PicoImages Hopes to Shake Up the Stock Industry Through Crowdsourcing
Most stock photography websites and agencies work the same way: photographers upload their work, set prices, and let clients browse for what it is they’re looking for. If the client wants a photo of a family on the beach, they’d better hope someone came through. And on the other end, the photographer has to hope that they’re putting work out there that people will actually want to use.
Advertising creatives Cassandra Nguyen and Grazina Snipas’ new website PicoImages does away with that model, replacing it with more of a “stock photography to order” sort of system.
PicoImages works by allowing clients to request the photographs they want, describe how they plan on using them, and set prices. Interested photographers can then upload the photo (one per request) they believe best represents that request, and hope that their photo gets picked.
PicoImages will make its money at three different junctures along the way. First, clients must pay $10 to post a request. Second, they will pay an additional 9-percent transaction fee on top of the price they originally specified. And third, the photographer will be charged a 9-percent transaction fee out of their payment once their photo has been selected.
This opens up the stock photography world to a lot of people who might otherwise never try to sell a photo, and that’s the creators’ intent. Nguyen explains:
We had the budget for photography but couldn’t find anything that looked good on the popular stock sites. At the same time, we were seeing all of these great photos pop up on our social networks but didn’t have an easy way to contact the photographers or to license them. PicoImages plans to bridge that gap.
It’s an interesting business model that has the potential to help streamline the stock photography process. On the photographer side, no more guessing what might sell well. On the client side, no more scouring stock sites in search of the perfect picture.
To check it out for yourself, learn more, and maybe place or fulfill a request of your own, head over to the PicoImages website by clicking here.
(via SLR Lounge)
