Alternatives for Stock Photography Buyers . . .

Not every stock image must come from a big online database. A number of companies offer very different approaches to locating and licensing the stock photography you need. Below is a list of alternative sources of quality rights-managed stock photography.

AGPix . . .

162 W. Park Ave., Long Beach, NY 11561; phone 800.727.9593; fax 516.432.0544; browse http://www.agpix.com; e-mail office@agpix.com.
Comments: Like traditional distributors, AGPix maintains an online collection of images. However, buyers negotiate license purchases directly with photographers. AGPix also offers a service that lets buyers send needs lists to shooters, many of whom maintain large image files that are not online.

ASMP Find a Photo . . .

150 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; phone 215.451.2767; fax 215.451.0880; browse http://www.asmp.org/findaphoto; e-mail info@asmp.org.
Comments: This is a service of the American Society of Media Photographers. Stock buyers can post photo requests, which are then relayed to interested ASMP members. The buyers and photographers negotiate image license directly with each other.

Digital Railroad . . .

Browse http://www.digitalrailroad.net/corpsite/directory.html; e-mail support@digitalrailroad.net.
Comments: Digital Railroad provides web hosting for a number of photographers and small distributors. Many, though not all, offer photojournalistic images. The link above is for the Digital Railroad directory of participants.

Imagegrabber . . .

33 Bloor Street E., 9th floor, Toronto, ON M4W 3H1 Canada; phone 416.969.2791; browse http://igi.imagegrabber.com; e-mail support@imagegrabber.com.
Comments: This portal brings together images from a number of stock distributors for viewing in a single place.

Incredible Features . . .

4910 1/4 McConnell Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066; phone 310.821.2384; fax 310.822.5222; browse http://www.incrediblefeatures.com; e-mail photo@incrediblefeatures.com.
Comments: Incredible Features specializes in photojournalism, usually with some kind of a twist. Jeffery R. Werner comes up with very unusual stories like a bow and arrow strip tease act and a jet skier driving through a cabin cruiser.

IPNstock . . .

770 Broadway, 7th floor, New York, NY 10003; phone 866.476.7862; fax 646.654.5813; browse http://www.ipnstock.com; e-mail info@ipnstock.com or research@ipnstock.com.
Comments: IPNStock (Independent Photography Network) is really a collection of small distributors and independent photographers on a single web site. It is operated by VNU Mediagroup, which publishes PDN (Photo District News), Adweek and a number of other magazines. Browsers will find some interesting collections here.

Mira . . .

14 E. Third St., Moorestown, NJ 08057; phone 978.969.2021; fax 978.969.2021; browse http://www.mira.com; e-mail mira@mira.com.
Specialty: General.
Comments: Mira is a photographer-owned cooperative with a traditional library. However, Mira also contacts its 340 member photographers when image requests cannot be filled from the in-house collection.

PhotographersDirect . . .

Number 3, 83 Surbiton Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, KT1 2HW, England; browse http://www.photographersdirect.com; e-mail ( use form at ) http://www.photographersdirect.com/contactus/email.asp.
Comments: At PhotographersDirect, buyers may search an online database of some 270,000 images, then, upon choosing images, negotiate directly with participating photographers.

PhotoSource International . . .

1910 35th Road, Osceola WI 54020-5602; browse http://www.photosource.com; e-mail info@photosource.com.
Comments: Researchers can view the stock lists of all participating photographers and also view six-image portfolios of some of these shooters. In addition, PhotoSource can circulate your image request in a digest sent to photographers every day.

Smithsonian Photographic Services . . .

NMAH, Rm. CB-054, Washington, DC 20560-0644; phone 202.633.1933; Fax 202.786.2756; browse http://photo2.si.edu; email photos@si.edu.
Comments: The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC is one of the great museums of the world. It has an incredible library of historic, scientific and natural history images. Some images may require additional clearances from the copyright holder, a property owner and/or people depicted in the image.

Stock Asylum Internet Directory . . .

4598 Sunshine Canyon Dr. Boulder, CO 80302; phone 303.473.1926; browse http://www.stockasylum.com/search/premiumsearchpage.php; e-mail info@stockasylum.com.
Comments: This is a directory of web pages with stock images for license. Though not limited to small distributors and individual photographers, special efforts are made to include these "micro-distributors," which, taken together, represent a large source of fresh, less-used stock photography.

StockPhotoFinder.com . . .

1123 Broadway, Suite 1006, New York, NY 10010; phone 212.929.6965; browse http://www.stockphotofinder.com; e-mail gelsner@stockphotofinder.com.
Comments: StockPhotoFinder lets image buyers simultaneously search the libraries of a number of member distributors.

StockPhotoRequest.com . . .

P.O. Box 341, Flagstaff, AZ 86002; phone 800.421.5576; fax 928.214.8272; browse http://www.stockphotorequest.com; e-mail info@stockphotorequest.com.
Comments: Stock shoppers post requests which subscribing photographers try to fill by uploading images to a light box. Only professional photographers are allowed to subscribe.