Looking into the abyss,choosing a publisher

Hello everyone. I’m in the process of putting together some underwater digital photos that I took last summer and would like to try submitting some of them to a stock photography publisher. I’ve read and understand the difference between rights managed vs. royalty free stock photography. I plan on changing all my nef raw images into tiff file format. Copyrighting photo files before I send them on to a publisher seems like a good idea. I also plan on reading all of the fine print in a publishers contract before signing or submitting anything. Now, having said all that, what I’m having trouble with is deciding which publisher or publishers to go with. I’m not sure if naming actual stock photography publishers is OK in this forum. I suspect most of the larger established ones are reputable. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

Hello everyone. I’m in the process of putting together some underwater digital photos that I took last summer and would like to try submitting some of them to a stock photography publisher. I’ve read and understand the difference between rights managed vs. royalty free stock photography. I plan on changing all my nef raw images into tiff file format. Copyrighting photo files before I send them on to a publisher seems like a good idea. I also plan on reading all of the fine print in a publishers contract before signing or submitting anything. Now, having said all that, what I’m having trouble with is deciding which publisher or publishers to go with. I’m not sure if naming actual stock photography publishers is OK in this forum. I suspect most of the larger established ones are reputable. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

1. Look at the website of your chosen library. BAPLA (google this, British Association of Picture Libraries) has a list of stock libraries and you can filter your search by interest area. Search the library for subjects you have, and if you find a lot of existing images that cover similar subjects or content then it might be better to look for another library. IME stock libraries are looking to fill gaps in their offering and unless you fill the gap then you may be disappointed.

Do that first. Don't spent time converting to TIFF or caption and keyword a single image until you think you have found a library with a need for your work.

2. When you find one that has a need, ring them up first and ask how they would like to see a speculative submission. Be prepared to explain why you think their offering is lacking and why you can help fill this need.

3. If you cannot find a niche to fill you could try Alamy, but there is a risk your images will be lost in the XX million of the catalogue they hold and the selection/kewording/submission may be more trouble than it's worth.

Good luck. When faced with a contract, PM me and I can give specific advice.

Thanks for your help decosnapper. I'll start looking through photo libraries and see what I can find.