![]() That changed in the 1980s and 1990s, when computers and the Internet began to transform the industry. He paid the archive $1,000 for one-time use.”Ĭustomers came to the Bettmann Archive not because it was a cheapest, but because it was one of the easiest and largest collections to look through. “For example, a small picture he bought for a few francs during a Sunday stroll among the Seine picture stalls turned out to be just the background a photographer needed for a Vogue cover. Then, he sold the images for prices ranging from $50 to $3,000 in 1981, according to a New York Times article. Though Bettmann recognized the value of images, his business was ironically built on getting images virtually for free. The reproductions were deemed to have become the property of the archive once a collection was purchased or reproduced.” Even after copyright laws for photography changed, “the Bettmann Archive rarely credited the photographer. “Issues of ownership or copyright were ignored completely,” as Bettmann wanted to “liberate” the images, making them easier for everyone to see. They were focused on protecting books, not visuals, so Bettmann could easily take out his camera and photograph anything for his collection. At that time, libraries had no rules about photographing materials. Often, Bettmann found these interesting images by browsing public libraries, like the New York Public Library or the Library of Congress. He simply photographed them himself with his 35 mm camera and sold the reproduction rather than the original. That’s where things got tricky.Īs photo historian Estelle Blaschke points out in her excellent article about the Bettmann Archive,īettmann rarely paid for the images he collected. It was still a business, and clients had to pay for each image they used. Finally, they had a “library of pictures” to work with, rather than hiring a photographer for each photo they needed.īut this library wasn’t free. It allowed them to find images easily, regardless of the topic. This card index made the Bettmann Archive unique and appealing to publishers, advertisers, and designers. A year later, he established the Bettmann Archive with these images, tidily organized with a card index similar to a library. He realized how valuable images could be and began to collect photographs as an investment.īy the time he immigrated to the US in 1935, he had amassed 15,000 photos, packed into two steamer trunks. Trained as a librarian in Germany, he was struck by how eager scholars were to see censored images. Otto Bettmann was the first person to see amazing business potential in this idea. Otto Bettmann, 1947, photographed by Al Aumuller Photography was so new that no one had yet created a big store or collection of images to sell. That doesn’t sound so strange nowadays, but turning a photo into a product to sell was a cutting-edge idea back then. He asked everyone in the group to sign model releases, so he could ultimately sell the image. Armstrong Roberts created one of the first stock images during a portrait shoot by an airplane. Back then, many stock photo agencies were led by photographers, seeking to make more money with their images. Stock photography dates back to the 1920s and 30s. After all, despite all the changes the industry has gone through, its foundation has remained the same. While the history of stock photography may seem irrelevant to photographers focused on making money now, knowing how stock photo agencies began can be helpful for understanding how the industry currently works. ![]() NFTs and the Future of Stock Photography.What is the future of stock photography?.How did the Internet affect stock photography?.You’ll get answers to the following questions, and from there, you can decide for yourself whether the industry is helpful, harmful, or somewhere in between: This article will explore how the industry has evolved and what photographers can expect in the future. How did stock photography become so important? Will it remain as powerful in the future? And how can photographers best navigate such a huge industry? Whether you realize it or not, many images on billboards, websites, and even magazines are from stock photo agencies. Stock photos are everywhere, on and off the Internet. Others are less optimistic about the industry, as it makes licensing photos as cheap as possible, devaluing the hard work and creativity of photographers.īut there’s one thing both sides can agree on: the stock photography industry has been incredibly influential. Some professionals have embraced the industry, viewing it as an opportunity to make money. In recent years, stock photography has become a contentious topic among professional photographers.
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