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Who shoots artistic, who shoots for the sales and who changed his shooting?
SVH:
When I started with microstock agencies I was only shooting what I found interesting to shoot and liked but obviously that doesn't always sell well.
So, I'm beginning to think to shoot things I normally wouldn't shoot and upload stuff that doesn't meet my own requirements but might sell anyway. For example, somebody told that pictures of road signs were selling so I took photo's of them (which I never would have done otherwise) and put them up for sale.
I am curious if other contributors had this same thought and entirely changed the way they shoot to make more sellable stuff. Or if they sticked with their creative shooting, no matter the marketability. Or if they started shooting only for the salesto begin with.
Glad to hear your story and thoughts to learn from.
Noedelhap:
I've considered changing my approach a few years back. I always created stock I liked to create (while taking into account certain trends) but I could have gone the route of creating loads of high-demand, generic stuff that buyers are always looking for.
But where's the fun in being an image factory? I mean, if I wanted to make loads of money, I would've become a lawyer or a banker or some boring but well-paid job. Not graphic design. And certainly not microstock. But I strive to have a balance between having a fun job with some freedom on one hand and making money on the other.
Then again, I don't rely on microstock, it's just side income for me.
Brasilnut:
Yes, makes sense to shoot what should sell if you're trying to make a business out of this. I've shot plenty of signs and it's OK...many do sell.
Trying to find meaning and reward at the same time reminds of the Japanese concept of Ikigai. Ideally need to tick all the boxes, unfortunately what lacks in this industry these days is the financial reward.
I've managed to find joy and some success with creating book covers, so I'll keep at it. Oh and kept my boring corporate day-job, for now.
Milleflore:
You have to do both. You have to take what you love and then find a commercial use for it. Everything I shoot has a particular commercial use and buyer behind it. You need to research this as well. Who are your buyers? Where are they? What do they want?
My story: I started uploading in 2013 but only on a part time basis, and full-time in 2014 where I treated it like a full-time job, and planned shoots for every day. In the beginning I had no idea what to shoot so I started to experiment. I eventually found what sold (like crazy) by thinking about all the things I loved doing and how I could convert that to sales. I used to visualize the buyer when I set up my shoots.
Recently I reached 100,000 DLs on SS and more than double that across all agencies - probably close to 1/4 million of sales overall. My maximum number of sales in a day on SS was over 200 DLs. If someone had told me back when I started that I would do this, I would have fainted.
But I believe that you definitely need to find things that you love doing first - because you won't be able to sustain the long journey of microstock otherwise. And then it becomes fun. And then work out how to convert that to commercial use.
PS. I dont shoot editorials. Only about 200 editorials in my whole port of 10k photos - and they are mostly only illustrative eds shot with a specific purpose in mind. Someone told me in the beginning not to shoot editorials and to put that time and effort into commercial stock. I think that was great advice and it worked for me.
I don't shoot people, only some 'hand-modelling' by myself and my husband.
I use a lot of color, and I also put them through Viveza (via the Nik Collection) to make them pop and ensure I have the best dynamic range. I believe it helps them stand out on crowded search pages. Good dynamic range naturally attracts the 'eye' of buyers. 'Flat' photos (as per the histogram graph) dont sell as well.
For Real:
--- Quote from: Milleflore on October 08, 2021, 15:08 ---You have to do both. You have to take what you love and then find a commercial use for it. Everything I shoot has a particular commercial use and buyer behind it. You need to research this as well. Who are your buyers? Where are they? What do they want?
My story: I started uploading in 2013 but only on a part time basis, and full-time in 2014 where I treated it like a full-time job, and planned shoots for every day. In the beginning I had no idea what to shoot so I started to experiment. I eventually found what sold (like crazy) by thinking about all the things I loved doing and how I could convert that to sales. I used to visualize the buyer when I set up my shoots.
Recently I reached 100,000 DLs on SS and more than double that across all agencies - probably close to 1/4 million of sales overall. My maximum number of sales in a day on SS was over 200 DLs. If someone had told me back when I started that I would do this, I would have fainted.
But I believe that you definitely need to find things that you love doing first - because you won't be able to sustain the long journey of microstock otherwise. And then it becomes fun. And then work out how to convert that to commercial use.
PS. I dont shoot editorials. Only about 200 editorials in my whole port of 10k photos - and they are mostly only illustrative eds shot with a specific purpose in mind. Someone told me in the beginning not to shoot editorials and to put that time and effort into commercial stock. I think that was great advice and it worked for me.
I don't shoot people, only some 'hand-modelling' by myself and my husband.
I use a lot of color, and I also put them through Viveza (via the Nik Collection) to make them pop and ensure I have the best dynamic range. I believe it helps them stand out on crowded search pages. Good dynamic range naturally attracts the 'eye' of buyers. 'Flat' photos (as per the histogram graph) dont sell as well.
--- End quote ---
+100 great advice!
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