Press Release
October 2007
Stock photo library diverseimages goes live featuring people of color
By Brent Phelps courtesy of abouttheimage
New York based diverseimages, a specialist library featuring people of color, launched a new site this week at
http://www.diverseimages.net. The library was originally launched by photographer/photo editor Chi Modu and long-time college friend Steven Proctor with a very basic website back in 1998 (
feature article published in 1999). “As I looked around at most of the photo agencies, I realized there was an opening for a library that focuses on images of people of color. I observed that people of color are often used to sell and market to all segments of society, not just their own. This meant that an agency that could provide some of this imagery at a reduced cost to image buyers, as opposed to them doing photo shoots, could do pretty well” explains Modu.
The new site features more than a thousand high res images (approx 60% wholly-owned) available online for preview and download with a registered account. The company also plans to offer many additional images as the company’s complete archives are digitized. Currently 100 new photos are added daily. All images are offered under the Rights-Managed licensing model. Modu adds “We want to be the place you come to when you want a photo of Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey or a shot of a Grandfather and their grandson that is believable and doesn’t look like typical stock imagery but also comes with a model release. 
We also take great pride in maintaining a fifty-fifty split with our photographers. We see this as something that should continue even though most places are rolling photographers back to 40% or even 30% of the sale”.
The company has stated that it does not intend to produce other types of content like footage or music but plans to focus solely on still photography. “We at diverseimages take pride in saying that we are photographers, not just business people. We spotted the opportunity from working in the photo world and we set out to solve the problem, with cameras in hand and not just a telephone and a website”.
Content from diversimages is currently available on its website direct to buyers or through a non-exclusive partnership deal with Getty Images. “We also have a partnership agreement with Dalle in France and are currently seeking deals with other agencies and photographers” adds Modu.
