Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why do we insist on a five year contract?
2. How to increase sales in the age of digital photography?
3. Can I depend on stock pictures for a livelihood and how much money will I make from my pictures?
4. How will I know if my picture has been used and when will I be paid?
5. Will you take a low-res image on submission; I will supply hi-res image when you need it?
6. I used to sell my TPs in the '70s and '80s – how much can I sell the same TP for now?
7. I have 15,000 pictures. Can I start with 100 pictures and see how the sales pick up and then submit more pictures?

1. Why do we insist on a five year contract?

We do not work with thousands of photographers; we understand that it takes time to build and nurture relationships and above all to process the pictures, key-word them and get them into circulation. 

With us, you are not just another name or registered user, we frequently interact with our photographers and spend quality time with them to get better pictures.

As the digital library requires a major investment in equipment and time, we require a minimum of a 5-year commitment to represent selected photographers.

We recommend that you submit all your relevant work in one shot. (A first submission needs to consist of at least 100 photographs and thereafter it is expected that contracted photographers submit regularly.)

Stock Photography is a numbers game and unless your quality is absolutely world class and each one of your picture is a gem (we find that not more than 1-2 % of the photographers belong to this category), it makes no sense for you or for us to begin with only 50 pictures in circulation.

2. How to increase sales in the age of digital photography?

We are looking for photographs that capture the diversity of India; photos that range from major tourist attractions to everyday scenes; remote landscapes to home-interiors; popular destinations to little known places off-the-beaten-track. People, festivals, food, flora, wildlife, transport, communications, art, architecture, portraits and landscapes are just some of the many subjects we are looking for.

As of now this is the kind of imagery that is required by various clients - from advertising agencies to publications of all shapes and sizes. In the absence of such images, publications often use photographs that have alien subjects in them (foreign faces, foreign locales, etc.) taken from the foreign advertising agencies. Enlisted below are some examples from the feedback that we get from our clients.

New India:

The developing infrastructure of India – high tech India showing new capacities in infrastructure sectors like power and industry.
Modern Indian families, healthy and well dressed in various locations, moods and situations.
Executive life style ( going for a run, walking on a treadmill, working out in a state-of-the- art gym).
Executives (with a distinct Indian look, but dressed in a contemporary style, working in a modern office).
Interiors of Call Centres, IT companies
Internationally operating Indian companies, business/economics like stock exchange trade.
Human Technology interface in rural/remote places.
High quality beautiful travel photographs which are more creative rather than editorial in approach

Situational Pictures:

Two or more people in discussions (should appear like a selling situation)
Person making a presentation or writing on a whiteboard
Executives shaking hands.
People working on laptops at public places
People in different corporate office settings - conference rooms, libraries, cafeterias etc. People on phones
People walking smartly on the street (carrying documents, mobile phones, PDAs or a bag or a laptop)
People smiling or gesturing (like they have just closed a deal)
Situations like a salesperson, speaking to a family

Editorial Subjects:

Social Affairs
Work conditions
Education
Infrastructure
Environmental issues

Creation of a new generation of photo-stock:

At any given point of time, certain pictures are always in short supply. Most of the available stock pictures are focused on the Indian exotica, rural India, people, street scenes, snake charmers and often clichéd subjects. In short, we do not have what the modern users of images require. We need to create the kind of photo stock that is currently in demand in the country and which is not available with stock agencies. At PhotoIndia.com we are constantly in touch with photo buyers from India as well as from abroad.

There is always a possibility of creating stock when you are travelling across the country without much of an effort. This stock could go a long way in creating a revenue stream for you in the years to come. We will keep you informed on a regular basis, what kind of pictures are in demand so that you can focus your creative efforts in the right direction.

3. Can I depend on stock pictures for a livelihood or how much money will I make from my pictures?

This is a variable factor which cannot be predicted or committed to. However, there is enough market and scope to sell your images provided the images adhere to our - submission guidelines & cater to what is in demand today.

4. How will I know if my picture has been used and when will I be paid?

We e-mail a sales sheet to the photographers when their picture are selected and are paid for by the client. The sales sheet will contain the following:

• Client's Name
• Thumbnail of the images used with dimensions
• Amount charged from the client and the amount we will pay you

Payment shall be made by the Agency to the Photographer no later than ninety (90) days from the date the Agency receives payment from its client. A sales statement listing all collected sales with a cheque bearing the appropriate sum will be mailed to the mailing address given by the photographer.

5. Will you accept a low-res image on submission; I will supply the hi-res image when needed?

We accept low-res images only for selection purposes. Once a photographer has signed on as a contributing photographer with us, we accept only hi-res images. All low-res image submissions will be rejected.

6. I used to sell my TPs in the '70s and '80s – how much will the same TP sell for now?

It is time for me to address the questions that some of our senior photographers have been asking regarding selling their pictures which were shot on transparencies over decades. The situation in the last few years has changed drastically with the quality and quantity of images produced increasing significantly. With the proliferation of the digital media entry barriers have demolished completely. What took three decades to produce, now takes a committed person not more than two to three years to match the numbers and to top it; they are able to offer drum scan quality images to the buyers! It was never easy selling stock images and it has become even more difficult today. Unless you have top quality transparencies of rare subjects, there is no demand for those pictures.

Changes that have happened in the business of stock-photos in the last few years

It is time for me to address the questions that some of our senior photographers have been asking regarding selling pictures which were shot on transparencies over decades. The situation has changed drastically in the last few years and the quality and quantity of images being produced has increased significantly. With the proliferation of the digital media entry barriers have demolished completely.

What took three decades to produce, now takes a committed person not more than two to three years to match the numbers and to top it. They are even able to offer drum-scan quality images to the buyers! It was never easy selling stock images and it has become even more difficult today. Unless you have top quality transparencies of rare subjects, it is not worth the trouble scanning them.

Like many others of our generation, I started photography in 1979 with a Canon A-1 and two lenses. In those days, all the publishers wanted colour transparencies if you wanted to have your pictures published. The dividing line was quite clear: serious photographers shot transparencies for colour and black and white negative film for monochrome work. The not so serious enthusiasts shot on colour negatives.

The cost of an Ektachrome or a Kodachrome with processing, in 1980, was almost Rs.200 plus, was a lot of money at that time. Almost all TP scanning was done on drum scanners which further cost Rs.200. These prohibitive costs meant that very few ventured into buying SLR's and even fewer into buying transparency film. The advantage in those days was that very few of us had photos on a usable media (transparency film) and therefore it was possible to sell an occasional picture even if it was not of very high quality.

By 2002, the cost of digital cameras producing acceptable images for colour reproduction became affordable for serious amateurs and with that there has been an surge in the number of photographers and photos. Enthusiasts with high mega pixel cameras are clicking furiously at a rate that would have been unimaginable in our days!

7. I have 15,000 pictures. Can I start with 100 pictures and see how the sales pick up and then submit more pictures?

We recommend that you submit all your relevant work in one shot. (A first submission needs to consist of at least 100 pictures and thereafter it is expected that contracted photographers submit regularly.)

It makes no sense for you or us to put only 50 pictures in circulation to begin with. Stock Photography is a numbers game unless your quality is absolutely world class and each one of your picture is a gem. (We find not more than 2 % of the photographers belong to this category.)