Whether its online publishers, advertisers, marketers or anyone else, looking up stock images which cater to the local market has always been a hard task for Pakistanis. Well, at least until now.
Pakstockphoto launched on 23 March 2017. It claims to be Pakistan’s first stock image library. The library currently boasts a stockpile of 1,000 high quality images. You can access those images under different licensing options and pay depending on the image quality.
Saqib Riaz and Abid Azam are the founders of this startup which aims to cater to the local demand by allowing publishers and content generators to produce localized content by licensing the high quality images on Pakstockphoto.
Due to the absence of a local stock image library, producers and publishers were often found using stock images from India. The founders were aware of this as they witnessed similar issues. Advertisers often had to rely on Getty images or Image Bazaar. Both are big stock image platforms but lack cultural representation for Pakistan as they target other markets.
Pakstockphoto plans on filling this gap and making full use of the opportunity. Saqib Riaz said that his team is focused on creating a community of photographers who can help create a library of useful images. He added that once the community becomes self-driven and gains enough momentum, the company will move towards other avenues. Meanwhile, the photographers will be recognized for their work for Pakstockphoto.
Abid Azam added:
Our business model is built upon supporting photographers and giving them direct access to organizations and brands which they may not have been able to reach previously. Pakstockphoto will provide photographers with a platform to showcase their work and open doors to new opportunities for talented photographers.
According to the founders, the images on the platform will be related to Pakistani culture, nature, heritage, people, landscape, urban/rural areas, professionals, health, and other similar local themes.
The process to publish your own images for licensing is pretty standard. Any photographer can apply by sending sample images to Pakstockphoto and wait for approval. Once accepted, they are allowed to freely contribute to the platform.
Pakstockphoto can be accessed here.
