istockistockCalgary, Alberta, June 05, 2007. Lise Gagné, a freelance photographer who sells stock images online, just sold her 500,000th image on iStockphoto. Gagné, from Quebec City, Quebec, was the first to become a full-time iStock photographer and has almost 5,000 files on the site, which have been downloaded an average 100 times each. She has quickly risen to become iStockphoto’s most in-demand artist, making a six-figure income.

iStockphoto pioneered the concept of micropayment stock imagery and was one of the first social networks in the world to actually pay contributors for the sale of their work. It remains the world leader in micropayment and is now the global volume leader in all stock photography sales, whether user-generated or traditional. iStock has more than 1.8 million members and an image or video is downloaded from the site every 2.5 seconds.

“Lise is a great friend, a true artist, and has really set the bar high for the members of our community,” said Bruce Livingstone, CEO of iStockphoto. “We work very hard to promote our artists, providing training, business cards, partnerships, and advertising that give all our exclusive contributors maximum worldwide exposure. I believe Lise is the first of many who will achieve this milestone, as we have just barely scratched the surface of the worldwide appetite for imagery. What may be her most astounding accomplishment is that by our calculations, she just may be the most prolific stock photographer on the planet.”

iStock artists are paid instantly every time one of their images is downloaded. Exclusive photographers can make 40 percent royalties on each image sold, and 50 percent on extended license agreements. iStock promotes its collection and photographers through aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns worldwide, and has many partnerships internationally that increase channel sales potential for its artists.

In recognition of her achievement, iStock is creating an iStock Wall of Fame, with Lise the first member inducted. She’ll be joined by many more of the artists she has inspired during her meteoric rise.

“I love the community aspects of iStock so much and have learned a great deal from all my friends there since 2003,” said Lise Gagné. “I fell in love with iStock right away, but never would have dreamt that someday it would be my career. But things have a way of working out: I got fired from my old design agency for spending too much time on iStock, and suddenly found myself with all the time in the world to give to photography. Now I hope to hit a million downloads in half the time it took to reach 500,000.”

To view Lise’s work, visit http://www.istockphoto.com/lisegagne. To see the praise from hundreds of her friends and colleagues, http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=52571.

About iStockphoto

iStockphoto, www.istockphoto.com, is the world’s busiest image market, with an image downloaded every 2.5 seconds. iStock pioneered the micropayment phenomenon in this industry, enabling buyers to license images for as little as a dollar. iStockphoto entered the stock video market in September of 2006, selling video for as low as $5 per 30 second clip. In partnership with its members, iStockphoto has turned community into commerce, transforming the digital imagery market by encouraging passionate dialogue and education, while making imagery affordable to businesses that may not have licensed imagery otherwise. iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images.