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Featured Publication: Photographers Direct
Website: http://www.photographersdirect.com
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ONLINE PHOTO SALES: THE ISTOCK ALTERNATIVE
by Bonnie Caton in Paris, France
Photographers Direct is an online photo marketplace that can help you sell your photos in four ways. First, like microstock agencies, it has a searchable online database of photos so buyers can find what they’re looking for easily and buy directly from you. However, unlike microstock sites, with Photographers Direct you negotiate the price with the buyer and you keep 80% of the sale.
Secondly, when you join, Photographers Direct sends photo requests to you. So when a buyer needs a specific photo and he or she doesn’t find it anywhere else, you can get a hold of that photo need and fulfill it yourself.
Thirdly, for a small annual charge, you can set up a portfolio to showcase your photos.
And, finally, Photographers Direct sends out a regular e-letter with news and photos included. When you become a member, you’ll have a chance to include your own photos in the e-letter, which reaches more than 54,000 readers.
The site claims to set photographers up with sales of between $200 and $5,000 per photo. And you don’t have to send in high-resolution shots. In fact, they prefer low-resolution for the site. Then, when someone buys your photo, you send them the higher quality or print version, yourself.
The catch: If you sell your photos on Photographers Direct, you can still sell them anywhere else... EXCEPT on microstock sites. And if you’re already selling your photos on microstock agencies like iStockphoto.com, bigstockphoto.com, etc., you can’t sell them on Photographer’s Direct. That’s because the site believes that microstock agencies are unfair to the photographer, since they pay less per photo than Photographers Direct or traditional stock photography agencies like Corbis Images or Getty Photo.
Our opinion: We aim to give you as many opportunities to sell your photos as possible. Photographers Direct is one such place. Like it or not, this is their policy. It’s up to you to figure out what style fits you best.
We strive to do the same for your writing, too. That’s why we’re offering you our new food writing workshop, coming up this June in Denver. If you love to travel and you love to eat, this could be the best thing that happens to you in 2008. You can read all about it in this article from last week, here in our archives.
And, keep an eye on the e-letter later this week for a podcast direct from photographer Rich Wagner, here with us in Paris, on restaurant and food photography.
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