Microstock Photo on Time Magazine Cover

By Steve GibsonSun, 06/08/2008 - 01:13

Someone got good value with this one from dreamstime...

Did Time buy it as microstock or did they license it from somewhere else... and where did that t-shirt go?

I guess the day that microstock images appear on the front of national geographic will be the day that most photographers realise that hell might have frozen over.

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3 Comments

I wouldn't think "Time"

Serge (not verified) on Fri, 07/25/2008 - 11:08

I wouldn't think "Time" bought it on dreamstime, but it does make a point, they could of. Or the photographer contributes both for microstock and some traditional agency. and nice work on the t-shirt.

Update

Steve Gibson on Sat, 07/26/2008 - 12:26

Since i wrote this i read a post from the guy who sold this photo, and indeed it did come from dreamstime, and he was complaining that it was not attributed as it should have been for editorial use. (unless the whole thing was some sort of link-bate on the microstockgroup forums. The only thing you can say for sure was that a similar image is on both dreamstime and time magazine. My first thought was the same as yours, that time would be unlikely to buy from microstock.... wouldn't they??? Microstockinsider.com Editor

Well Done

eve isk (not verified) on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 03:00

I'm one of the hybrids who began shooting things for my design clients many years ago when I couldn't find it in the traditional agency stock houses, especially at the trad agency price points. Who wanted to pay $250. for a shot of an electrical outlet? When "desktop publishing" and the Mac blew the industry wide open, designers unwittingly feared for their livlihoods, but it revolutionized design and the market for professional design didn't dry up. Photography lagged behind in technology, but digital is changing that. Both are visual businesses, but talent is talent. The established photographers will still find a demand for their product. True, the gap is very wide in price points between microstocks and traditional agencies but niches are being filled on both ends. The middle price point is still wide open and a small price increase in microstock has yet to come close to straddle the middle ground. So my $25,000 collection of RF CDs from the agencies has been collecting dust. If I needed to buy an image from one of the traditional agencies I would. There is obviously a market for microstock or it wouldn't have continued to grow at such an exponential rate. Many designers found themselves with a budget dilemma and a digital camera in their hands. For others, microstock was a great resource. It isn't about age (I have a 31 year career as a pro designer), it's about forward thinking and change. That will happen whether you decide to ride or not.