It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

+1  I would add that if you are super talented, good at differentiation, can create volume and commercial themes, you may have more success than pocket money, maybe.  Micro stock isn't what it used to be 10 years ago (I've been in almost 9 years) and my port is very vanilla. Even though I have added a lot of new content in the last two years and also am now adding video, my monthly revenue is the same as it was 4 years ago. Why? Competition and commission cuts by the agencies. I am working hard just to "maintain".  There are a lot of good people in this forum who will probably post similar comments as me and Microstockphoto. Just know that for most new contributors who are submitting basic work (travel pics, shots around town, etc.), you are in all likelihood talking pocket money. Step up your game and you can do better.

ive nearly got 1000 in one agency and have only 30.

Your problem is that iStockphoto has virtually no barriers to images being accepted nowadays other than IP issues.
Much of your port would not have been accepted there before about eighteen months ago or so.
Why they are ingesting huge numbers of unsellable files is a mystery. They may have an evil plan (I have some guesses, but it's always worse than I imagine), or maybe no clue at all.
But the bottom line is that their much higher acceptance standards in the old days meant that you quickly improved or gave up.
Plus the issue that most things uploaded in the past two years or more are only sell as PP or Subs, very seldom as proper credit sales, means that iS is not a great place for a newbie to learn or earn.

It's never too late to get into anything.

I got in early 2015 and I think I'm doing better than most contributors.

Your portfolio does have some sellable images and I think you'll perform better on SS. You do have a lot of competition for those type of images though, so you may want to explore some more unique subject matter.

Quote from: Microstockphoto on July 27, 2015, 08:32

It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

This is almost word for word what I was gonna say.  Perfectly summed up.

If your work is of similar quality this is true. Some of us actually feed our family and have paid of the mortgage from one microstock site alone.

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 12:40

Quote from: PixelBytes on July 27, 2015, 12:27

Quote from: Microstockphoto on July 27, 2015, 08:32

It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

This is almost word for word what I was gonna say.  Perfectly summed up.

If your work is of similar quality this is true. Some of us actually feed our family and have paid of the mortgage from one microstock site alone.

I pay bills and feed family from microstock too tho it was NOT my expectation, but lucky surprise to do so well.   But when I started it was easier to do.  Now days just starting out is much harder and much mor competition.

It has always been difficult to do, and I think the competition today is easy. I think the competition was more before microstock, much more. You had editors back then and you really had to be in the game to make it, and your competition was people who had their game on, full on. You really were always competing with the best, and the only way to join their ranks was to have your own game on. In many ways it was the ultimate goal to know you had made it. A bit different from answering 10 brainless questions and submitting 3 images to gain "acceptance". If my cat could push a shutter with the camera set on Auto, she too could be a stock photographer.

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 13:04

Quote from: PixelBytes on July 27, 2015, 12:49

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 12:40

Quote from: PixelBytes on July 27, 2015, 12:27

Quote from: Microstockphoto on July 27, 2015, 08:32

It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

This is almost word for word what I was gonna say.  Perfectly summed up.

If your work is of similar quality this is true. Some of us actually feed our family and have paid of the mortgage from one microstock site alone.

I pay bills and feed family from microstock too tho it was NOT my expectation, but lucky surprise to do so well.   But when I started it was easier to do.  Now days just starting out is much harder and much mor competition.

It has always been difficult to do, and I think the competition today is easy. I think the competition was more before microstock, much more. You had editors back then and you really had to be in the game to make it, and your competition was people who had their game on, full on. You really were always competing with the best, and the only way to join their ranks was to have your own game on. In many ways it was the ultimate goal to know you had made it. A bit different from answering 10 brainless questions and submitting 3 images to gain "acceptance". If my cat could push a shutter with the camera set on Auto, she too could be a stock photographer.

Hundreds of years ago, only the very strong could work on the docks, unloading ships. Thank God we have cranes and forklifts these days.

Thank you so kindly for your history lesson in the past ways of a stevedore. It is slightly off topic however. If you have anything on topic and interesting to add that would be somewhat refreshing.

Oh wait, I can see it already... the reply will be along the lines of how shoes were made hundreds of years ago.

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 13:52

Quote from: Zero Talent on July 27, 2015, 13:14

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 13:04

Quote from: PixelBytes on July 27, 2015, 12:49

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 12:40

Quote from: PixelBytes on July 27, 2015, 12:27

Quote from: Microstockphoto on July 27, 2015, 08:32

It depends on your expectations. If you want to make some pocket money, sure. If you want to feed your family it is not.

This is almost word for word what I was gonna say.  Perfectly summed up.

If your work is of similar quality this is true. Some of us actually feed our family and have paid of the mortgage from one microstock site alone.

I pay bills and feed family from microstock too tho it was NOT my expectation, but lucky surprise to do so well.   But when I started it was easier to do.  Now days just starting out is much harder and much mor competition.

It has always been difficult to do, and I think the competition today is easy. I think the competition was more before microstock, much more. You had editors back then and you really had to be in the game to make it, and your competition was people who had their game on, full on. You really were always competing with the best, and the only way to join their ranks was to have your own game on. In many ways it was the ultimate goal to know you had made it. A bit different from answering 10 brainless questions and submitting 3 images to gain "acceptance". If my cat could push a shutter with the camera set on Auto, she too could be a stock photographer.

Hundreds of years ago, only the very strong could work on the docks, unloading ships. Thank God we have cranes and forklifts these days.

Thank you so kindly for your history lesson in the past ways of a stevedore. It is slightly off topic however. If you have anything on topic and interesting to add that would be somewhat refreshing.

Oh wait, I can see it already... the reply will be along the lines of how shoes were made hundreds of years ago.

Ohh... it is so on topic! And you know it

What is NOT refreshing is seeing nostalgic post like yours, longing for the good ol' days when photography was only for the chosen ones.
What is NOT refreshing is to read, every day, all these apocalyptic comments made by a handful of frustrated old timers, incapable of accepting the new reality.

Speculative to say the least. I am one of the chosen ones cause I succeeded based on merit. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be an old timer in this new reality, I can double dip, and I do. I make a full time go of it on micorstock and I also make a full time go of it with the big boys. It's actually very entertaining to hear little kids who think they know it all and take the piss out of us old timers at every chance they get and yet they are struggling to make it all work out. You are funny. Granted, if you had the skill you would most likely be doing the same thing. Most successful photographers that I know do as it's a no brainer. Nothing stopping you is there?

well, I got into most agencies in 2013,even though i have been around stock for 10 years. I think it is still possible, maybe harder than 10 years ago but also more options. Nearly everything can sell if you find it the right environment.

I think so. If you have the talent you can get into most large agencies based on merit. But you already know this and have applied it. Good on you!!!

Speculative to say the least. I am one of the chosen ones cause I succeeded based on merit. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be an old timer in this new reality, I can double dip, and I do. I make a full time go of it on micorstock and I also make a full time go of it with the big boys. It's actually very entertaining to hear little kids who think they know it all and take the piss out of us old timers at every chance they get and yet they are struggling to make it all work out. You are funny. Granted, if you had the skill you would most likely be doing the same thing. Most successful photographers that I know do as it's a no brainer. Nothing stopping you is there?

Ha, ha, I love my regular job and I have no intention to become a full time photographer. I know for sure that I will never be close to make what I normally make, from photography only.
What I find interesting is that, what I get from a weekend hobby seriously competes with what some "old timers" complain about, around here. Still, I would never brag that I have "the skills", since I know that there is always something new to learn, no matter how advanced you believe you are

Mark my words: those "funny little kids", as you condescendingly call us, will eat an ever bigger slice of your pie. And there is nothing you can do about it!

Quote from: Zero Talent on July 27, 2015, 17:48

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 15:02

Speculative to say the least. I am one of the chosen ones cause I succeeded based on merit. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be an old timer in this new reality, I can double dip, and I do. I make a full time go of it on micorstock and I also make a full time go of it with the big boys. It's actually very entertaining to hear little kids who think they know it all and take the piss out of us old timers at every chance they get and yet they are struggling to make it all work out. You are funny. Granted, if you had the skill you would most likely be doing the same thing. Most successful photographers that I know do as it's a no brainer. Nothing stopping you is there?

Ha, ha, I love my regular job and I have no intention to become a full time photographer. I know for sure that I will never be close to make what I normally make, from photography only.
What I find interesting is that, what I get from a weekend hobby seriously competes with what some "old timers" complain about, around here. Still, I would never brag that I have "the skills", since I know that there is always something new to learn, no matter how advanced you believe you are

Mark my words: those "funny little kids", as you condescendingly call us, will eat an ever bigger slice of you pie. And there is nothing you can do about it!

For a hobbyist you sure seem to know it all about stock photography and dedicate a fair amount of time giving comment about it, now I understand where your are coming from. But have no fear, you future is safe, I have no intention of having a regular job for my hobby. I also don't worry about other photographers dipping into my slice of the pie, competition is nothing new in the world of stock.

Perfect!

Now you sound optimistic and confident.

That's refreshing!

Which means that all that darkness and nostalgia are just for show.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

i�ve heard so often here now, how someones have just 400 online images and over 200 sales.

ive nearly got 1000 in one agency and have only 30.

i got in begin of the year 2014.

is it just gonna bad for late starter or depends this to strong in the images?
i make much nature images.

is it worth it ?

Well...It depends on what you're trying to gopher. It's best to gopher realistic expectations. Aim low and you will always succeed. Keep digging down and don't look up. That seems to be the strategy these microstock sites employ.

Stumbling across random crap is the story of my life! Actually I've had some good sellers like that 

Stumbling across random crap is the story of my life! Actually I've had some good sellers like that 

I definitely have some snaps that gave me very good returns, but a planned shoot has better chances of getting winners.

Quote from: Microstockphoto on July 29, 2015, 05:22

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 28, 2015, 15:37

Stumbling across random crap is the story of my life! Actually I've had some good sellers like that 

I definitely have some snaps that gave me very good returns, but a planned shoot has better chances of getting winners.

Yep I agree though I've often taken unplanned pics on a planned shoot with success - flexibility is a useful skill I think.

For sure!  Some of my best pics were ideas of me or the models that we did not plan for the shoot.  Gotta leave room for inspiration on the spot.

the key to it is keep your cost down close to zero. then what you make from microstock will be money to pay for your equipment , service charges for ISP ...
you can consider it as opposed to just making pictures that will sit at home collecting dust anyway.
if that is the case, then it is not too late for microstock.

just don't give up your office job like some of the vets here 10 years ago. it will be a cold day in hell
for anyone entering microstock to replace that income.
even ss, as they keep flipping the switch as soon as you reach payout or 38 cents. that never happened before. ss used to be upright and transparent. today, not 

It's never too late, my friend. You've got skills, ambition and life. Just keep your mind open to new ideas and techniques. You will experience more sales if you shoot more pix of people (especially so-called minorities and underrepresented types of people). Keep up your artistic education. Reinvest your money and upload consistently.

Peace

i�ve heard so often here now, how someones have just 400 online images and over 200 sales.

ive nearly got 1000 in one agency and have only 30.

i got in begin of the year 2014.

is it just gonna bad for late starter or depends this to strong in the images?
i make much nature images.

is it worth it ?

I wouldn't see it as viable way to make a living but, as a pure hobbyist, I could just build up files on my hard drive OR find an audience for the stuff I produce and make a few bucks in the process.  Micro provides this. 


Edit typo..

I still go back to the "is it worth it to you" question. Even with stuff laying on your hard drive you still need to select, edit, add IPTC data, submit, get rejections, resubmit, and then actually make a sale. If you have two people working 40 hours a month one may make enough to buy a cup of coffee while the other can make a house payment. If I was the cup of coffee person no way would it be worth it regardless of how much of a hobby it was. If it covered my mortgage it would be absolutely worth it. I just wonder what percentage of micro people are coffee vs mortgage for that 40 hour a month scenario.

+10 Paulie. i still remember lisafx always saying things like good thing my hubby has a fulltime job so i can do microstock.  we don't know if she is still doing it as i hear she left us a long time ago due to her standing up against some nasty character assasin .  shame because i like to know what lisafx thinks of micro today

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 31, 2015, 17:07

I still go back to the "is it worth it to you" question. Even with stuff laying on your hard drive you still need to select, edit, add IPTC data, submit, get rejections, resubmit, and then actually make a sale. If you have two people working 40 hours a month one may make enough to buy a cup of coffee while the other can make a house payment. If I was the cup of coffee person no way would it be worth it regardless of how much of a hobby it was. If it covered my mortgage it would be absolutely worth it. I just wonder what percentage of micro people are coffee vs mortgage for that 40 hour a month scenario.

+10 Paulie. i still remember lisafx always saying things like good thing my hubby has a fulltime job so i can do microstock.  we don't know if she is still doing it as i hear she left us a long time ago due to her standing up against some nasty character assasin .  shame because i like to know what lisafx thinks of micro today

As I recall it was treatment over her decisions in regard to DPC. She was treated in a less than respectful way in this thread & PM. I was really sorry to see her go.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/fotolia-d-day-%28deactivation-day%29-may-1/msg379076/#msg379076

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on July 31, 2015, 18:20

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 31, 2015, 17:07

I still go back to the "is it worth it to you" question. Even with stuff laying on your hard drive you still need to select, edit, add IPTC data, submit, get rejections, resubmit, and then actually make a sale. If you have two people working 40 hours a month one may make enough to buy a cup of coffee while the other can make a house payment. If I was the cup of coffee person no way would it be worth it regardless of how much of a hobby it was. If it covered my mortgage it would be absolutely worth it. I just wonder what percentage of micro people are coffee vs mortgage for that 40 hour a month scenario.

+10 Paulie. i still remember lisafx always saying things like good thing my hubby has a fulltime job so i can do microstock.  we don't know if she is still doing it as i hear she left us a long time ago due to her standing up against some nasty character assasin .  shame because i like to know what lisafx thinks of micro today

As I recall it was treatment over her decisions in regard to DPC. She was treated in a less than respectful way in this thread & PM. I was really sorry to see her go.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/fotolia-d-day-%28deactivation-day%29-may-1/msg379076/#msg379076

hmm, really???
off topic i know, but , i would like to see lisafx back here and her participation was always beneficial to msg-ers.
otoh, i can think of at least 3 ppl still around who should have been taken out instead of lisafx
and in terms of constructive comments provided us by lisafx, i think at least 50% of the comments
made these days are either just coming in to be sarcastic with no useful comments (eg ...ok???)
 totally redundant compared to what lisafx gave us.

I'll add my voice to the chorus... Lisa was one of the greats.  A person of great class.

But my take on the original question... Is it too late to start in microstocking?

If I tried starting today, I'd be earning a tiny fraction of what I started earning many years ago.  I think if I saw such a tiny stream of pennies coming in from my first uploads, I would do the math and decide it was a waste of time.

Maybe some people will see the pennies come in and decide they can double those pennies by doubling their port size.  That will work for a little while.  But they'll soon hit the wall -- when their rate of portfolio growth can't keep up with the 40+% rate of agency library growth, and those pennies will start trickling away, no matter how much harder they work to keep them.

So, yes, I think it's too late to start if you want to make any decent money.  The question for me now is, when is it too late for me to continue hitting my head against the wall to turn my revenue slide around.  I just can't shoot and upload enough to make this worthwhile any more.

What is decent money? $50/mo? $200/mo? $500/mo? $1000/mo? The last one is a huge challenge for anyone, but $500/mo is very attainable with the right portfolio.

Quote from: Hongover on August 02, 2015, 23:26

What is decent money? $50/mo? $200/mo? $500/mo? $1000/mo? The last one is a huge challenge for anyone, but $500/mo is very attainable with the right portfolio.

Which is exactly why so many people have said if your expectations are to pay for your gear and have some pocket money, it's not too late, but if you want to quit your day job and support yourself, then yes, it is too late.

Depends on where you live. With U$ 1000/month I can travel endlessly in the countries I like the most.
If you live in US/Northern Europe/Australia/Japan micro is a complete waste of time now.

Answering to your initial question: Yes, it is too late.

There are hundred of commercial activities where your work will be better rewarded, without any doubt.

I wont agree with "too late" attitude no matter how many posts i see about it. I simply know its not too late, actually its very simple. Digital media market demand is growing faster than we can upload all our pictures at once. 

I know people who earn 2k $ per month. I know people who earn 5k $ per month. I know people who earn 20$ usd per month ... its all matter of quantity and quality and most important planning when you are uploading what kind of motive.

If the main priority is the monetary profit, investment in stock company shares rather than in photo gear might have been a better idea than shooting pictures.

For example, if had invested $20,000 in fall 2012 in SS shares, you could have parlayed it into $100,000 in less than 18 months. Of course, that $100 price per share was overheated. However, if you took advantage of that situation, and sold your shares at the peak, and then shorted your original investment and profit, waited until the shares dropped to $50 (just recently), and then covered your shorts, you could have doubled it to $200,000.

Adobe did also spectacularly well. $20,000 invested at the same time, while they were still more than two years away from their foray into the stock image business, would have grown by now to $50,000.
Of course, the timing is everything. Pick a wrong date and a price too high, and you could lose a lot.
Mind you, not as much as some people lost on quickly depreciating cameras and computers. If you sank $20,000 into a Hassy H50 at the same time,  you could still have, umm, well, a camera that used to cost $20,000, and it has been now blown away by Canon 5DS or Sony A7RII that costs only $3,200. I didn't add cost of lenses, but by any luck, with a nice portfolio, maybe you could have recovered their costs by your stock image royalties.
   
Purely coincidentally, as the oldtimers would remember, just before those stock share prices took off, we were told that �Money isn�t going to be what makes you all happy.� And that is exactly how it happened - money not made didn't make us happy.




 

I wont agree with "too late" attitude no matter how many posts i see about it. I simply know its not too late, actually its very simple. Digital media market demand is growing faster than we can upload all our pictures at once. 

I know people who earn 2k $ per month. I know people who earn 5k $ per month. I know people who earn 20$ usd per month ... its all matter of quantity and quality and most important planning when you are uploading what kind of motive.

There are always people who will succeed no matter what adversity there is. There is just a lot more adversity then there was when I started eight years ago.

10 years ago you could have been a so-so photographer, knew nothing about business, and watched earnings grow nicely. Today you would either need to live in a country with ultra low cost of living or you need to bring your A game if you want to earn a living. And by A game, I mean you have business experience, a sales and marketing background, are endlessly motivated, understand metadata/SEO, and can monetize trends. Oh yeah, and you're an excellent photographer. But so is everybody else these days so that doesn't mean as much as it used it.

So it's not too late for the right people. But those people already know that.

yes it is too late for microstocking IMO, my revenue continiously down day by day instead of constantly uploaded new images, sorry but that is true..

That really depends on what type of images you're uploading.

The microstock business, or any business for that matter is not that hard to understand. At the end of the day, you need a bit of luck, a bit of skill and a whole lot of execution.

When people do a search for "Pets", one of the contributors on this forum holds the #2 spot on the search results. That image is probably getting over 1000 downloads per year. At the same time, an image with "Pets" on page 2 get less than half of that. An image on page 1000 gets 1/1000 of that. That image, like every image starts near bottom and made its way up to the top.

If the image is amazing, and you keyword it correctly, people will find it. It takes time, but it will start to move up the charts with enough consistent downloads. When it gets up there, it stays up there unless someone makes something even more amazing. But if you're uploading an image and it's just mediocre, and there are 1000 better alternatives, what's the point of uploading that image? Anyone who does that is relying on pure luck and nothing else.

I have seen a number of my images climb the rankings. And they're climbing because they are some of the best in its category...or some of the most unique. The demand in Microstock is very consistent right now, but there is an oversupply. The ones who are reaping the rewards are the people who bring their A-game. Anyone bringing their B or C-game is getting crushed by the A-players.

"If the image is amazing, and you keyword it correctly, people will find it. It takes time, but it will start to move up the charts with enough consistent downloads."

So much you have learned from your seven months at one agency.

You have to learn fast if you're going to succeed in this crazy environment known as Microstock. 

And I'm on 4 agencies (SS, 123, FT, and DT) now, soon to be 5.

So many responses lately read like contributor acquisition & site marketing. With questionable wisdom coming from new contributors who completely fail to acknowledge the expertise and experience coming from long term key players.  How many newbies are completely arrogant and chock full of industry and site insight. Not to mention having the balls to dispense condescending derogatory comments to successful contributors with many years of experience. Add in the claims that they need to up their game because these new ports are clearly superior to those seeing declining sales.

Bottom line, I do not buy the ongoing spiel, it sounds like inside marketing speak to me. I take the advice, critiques & claims of unbridled success with a car sized grain of salt, especially coming from some who stated early on that "I got rejected over 10 times before I got into SS. I doubt I'll be giving up now that I'm in."

So many responses lately read like contributor acquisition & site marketing. With questionable wisdom coming from new contributors who completely fail to acknowledge the expertise and experience coming from long term key players.  How many newbies are completely arrogant and chock full of industry and site insight. Not to mention having the balls to dispense condescending derogatory comments to successful contributors with many years of experience. Add in the claims that they need to up their game because these new ports are clearly superior to those seeing declining sales.

Bottom line, I do not buy the ongoing spiel, it sounds like inside marketing speak to me. I take the advice, critiques & claims of unbridled success with a car sized grain of salt, especially coming from some who stated early on that "I got rejected over 10 times before I got into SS. I doubt I'll be giving up now that I'm in."

Honestly, your post doesn't bother me. If I'm some site marketer, I'm doing a terrible job at it. I haven't posted any links or urged anyone use any service. Some acquisition marketer I'm turning out to be.

Unfortunately, this is not a place where one claim to have some success and spill every detail on how they did it. It doesn't matter how many times I got rejected, what matters is that it didn't bother me. Sometimes, even I have a hard time believing the numbers so I don't blame you for your skepticism.

Quote from: PixelBytes on August 03, 2015, 00:13

Quote from: Hongover on August 02, 2015, 23:26

What is decent money? $50/mo? $200/mo? $500/mo? $1000/mo? The last one is a huge challenge for anyone, but $500/mo is very attainable with the right portfolio.

Which is exactly why so many people have said if your expectations are to pay for your gear and have some pocket money, it's not too late, but if you want to quit your day job and support yourself, then yes, it is too late.

Depends on where you live. With U$ 1000/month I can travel endlessly in the countries I like the most.
If you live in US/Northern Europe/Australia/Japan micro is a complete waste of time now.

It provides me 20-50% more than a minimum wage in US. Not enough for a decent living, but it is a nice bonus by any standards. Especially since it only involves some weekend work.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on August 04, 2015, 19:41

"If the image is amazing, and you keyword it correctly, people will find it. It takes time, but it will start to move up the charts with enough consistent downloads."

So much you have learned from your seven months at one agency.

You have to learn fast if you're going to succeed in this crazy environment known as Microstock. 

And I'm on 4 agencies (SS, 123, FT, and DT) now, soon to be 5.

In 50 years there will definitely be a role for you as a "community leader" on the SS forum . The similarity is startling

i think that just sums it all up. we are not being sarcastic or anything towards hongover etc
although it may sound harsh. but the fact is not the problem with you and me and all contributors old and new. it's like when global economy took over and greedy politicians back boiler room businesses with subsidies to their quick turnover of employees. all just to fill the pockets of these businesses who got rich off the backs of taxpayers before they close down their HO in countries like USA, Canada,Uk,etc to move to India, etc.

ss is no different. they no longer care if 1k is crumbs for someone living in USA or UK, they can pay out 75 bucks to someone in some 3rd world country where 75 bucks buys alot more .
it's not rocket science to make snapshots for microstock. you don't even have to have photography 101. many of the "masters" of microstock were no better than the newbies coming in today.

and if you ask the shareholders , they really don't give NFA whether contributors who made ss what they are today are now pissedoff with their attitude . they see the bottom line
and they will prefer someone who will cheer with getting a mere 75 bucks a month
than someone who expect to continue to get even 40 K p.a.

like they say with bandboys too, clubs will hire bands who think getting a case of beer is great
when we were kids, we got paid 400 bucks a night. microstock is no different.

who cares if the kids today don't play anything like they do in the 60s??? no one cares
when they think lady gaga is incredible. microstock is no different

We can easily see where shutterstock is headed or for than matter not headed; by looking to the world regions where shutterstock is actively hosting events and recruiting "Community Leaders" whom they use to attract, train and produce thousands of new contributors.

The ongoing contributor acquisition & site marketing speak expressed here, is likely being repeated by lecture and event attendees. Who are falsely lead to believe older contributors are passe and out of touch with current market needs. Wishful thinking bred out of financial want or need, lead them to believe that the fates older contributors are experiencing by being left out of the shutterstock search will not await them; if only they work smarter with increased diligence.

http://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/76588-writers-wanted-for-stock-photography-advice-
"We also host lectures by Shutterstock's staff about which photos are on high demand and what Shutterstock is looking for in the year to come. We organize lectures, workshops, courses, photowalks and other events."

You've exposed me. I am a SS community leader and my mission is to recruit new contributors by the millions so that our overlord, SS can meet the $104 Million revenue target for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Our shareholders have not been happy with our linear growth. They want to see exponential growth and in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader and crush all with our steel heel boots, especially the maker of Flash, which has cause more security problems than people can count.

As a SS community leader, I'm going to share what type of photos will be in demand for the next year...adorable rodents. If you have a lot of those in your portfolio, get ready for a killing in 2016. You're welcome!

been there and back with being community leader and all that. it's like those pyramid schemes where they hire cheerleaders to come on at recruitment gatherings to say " wee wee yay ya i was broke, had to foreclose my house until i join xxx . now i bring in enough to not only buy a new house twice as big as the one i foreclosed with cash, bla bla bla".

as for shareholders flat line... the only flat line you will see is after the same shareholders
cause ss to flatline when they take profit just before ss do a sky dive.
don't be too happy about listening to shareholders because they won't be holding your company's share very long. it is not to their interest if shutterstock loses all their top contributors
because they really don't care what happens to shutterstock in the next decade.

even that is thinking too long term for these shareholders because they do not intend to be there
for shutterstock.

Quote from: Hongover on August 05, 2015, 15:43

You've exposed me. I am a SS community leader and my mission is to recruit new contributors by the millions so that our overlord, SS can meet the $104 Million revenue target for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Our shareholders have not been happy with our linear growth. They want to see exponential growth and in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader and crush all with our steel heel boots, especially the maker of Flash, which has cause more security problems than people can count.

As a SS community leader, I'm going to share what type of photos will be in demand for the next year...adorable rodents. If you have a lot of those in your portfolio, get ready for a killing in 2016. You're welcome!

been there and back with being community leader and all that. it's like those pyramid schemes where they hire cheerleaders to come on at recruitment gatherings to say " wee wee yay ya i was broke, had to foreclose my house until i join xxx . now i bring in enough to not only buy a new house twice as big as the one i foreclosed with cash, bla bla bla".

as for shareholders flat line... the only flat line you will see is after the same shareholders
cause ss to flatline when they take profit just before ss do a sky dive.
don't be too happy about listening to shareholders because they won't be holding your company's share very long. it is not to their interest if shutterstock loses all their top contributors
because they really don't care what happens to shutterstock in the next decade.

even that is thinking too long term for these shareholders because they do not intend to be there
for shutterstock.

I thought I put enough hyperbole in there to make the joke seem obvious, but I guess it's not obvious enough.

I'm NOT a community leader. I'm a contributor like everyone else. If there is any reason why I should care about SS's financial health, it's because they currently make up the majority of my monthly microstock earnings.

If you think being a SS community leader is being part of a pyramid scheme, you should look up what it's like to be a USANA seller. That's a real pyramid scheme.

Quote from: Hongover on August 05, 2015, 15:43

You've exposed me. I am a SS community leader and my mission is to recruit new contributors by the millions so that our overlord, SS can meet the $104 Million revenue target for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Our shareholders have not been happy with our linear growth. They want to see exponential growth and in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader and crush all with our steel heel boots, especially the maker of Flash, which has cause more security problems than people can count.

As a SS community leader, I'm going to share what type of photos will be in demand for the next year...adorable rodents. If you have a lot of those in your portfolio, get ready for a killing in 2016. You're welcome!

Re: "in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader"

Words uttered by every fresh naive new contributor.

Please!

*shurgs*

It was a joke. Maybe I should get into sales if I can convince people this easily. But then again, you probably had yourself convinced 90% before I made that joke post.

Quote from: gbalex on August 05, 2015, 16:16

Quote from: Hongover on August 05, 2015, 15:43

You've exposed me. I am a SS community leader and my mission is to recruit new contributors by the millions so that our overlord, SS can meet the $104 Million revenue target for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Our shareholders have not been happy with our linear growth. They want to see exponential growth and in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader and crush all with our steel heel boots, especially the maker of Flash, which has cause more security problems than people can count.

As a SS community leader, I'm going to share what type of photos will be in demand for the next year...adorable rodents. If you have a lot of those in your portfolio, get ready for a killing in 2016. You're welcome!

Re: "in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader"

Words uttered by every fresh naive new contributor.

Please!

Words of an embittered "old school", unable to adapt to a different reality.

Please!

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

It must take a special type of denial, arrogance or salesmanship to convince yourself and others; that out of Over 50 Million Images. Your ports contains fresh new content while those who have been at this a long while, have port which contain only old school images.

Quote from: Zero Talent on August 05, 2015, 16:25

Quote from: gbalex on August 05, 2015, 16:16

Quote from: Hongover on August 05, 2015, 15:43

You've exposed me. I am a SS community leader and my mission is to recruit new contributors by the millions so that our overlord, SS can meet the $104 Million revenue target for the 3rd quarter of 2015.

Our shareholders have not been happy with our linear growth. They want to see exponential growth and in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader and crush all with our steel heel boots, especially the maker of Flash, which has cause more security problems than people can count.

As a SS community leader, I'm going to share what type of photos will be in demand for the next year...adorable rodents. If you have a lot of those in your portfolio, get ready for a killing in 2016. You're welcome!

Re: "in order to do that, we must keep our portfolio fresh and in demand. This will ensure our sustainability and consistency as the market leader"

Words uttered by every fresh naive new contributor.

Please!

Words of an embittered "old school", unable to adapt to a different reality.

Please!

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

It must take a special type of denial, arrogance or salesmanship to convince yourself and others; that out of Over 50 Million Images. Your ports contains fresh new content while those who have been at this a long while, have port which contain only old school images.

I hate to interrupt the lovefest between you two, but isn't it even more arrogant and takes even a more special type of denial to convince yourself and others that of the 6+ billion people in the world, they can't possibly create fresh content? With that kind of mindset, why bother even trying? Why bother innovating? If everyone thinks alike, there would be no innovation at all.

What you need to learn to accept is that we're all different. We come from different backgrounds. We have different experiences. And despite how politically correct society wants us to be, people are not born equal. Some are stronger than other, some more intelligent than others. Some have a heightened sense of smell, taste, sight, hearing, empathy, and/or creativity.

Maybe you're lacking motivation and perhaps you're suffering creative burnout/block, but that's something you're gonna have to overcome.
 

My post has been misunderstood.  I was making a comparison with someone who posts a lot on the SS forum. Not accusing anyone of working officially for SS.  Long time readers should be able to see what I mean. Anyhow.  Give it a while and you will see what's what, or you won't and end up in perpetual denial. Whatever. You aren't the first and you won't be the last.

Defecting IS exclusives may be new contributors, however they are a talented bunch and with content that is every bit as good and in some cases better than content which was available on shutterstock. And many of them have large fully developed portfolios.

The difference was the price point shutterstock has to pay contributors for this content.  Which images do you suppose the stockholders expected shutterstock to display?

fully developed maybe so... but buyers no doubt have already taken all they wanted with all you can eat sub.
another thing re your insight remark of istock exclusive refugees to ss. that could well explain the conflict of interest mass rejection of existing older ss contributors.
it used to be that way with istock when they used exclusives to review indies work. lots of garbage went through while the good works strangely got rejected with the strangest reasons...
typical of what has been going on at ss.

in short, istock ex-exclusive is at ss and ss is repeating istock attitude.

You are so completely wrong about how the life cycle of an image in micro works.  Images don't gradually rise in searches over time. Top earning images peak very quickly then slide from there earning less each year.

You are so completely wrong about how the life cycle of an image in micro works.  Images don't gradually rise in searches over time. Top earning images peak very quickly then slide from there earning less each year.

If you keep on producing images, they will always be given the chance to appear on the "new" ranks.
Now, if your new images are competitive, they will move up on the "popular" (trendy) ranks.
Next, if your images are really exceptional or truly unique , they will climb the "relevant" ranks.
Each time an image will pop up on these different ranking systems, other images from your port will be offered as alternatives. This is how old images are given a second wind, allowing them to climb, once more, the popular and the relevant hierarchies, or to maintain their position.
This "viral" mechanism built in the search algorithm aims to keep the fresh, trendy and best photos in front of the customers.

So, the key is to keep on producing, indeed, but not just for the sake of increasing your port.
It is paramount to constantly produce high quality images. Each quality image you produce today, is a locomotive for your older images.

If you see your port fading away, you either have to start producing again, or you have to learn how to level up your game and deal with the new, tougher competition, you now have to face on your niche.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

I am searchin new job opportunuties after all 7 year microstock experiences, some time ago, I ve earn enough money but for now not.

You are right, I did jump to a conclusion, your schpiel sounded exactly like Hongover's; who has stated that he is a new contributor. I failed to read your user name.

Yet you recently joined MSG and actively deride "old timers".

Quote from: Rose Tinted Glasses on July 27, 2015, 15:02

I make a full time go of it on micorstock and I also make a full time go of it with the big boys. It's actually very entertaining to hear little kids who think they know it all and take the piss out of us old timers at every chance they get and yet they are struggling to make it all work out. You are funny. Granted, if you had the skill you would most likely be doing the same thing. Most successful photographers that I know do as it's a no brainer. Nothing stopping you is there?

Ha, ha, I love my regular job and I have no intention to become a full time photographer. I know for sure that I will never be close to make what I normally make, from photography only.

What I find interesting is that, what I get from a weekend hobby seriously competes with what some "old timers" complain about, around here. Still, I would never brag that I have "the skills", since I know that there is always something new to learn, no matter how advanced you believe you are

Mark my words: those "funny little kids", as you condescendingly call us, will eat an ever bigger slice of your pie. And there is nothing you can do about it!

I see you feel that offering an opinion born out of personal experience is actively belittling and condescending toward new contributors.

If we do not verify the rose colored reality that you want to hear, we are against you and are rooting for you to fail.

No one is against new comers here and they never have been. However you can not expect us to ignore the reality of the current business environment, so that we can provide the answers that you want to hear.

The stockperformer people did a study of hundreds of thousands of images and wrote an article about the life cycle of a micro image. I have also done similar analysis on a much smaller scale on my portfolio. Trying to analyse what is happening without running the numbers you can sometimes get the wrong idea. When I just look at my sales as they come it can be misleading.

That is so true! Crunching the numbers can really surprise you. Every month I pick a bunch of shoots and analyze my sales from those files across all agencies and I'm often surprised by what the analysis shows compared to my impression of which files/shoots are doing the best and where they are doing the best. Especially on SS where most of us have multiple sales daily and when you see the same file selling so often, it's easy to get the impression that you're making more than you actually are.

Found that article http://blog.microstockgroup.com/the-tyranny-of-the-microstock-lifecycle/
It really explains why people hit the "wall." Good reading.

Found that article http://blog.microstockgroup.com/the-tyranny-of-the-microstock-lifecycle/

Snip

"Everything you upload to a stock marketplace will have it�s prime selling days and eventually fade out to never again be bought by buyers. This strict rule applies even to the most successful contributors."

I was fine with images fading over time, it the past it was not so difficult to replace them and they did not "fade" away overnight.

With new search changes that were rolled out with the IPO; that all changed and images no longer fade away. I lost my best selling images over night; essentially in one day. And since then they have been much more difficult to replace.

The new paradigm plays out, exactly as the key players which Insight Venture Capitol placed at shutterstock intended. It increases their bottom line. Once the game plays out, they move on to the next lucrative IPO. But the damage has been done and I am not sure micro will recover so easily.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/shares-plummet/msg428235

I think the economics for the established sites are very different than the economics for the contributors. There is a lot of demand for images, but the sales might be spread out so thinly and the agencies might take such a big slice of the $ that there isn't enough left for the artists.

That said, it might be too late to start a new site too without something different (canva) or some very deep pockets. Of course like it does for contributors, your expectations and what you bring to the table are what decides if it is worth it.