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Author Topic: Do you "Rake in the Cash"?  (Read 4993 times)

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LSD72

  • My Bologna has a first name...
« on: December 09, 2009, 16:58 »
0
Found this Associated Content Article dated Dec. 8, 2009... (Big Edit... I said Associated Press...oops Associated Content.. sorry)

"Typically, stock photography sites are the most common method to rake in the cash."

"Some photographers make thousands each month from such stock photo websites."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2468166/how_to_make_money_with_photography.html?cat=3

I am not raking it in. I am getting probably lawn trimmings...lol. Glad I didn't believe the hype that is out there. If I had the unrealistic views that's out there on the web, I would have been very disappointed and given up in my first 3 months. With the realistic views I found here and on MS Forums.... I know I am in for the long haul and I know I have to work for it.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2009, 17:02 by LSD72 »


« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2009, 17:29 »
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That article is totally simplistic...and unrealistic. Mind you, I had one 'interested party' try and tell me that if I were to place 400 macro quality stock images on the micros I would rake in 10K a month...somehow I think those figures are in dire need of revision.

« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2009, 17:34 »
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My rake has lost a lot of its teeth. Perhaps a refit with rake dentures or something to that effect would be helpful.

RacePhoto

« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2009, 17:42 »
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Pretty funny. It's like the Hub Site and others where you basically publish pages to either promote yourself, something you are selling (affiliate links) or some program or try to make money on the click through from the embedded ads. Kind of like spam central for people who like to watch infomercials.  ;D (or people who will believe anything)

Magazines
"Magazines are also a great way to make money if you enjoy photography. Magazines are always thirsty for new photos, so if you can take a good quality photo you might be able to make some money. Contact the magazine company, and offer to take pictures for them, or simply sell your prints to them."

Uh ya sure. Magazines are going out of business every day, so are newspapers. There's a death watch site for the publishing industry that keeps updating with magazines that are lost every month.

Please read this if you think selling to magazine is a growing market.  :o

http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/

National Geographic Adventure: RIP December 2009 - National Geographic is bailing out of its spin-off magazines.

Not enough? How about this:
http://www.theawl.com/2009/11/a-graphic-history-of-magazine-income-over-the-last-decade

Better stick to making money off those photos that are just sitting on our hard drives.  ::)  ;D

« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2009, 22:07 »
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I rake in hundreds of pennies every day; sometimes even thousands.

« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2009, 23:39 »
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The neighbors must have come by with their leaf blower, beat me to it. Darn : )

J

vlad_the_imp

« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2009, 06:29 »
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To be honest there are plenty of stock contributors making many thousands of dollars a month. Plenty.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 07:00 by vlad_the_imp »

« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2009, 07:42 »
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Fotolia was mentioned in a German TV-Program a while ago which for some reason calls itself "news", and the introduction to the bit of coverage was "The internet as a market place for amateur photographers - it works for anyone who has a digital camera and wants to earn money on the side". After that, we had quite a few people on the forum complaining that all their images were rejected ("it sounded so easy on TV - upload and earn"). The vast majority of people attracted by things like this will never get an image through selection process. We know that, don't we?
On the other hand, fotolia knows that too. I wonder why they did that and put themselves on a silly program like that. Isn't it much more important to get pros to become microstock contributors? And also, I wonder what ever happened to the media where we live.

I "rake" about the amount that I expected - up to now (about 18 months) it's enough to pay my rent and health insurance, half the amount I need to live on. That's what I worked for and aimed at, and now I'm aiming at and working for, well, the next level.

« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2009, 09:31 »
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I'm of two minds on this.

Yes, the article mentioned is just the latest in a growing list of moronic "You too can get rich from all those snapshots on your hard drive" diatribes.  Anyone who falls for that and invests the considerable time it takes to process, keyword and submit those generic, inferior pics deserve the rude awakening in store for them.

At the same time though, last year I was simply a microstock buyer and took a careful look at what I was buying and did calculations on what those submitters must be making, and decided to try it for myself.  Yes, my goal was to "rake in the cash."  I didn't simply send in my vacation snapshots, but instead did careful research on what sells, what topics aren't being covered to death already, what I could produce with minimal or no cost, what style could I create to build a "brand" for myself, and guess what... it's working.  I set clear goals, daily upload quotas, and forecast where I would be 6 months out, one year out, three years out, etc.  I'm on goal so far and having a great time.

The lesson here is to take what you read with a grain of salt, but also look around... many contributors (including myself) would not be doing this if there weren't real financial rewards.  You can do it too if you understand a simple rule of business: find a customer with a need not being met, and fill that need before and/or better than anyone else can.

helix7

« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2009, 11:51 »
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Quote
With stock photography, you want to have quantity rather than quality.

Yeah, I think that just about sums up the integrity and accuracy of that article.

It's just another "get rich from your vacation snapshots" piece that will send people flocking to the agencies, only to get rejected in the application process and find out that they actually need to be a good artist to create stock-worthy images.


vonkara

« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2009, 11:59 »
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Quote
With stock photography, you want to have quantity rather than quality.

What ?? Worst ignorant statement I've seen since a while
« Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 12:10 by Vonkara »

« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2009, 12:16 »
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  Here's an idea. A search on iStock for "rake in the cash" or "rake in the money" turns up zero results. Get to shooting!

  Illustrated business cliches seem to do pretty well.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 12:33 by rimglow »

WarrenPrice

« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2009, 12:35 »
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 Here's an idea. A search on iStock for "rake in the cash" or "rake in the money" turns up zero results. Get to shooting!

  Illustrated business cliches seem to do pretty well.

Do you have the copyright on that concept?   ;D

LSD72

  • My Bologna has a first name...
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2009, 16:01 »
0
 Here's an idea. A search on iStock for "rake in the cash" or "rake in the money" turns up zero results. Get to shooting!

  Illustrated business cliches seem to do pretty well.

That would be funny. Put it in the members only section about a topic of the month and the MSG members flood that niche on every site.

« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2009, 16:58 »
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Did you see this other tip from the esteemed author? ;)

"Another idea that was not mentioned is to create a "seal of approval." Design an authentic looking seal, and sell it to websites. The idea is that they will be more trusted by their customers because they are "approved.""

« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2009, 17:26 »
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Seal of Approval


LSD72

  • My Bologna has a first name...
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2009, 18:11 »
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Another Magazine + Newspaper type place for them to shoot for....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091210/ap_en_ot/us_editor___publisher_closing

 :o


« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2009, 20:08 »
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 Here's an idea. A search on iStock for "rake in the cash" or "rake in the money" turns up zero results. Get to shooting!

D@mn! Why did have to tell this? I already bought a rake this morning in the local DYI shop.  ;)
« Last Edit: December 10, 2009, 20:10 by FD-amateur »

RacePhoto

« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2010, 21:42 »
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While you were raking or shoveling the cash:

January 2010

Another print media publication may be biting the dust. NASCAR Scene, the foremost weekly publication in the sport and a staple of the industry since '77, will cease production of the weekly print product and merge into the monthly NASCAR Illustrated. The owners cut virtually the entire staff Monday, in a stunning staff meeting.

If you didn't catch the link with all the latest additions, here it is. http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/

Mediafinder.com, via Crains NY Business, shows that The Reaper is actually slowing down and may find some vacation time soon: 367 magazines closed so far in 2009, and that's down from 573 in 2007.

Prize under-statement goes to Trish Hagood, president of Oxbridge Communications, parent company of MediaFinder: "This is not a propitious time to launch a magazine."

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2010, 22:48 »
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Most people think they can rake in the cash....for example my Aunt wanted the names of all the photography websites I'm on so she could put her photos on them to sell as well. I told her you need more than a 4mp camera and can't use your camera phone and explained to her that she would need model realeases for the people and property releases for the properties she photographs. she still insisted I give them to her so I did. Maybe she found out she couldn't get on them because I haven't heard her say anything else about it. I hate to put down my Aunt, but the biggest majority of her pictures weren't even in focus, but I didn't want to tell her that.......maybe the microstock agencies did it for me.....

« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2010, 23:30 »
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Most people think they can rake in the cash....for example my Aunt wanted the names of all the photography websites I'm on so she could put her photos on them to sell as well. I told her you need more than a 4mp camera and can't use your camera phone and explained to her that she would need model realeases for the people and property releases for the properties she photographs. she still insisted I give them to her so I did. Maybe she found out she couldn't get on them because I haven't heard her say anything else about it. I hate to put down my Aunt, but the biggest majority of her pictures weren't even in focus, but I didn't want to tell her that.......maybe the microstock agencies did it for me.....
It's better that way.  Maybe now your aunt will show some more respect for your work and will stop thinking that photography is simply pushing a button.


« Reply #21 on: January 09, 2010, 02:54 »
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The same thing happened on the today show last year as well.  They made it look so easy with a point and shoot camera.  If it was that easy I'd of had tons of photos in my portfolio already.  I have a point and shoot and before I even uploaded anything I knew that wasn't going to be good enough.  Which is why we have a Nikon now :)

lagereek

« Reply #22 on: January 09, 2010, 11:09 »
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Few years back,  Micro was for just about anyone with a good DSLR.
Today and thank God for that,  Micro is not a place for dilletants, not a place where you park your leftovers.

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #23 on: January 09, 2010, 12:53 »
0
Most people think they can rake in the cash....for example my Aunt wanted the names of all the photography websites I'm on so she could put her photos on them to sell as well. I told her you need more than a 4mp camera and can't use your camera phone and explained to her that she would need model realeases for the people and property releases for the properties she photographs. she still insisted I give them to her so I did. Maybe she found out she couldn't get on them because I haven't heard her say anything else about it. I hate to put down my Aunt, but the biggest majority of her pictures weren't even in focus, but I didn't want to tell her that.......maybe the microstock agencies did it for me.....
It's better that way.  Maybe now your aunt will show some more respect for your work and will stop thinking that photography is simply pushing a button.



After I finally ask her for money to print all those photos she always wants printed, she quit asking about that also. I have a Epson photo printer and again everyone always think I can print out all their digital photos for them and they don't realize that costs me more money than if they took them to Walmart!


 

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