Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview

Back when DRR launched their Marketplace, I wrote about it on April 11th, 2007 (The Marketplace is now Open). I had previously uploaded a collection of my archives to them – all analog scans from my film days, as well as some of my more current digital imagery, Keyworded, properly captioned, and so forth. I did this prior to the Marketplace launch, and the images were not exclusive to them. For instance, you can find them as web galleries here on my site, which are search-engine-friendly, and, for example, some of my White House work from an assignment for National Geographic’s television channel as their unit photographer can be seen here on PhotoShelter. I didn’t know what to make of the Marketplace, beyond the standard hype that accompanies any corporate product launch. Will it succeed in general? Will it serve itself, or photographers? And, the proverbial “if you build it, will they {clients} come?" I don’t care how great an archive there is, if prospective clients can’t find you or your images, there’s no sale. So, how do freelancers feel about it? Are they making money? And, how do clients feel about it? Are they getting the imagery they need, and are they paying fairly for it?

Following are a few client and photographer experiences that should be insightful, as well as insights into how they’re getting the word out (on their photographer’s behalf), and my summary thoughts.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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