Stock photography: Selling out or just staying free

I am a stock photographer. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, the shortest and the most boring definition for stock photography would be: stock photos are professional photographs that are bought and sold on a royalty-free basis and can be used and reused for commercial design purposes. Buyers are usually designers, publishing agencies, etc.

Although you`re probably unaware of it, you`ll see bunch of stock photos on a daily bases. Just open any magazine, newspaper, take a look at any website, billboard... It`s a long story how stock photos became so popular for buyers, but the end result is that most of them dont need to hire professional (and expensive) photographers to do the job anymore. They can just go online and find what they need for a pretty decent amount of money. 

Aleksandar Nakic / NewYou Magazine

This explains the buyers (designers) motives. But what about an artist. How does a photographer decide to sell his work for "a few bucks"? More importantly what drives the artist to measure his art with a $?

As I hear questions like this quite often I`d like to answer them. I really respect few photographers who wouldn`t sell or compromise their photography and their take on the world for anything. They are a minority in this story and they have my full respect. But... There are those who wouldn`t and those who couldn`t sell out. I get bunch of integrity-money relation questions from the second ones. It seems as they dont understand a simple fact that all the great photographers made a living from their art. So I really dont understand an argument that somebody is an artist simply because he`s not making any money out of its work. He/she`s not an artist, he/she sucks at taking photos.

If you are original, inspiring photographer you will find your audience. And I tell you, you`ll be paid good money to express yourself! 

As for me, I`ve found my audience for now. They are the World`s top photography consumers. And we collaborate well. I`m building my way into the World of photography as I learn more and more about it. They are investing in me by buying my photos. I`m enjoying every second in "being a photographer" and I`m being paid for it. I dont have to wake up early in the morning, work a 9 hour shift, complain about my work and life, respond to anybody. I can live wherever I want as long as I have my camera with me. You can call me a sell out, I just like to consider myself free.