DVPhoto

Corbis, one of the largest traditional stock agencies around, has officially opened their new microstock site, SnapVillage.

The site is still very much in beta, so don’t expect it to all work perfectly, but at first glance it seems that Corbis are making a bid to change the way microstock works. There are a few things that make me want to join them immediately, and one thing that means I can’t.

At first glance I see the following.

Pros:

• You can set your prices yourself from $1 all the way to $50, which is more midrange stock than micro stock. There is a subscription model much like Shutterstocks, where the photographer only gets 30 cents, but you can opt out of that.
• Like with IStock, the top photographers will have the opportunity to be moved up to the more traditional stock business at Corbis. I assume you would have to be an exclusive photographer with them, though that remains to be seen.
• They will keyword and title your images for you if you want.

Cons:

• They only send payments via Paypal, so people like me who cannot receive payments from Paypal are a bit screwed. Please Corbis, add Moneybookers & Cheque payment please. Soon.
• So far it seems that when they keyword the images for you, they are very sparsely key worded. I think that while it seems like a very good idea, I’m not sure they will have the time to do it properly.

Obviously, since the site is still very much in development, there will be a lot of problems; but assuming you can actually receive payment from them, give it a try. And make sure you tell them any problems you encounter so they can improve the site as fast as possible.

Tags: News