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MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

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124 MacDirectory PROFILE FOTOLIA > LEARN ABOUT THEIR STOCK IN TRADE Looking for -- or looking to sell – royalty- free stock images? Check out Fotolia, where the selection of stock photos numbers in the millions … and a Web site membership that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Founded in November 2005, Fotolia's image marketplace now boasts a staggering 3.5 million photos and illustrations in its database, with thousands of new images being added on a daily basis. On the site, photographers and designers receive a commission from both when their images sell -- and from advertising revenue (on the free section). While Fotolia is based in New York, the company has offices in nine countries. As a result, Fotolia operates Web sites in eight languages, and the company is, not surprisingly, the world's largest provider of micro-priced stock images. In response to this growth, Fotolia not long ago became the first independent micro-stock agency to enter the traditional stock marketplace, with the launch of Fotolia Infinite Collections. The company has always maintained a global and independent philosophy when it comes to micro-stock images. Since the company is an international one with about 625,000 members, visibility for both Fotolia's photographers and buyers is high. Members can also network with other cre- atives via the active blog and forum that is conveniently located on the website. What Are the Images Used For? Buyers use these photos for many purposes. For instance, media buyers may use these images for personal use or for use on blogs and Web sites. Further, small businesses may use these images for logos, brochures, presentations, and other marketing materials. Larger companies, including multinational corporations, use the stock images for myriad purposes that include ad cam- paigns, stock imagery for magazines, newspapers, and other professional uses. Earlier this year, the company celebrated the addition of its 3,000,000th image, titled "Colorful balloons with ribbon isolated on white background." Marek Kosmal, a Polish photographer, submitted this image. [Kosmal's Fotolia's portfolio is available at the following link - .] Kosmal said he loves the ability to sell his images via Fotolia. "It's a great site where you can turn your passion into hard currency", Kosmal said. "I have been a contributor for more than two years, and I am amazed about the development on the site – its updates and improvements create a clear and intuitive system where images are sold and purchased." Both the remuneration for photographers and the prices for buyers guarantee that the site will continue to garner attention, he added. New License Launches Due to consumer and photographer demand, Fotolia recently announced two new licenses. The first license, called the eXtra Small (XS) standard license, is designed for Web applications and blogs (small images and thumbnails on websites). The license starts at just 1 credit for a 300x400 pixel image. The second license, called the XXXL standard license, covers, as you may guess, really large images. Starting at 7 credits for 4800x6400 pixel images (30.7 MP), this license is ideal for larger printing projects. The Future Fotolia plans to continue to grow its business and membership levels. According to director of communications , ""We plan on continued global expansion, strategic partnerships within the industry to expand both our microstock and traditional stock libraries, and a continued growth of talented photographers and illustrators that make our collection not only the largest, but the best quality, in the industry." For more information on the company and the Fotolia community, please visit . WORDS BY LARISA REDINS > IMAGES PROVIDED BY FOTOLIA

Summer-Fall 2008 (#38)

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