Here is a post from photographer Tim Gasperak that he made on Sportsshooter.com back in March about a situation he has observed going on in the Seattle area.

I post this because there is a growing trend that looks toward the amature photographer for stock images. This is the first time I had heard of agencies scanning photo sites like Flickr and then making contact with the photographer to use the images, but have previously heard about publishers looking for what amounts to free snapshots for publication where stock photos would previously been used.

At least the agency is paying for usage as well as offering licencing agreements, right? That’s good, RIGHT?!?!?

I’m sorry, but not really.

It might not sound like a bad idea but in the end it just takes jobs away from photographers who spent years in school and thousands of dollers in equipment, those who depend on a paycheck and make their living by shooting stock. Again, keeping in mind all of the erosion taking place in the photography job place from amatures, make sure you really want to be a professional photographer.

Related Tags: Photography, Stock Photography, Amature, Flickr