DAY 292

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Stock Photography

IMAGES FOR ALL OCCASIONS

Stock photography agencies hold vast collections of images that are available for a usage fee to consumers in a variety of fields. With stock collections as an option, people working in advertising, journalism, publishing, or marketing can choose from a database of photographs rather than hiring a photographer to go out and create new images. Agencies sometimes hold the rights to classic, widely recognizable photographs, but they also have collections of “generic” images—objects, landscapes, landmarks, animals, models making specific gestures, or expressions—that capture and convey the visual buyers are looking for.

In the early days of the industry (the first major agency, H. Armstrong Roberts, was founded in 1920), stock photography collections were usually made up of unused images (outtakes) from magazines and advertising houses. However, by the 1970s and ’80s, many photographers were creating images specifically for the stock photo market. If one of their images was used, the fee was split between the photographer and the agency.

In the 1990s, industry giants Getty Images and Corbis Images (founded by Microsoft’s Bill Gates) emerged, a result of acquiring the holdings of many smaller agencies and work by higher-end professionals. The vast bulk of the stock industry is now Internet-based, with companies making their databases easy to browse online. More recently—a product of the digital age—a number of less pricey agencies known as “microstock” photography services have emerged, allowing amateur photographers to upload their images with hopes of selling them. —DJG