It's no secret for anyone, the value of photography is declining as an increasing number of amateur photographers now offer their images on microstock websites or on social networking websites such as Flickr. Adding to this trend, newspapers and magazines are spending less on photoshoots, with some papers sourcing their images only from low-cost agencies or using unlimited accounts.
However, it's a bit harder to find solid numbers on how steep the decline in value has been. Content library Alamy is simplifying this for us. When it released its Q3 results this week, it includes a table listing the average prices of Rights Managed and Royalty Free images.
In 2007, a RM image for editorial use would sell, on average, for $133. Now, it's worth $103. For commercial use, it goes from $393 to $289 today. Royalty Free images have come down to $177 from $226.
