fee in the usual sense of the word. They can be used without restrictions in time and place. They can be photocopied (but not resold!) and modified in order to participate in the design of other products (for example, cover for a CD or book). In addition, the photographer never knows exactly where his photos are used. You can find out over time, accidentally saw his work in action, but nothing more. Here, too, do not be afraid because the buyer has no right to use the photos in pornographic catabatic and defaming the reputation of the subject. Because the main consumers catabatic Images American and West-European advertising campaigns, price of our reputation and follow letter of the law, such risks are minimized. For instance I had never heard of scandals in connection with the use of obscene photographs catabatic.

So here is the main points microstocks: 

1. The photos sold for micro prices. That is the price so low that the buyer has to buy at least few pieces to a number to recoup the cost of banking transactions. 
2. Photos made anyone - anyone can refill microstock their photos unlike traditional photostocks (macrostocks) where suppliers of photographs are a sort of a small elite.
3. Photos are sold over the Internet - FTP and Web technology is used to upload photos.

What is due and guaranteed success microstocks: 

1. The attraction of royalty-free licenses: low price and widespread use of the photos that categorically not allowed in microstocks business. 
2. Spread by Internet: high-quality (but not elite) photographers and photographs quickly and efficiently.
3. Technologies in the field of digital photography: the increasing quality of digital photographs, and falling prices of digital cameras has made available a digital photo for the masses.

What are the implications of microstock business? More and more buyers turn to microstock Agency. They have access to millions of images of good, and sometimes even the best professional quality for a much lower price. Moreover, this market attracts new customers who had never used the services of photo agencies. I think that microstocks it is inevitable reality of today's world, full of advertising and simply illustrated editions.

That’s about all. The next time I will discuss in more detail about the process of cooperation with microstocks.

If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them. Write to me at natalia.macheda at gmail.com. If you liked the issue, evaluate it, please use the form at the bottom of the letter.

Sincerely, Natalie Makkedah 
From the release of the distribution 13-12-2007
«PhotoBank and microstocks for Dummies»

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