Ok what's happening... is the mobile phone really changing the world and our lives?... My answer will be ... yes,completely! Everything is done or can be done nowadays with a mobile; bills paid,shopping,even a living ( I mean work). This text is being written with a mobile:) Things are changing very fast (maybe this view is more shared by the older generations... Young people will just look at it as the way it is...normal..).
In the photographic world the mobile phone starts to rise as a device to take in account in different areas of photography. The news people were in some way pioneers or innovators .. the first ones to accept pictures from these devices for use in newspapers . Paparazzi also were quick to recognise the practical/efficient use of this "gadget".
I will use this space to write about my experience with mobile photography,and related themes. The quality of images produced by mobiles is not the most fantastic in the world,but is pretty acceptable (if we compare it what digital cameras were producing about ten years ago...). The great thing about mobile photography, is that everything can be done in the same de device (shoot,postproduction,and upload-sending of pictures) . Interesting and fascinating is,besides the rapid technological evolution,is the constant production of software (apps) that can add so much to mobile phone photography,and help imensely the photographic expression of each individual.
At the moment I got pictures produced with mobile phone at three agencies . Two with the microstock model ( 123 RF and the Dreamstime recent Companion model),the other one,that has "normal" model prices of macro stock photo agency is Stockimo ( that belongs to Alamy). This last one is where I got my biggest mobile portfolio. In my personal view this one is a very interesting site,if we are looking for the more evocative and artistic side of photographic expression. Here normally the clean and "perfect" picture will tend to be rejected, or have an low evaluation. My advice for people who would like to put pictures there, is be free and let your more expressive/artistic/crazy side come out... I am sure that people there don't want the stereotype/normal picture :) Just to give you an idea of Stockimo collection I would tell the noise in the image is not much of an issue (what to me makes some sense, these are images produced by a mobile phone) the important thing is to create an image with "edge" and expression/feeling. Even if I sound enthusiastic about it, till now I didn't have a sale there yet .. I guess things are different from the microstock reality. I must say that I am not taking it ,yet,in a professional way... The challenge that I am setting up to myself is to see if with my mobile phone I can pay some trips,and finance some studio equipment... I guess lots of hard work would be needed,because the world of stock photography changed..
Shutterstock is still considered the leader of microstock,having also expanded their scope to other fields of image,with the acquisition of traditional/news agency Rex Features.
