The art of photography has gained popularity almost since of inception. Photos became more and more popular in the process of development of this branch. In the world appeared a vast number of magazines, newspapers, websites, advertisers and thousands of designers work. All of them monthly, weekly and even daily needed a lot of photos for articles, mock-ups, and websites. Soon people appeared who understood how to use this need to make a profit.
So there were photostocks where many artists, designers, and photographers try to make money on the sale of their digital works. In all corners of the earth there are photographers and everywhere there are those who need photos. It allows photographers to sell their works worldwide, and it allows publishers to receive photos from any corner of the planet.
Today, photos on photostocks are bought by representatives of the advertising business, which use images for advertising purposes, to create advertising posters, brochures and etc. Also, stock images are used to develop products intended for later sale, for example, postcards, posters, t-shirts, etc. Another large group of buyers is editors and journalists who use photos purchased on photostocks as illustrative material in news or information articles.
Of course, there are a lot of photostocks like Shutterstock, iStock or Fotolia which allow you to sell works, but a lot of shortcomings forces photographers doomedly to sigh. Despite the many platforms where photographers can find potential customers or buyers, they still earn a tiny percentage of sales. The profit of resources (photostocks) in this case can reach up to 90% of the price. At the same time, each of the platforms can change the requirements and conditions for the participation of photographers, which in turn leads them to a forced increase in the number of published images hoping that they will be noticed. The platforms do not allow artists to set their price on offered content, while a process of content verification and waiting for payments takes much time.
To solve all the above problems, a team of specialists this industry developed a new Wemark platform based on blockchain technology. Probably, many of you have heard about blockchain technology and smart contracts. They already solve many problems in our life, and problems described above are no exception. The Wemark platform provides an opportunity for photographers to sell their works directly, and on their terms. The goal of Wemark is to pay photographers for their work more than centralized photostocks.
For clarity, I will tell you how much I managed to earn on traditional photostocks (Shutterstock and Adobe Stock).
Photography is my hobby. I used to never make money on it and did not even try. Usually, I shoot postcards, architecture, and landscapes, less often - cities and unusual abandoned places. I was going to register on photostocks for a long time, and a few months ago I decided to create accounts on the two largest photostocks. So that's what came of it.
So, to start working with Shutterstock as an author, first, you need to download ten photos for the exam (expertise). The examination will complete if at least 7 of your works are approved by the inspector, in this case, you acquire the right to upload works of art in any quantities. If you fail to pass the exam, you will have to wait for a month to retake. Attempts may be several, but the time interval between repeating the exam will increase every time. Some people get frustrated after a few failures, get offended and stop trying to "break through" forever.
So, I successfully passed the exam and uploaded about 600 photos to Shutterstock from which they accepted just over 300. Pictures that in my opinion were rejected unfairly I downloaded the second and third time, without changing anything in them. Many eventually have taken, probably they have got to another inspector. The logic in refusals exists is not always.
In a month on Shutterstock, I sold 25 photos. I have received 25 cents for each photo and 6,25 dollars for all images sold by me. On the second photostock of Adobe Stock (that there was Fotolia earlier), I have loaded 250 photos. There is a month there were only 5 sales and $1,74 income. But each separate photo will more expensive than on Shutterstock if you to fill a tax form. For example, a photo of night view was sold for 59 cents. For the sake of an experiment, I have loaded on Stock ten videos. Timelapse of cities, cars, and people. No sales.
It is clear that I am very far from having photostock became a source of additional income. Not the fact that even in a year it will be possible to earn the sum, sufficient for the withdrawal (on Adobe Stock it is $50, on Shutterstock $35).
Anyway, I have long and actively sought an alternative that will help me to distribute my content in more favorable conditions. And finally, I found it. With the advent of the Wemark platform, both professionals and amateur photographers like me will be able independently to establish the price of the work. The whole process will be carried out with the help of smart contracts, which guarantee the reliability of the transaction. The buyer will be able to obtain the rights to work only after paying.
Another advantage of Wemark will be a system of copyright protection. The digital content will store in a decentralized database in encrypted form. Thanks to this the authors will not worry about the fact that someone can steal the work. Photographers will receive tools to detect copyright infringements, license abuses, restrictions on use or other license violations.
I think that Wemark is the best photostock, which will appeal to all art lovers, artists, and photographers around the world because now they can earn thanks to the use of their talent and skills. Such fair market never existed earlier, and among his unique features, there is the fact that it brings benefit not only to users but also all industry of the photo in general as the possibility of the increase in income stimulates participants to work better.
Learn more about Wemark:
Website - https://www.wemark.com/
Whitepaper - https://www.wemark.com/whitepaper.pdf
BitcoinTalk - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3347524.0
Twitter - https://twitter.com/_wemark
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WemarkOfficial/
Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/wemark/
Medium - https://medium.com/wemark-stories
Telegram - https://t.me/wemark
My bitcointalk profile: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1286131