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Home » Hobbies Articles » Who Uses Stock Photography

Who Uses Stock Photography

In recent decades society has become increasingly visually-oriented. If a picture was worth a thousand words in 1920, it is now worth many thousand words. Today's consumer is more likely to be a "viewer" than a "reader," relying less on the printed word than on pictorial images for entertainment and instruction. Photography is one of the most prominent means of interpreting and disseminating information. The stock photography industry has responded to this demand, and even at this moment thousands of images are being bought for publication. Who are these clients?

Advertising Agencies use stock photography in national consumer ads, which appear in publications circulated among the general public; and trade ads, which appear in publications directed at a particular industry. Because the print run for these ads tend to be large, most images are handled with rights managed licensing agreements.

Corporations use images in creating their annual reports, in brochures, and in internal magazines.

The Editorial Market is probably the biggest and most diverse group of clients, ranging from top magazines such as National Geographic and Sports Illustrated to the thousands of smaller publishing houses which produce regional and special interest magazines. It also includes the publishers of trade books, textbooks, and newspapers. While the top houses probably use staff photographers, the smaller operations are continually revising, updating, and putting together new layouts, new issues, new editions, new publication projects, and new or updated CD-ROMS and Web sites. These projects are largely filled using stock images, licensed with both royalty-free and rights managed contracts.

Last, but not least, there are hundreds of Auxiliary Markets, which use stock photography for any number of purposes, such as in creating calendars, greeting cards, checkbooks, and T-shirts.

Not long ago, stock photography was considered a cottage industry and disregarded by most professional photographers, advertisers and commercial publishers as schlock. Not so anymore. Stock photography is now a billion dollar industry, aided by the growth of the internet and new technologies. While using a stock image may seem at first to dampen the creative spirit, the simple truth is that stock is risk-free, with none of the weather problems, technical difficulties, or schedule delays associated with assignments. The image is ready to be reviewed and used. In addition to this, the quality of images in recent years has increased as professional photographers have embraced the industry. For these reasons, stock photography is an attractive option to photobuyers in any field where an image is needed.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Don't Wait for Tax Time to Look at the Bottom Line

A curious thing happens to entrepreneurs in the spring of every year. They wake up one day and realize they had better figure out how much money they made last year so they can pay their taxes. But wait, shouldn't a business owner already KNOW how much money he or she made last year, last quarter, or last month?

If you don't keep track of how much money you're making, you have no idea whether your business is successful or not. You can't tell how well your marketing is working. And I don't just mean you should know the amount of your total sales or gross revenue. You need to know what your net profit is. If you don't, there's no way you can know how to increase it.

If you want your business to be successful, you need to make a financial plan and check it against the facts on a monthly basis, then take immediate action to correct any problems. Here are the steps you should take:

Create a financial plan for your business. Estimate how much revenue you expect to bring in each month, and project what your expenses will be. If you need it, get help from business planning books, software, or an accountant.

Review the plan monthly. Even if business owners take the time to prepare a financial plan with profit and loss projections, they often let it sit in a drawer. It's not enough to have a plan -- you have to review it regularly.

Remember that lost profits can't be recovered. When entrepreneurs compare their projections to reality and find earnings too low or expenses too high, they often conclude, "I'll make it up later." The problem is that you really can't make it up later: every month profits are too low is a month that is gone forever.

Make adjustments right away. If revenues are lower than expected, increase efforts in sales and marketing or look for ways to increase your rates. If overhead costs are too high, find ways to cut back. There are other businesses like yours around. What is their secret for operating profitably?

Think before you spend. When considering any new business expense, including marketing and sales activities, evaluate the increased earnings you expect to bring in against its cost before you proceed to make a purchase. You can often increase your profitability simply by delaying expenses to a later month, quarter, or year.

Don't be afraid to hire. Retailers and restaurateurs wouldn't consider operating without employees, but many service businesses limit themselves by being understaffed. Almost any business can benefit from hired (or contracted) help. Business owners can often better use their talents for generating revenue than for running errands and filing.

Pay yourself a regular salary. If you are incorporated, you may already be doing this. If not, allocate an amount to owner's compensation on a monthly basis. Each month that your business meets its profitability goal, pay yourself the full amount. When you miss your target, dock your "pay" and when you exceed it, pay yourself a "bonus." Writing yourself a monthly paycheck will give you a strong incentive to keep your business profitable.

Evaluate the success of your business based on profit, not revenue. It doesn't matter how many thousands of dollars you are bringing in each month if your expenses are almost as high, or higher. Many high-revenue businesses have gone under for this very reason -- don't be one of them.