Editorial Stock Photography

Stock photography has been around for a while, but in the past 20 years or so a new aspect of stock photography has been growing and it is called editorial stock photography. Editorial stock photography is basically everyday images of life. Editorial stock photography is so called because it can give insights into the human condition, events and vignettes. Editorial stock photography shows people doing things, features specific geographical locations and/or gives a real look at every aspect of human activity and the world of nature. Editorial stock photography shows the viewer something that you haven't seen, or touches the viewer in some emotional way.

Editorial stock photography is pretty much the complete opposite of commercial stock photography. Commercial stock photography would be a slick scenic product image that can be used for advertising. Commercial stock photography generally has to conform to what will sell for advertising or marketing needs. The commercial stock photographer engineers their stock photo images to fit into commercial clients' individual needs, trends in the industry, and to appeal to a wider general audience. The resulting photo images are often called generic images because they can fit a variety of uses.

Editorial stock photography images are produced with a different approach. The editorial stock photographer follows his or her own interest areas and targets certain segments of life and culture that they enjoy photographing rather than appeal to the commercial needs of a client. The photographer then sells these photos to markets that use images in those specific subject areas. Buyers in the commercial field of stock photography include designers at graphic houses, corporate art directors, and ad agency creative directors. There is a lot of turnover in these positions, so developing consistent working relationships with these markets is frustrating and difficult.

In the editorial field of stock photography the buyers range from photo editors at books and magazines, to photo researchers. These people are hired by publishers and art directors to seek out highly specific stock pictures so there are fewer turnovers and more longevity with editorial buyers and editorial stock photographers can enjoy strong long-term working relationships with their buyers, which translates to more consistent sales.