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Citizen Image Photography Imaging Marketplace
Mark Peters : May 2nd 2006 - 08:35 CET
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 Citizen Image launches Photography Imaging Marketplace : Buried deep in many of today's digital photo albums may be hidden money, says Citizen Image, a newly created online marketplace that will begin selling commercial images taken by photographers. These images, Citizen Image believes, can command dollars from publishers, art buyers, advertisers, media outlets, web designers and others who are constantly seeking "the right shot." The site will house digital shots of breaking news, beautiful landscapes and everything in between; embracing photographers of various skill levels. The company seeks to tap into this vast, untapped collection of images that are likely to appeal to editorial and commercial end-users.
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 Growing demand for image content
Citizen Image feels the ubiquity of digital cameras has revolutionized the industry. "There will continue to be a growing demand for image content, and our goal is to create an open community to fill that pipeline," said Joe Bransom, president of Citizen Image. "There's this tremendously untapped reservoir of great photos out there that previously had little chance of being noticed by photo editors or art buyers. What we're doing is creating a model that allows photographers of all levels to monetize their images."
Worldwide Photographers Marketplace
Founded by Bransom and Feargall Kenny, who have a combined 30 years' of experience in entrepreneurial technology companies, Citizen Image will reach out to photographers worldwide to submit their images. In return, the company will split all royalty and usage fees derived from selling a member's image to a media property, ad agency, design house or other outlet. Photographers will be encouraged to upload key-worded digital images that will be reviewed and ranked by Citizen Image's photo editing staff for quality and marketability. From here, the company will market the images directly to end-users. Images will be licensed on a royalty free basis and rights managed basis. The photographer retains copyright of the image and provides Citizen Image exclusive marketing rights.
Stock photography - Millions of images
"The supply side of image content is still highly inefficient. From an editorial end, that means more potential feet on the street to capture arresting topical images. The 'real life' accounts of what people see through their viewfinders will also feed the creative side of our business - providing a market for the literally millions of images out there that are arguably better than what's offered by stock photography houses and other similar services today," says Kenny, CEO of Citizen Image.
Impressive inventory of high-quality content
With more than 30 million digital cameras sold and another 76 million camera-ready cellphones on the market in the U.S. alone, Citizen Image is expecting to attract an impressive inventory of high-quality content that is fresh and marketable. "Citizen Image will give all photographers a legitimate, professional outlet for their photos, with a great chance to profit from their work," said Bransom. "Before this, amateurs had limited options to monetize great photos, hobbyists had to jump through portfolio review hoops to join the exclusive ranks of those who were paid for their work, and professionals often found their true abilities curtailed by the big houses. The online community we've created levels the playing field."
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