We didn't think so...

ALL THE TIPS, GUIDELINES AND INFORMATION in this document will do you no good at all if you are dealing with a stock photo agency that has a bad "attitude" about these issues.

And there is absolutely no reason to do that, because there are plenty of terrific agencies that have a good, positive, helpful and supportive approach ingrained into their culture. (Yes, we include Comstock at the head of that list...)

However, stock photo agencies do have interests that vary from agency to agency, and you are well advised to know what those interests are when you are dealing with them. The good news about that is that it's pretty easy to find out if you ask the right questions...

Like what?

Oddly enough, one of the things you want to know about the stock photo agency you are negotiating with for the use of a rights managed image is their position on royalty-free images. Generally, that position will fall into one of three categories:

• The agency does not sell royalty-free images, hates it, and sees it as a threat.

• The agency does sell royalty-free images, but it's another division and the salesperson you are negotiating with for your rights managed stock photo hates it and sees it as a threat.

• The agency does sell royalty-free images and the salesperson you are dealing with sees his or her best interest as providing you with the most cost effective solution to your challenge, whether that "best solution" is a rights managed image, a royalty-free image, or a combination of both.

The benefit of dealing with an agency and a salesperson in the third category is obvious. If the agency sells both rights managed and royalty-free images, and the salespeople are connected to both, with no interest in "steering" you to one or the other, then their interests and your interests are the same: Finding the optimal solution with all the photo "tools" available to you.

That does not mean that you cannot, or should not, purchase a rights managed stock photo from an agency that does not also sell royalty-free images -- only that you should be aware of that fact, and that, therefore, there is a limitation on the degree to which the salesperson will be willing (or able) to be truly helpful to you on the "macro" purchasing issues.

If you're looking for some music for a party you are having, and you go into a music store that only sells classical music, they're not going to tell you that you ought to consider reggae for your party. And if you go into a store that sells only reggae, they're not going to suggest a classical music solution. But if you go into a store that sells both, the salesperson can help you with that decision, unencumbered by their own special interests...

Does that mean you should never go to the classical music store? No, it only means that you are on your own when it comes to deciding whether you should use classical music at all, and you cannot look to them for any guidance or helpfulness on that issue.

How do you find out the agency's position on royalty-free images? Ask. "Do you also sell royalty-free images?" You will learn everything you need to know from the salesperson's response. A short "no" will mean just that: they don't sell royalty-free and don't like it. A "yes", followed by a lot of unhelpful, empty verbiage will mean that the company sells royalty-free imagery, but it's probably an entirely different division, maybe located in a different state, and the salesperson is not incentivized in any way to help you with that solution. That answer is, for all intents and purposes, a "no". If the salesperson says, "Yes, we do" and follows that with specific, helpful information as to how to access their royalty-free library and demonstrates a willingness, maybe even an eagerness, to help you examine that alternative solution, then you've got a real "yes".

Attitude counts ...

When you are purchasing imagery for use in your projects, you are not buying a new air filter for your car. You are engaged in a creative process that goes to the heart of your livelihood. You don't have two or three choices (air filters), you have millions (photos available in libraries around the world).

You should expect to receive support, guidance and a willingness to understand your concerns, challenges and obstacles. If you have done five projects with a stock photo agency, paid pretty much normal prices each time, but now have one of those projects where the budget is so tight that you need them to "work with you" a bit -- they should do so. When you are working out pricing, the agency should not feel like an adversary to you, but, rather, a partner. If you are working with an agency that works hard to inculcate that notion into its culture, and if you apply the principles outlined in this document, it should be a smooth even pleasant process.

If it is not that, find an agency that has a better attitude, or less conflict of interest. Find an agency that sees its primary job as helping you, not helping themselves.

They're out there.

And now ...