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Stock Photography’s Evolution
Within the commercial world of photography, there are a bunch of different niches in which any photographer could develop their career; and Stock Photography is perhaps the easiest market to get access to, but is also a very crowded place to be. Being aware of trends, and being able to deliver unique and fresh work will always be your best card to play if you want to become a successful Stock Photographer. Basically, Stock Photography is the supply of photographs under a specific usage license for a vast array of purposes from magazines and billboards to social media posts.
Stock photography has been around since the 1920’s, and it has been slowly evolving since its early beginnings when H. Armstrong Roberts made a bunch of people signed model releases allowing him to make profit from that image’s future reproductions. Almost a hundred years after that, stock photography is making a whole different approach in terms of how photographers gain benefits with their images even when they are offered for free.
The Early beginnings
The 1920’s and especially the 1930’s where a dark time for the United States, and cost saving solutions where more than appreciated back then. After the innovative move from H.A. Roberts, a lot of publishers and advertisers decided to rely on stock photography as a more secure way of doing their stuff.
