500px launches photographer directory and unveils Adobe Stock licensing deal

Photography social network 500px has launched a directory it hopes will increase exposure for photographers looking to get hired. Additionally, it has signed a licensing deal so select photos from its site can be sold through the Adobe Stock Premium Collection.

Unlike more common user-generated content sites, like Flickr and Instagram, 500px is in pursuit of more professionally oriented photographers looking to monetize their work. Over the past few years, the company has released tools aimed at improving the exposure its users receive, such as a smarter search feature that lets you browse photos by color or design. It even debuted a mobile app called RAW, which provides powerful editing tools right on the go.

Above: 500px’s photographer directory lets you search by location and specialty.

Image Credit: 500px

But even with all of these tools to empower photographers, there also needs to be a way to find them. This is why 500px has launched its photographer directory that lets you find the right person based on speciality and location. The site lists more than 49,000 photographers from more than 11,000 locations across 191 countries. The directory provides an alternate way of finding the professional with the right eye, whether you’re looking for someone to photograph a wedding, pets, or 360-degree photography.

It’s one thing to look at photos and then select someone, but you’d have to parse through hundreds, if not thousands, of images just to get a good sample. The directory provides a quality group first and then you can weed through them all. The search results will show you the relevant photographers, the number of people following them on 500px, and give you the option of hiring them. You can click on their profile to view more about the photographer, along with their portfolio.

Above: This photograph of surfers on 500px is an example of one selected for licensing through Adobe Stock.

Image Credit: Jan Kasi/500px

Eventually, 500px plans on publicly launching a directory API — it’s currently in private beta. It will allow developers to embed lists of photographers right into their apps or websites, allowing others to cycle through local photographers and their work.

And the latest licensing deal with Adobe is intended to maximize the work featured on 500px. As with EyeEm, a select group of images will be licensed through Adobe Stock to be used in commercial work. 500px has not shared which photos have been chosen or talk about the revenue split, but it did share in vague terms that “each image has been carefully selected by a team of expert curators for its striking visuals, emotional engagement, and impeccable technical quality.”

This is the latest opportunity for photographers to monetize their work. Besides Adobe Stock, photos can be licensed through 500px’s marketplace.