Do you share photos on Flickr? I do and I always wonder if there are ways to commercialise one or two of the photographs I’ve posted on it.
The thing with sharing photos, and this is true to many casual snapshooters, is that you can share just about any photos you want to share and you don’t have to think too much about whether these photos have commercial use.
Things can be different, however, if one has the opportunity to license their work on Flickr for commercial purpose. You now want to post pictures taken with extra care because it might just end up being noticed for what they are.
I guess, in my case at least, this is where the tie-up between Getty Images and Flickr comes into play.
How to become a Getty Images contributor?
One does not automatically qualifies to become a Getty Images contributor just by being a Flickr member, pro or otherwise. Previously, and still is, one has to submit a series of photos to Getty Images Flickr pool for Getty editors to review and decide whether these photos have what it takes to be Getty Images.
If you qualify, you will receive an offer to become a contributor, or something like that.
Recently however, Flickr started to give option to users to “invite” Getty editors to view their pictures and decide whether they worth a Getty. This can be done by turning on the Request for Licence option [see screenshot, left]. Despite the controversy this “opt in” option created, it makes licensing request easy.
Flickr says:
“This is the best way to make your public photos available for a licensing request. Anyone interested in licensing your photos can let Getty Images know by using the “Request to License” link which will show under the license on your photo page. An editor will review the request and send you a FlickrMail. You can then approve or deny the request. Once a photo has been accepted, it will automatically be added to the Getty Images Flickr Collection.”
What types of images that are worth a Getty? Here are Flickr photos which have been accepted into Getty Images pool.
