[2] The pioneer of microstock photography was Bruce Livingstone, who created iStockphoto, originally a free stock photo site that quickly became an industry phenomenon.
Some of the larger ones are Alamy, Bigstock, Fotolia, Depositphotos, 123rf, Featurepics, Picxy, Pond5, Can Stock Photo, Dreamstime and Shutterstock.
[citation needed] Photographers with large, market-relevant, or high-quality portfolios now often collaborate with each other and negotiate with less-established agencies for better commissions or search positioning, and the increasing popularity among photographers of photography portfolio management solutions to increase their throughput and improve metadata quality to better align with principles of SEO in image search algorithms.
Photographers can upload the same pictures on multiple sites or, with some agencies, become an exclusive supplier and receive an increased commission and additional benefits.
Each employs a team of reviewers who check every picture submitted for legal issues and technical quality, as well as artistic and commercial merit.
[8] Some professional photographers who do not participate believe that microstock devalues the practice of photography, and that the business model is unsustainable.