Hey Tim,
Your post brought to mind a project called Image Protect. whitepaper link - they are actually working with photographers and stock photo agencies; taking millions of pictures and converting them.
The embed codes work much like YouTube in that you paste a code and the image appears (no need to use precious storage space). These links protect the images for proper attribution but also creates opportunities for monetization. The more the embedded images are shared the more it can potentially make.
I need to test on Steemit to see if the embed codes work on Steemit but I wonder, if these two platforms were partnered up somehow, the images could potentially have long term residual income for bloggers well beyond the 7 day limit.
Just a thought.
Hey steemit might work with them if they were a SMT :P