Yawn .. sales are declining / the sky is falling .. whatever. We're looking at an infographic based on vague stats covering a short time span .. all market's fluctuate. You could create another infographic displaying broader stats going back to film or even the early digital era and it would tell a completely opposite story with sales now booming (taking normal flux into consideration) .. sooooo what if the general public actually does stop buying mass quantities of cheap DSLRs? .. ummmm I guess camera manufacturers will go back to the same profit margin that kept them in business during the century prior to the "everybody thinks they're a photographer" trend. 

Amazing.  Scorching, suffocating summer heat is the summer norm in my part of Florida.  Amazing that some of the rest of the country can't function in it?!

Hey now !!!! I can function just fine thank you very much .... I just do a lot of crying and moaning at the same time.

Everybody is freaking out over this. Seriously??? The top retouchers only edited 250 images in an ENTIRE 24 hr day. LMAO !!!! That's like 3 hours worth of work. I sure hope they weren't compensated much .. I'd be like you're fired ... you're fired .. hey you hiding behind the water cooler .. ummm yeah you're fired too.

Depends on what his workshop is about .. is it about his shooting style (pass) .. or is it about successfully building, branding & marketing a wedding business .. if so you're investment could be justified in a single weekend unless you're just a newb playing pro. So in that respect I don't see anything wrong with a $16K workshop ... On the other hand the workshop itself is more or less an branding strategy in itself. What percentage of you had never heard of him before because you sure as s^%t have now haven't you .. learn from that.

That might apply in the family portrait business but certainly not in the commercial world, quality of work aside, easy access, free parking, wifi and a good coffee machine will beat "rich, elegant and valuable" every single day of the week. As for stock images apart from the obvious fact of being able to use the settings in your image what your studio looks like won't make a single difference.

It's a lovely studio with lots of lovely kit which would be a joy to work in, but the one and only thing that matters about a studio is what comes out of it.

Doesn't apply to the commercial world??? It applies to all worlds. It doesn't matter if you're selling photography services or toasters for peoples kitchens. I can go to Wal-Mart and buy a plain white cotton tshirt off the clearance rack for $3 or I can go to a store in the country club plaza and buy the same shirt for $50. Either way it's a plain white cotton shirt. So, what makes the difference? Wal-Mart has a 90 yr old woman wearing a blue smock with a yellow happy face on it greeting me when I walk in the door. The store at the plaza has atmospheric lighting, designer dressed 20 yr old girls behind the counter, hardwood floors, trendy music, pleasant fragrances in the air, art on the walls, modern decor that isn't for sale and serves no purpose only to take up space and make the place look good and when I leave they don't throw my items in a thin plastic bag that rips before I get to my car. They neatly fold my shirt and place it in a designer bag with their branding graphics on it and a little thank you note stuck inside. Appearance of the business directly effects the value of the services and products for more industries than I can count .. photography included.

In terms of microstock photography, if Yuri would have invested in that studio and not shown it then no it wouldn't have any effect on his business. That's not the case though. He did show it and now that concept of luxury is associated with his name. Even if people dont realize it consciously it's still in the back of their minds. That is far more powerful than having 4 beauty dishes and however many lights there was in that video.

WOW. I' really really impressed with your insights. Thanks for not being plain and average. Good post indeed

I have a business themed workshop coming up in a couple weeks for the Professional Photographers of America. I'm down for speaking 9 hours in one day so I'm thinking I might kill some extra time by throwing in a section on defining value through atmosphere .. maybe project a couple video clips from your old bright white studio and the new elegant one as an example and discuss the differences in terms of consumer perception of value. So thanks for posting .. it'll give me a few extra minutes to rest my voice and sit back while they watch the clips for comparison. LOL

Quote from: Randy McKown on February 16, 2011, 22:58

Quote from: visceralimage on January 29, 2011, 01:38

I would say, if you are only taking the images that sell but dislike the process, yes-you would be better at a traditional job.  There are also many ways to make money with photography, such as weddings.  I do what I want; no weddings, no portraits, no crying babies, etc.

I had a baby poop on a shag carpet in the studio last week .. it stunk .. it was messy .. because .. well it was poop in shag carpet .. but it was 30 mins of work behind the camera, 5 mins in photoshop and 10 minutes of showing their pictures .. and they walked out after writing a check for $450 .. at $10 a minute I can deal with the occasional poopy. LOL

Oh and to stay on track of the topic .. do I make that much selling micro? BWAHAHAHAHA ... no. So yes it's an underpaid job for me. But it helps with the tax deductions so it makes up for it in the end ... sorta LOL

Did you take a picture of the poop and submit it somewhere? That's gotta be a best seller right there. Especially poop on shag.

LMAO nope no poostock .. I make it a rule never to involve my paid clients in stock including their poo poo

Quote from: Randy McKown on February 16, 2011, 17:13

I don't see what the fuss is either .. the only reason one should be bothered by the form is if they're involved in tax evasion  .. that's the only people this will have an effect on. If you want to evade some taxes do it the right way and start using your camera for cash. LOL

Do you fall into the category that will get double 1099's on the same money?  Meaning do you collect over 200 payments and over 20k from paypal annually?  If not, this doesn't affect you, so I can see why you wouldn't understand what the fuss is about. 

yeah I'll be doing the paperwork so it effects me but my income streams are also not limited to only paypal. I'm also keeping books on who pays with cash, who pays by check, who pays by credit card, who is on a payment plan, who is in our rewards program, what rewards are due, federal tax, state tax, sales tax, use tax, etc. .. so in the course of operating a photography business what's the big deal with one more form every year. It's one very tiny form and it's not effecting my income so who cares.

The only tax related complaints I have is on how slow it is for all the agencies to get the paperwork out. All my income and expenses for my studio were tracked, filed and ready to go Dec. 31. Today is Feb 16 and have I completed all of my responsibilities? No because I'm waiting on the micro portion of it to all get here. That's more annoying to me than the government trying to fight back against tax evaders.

People might think they are losing income by neglecting sites who produce a smaller percentage of that income. However, you have to evaluate your business model. Are you spending time on those smaller sites? How much time? Could you take that time and redirect towards the sites producing a higher percentage of your income? It's similar to marketing your photography in any field. Who do you want to target? Do you want to spend your time shooting for clients who will pay you $500, $800, $1000 an hour ... or do you want to spend all day goofing around for a couple hundred bucks? My moto is leave the chump change for the chumps.

iPhone, receipt book, extra pen, couple hundred bucks in assorted bills, business cards, and some Tylenol

I have an EIN but only because I own a full time photography studio. If I was simply doing micro I honestly wouldn't worry about it. I'd imagine the odds of your identity getting stolen through interaction with a (non-suck) agency is microscopic compared to all your other daily encounters in life.

I don't understand those feeling they must "support" non-producing sites.

Because they aren't serious about the business side of photography .. they're just playing pro photographer when there's nothing to watch on TV. So they will waste time "supporting" bad business and allow big business to walk all over them until there is no good business left standing.

Tablets are awesome however they also involve wrist movement which in your case might not be as comfortable or productive. So I would second the trackball suggestion ... I would never recommend a traditional mouse for anything to be honest.