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I don't understand why photographers don't sell their services as opposed to single photos for a few cents each. I've written plenty of articles for a popular w

I don't understand why photographers don't sell their services as opposed to single photos for a few cents each. I've written plenty of articles for a popular website (now defunct) where I looked through Google Images for hours to find an "appropriate, interesting and HD image" (exact job requirements).

liability 7y ago
How long would it take for you to find a photographer, explain what you're looking for, negotiate a price and then finally receive the photographs you wanted? Probably more than a few hours. This is where Getty adds value IMHO. Their site is a quick way to find extant photographs that fit most needs. (For this, I think their search is better than Google's.)
ghaff 7y ago
Photographers do. But a lot of the time companies don’t want to spend thousands of dollars (and perhaps a fair bit of time) to get custom photographs shot. They may and do but that’s not always what you want.
smnrchrds 7y ago
Because not everyone can afford their services. They would have trouble finding buyers at the prices their services will be. Example: > The federal Liberal government spent a grand total of $563 on the cover of its most recent budget... The cover production apparently included two stock images, the first costing taxpayers $527 and the second just $36.[0] As opposed to: > ... the $212,000 the Liberals paid an advertising agency to produce a cover and related materials for last spring’s federal budget with an appreciative shiver of disdain, pausing at various points to gag pleasurably on the details: the $89,500 for models hired to depict middle class Canadians ... [1] I suppose the national government of a wealthy nation has no problem affording a few hundred thousand dollars on a bunch of photos. Most private and public organizations do not have that much budget for a couple of photos. [0] https://globalnews.ca/news/4151874/budget-cover-cost-2018-liberals/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4151874/budget-cover-cost-2018-li... [1] https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-bloated-glossy-212000-federal-budget-cover-a-fitting-symbol-of-modern-government https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-bloated-glossy...
9935c101ab17a66 7y ago
Is this sarcastic? Plenty of photographers sell their services, and I'd wager anecdotally that a lot of photographers who do normally charge per shoot / per hour also contribute images to stock photo sites.
anigbrowl 7y ago
They do, but time is money and most people don't want to put down fat money up front unless they run a fashion magazine or the equivalent. Look at what's been going on in the publishing industry, any cost that can be reduced is shaved down as close to nothing as possible.

liability 7y ago

How long would it take for you to find a photographer, explain what you're looking for, negotiate a price and then finally receive the photographs you wanted? Probably more than a few hours. This is where Getty adds value IMHO. Their site is a quick way to find extant photographs that fit most needs. (For this, I think their search is better than Google's.)

ghaff 7y ago

Photographers do. But a lot of the time companies don’t want to spend thousands of dollars (and perhaps a fair bit of time) to get custom photographs shot. They may and do but that’s not always what you want.

smnrchrds 7y ago

Because not everyone can afford their services. They would have trouble finding buyers at the prices their services will be. Example: > The federal Liberal government spent a grand total of $563 on the cover of its most recent budget... The cover production apparently included two stock images, the first costing taxpayers $527 and the second just $36.[0] As opposed to: > ... the $212,000 the Liberals paid an advertising agency to produce a cover and related materials for last spring’s federal budget with an appreciative shiver of disdain, pausing at various points to gag pleasurably on the details: the $89,500 for models hired to depict middle class Canadians ... [1] I suppose the national government of a wealthy nation has no problem affording a few hundred thousand dollars on a bunch of photos. Most private and public organizations do not have that much budget for a couple of photos. [0] https://globalnews.ca/news/4151874/budget-cover-cost-2018-liberals/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4151874/budget-cover-cost-2018-li... [1] https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-bloated-glossy-212000-federal-budget-cover-a-fitting-symbol-of-modern-government https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-bloated-glossy...

9935c101ab17a66 7y ago

Is this sarcastic? Plenty of photographers sell their services, and I'd wager anecdotally that a lot of photographers who do normally charge per shoot / per hour also contribute images to stock photo sites.

anigbrowl 7y ago

They do, but time is money and most people don't want to put down fat money up front unless they run a fashion magazine or the equivalent. Look at what's been going on in the publishing industry, any cost that can be reduced is shaved down as close to nothing as possible.