Beginners

How does the money a buyer spends on an image get divided between the photographer, the agency and any middle men? The answer is reasonably straight forward; it's just sometimes not all that transparent...

First, an explanation of some terminology...

Royalty - The payment a photographer (illustrator etc.) receives when an image is sold.

Commission - The money that an agency takes from the sale for conducting the transaction and to cover costs, commissions are also paid to resellers (syndication) and affiliates who find buyers.

(Traditional / macrostock agencies often listed their commission rates rather than royalty rates i.e. the amount they kept for acting as a broker)

Practicing lighting on family and friends? Sooner or later you will probably want to get serious and find a real model to work with...

An overview of all our guides - everything you need to know about to make a success of microstock

Microstock images often have a 'microstock look'; it's a style dictated by the users of microstock images, users are buying these images so contributors are creating more like them. Traditionally stock photos were not supplied ready to be dropped into a design, they were expected to be edited to the style dictated by a photo editor (a person). Microstock images are more likely to be downloaded and dropped straight into a design with little editing needed.

In this post I explore the differences between images for micro and macrostock (traditional full priced stock). Of course you will find images of all types in both market segments, a key thing to remember is that the 'microstock style' images are the big sellers on the microstock sites.

What are Releases

Releases are legal documents designed to protect photographers, agencies, models (people) from legal problems. They provide a written record that a model agrees to have their image used as a stock photo. Releases can also apply to property and voice talents.

Model Release or MR (MRF - model release form)

Signed by a model, or models legal guardian if they are not of legal age. It forms proof that the photographer had permission from the model to take their picture and upload it for sale.