|
Food Stock Photography |
||
|
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked if I sell my food photography as stock, and the answer is usually no… I will sometimes sell food stock photography but usually, like I said, I decline the offer worrying that there my be client conflicts of some kind. So, what I’ve decided to do is put together a little directory of food stock photography suppliers to help with your search. If you do find a particular image on my web site, and you think it would be perfect for your project, go ahead and contact me, the answer will most likely be a negative one. If you haven’t bought food photography or food stock photography before, let me try to educate you as to some of the things you may want to look out for when begin the process. If you’ve done this before, you probably know more than I do, so you might want to just use the directory to find a resource you may not have known about. Here are some common questions regarding stock photography, and stock food photography specifically. |
 |
|
|
|
What is food stock photography?Stock food photography is photography that some photographer has taken for a previous client or has shot on speculation in order to sell the photos on the stock photography market, or maybe the fine-art photography market. So, if you want food photography that has never appeared anywhere else before you use it, stock photography is usually not the way to go, but if that’s not a big deal to you, then stock might be an economical way to go… How do I pay for food stock photos?There are three ways to buy stock food photos. One way is to basically “rent” the photo from a food photographer, or a stock photography house. This is called “usage”. You tell them what you are going to use the image for and for how long, and they tell you how much they are going to charge. Another way is to buy “royalty free” disks of stock food photography. This is the cheapest way to go because you don’t have to pay to “reuse” the images. You use the food photos any way, anywhere you wish and they’re basically yours. Some stock agencies will sell royalty free disks and some food photographers will to. |
|
|
The down-side to royalty free stock food photography is that you can bet your bottom dollar that the images you use will be used by a thousand other people, and maybe competitors too. The upside is that the images are cheap. Where can I find good quality food stock photography?The best place to find quality food photography stock is probably right here… :o) I’m putting together a list of all the possible stock photography suppliers in the entire universe. Okay, maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but hopefully, the list here on this page will be comprehensive as humanly possible. Any if YOU know of any stock food photographers that I’ve missed, please let me know. There’s an email link at the bottom of the page. And if you happen to be a supplier of stock food photography and want to advertise on this page, mention that in the email too, and we’ll work something out. What is the alternative to buying stock photography of food?The alternative to buying stock food photography or royalty free stock food photography is purchasing original food photography form a quality food photographer, me, maybe :o) (Check out my food photography portfolio) The upside to hiring a quality food photographer is that you get exactly what you want in photo, and the food photo actually contains YOUR food, if that’s an issue. Plus, when you buy original food photography, you can be assured that your competitors won’t be using the same photo. The downside is cost. Buying stock food photography is usually less expensive than buying original food photos, but not always. And neither stock nor original food photography can compete with the price of royalty-free food photos. It’s that simple.
|
|
|
|
If you sell food stock photography and want to be included in this directory, please let me know by sending me an , keeping the subject line the same as it appears when you click on the link. (I filter all sock food photography emails into a special mailbox) I may take a week or two or three to add your name or company name to the stock food photography resource list, but I’ll eventually get to it. Also, if you would be so kind to link to this page as a resource of your own, on your web page, I sure would appreciate it. My hopes are that it becomes the stock food photography clearing house…. :o) |
||
|
|
||
|
© Michael Ray 2011
|
||
