Getty, photographic agency, has closed a deal with Flickr, Yahoo’s photograph-sharing website, that will enable the former to access the latter’s pictures for pursuing its commercial purposes.

Flickr members will be given the chance to choose whether or not they want their work to be commercially used; Getty would have to pay for each picture it decides to use. Depending on the type of coverage the picture gets, the company can receive anything beteween $29 and $200,000 for it.

Artists are to receive at least 30% to 40% of the licensing fee or 20% in the case when fewer restrictions accompany the use of the picture.

According to Jonathan Klein, Getty co-founder and Chief Executive, Flickr’s material will be a very important ingredient in his company’s already existing mix. He went on to say that advertisers are always looking for authenticity and since most of Flickr’s users don’t think commercially while taking their photos, Flickr may turn out to be a very good source of fresh ideas. There is a high chance that everyone will benefit from this new agreement.

Earlier this year, Flickr has added a video sharing feature in the attempt to get some of YouTube’s action. However, Flickr’s take on online video files is different, as the site’s users can post their videos along with pictures and, through security settings, have control over who watches the media. As recently-put together records show that Flickr, with its 27 million members, totals more than two billion photographs, it seems Getty is in for a lot of work. The website attracts some 50 million visitors every month.