Microstock Photography

2 Understanding the Microstock Revolution

FIGURE 1.1 We live in a world with an insatiable appetite for images, as this good microstock image helps to illustrate. © Jozsef Hunor Vilhelem/
Fotolia.com

Of course, you do not have to go to the expense and trouble of

arranging a photo shoot for most image requirements any more than

you need to hire an author to write a novel specifi cally for you to read

on vacation. For both of these examples, there are suitable images

ready for purchase at the click of a button from stock photography

agencies and, specifi cally, from the new microstock agencies.

Of course, this sounds simple on paper, but how easy is it really

in practice? To prove the point, I set myself the task of fi nding, within

2 minutes each, suitable images for the happy couple on the beach

and the business team in a boardroom examples that I mentioned

above—and here they both are, as Figures 1.2 and 1.3, sourced from

among many available images in microstock libraries that might fi t

the bill.

I might have had similar success looking for images in a more

traditional library such as Corbis, Getty, or Alamy, but the price