MicrostockGroup

That was a truly interesting read.

If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition.  That doesn't make any sense to me.

Yes, sorry, you're right.  I was so surprised that I forgot my theory that he's transitioning into a consulting position, and also taking percentages from those in his "distribution network".  I just remembered the complaints in the other thread recently, but maybe that was just ranting against iStock.

I wrote "Make" but meant "Maybe" better to understand now?

Great read.

 Hi All, 

 This is a bit of a rant, you have been notified.....

 Have you ever noticed whenever there is a Yuri post there is always some form of what I like to call " Yuri Envy ". It always surprises me that this takes place. It seems to be limited but it happens almost every time.
 If Yuri had personally offended someone then I could understand a little bitterness I guess but why do some feel threatened by this one guy. He is great at what he does and he seems to offer a lot of helpful advice for FREE. He is always trying something new to increase profit and reduce overhead at the same time sharing those ideas with all of us for FREE. I guess I just don't get it. He was helping people long before he realized there might be profit in it.
 I can tell you why his images sell better than any exclusive at Istock. He is a better shooter, better at understanding the buyers needs and especially better at how to promote his Brand. There will always be a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan  in the game. It is the same in Macro stock. There are some guys I know that just make more money than I do, they are better at their craft. I think these people should inspire you and push you to do better work. I know they do that for me and always will.
 All I can guess is that some people are just easily threatened and that's a shame. You are all great photographers in your own right and there is no one that can stop you from being the next Yuri of Micro, except for yourself. Don't see him as anything but a mark to shoot for if you wish, or a mentor if you find his information helpful. There is nothing wrong with having mentors. I have had a few in my life and they have all been a great asset.

Just my opinion,
Best,
AVAVA

Hi Whatalife,

 That is a very good observation I will keep that one. I especially like the sentence you have at the bottom of your posts. I think in a way it reflects a bit on what I am speaking of. Great statement! I had never noticed it until this post.

Best,
AVAVA

Maybe.  People like Bryan Peterson and Lou Manna train photographers every month through Adorama, and I doubt either one is worried that their students will take their business away from them. 

It's kinda like NBA stars giving clinics to high school ballers, teaching them their moves and suggesting training regimens.  Just because you know how to eat right, train, and  do a cross over dribble in traffic, does not mean you have the talent to take Kobe Bryant to the hoop. 

People with talent will rise to the top whether Yuri trains them or not.  People without talent (like yours truly) will always be a mid tier competitor, no matter what Yuri instructs me to do.

Dan Heller wrote some other reasons why it makes sense to help other photographers in his blog here:
http://danheller.blogspot.com/2005/07/asking-pros-for-advice-about-pricing.html

Bye,
Robert

It makes a lot of sense to me: tutoring is an excellent marketing tool and improves his brand. He has a lot more to gain from this than what he's losing from competition in my opinion.


I totally agree with you. I've read a lot and I had some great teachers in my main profession (which is programming videogames) and I spend a substantial amount of my time back to writing on books (for free), conferences, answering emails, discussing ideas with people. Doing it doesn't give me any money, and I don't have a brand to create cause I'm selling nothing else than my workforce, but I think I owe this to the community I learnt from in the past and, even more important, when I'm explaining a technique or discuss it with someone, it becomes clearer to me to cause I'm forced to break assumptions. Mentoring others is a great tool to improve yourself. And if you are good at what you do, competition is usually not a problem. So I'm totally against the idea that "giving advices is helping competition".

I think we are talking general brand awareness here.


Well, we don't really know if he's teaching absolutely everything he knows. I surely don't do it in my field even if I give out a lot.

Oh, yeah it is.  I guess they can buy each other nice Christmas presents then