Interview: iStockphoto

THE STORY BEHIND…

iStockphoto

iStock image: 95427

KELLY THOMPSON’S

hot tips

Tips for getting your images on iStock

01 Take your time, and be choosy. Don’t upload every snapshot you take. Learn about the copyright issues. 02 Don’t reach for the obvious: show the world something they haven’t seen before. 03 Imagine you’re a designer. Before you click the shutter, ask yourself: how would someone use this image? 04 Don’t give up. We may not accept your images at fi rst – if we could go back in time, we might not accept some of our own. Pay attention to the feedback and keep trying. Stockphoto is the fi rst stop

Ifor many creatives who need a photo or illustration quickly and more importantly, cheaply. It’s easy to forget that there was a life before iStock, where the world of stock photography was ruled by the big boys. We caught up with Kelly Thompson, VP Market Executive, to fi nd out how it all got started.

How was the company born? iStockphoto was started in 2002 by Bruce Livingstone. He cut his teeth in the industry working for Adobe’s Image Club Graphics Division in the mid 90’s, then decided to strike out on his own. His fi rst venture into the royalty-free stock photography market was a company selling RF CD ROMs online. iStockphoto was created as an online community from the ground up, where people gathered to exchange ideas and images. The stock photography industry was uninviting to say the least: Bruce started iStock as a place where passionate people could meet and share their work. He invited other photographers and designers to join iStockphoto and share their images, and personally jumpstarted it by posting 2,000 of his own images. The community gained traction immediately and its image collection has grown everyday since inception.

How was the service run? Initially, people obtained the right to use photos when they posted some of their own for use. After a while, demand from non-photographers was overwhelming, and a micro-payment engine using credit bundles was established to let everyone participate. This unique credit system was a key feature in keeping the prices low, and had never been used in the stock world before.

In the beginning, the community had two unpaid employees, including Patrick Lor, who is now the president, and was dependent on volunteer efforts. Today, iStockphoto has more than thirty employees (and we’re looking for fi ve more), 40 contractors and more than 400,000 images.

At what point did you realise that this idea was going to really take off ? The passion and commitment of our photographic community was evident from very early on. People loved sharing their expertise and talent, the quality and size of the image library grew exponentially, which started to attract designers to the fold. In the very consolidated and insular stock photography industry, we provided a venue where anyone with good images had a chance to make a living pursuing their passion. It is cool being part of it.

How has the company changed? The business has gone from a simple boutique project to one of the most visited websites in the world. According to current Alexa rankings, iStockphoto is the most visited stock photography company on the web. Today, we are able to offer hundreds of thousands of images starting at just $1 each.

Bruce’s 2,000 images have expanded to more than 400,000, with the help of more than 10,000 contributing artists.

Have you been surprised at the quality of images people are uploading? We’re not as surprised as our clients are. We’re impressed and blown away every day, but not surprised: we know our photographers are great. People underestimate artists and their passion. Photographers love iStock and give us their best, and we’re more than happy to

By selling high res stock images at $3 a pop, it’s no overstatement to say that iStockphoto created a revolution in the stock library world. We caught up with the company to see how it all started

show them off. We also take great pride in facilitating exchange among the community and offering guidance, through resources available on the website and intensive (and fun) events such as iStockalypse.

What has been the highlight of the company so far? The most exciting thing by far is that we are creating a vibrant digital photography community marketplace that didn’t exist before and we are doing it organically and with integrity.

From a photographer standpoint: many of our photographers have been able to quit their ‘day jobs’ to start shooting full time. From a designer’s perspective: we’ve created a market for stock that just didn’t exist before.

Do you think the company will ever delve into other areas, such as video clips, or is it fi rmly about images? With regards to video clips, let’s just say that we’re keeping our options open. We want to stay on top of the image market, but there’s a big world of media out there. We will continue to improve every aspect of our operation and our service, because no one can compete with that. Defi nitely stay tuned we have lots more amazing things coming soon.

Bruce Livingston: The man that brought you iStockphoto

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