MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Photography Discussion => Topic started by: photosecrets on April 13, 2009, 20:15
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Hello Photographers,
I am launching a series of photographer educational seminars and products. The first 4 Week Teleseminar course starts tomorrow. It is heavily discounted because it is the first one I am doing. Please check it out if this might be something you are interested in and if for nothing else, get the free report and mp3 featured on the site.
http://PhotographyBusinessSecrets.com/
http://photosecrets.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/call-to-action-announcing-4-week-teleseminar-course/
More to come soon.
Beate Chelette
P.S. As a side note after I just read the first charming comment of "oh no". For whatever it's worth it. I made millions for the photographers I represented, worked for and with. I know this stuff. Before you trash my services, ideas and products at least READ or LISTEN to the free material and then tell me you don't need to know how to run the business behind the art. Makes me shake my head in disbelief. In this economy every tip, trick or secret is worth checking out. But then, it's not for everyone.
The series features Leah Shoval Photo Art Director from Ogilvy, Andrew Eccles renowed portrait and celebrity photographer, Chris Bain Photography Director from Barnes & Noble.
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More to come soon.
No...please no...
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Surely people don't really fall for such baloney?
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Anyone with such a cheesy looking come-on site deserves a few "oh-nos"... Especially with big words like "SECRETS" and "SUCCESS".
"Discover The Photosecrets Of The Pro’s and Learn How To Make Money In Photography "
BTW, "Pro's" does not need an apostrophe. It's a plural.
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Sorry about the typo, English is my second language, I try but ever so often a spelling mistake slips in. Excellent point about the look and feel of the site. That is part of what I teach. Unfortunately good looking sites in the information marketing or social marketing world as of today don't work, these types of sites do. I wished it wasn't so but it is. Hence I use the templates that are proven to work with the words "secrets" and "success" both to be known to be positive trigger words. Brilliant observation! ::)
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Hey, if those kind of pages bring in the type of people you want to do business with, great. Although, I can't imagine those types would be easily able to part with $595. However, around here, we've seen enough come-on-get-rich-quick-with-photography "seminars" or "ebooks" that we tend to not take them very seriously. Especially from a new member with no history here.
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Well the shameless part is right! For a small fee I will teach you the secrets of success to selling beach front property in Nevada ;)
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Sigh. Like in Eleanor Rigby: All those stupid people, where do they all come from? What's next? A Nigerian banker with a deceased uncle, a virgin from Elbonia fell in love with my underwear shots on Facebook, or a secret and successful method for guaranteed p@n@s enlargement? ::)
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Hm, in the video - is that your livingroom? Or bedroom? :o
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I'm going door to door to make you this incredible offer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jl3cKWuJVc
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Hm, in the video - is that your livingroom? Or bedroom? :o
A dirty mind is a joy forever ;D
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Hm, in the video - is that your livingroom? Or bedroom? :o
A dirty mind is a joy forever ;D
I was trying an analytical approach to her video.
No offense, but I'd hire a good looking spokeswoman, I'm more than positive that at least 80% of the male photographers of this site will take a look. I promise I'll even put my headphones on to actually hear the sound.
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Hi,
couple of questions:
- are you Beate Chelette, former senior director of photography at Corbis?
- regarding your (honestly, really garish) website, when you say "Unfortunately good looking sites in the information marketing or social marketing world as of today don't work, these types of sites do" are you saying that, or is the McTemplate "internet marketing guru" you hired saying that?
Honestly that site undermines whatever credibility and professional weight you may have. I think from a business point of view you have to decide whether you want to be a legitimate consultant or a bottom-feeder. Also, I think your price point ($197) is wrong for the type of saturation campaign you're running.
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Hi Beate, I am sure you have some interesting stuff to share but in the day and age of free podcast and vodcasts I am not sure how successful your idea is.
Why not try this direction of free stuff through itunes and get some sponsers. Examples are this week in photography, photoshop tv, pro photo show etc.
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I'd love to hear the free info, but there is no link anywhere where the videos are. So where are they? If you want my postal home address, no thanks. Just put a link online to the free material so we can judge.
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Discover How To Quickly and Easily
Learn the Business Secrets of Professional Photographers
& Have an Exciting
Career In Photography!!
A real pro would know that there's already tons of "Make easy money with photography" " Don't even work and take life easy by making money with photography" and also " Be the laziest person in the world and be rich like Bill Gates" ... website already. Everything seem to be very quick since the 21th century. Does it's a way of selling anything??
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rofl, i'm speechless for once ;D
i can't find anything to say here, as you ppl have already said it. shoot ! ;D
and thx cthoman for the youtube peewee link. gives me something to watch. my only problem is i don't know which is more fun: coming here or watching peewee ;)
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Geez you guys, you are hurting my feelings.
Glad you got to get it out just how frustrated you are with the state of photography. If I would be as judgmental or as negative - I would have never made it to where I am.
One of the traits that renowned photographers have, like a Helmut Newton and like a George Hurrell and like a Barry Lategan (whom you might not even know but who have all made contributions to photography) and most of other sucessful photographers such as an Andrew MacPherson, Greg Gorman, Tim Street Porter, Matthew Rolston or a Douglas Walker was that they are/were professionals, and I worked with each of them. They regarded everyone with an idea or a contribution as an equal and respect. To make it big in photography, whatever that might mean for you: fame, money, exhibits, books - you need to remain a professional at all times. Before you tell someone to get lost, make sure you know that your paths never will cross - because you just don't know where they end up and your success could depend on their opinion somewhere down the road.
In my career I have treated every photographer with great respect, irrespective of what their work, portfolio or ideas looked like. Many have followed my advice and many are now established working photographers. Others disagreed and went their own ways, that is just the way it goes. I can meet each of them and say hello without a sinking feeling that I was a jerk.
Being a successful Entrepreneur and business owner means that you need to continue to learn and absorb information. Your job is to figure out what clients want now and how business changes and you need to adjust your business model accordingly. I watched photography change - it is becoming a commodity. The rules changed like it or not.
I know about the business behind photography and I know what photographers need to do to make it. That is my expertise and my track record. I know how to make money in photography.
Yes, I am Beate Chelette, former owner of Beateworks, rep, producer and finally stock syndication owner for the worlds most recognized interior and architectural and celebrity@home archive. I made celebrity@home stories a worldwide brand and within three years my company became the worlds leader in this genre. We more or less opened it to mainstream syndication and we licensed into 76 countries. We were acquired by Corbis. I ran the integration personally in record time, trained everyone all over the world and all my photographers are still making lots of money and still talk to me. It went so well that I was offered the job to run the Global Entertainment division including Outline, the worlds most recognized celebrity brand.
Unless your success is equal to what I have accomplished....
But ultimately my heart beats to its own drum and I see great opportunity to educate photographers.
So my message to the sixteen derogatory comments: You must not be busy so stop wasting your time with silly, childish comments. You can do that or as it pertains to my stuff or other peoples stuff - focus on the information you receive. Is there something, maybe just one thing you maybe able to use to run your photography business better? How do you know unless you at least check it out?
And if this is not for you, find something else that makes a positive impact on your business.
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In order to receive the free report and the audio file you have to go here and enter your name and email:
http://PhotographyBusinessSecrets.com
To read about events and photography related contests and exhibits go here:
http://Photosecrets.wordpress.com
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Beate
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Sorry, I don't see how were are supposed to know you are some famous and experienced businessperson when you come in here with a silly name like "photosecrets" and your "get rich quick" website, asking for money for your tips and secrets.
In the future, I'd suggest joining a community and getting to be a part of that community so people know you before you expect people to take you seriously with a promise of riches and secrets. Don't expect us to research your life history and your friends list.
If anyone has the time to view the material, be sure to let us know what you think.
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In order to receive the free report and the audio file you have to go here and enter your name and email:
[url]http://PhotographyBusinessSecrets.com[/url]
To read about events and photography related contests and exhibits go here:
[url]http://Photosecrets.wordpress.com[/url]
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Beate
The Shutterstock Forum would be a better place to start a thread "shameless self promotion" Serious.
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The Shutterstock Forum would be a better place to start a thread "shameless self promotion" Serious.
:D :D How very true.
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The Shutterstock Forum would be a better place to start a thread "shameless self promotion" Serious.
:D :D How very true.
There are some people there you can team up with for sure. Search for "workshop" on forums.
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while I don't doubt your credentials , it 's not going to impress anyone, other than perharps some bright eyes youngster looking for a fast track to be a pro photographer, coming in here with a heading saying , "Shameless Self Promo" and expect to take you seriously. As for name dropping, the only name I recognized was that of Helmut Newton from his past works with Sigourney Weaver,etc... If you could get Mr Newton to give you a reference, that could be helpful . Still , I don't feel this forum is the right place to be pandering (promoting) your service.
We are sort of like the little pub at Coronation St , or if you're american , sort of like Cheers in ole Boston, yknow ! Just having a good time along with our virtual Guinness. Not quite the place.
No offence meant, sir.. Mr Beate Chelette, former owner of Beateworks !
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The Shutterstock Forum would be a better place to start a thread "shameless self promotion" Serious.
you could try Flickr, or Facebook !!! or maybe give Getty a call .
After this one,
http://www.microstockgroup.com/site-related/ha-ha-ha-istock-photo-of-the-week/msg92341/?topicseen#new
they might need you to retrain some exclusives ;D ;D ;D
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As for name dropping, the only name I recognized was that of Helmut Newton from his past works with Sigourney Weaver,etc... If you could get Mr Newton to give you a reference, that could be helpful .
Um, I believe that Mr. Newton left this plane of existence in 2004.
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you see Yingyang0... this is exactly what I was talking about. This women has more runs on the board than just about all the photographers here combined. She isn't hiding behind any silly names or trying to deceive anyone. She called a spade a spade.. good on her! And instead of taking it in the manner in which it was intended, every idiot here decides to bash her. Three things.. one, a lot of you made assumptions.. and we all know what happens when you assume! Two, where . are your manners? Didn't your mother tell you if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! and three.. the most obvious of all.. are you guys serious or not? This is a business. You are a business. You are a brand...a representative of that brand and if this is the way you act in public.. you really do need some more education.
I really think a lot of people need to have a serious look at yourselves.. how you represent yourselves here and what YOU say about your brand.
In saying all this, I doubt I'll go to the site...but that's my gig, not yours.
Education is a great thing and all the photographers I know work hard all their lives in learning not just their craft, but life and business. It's the lesson I've learned from representing hundreds of photographers worldwide for the last 25 yrs.
Balance is also a great thing. Close you computers, run outside ...there is a world out there.
Let the bashing of me begin.
Cheers, JC
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Ms. Beate Chelette, I realize that you are brilliant and accomplished in your field.
But, I don't think this is not the right market for your product. Stock/ microstock photographers already give a significant percentage of their earnings to companies to handle the marketing and sales aspects of their photography business. If this is the right market for your product, you need to do a better job communicating the benefits of your program to your potential clients.
Several people made observations which you can consider or ignore entirely but personally I think they have some validity even if they could have been tendered with a nicer tone.
I wish you success in your venture.
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And instead of taking it in the manner in which it was intended, every idiot here decides to bash her..........
Let the bashing of me begin.
Cheers, JC
Not every idiot here bashed her, I didn't and neither did the person who I quoted, of course some idiots can't read.
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you see Yingyang0... this is exactly what I was talking about. This women has more runs on the board than just about all the photographers here combined. She isn't hiding behind any silly names or trying to deceive anyone. She called a spade a spade.. good on her! And instead of taking it in the manner in which it was intended, every idiot here decides to bash her. Three things.. one, a lot of you made assumptions.. and we all know what happens when you assume! Two, where . are your manners? Didn't your mother tell you if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! and three.. the most obvious of all.. are you guys serious or not? This is a business. You are a business. You are a brand...a representative of that brand and if this is the way you act in public.. you really do need some more education.
Sorry, this was a post from a new member, behind a username of "photo secrets" with a "come-on-get-rich-quick" website, the likes of which we have all dissected before. It should not be up to us to research her credentials and work history. A more professional website which doesn't appear centered around the selling of subscriptions would probably have engendered a different response.
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haha... OK RT, I might have generalised slightly, but the tone of this post has been overwhelmingly negative.
Using "Photo Secrets" and then giving you a link with your mug on it it hardly hiding.. really. She also started with "shameless self promotion".. a helluva lot more honest than a lot of nutters coming here trying to flog something don't you think?
Anyway... can some please look at the free stuff and give us a review?
Cheers. JC
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Paris Hilton said once, keep on hating me, you are making me famous!
Thanks JC for your professional response, I appreciate that you spoke up. I am not hiding, I told you my name and gave you my credentials and BTW I am a woman as you can see in my avatar which is a picture of me. Unless I mention some names some of you guys will keep bashing me as obviously some don't know how to do research. Google if you are uncertain. First rule in business, do your homework, know - don't assume. Where did I say quick-rich scheme? I said I teach photographers about the business behind photography. The business rules are the same for stock, microstock, assignment and any other type of photography. There really is a great need for education which is why I do what I do now.
For those who do not know the names I mentioned, I am fully aware that Helmut Newton passed away in an heart attack driving out of the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. George Hurrell was one of the first photographers to invent glamour photography in Hollywood. Barry Lategan was the first fashion photographer for Vogue magazine in Paris. Andrew MacPherson is a famous celebrity and portrait photographer who started in London and then Paris and if you don't know who Matthew Rolston is...you must not have held a magazine in your hand or watched a music video in the last 25 years.
I am not understanding the benefit of the bashing or the mob mentality I see in some of the responses. This is everything photography should not be about. I thought you guys are here in a forum to help each other out? This forum is a general photography forum. I feel I fit just fine in here.
What a welcome to a new member. In any case, for those other over 400 who have read the string and the many of you who keep looking at my stuff, I have posted yesterday and today a series of events, contests and a great portfolio review opportunity on the blog. Decide for yourself if there is value in my services. http://photosecrets.wordpress.com
As for the 4 week course, it kicks off tonight. I received over 200 questions from photographers who wanted me to ask questions to industry professionals. The photo art director from Ogilvy is the first one tonight. After all the drama here, imagine you had the opportunity to ask about what you need to do to be noticed, your website, promo, appearance by the creatives (and don't say you don't care, they buy your images) and get an answer? What would that be worth for you? That is how you want to look at opportunities out there. What is it worth, what does it add to your business? Or how about being able to speak to Chris Bains the Photography Director from Barnes & Noble. Do you not want to know what the state of the publishing industry is or how to get your coffee table book or fine art book published? Hear from photographer Andrew Eccles (let me save you the goggle) http://andreweccles.com how to get to where he is?
My course is $197 for 4.5 hours, bringing it down to $50 per call, less than $1 a minute. Hardly something I would for one moment feel bad about. One idea can get you a return on investment many times over, which is how these courses are designed.
Enough said, the course is closed anyway but for the future - maybe there is a thought or two here that can benefit how you need to look at your business. That is of course if actually want to earn a good living in photography.
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Sorry, I don't see how were are supposed to know
BTW, were does need an apostrophe and get rid of the are.
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Sorry, I don't see how were are supposed to know
BTW, were does need an apostrophe and get rid of the are.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Paris Hilton said once, keep on hating me, you are making me famous!
I am not understanding the benefit of the bashing or the mob mentality I see in some of the responses. This is everything photography should not be about. I thought you guys are here in a forum to help each other out? This forum is a general photography forum. I feel I fit just fine in here.
What a welcome to a new member.
All's fair in Paris Hilton's name ;D
seriously,
anyone who comes in here , faces a mob, and still walk right back in with a strong opinion has my respect, that's for sure.
welcome to the forum , where all is not always fair, only wild and wooly ;D
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Photosecrets - as you can see you found a tough crowd here. Remember that there are hundreds who read and do not post, so I have no doubt that you have achieved your goal of picking up some customers here. Admirably, your responses to the mean-spirited bashing have been respectful and professional, when you could have easily retaliated with similar tone. I wish you well!
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;)
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My course is $197 for 4.5 hours, bringing it down to $50 per call, less than $1 a minute. Hardly something I would for one moment feel bad about. One idea can get you a return on investment many times over, which is how these courses are designed.
Enough said, the course is closed anyway but for the future - maybe there is a thought or two here that can benefit how you need to look at your business. That is of course if actually want to earn a good living in photography.
"That is of course if actually want to earn a good living in photography." ? ? ? So, you assume that none of us earn a good living in photography? Gosh.
BTW, you list the price at $595, not $197. Good for you for selling it out though. I guess your website does work. My bad.
Investment is valued at $1195 and offered for a low investment of $197 IF participant agrees to give a testimonial after course (information to follow during course). Regular pricing otherwise $595. This is an intensive and only available to 20 participants to ensure that everyone can ask questions and get what they need out of the course.
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names like ditta von teese and paris hilton can always tame the savage beasts ...even a bat man ;)
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;D
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Ms. Chelette
My words were not meant to be derogatory.
I just feel that your current strategy is seriously eroding your personal brand and will impact future ventures of a more legitimate nature.
You are being misled by the "internet marketing guru" you are hiring or partnering with.
If this unsolicited advice is unwelcome, so be it.
MicrostockGroup is THE place on the internet for unsolicited advice.
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... I thought you guys are here in a forum to help each other out? This forum is a general photography forum. I feel I fit just fine in here.
Yes we help each other out __ but we don't charge for it. Perhaps you could do the same?
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Yes we help each other out __ but we don't charge for it.
This is of course true, but you have to weed through a minefield of derogatory comments and information from sources that lack experience. Too often you get what you pay for.
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Yes we help each other out __ but we don't charge for it.
This is of course true, but you have to weed through a minefield of derogatory comments and information from sources that lack experience. Too often you get what you pay for.
Weeell, i suppose you sort of expect that in a bar, or even a pub where the commoners meet to drink and shoot the bull ;)
i remember in my younger days (70s) in paddington UK where we had to throw some skinheads out of the mitre (our local) every once in a while. it was quite a scene and quite fun kicking ass (real ones ) ;D ;D
this forum's no different; only the Guinness and ale don't taste too good here ... "leaf's ale" is a bit flat ;D
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Yes we help each other out __ but we don't charge for it.
This is of course true, but you have to weed through a minefield of derogatory comments and information from sources that lack experience. Too often you get what you pay for.
Weeell, i suppose you sort of expect that in a bar, or even a pub where the commoners meet to drink and shoot the bull ;)
i remember in my younger days (70s) in paddington UK where we had to throw some skinheads out of the mitre (our local) every once in a while. it was quite a scene and quite fun kicking ass (real ones ) ;D ;D
this forum's no different; only the Guinness and ale don't taste too good here ... "leaf's ale" is a bit flat ;D
It's very much exactly as you say and that is what makes it fun here. But I don't think I would rely on the bar scene as my only source of an education. At some point its nice to get mentored by a truly knowledgeable source and many times it costs money to acquire that knowledge. No one hangs around forums learning how to become a doctor then going out and finding someone to practice on. Making mistakes then coming back again for more info because they didn't quite understand something the first time around. It helps to get the information straight in the beginning. Why not get out and get a reputation quickly that will carry you through the rest of your career?
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The Shutterstock Forum would be a better place to start a thread "shameless self promotion" Serious.
:D :D How very true.
There are some people there you can team up with for sure. Search for "workshop" on forums.
Ahh those people...sometimes they post their stuff here - about 123RF is the most recent. We are so lucky to be graced with his presence once in a while so that hey can let us know that he's still around, even though no one cares.
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You are impressing me so much by quoting Paris Hilton
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Yes we help each other out __ but we don't charge for it.
This is of course true, but you have to weed through a minefield of derogatory comments and information from sources that lack experience. Too often you get what you pay for.
Weeell, i suppose you sort of expect that in a bar, or even a pub where the commoners meet to drink and shoot the bull ;)
i remember in my younger days (70s) in paddington UK where we had to throw some skinheads out of the mitre (our local) every once in a while. it was quite a scene and quite fun kicking ass (real ones ) ;D ;D
this forum's no different; only the Guinness and ale don't taste too good here ... "leaf's ale" is a bit flat ;D
It's very much exactly as you say and that is what makes it fun here. But I don't think I would rely on the bar scene as my only source of an education. At some point its nice to get mentored by a truly knowledgeable source and many times it costs money to acquire that knowledge. No one hangs around forums learning how to become a doctor then going out and finding someone to practice on. Making mistakes then coming back again for more info because they didn't quite understand something the first time around. It helps to get the information straight in the beginning. Why not get out and get a reputation quickly that will carry you through the rest of your career?
However as opposed to becoming a doctor (I guess you meant a physician), the beauty about microstock is that you can make all the mistakes you want and learn from them. Good legit sellable images will never be refused by most microstock agencies (except Crestock) even if you had tons of rejections before (but I think there are some reasonable limits imposed by some agencies).
Many people here, like myself, are self-learners and are making a good revenue and would never think twice paying for information that can be found for free all over the internet. Mostly, it is just a matter of knowing how to find the information and knowing how to filter out bad information from good information. Ad talent and a business mind to that mix and you got it made. To the extreme on that scale you got Yuri and somewhere in the bottom you got me. Right now I am making over $1600.00US per month as a part time business/hobby in photography for which I knew nothing about 4 years ago. The world is full of self-learners that are way ahead from the followers. I guess no names need to be mentioned here. Denis
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However as opposed to becoming a doctor (I guess you meant a physician),
Not really, I meant doctor actually.
Right now I am making over $1600.00USD per month as a part time business/hobby in photography for which I knew nothing about 4 years ago.
What if you could be making $16,000 instead?
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However as opposed to becoming a doctor (I guess you meant a physician),
Not really, I meant doctor actually.
Therefore, what did you mean by "going out and finding someone to practice on"
What if you could be making $16,000 instead?
If I could I would. However, If I can I will be. Denis
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OK, I admit it, I was disenchanted with the crowd here. Perhaps a little upset about the freezing cold welcome. After a day of deep breathing and working on a different project I came back and now I am laughing. After my first brush with the cowboys I guess you have a good heart after all for the most part.
Innovation is a tough cookie to crack. If I wanted to do the same old same old I would not be an Entrepreneur. If you wanted to do the same old same old there would not be Microstock. May I say how much other "real" (their words, not mine) photographers hate you guys? You eroded their businesses, took amateur photography mainstream and dared to take good pictures that someone wanted to buy. Shocking, daring and it changed stock forever. Is it better that everyone has access to photography? Is it a shame that photography as an artform is therefore seriously threatened? Is it good that you can generate extra $$ to pay for your kids private schools? Who is to say, that is just the way evolution goes and we have seen major evolution in photography and it's your fault! (Non judgmental comment)
Let us agree that I am new to your world and I have been appropriately dissected, taken apart and been put back together partially.
Let us also agree that making money in photography is a beautiful thing and as you make yours - I make mine.
I don't work for free and neither should you, first thing I teach. I give things away for free (as on my beautiful site you love so much) and frankly I think it is good stuff. But you would need to read it and listen to it to judge it. Which you still can.
If and only IF one, two or many think they could use some help to run their business and make $16,000 instead of $1,600 (which is possible but a lot of hard work) you need to learn new stuff. In business the equation is simple. Unless you change something you will not see a different result. If and how is up to you. If you do it on your own or hire help is also up to you. I and every successful person has a coach, manager, partner, mastermind or whatever that might be called. If you are in it you can't work on it. You need to step out to work at it. You can do that by finding someone who has experience and can save you lots of time (=money) and think of investing versus spending. You invest in products, services, ideas, software that helps you to run your shop better and more efficiently. Your investment pays off because you made a commitment and a decision and you take action on it. That is the ruling idea.
Enough said. Now that we are almost friends it's OK to look at the info which many of you have done BTW, just nobody admits it. And the blog - really has a lot of great information mixed with (you guessed it right) shameless self-promotion. After all I do run a business.
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(edited) Enough said. Now that we are almost friends ...
come off it ma'am, what dya mean "we are almost friends". anyone who quotes Paris Hilton is my friend already ... COME share my spandex, wings, batmobile and bat gadgets ;D ;) BRING ALONG PARIS TOO.
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Now that we are almost friends it's OK to look at the info which many of you have done BTW, just nobody admits it. And the blog - really has a lot of great information mixed with (you guessed it right) shameless self-promotion. After all I do run a business.
Some remarks and some interesting Google digging.
Where is your portoflio to judge that you are really a top photographer, or at least good enough to pay 600$ for to know her secrets? There is a lot of talk about who you have been working with, but where is the meat? The proof of the pudding is in the eating, neither in the talking about the eating nor in the talking about other people who's kitchen you've been in watching them make fantastic pudding. A very limited sample on your site from your work might help.
You are probably a very successful entrepreneur in a lot of things, included some highly esoteric quack-sounding sect-stuff like "ego-Rhythm (http://womenwhowantitall.com/)", but what are your credentials in the microstock world? (not art, news, travel, fashion, wedding, event photography).
What sells in microstock, why, what are the technical aspects to care for, what is exactly the "personality" of the different microstock sites, how to find and deal with models, what's the secret to get catapulted on page #1 of the search results? There is no hint at all that you will be covering those aspects which are vital to a microstocker, and there is also no info about your undoubtedly very successful microstock portfolio that made you obtain all that secret knowledge.
Andrew Eccles (http://www.masters-of-fine-art-photography.com/02/artphotogallery/photographers/andrew_eccles_11.html), the top photographer you teamed up with may be a great fine art photographer, but I'm quite confident his style of pictures wouldn't be accepted let alone sold in microstock.
As to the business side, a microstocker doesn't need it, since the sites take care of the marketing and the selling. As to SEO and web design (you mention flash or not): there have recently been two very good free reports about this matter on Photoshelter. Apart from these, there is a plethora of good and free webdesign and SEO sites, blogs and forums all over the net.
On a minor note, I am allergic to sites that draw attention with "free gifts" several times on the landing page. Not only because a gift is free by definition, but because it sounds so slick and spammish. To obtain more free info, one is forced to fill in his home postal address, and that's definitively spammish. Why not just put some excerpts of the course material on line so everybody can judge for himself quickly?
"Chelette Enterprises" has 15 hits on Google. Some are about "custom programming", some about your book on "ego-RHYTHM".
What exactly is ego-Rhythm?: “ego-RHYTHM is a simple method that enables you to approach life in a new light. ego-RHYTHM teaches you how to live your life one rhythm at a time and how to be fully in the moment. Although ego-RHYTHM applies to both men and women, each has their own way of interpreting it. Men can set one main focus and follow it until their next idea comes into play. Women tend to think too far into the future instead of being focused on the now. ego-RHYTHM will give you the tools to know and accept where you are currently so that you can begin to truly enjoy your journey.”
Not exactly photography, not exactly microstock.
But whatever the face appearance might be, of course there might be some hidden treasures beneath the spammy surface of this all. Since some people on this forum had a look into it already as you claim, I will be happy to read what they think of it. Is it worth 600$ for a microstocker?
If mr. Locke with mr. Deal and mr. Rinder would team up for a 20-hr seminar for 600$ about their secrets in microstock, I'm pretty sure the course would be sold out 5 seconds after it was announced, no free gifts needed.
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Education is a great thing and all the photographers I know work hard all their lives in learning not just their craft, but life and business. It's the lesson I've learned from representing hundreds of photographers worldwide for the last 25 yrs.
FYI: read this blogpost (http://blog.melchersystem.com/2009/04/15/the-trouble-makers/)of Paul Melcher.
Pollite, well-educated and gullible people end up as shoe sales men answering emails from Nigerian bankers, not as photographers :P
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This forum is a general photography forum.
No, this is a microstock photography, illustrations and business forum. Not that general photography stuff isn't welcome, but it sets the focus a bit.
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i remember as a kid reading something like what you promised, and it cost me at that time 35 dollars to buy that glossy book. it promised me the secrets of making millions of dollars shooting photography.
as a kid with 35 dollars to throw, it wasn't my hard earned money but my dad's,
it provided me one good lesson , which was echoed by the resounding lecture from my dad, who by the way made tons of money when he was alive...
"the only one to make millions is the bloke you paid 35 bucks ". a tough reality lesson for a kid which stuck for the rest of his life. never more to buy snakeoil from the snakeoil peddlar. 8)
psst, if i were as successful and wealthy as you claim to be, i wouldn't be wasting my time here with microstock contributors earning 10 cents a download, i would be out on my bat sailboat playing bat footsies with Paris Hilton ;)
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"the only one to make millions is the bloke you paid 35 bucks ". a tough reality lesson for a kid which stuck for the rest of his life. never more to buy snakeoil from the snakeoil peddlar. 8)
When I as about 16, a slick salesman passed by our door and sold me an Encyclopedia Britannica. Twenty four glossy volumes and a free mahogany wood cabinet. The world would have no secrets any more and I would be very successful. My mom (a widow) had to pay for that junk that was obsolete after two years and later there was the internet. What's more, there were too little naked woman in it, the thing I was really hoping for.
Since then, I acquired an irresistible disgust for slick salesmen/women with free gifts. Especially when they write books about holistic healing, voodoo psychology, and new age crap (click) (http://www.beatechelette.com/egorhythm/index.html). :P
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It's marketing and spam. It's about trying to create traffic for the blog and it's irritating.
Don't give spammers money. Don't click on their links.
There are some great blogs. None of them ever needed to be self promoted.
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The funny thing I find here is we (well most of us I assume) work on creating pictures (and vectors and graphics) for advertisers. Those advertisers are trying to get someone to buy something. Maybe this is simplistic but in essence that's what's happening. We are an intrinsic part of that chain, yet somehow someone asking you to have a look at something that may well benefit you is deemed a ripoff. I don't get it. There are things out there that are actually worth paying for. Every other year or so I doll out a bunch of money and fly to NYC to attend seminars at PhotoExpo from some of the very people who post here and elsewhere. I don't think it's a waste of money. I buy shoot briefs and market analysis data. I don't think it's a waste of money either. Yeh I'd say it's wise not to get ripped off but I don't think everyone who asks you to have a look at a product is out to rip you off. Information does cost money. Someone pays for it somewhere.
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Yeh I'd say it's wise not to get ripped off but I don't think everyone who asks you to have a look at a product is out to rip you off. Information does cost money. Someone pays for it somewhere.
Correct, but it's not about the money, it's about the value for that money. A seminar from Rinder/Locke/Deal would certainly be worth 600$. I'm not so sure of a book writer about ego-rythm with no traceable microstock portfolio talking about microstock.
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Yeh I'd say it's wise not to get ripped off but I don't think everyone who asks you to have a look at a product is out to rip you off. Information does cost money. Someone pays for it somewhere.
Correct, but it's not about the money, it's about the value for that money. A seminar from Rinder/Locke/Deal would certainly be worth 600$. I'm not so sure of a book writer about ego-rythm with no traceable microstock portfolio talking about microstock.
Anyone here old enough to remember EST? http://skepdic.com/est.html (http://skepdic.com/est.html)
People paid good money to sit around and be told they were worthless, and not allowed to get up to go to the restroom.
When you finally grew the cajones to get up anyway, then you finally got "it".
That should have been the end of all further self-help and actualization movements. But alas, there is always a new generation of gullible fools willing to part with hard earned dinero to some huckster with the promise of the 'secret' to a better life.
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Flemish - in response to your post #53 above...
I will defend Beate Chelette to this extent. She does not claim to teach people about the business of microstock. Her goal is to teach people about the business of photography - which reaches far beyond microstock. She saw a forum of photographers (her target audience) and she went after it. It's called marketing (the business we are all in as Zeus pointed out). The majority of microstock contributors are photographers first, and microstock shooters second or third. For many it is a way to make a few bucks on the side, while they make their real money doing something else. I think she has every right to post here and promote herself, especially when she makes no apologies for what she is doing. As you have a right to tear her apart, and I have a right to comment about it. Yes it would be nice to see more of her work, but again she is promoting a course on the 'business of photography'. Whether she herself is a great photographer or not isn't important, she doesn't necessarily need to be a great photographer to be an authority on this, she just needs to know the difference and know what she claims to deliver - the business side of photography. Many great design firms or ad agencies are not necessarily run by great designers, but by people who know 'the business' of design and advertising.
Granted, her website is tacky and her approach is not what I would typically respond to. Criticize her for that, but to suggest she does not know her business because she doesn't have her own microstock portfolio is not relevant to the argument. And to say a microstock shooter doesn't need to know the business side of photography is to assume all microstock photographers are happy to just shoot microstock. How many would be thrilled to be out shooting commercially two or three times a week in addition to (or instead of) microstock. I think you could cut her some slack. Let her post and promote, and let people choose for themselves what they feel is good information for where they want to go with photography.
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A seminar from Rinder/Locke/Deal would certainly be worth 600$.
Flemish, Sean is in a different league to the other two, and would probably be worth $590 of the total amount.
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Flemish - in response to your post #53 above...
I basically agree with all you stated. The wrong message for the wrong audience. Ellen Boughn is a fine example of somebody very credible about stock and who doesn't shoot herself. The CV of Ellen on the other hand is very precise with names and dates. Researching sources like Google reveals Beate Chelette sold "a" photo agency (which one?) once to what sounds like Corbis but especially that she wrote a book about some new age "ego rythm", the kind of voodoo that only gullible desperate housewives fall for.
Apart from that, the landing page is garish, slick and contains no hard info whatsoever, except an address form in which you have to fill in your home address. It is obviously written for search bots and SEO, not for humans, with high-ranking Google keywords in bold and 10 (!) times "free".
Before you tell someone to get lost, make sure you know that your paths never will cross - because you just don't know where they end up and your success could depend on their opinion somewhere down the road.
Did you feel threatened? ;)
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I agree with you as far as stock photography is concerned I would do a course with Sean but not the other 2 but would love a portrait course with Rinder.
A seminar from Rinder/Locke/Deal would certainly be worth 600$.
Flemish, Sean is in a different league to the other two, and would probably be worth $590 of the total amount.
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Flemish, Sean is in a different league to the other two, and would probably be worth $590 of the total amount.
Sorry I forgot RT, but I don't know your work. The point was only to compare known microstockers to somebody with unclear (till now) credentials.
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BTW, if one abbreviates 'professional photographers' to pro's, this is correct because the apostrophe indicates that an abbreviation has been made.
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BTW, if one abbreviates 'professional photographers' to pro's, this is correct because the apostrophe indicates that an abbreviation has been made.
No, it isn't, although some will accept it as correct:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(mark)#Use_in_forming_certain_plurals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(mark)#Greengrocers.27_apostrophes
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Hi Beate,
perhaps a little bit of personal presentation of your personal career along with slightly different (less pretending) user name should have helped to get more "warm" welcome in the microstockgroup community.
bye.
OK, I admit it, I was disenchanted with the crowd here. Perhaps a little upset about the freezing cold welcome.
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A seminar from Rinder/Locke/Deal would certainly be worth 600$.
Flemish, Sean is in a different league to the other two, and would probably be worth $590 of the total amount.
I disagree. I can only think that some prefer the devil they know I guess, but I'd rather risk a shot in the dark with the random internet woman I'd never heard of with a spammy website then a pay for a course with a bs artist like our Mr R.
In fact, if anyone shared a billing with him I'd think they were too gullible to be taken seriously too...
Okay put it this way when Yuri recommended his book my regard for Yuri fell more than my regarded for Mr R rose....
Or when he backed Mostphotos I knocked them of my list of possible future sites to upload to....
what I'm saying is that I'd be less likely to pay for the course if the R man was an added extra then if he never showed up at all, I might even pay an extra ten dollars to save my ears from being polluted.
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BTW, if one abbreviates 'professional photographers' to pro's, this is correct because the apostrophe indicates that an abbreviation has been made.
No, it isn't, although some will accept it as correct:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(mark)#Use_in_forming_certain_plurals[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(mark)#Greengrocers.27_apostrophes[/url]
Eh? You should have read the article more thoroughly Sean __ in my view it is both necessary and standard practice to use the apostrophe to clarify the omission in the word 'pro's'.
From your article;
Apostrophe showing omission
An apostrophe is commonly used to indicate omitted characters:
It is used in contractions, such as can't from cannot, it's from it is or it has, and I'll from I will or I shall.[33]
It is used in abbreviations, as gov't for government, or '70s for 1970s.
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What omission? I think most people probably hold that "pro" is its own word anymore, and not just an abbreviation of "professional". Like I said, some will accept it.
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...she wrote a book about some new age "ego rythm", the kind of voodoo that only gullible desperate housewives fall for.
That makes me laugh - you nailed the audience, and I know several such house wives that would take interest!
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some will accept it.
Only people who do not know how to properly use apostrophes. "Pro's" means belonging to a pro.
The 's' indicates a plural and that is what makes it wrong. So for example - gov'ts would be the abbreviation of government. Rather than gov's.
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Just for the record: You don't need to enter your postal address, a valid email adress is enough - and there are plenty of temporary ones.
I've read your free report and it sounds true what you write. On the other hand: It sounds obvious as well.
"You need a business plan" and "be an entrepreneur"...
I've heard that so much, lost count a while ago... ::)
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Flemish - in response to your post #53 above...
I basically agree with all you stated. The wrong message for the wrong audience. Ellen Boughn is a fine example of somebody very credible about stock and who doesn't shoot herself. The CV of Ellen on the other hand is very precise with names and dates. Researching sources like Google reveals Beate Chelette sold "a" photo agency (which one?) once to what sounds like Corbis but especially that she wrote a book about some new age "ego rythm", the kind of voodoo that only gullible desperate housewives fall for.
Apart from that, the landing page is garish, slick and contains no hard info whatsoever, except an address form in which you have to fill in your home address. It is obviously written for search bots and SEO, not for humans, with high-ranking Google keywords in bold and 10 (!) times "free".
Before you tell someone to get lost, make sure you know that your paths never will cross - because you just don't know where they end up and your success could depend on their opinion somewhere down the road.
Did you feel threatened? ;)
Just because someone sold a photo agency to Corbis doesn't mean that the agency was good or Corbis is at all competent. We've noticed that part B of that equation is far from competent, so it coudl definitely have been a giant waste of money?
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I have known Beate for many many years as a colleague in PACA. I asked her to write a short paragraph for my upcoming book on how users utilize photos of residential interiors. She gracefully responded with great insights as her stock company was primarily images of interiors. She is very aggressive and thus successful. She sold her business to Corbis and worked there for a time. On the other hand she is learning the painful lesson that I also had to learn that stock business lessons of the past do not easily translate to microstock. Nor do the old promotional methods work in the new world. I have no doubt though that Beate will quickly figure that out and be back to you with a more appropriate offering.
I'm certain she has a lot of good information to share but probably not of a lot of use to most microstock photographers unless they want to head out to being full time assignment or stock photographers with a trad agency. Beate has fought her way up to the point she could sell her business and I know it wasn't always easy. Along the way, I know she has learned valuable lessons she could share.
I haven't reviewed her class or spoken to her about this post. It had been many years since we had been in contact when I contacted her about the book.
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oops. Forgot to sign my post with my real name in case anyone wanted to know. I'm Ellen Boughn who wrote the blog "Stock Shots that Sell" for Dreamstime for 2 years.
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Thanks for stopping by Ellen. Nice meeting you at UGCX for that minute or two...
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Read Ellen Boughn's response in the string. She just asked me to write a piece about interior photography for her new book about stock photography. She makes a few excellent points. One of which is that Microstock is only one aspect of photography.
My career has been on the business side of photography. I am not specialized in microstock. I teach about the business behind photography. My company was called Beateworks, if you go to Corbis and search for collections Beateworks, Outline@home and InsideOutPix you will see all three of my brands.
As an Entrepreneur I take advantage of opportunities. Yes I wrote a book and I developed a concept called ego-RHYTHM. This concept is trademarked and my literary agent is shopping for a publishing deal. The book is for women called "Women Who Want It All and Get It, Too," to help women to become successful and manage the demands of wanting a family, career and 'everything else.' The women who are in the test group love it and my concept is already taught at the George Washington University in their Entrepreneurial program. I was voted one of the favorite cases and was a finalist with my program.
My right to be here and say what I have to say is equal to your rights to speak your mind. I only ask - can we please keep it at some level of professionalism and to topic? Some of you seem to be so into the bashing and negativity and others in this group have send me personal messages and apologized for the first group.
On whether you think you need help or not, you are right. If your business is working and you make the money you need - good for you. If you don't then maybe a little bit of an investment into education or new ideas might be in order. With whom I don't care as I certainly would not work with some of the photographers I have encountered here. I am not here to convince anyone, I am here for those who are open to evaluating if there is something that they might be able to use for their own businesses.
And on that notice, May 20th I will have a free call with Stephen Mallon. Very interesting story about copyright and how you can loose it as a photographer. Posted in the blog section of this forum.
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Ellen, you certainly do have the credentials to speak on Microstock, as well as other aspects of the photography business. Your blog was always enjoyable reading at Dreamstime and was a perfect example of applying traditional stock know-how to the microstock arena.
I have to admit I am skeptical of strangers promoting microstock get quick schemes under pseudonyms, and that was my first impression of the initial post here.
However I do disagree with some of the comments in this thread which imply that successful traditional photographers have nothing to teach microstock photographers. The principles of good photography transcend time and trend, and so do basic good business practices.
I would suggest that anyone who is on the level about teaching any aspects of the photography business (or anything else) be very clear about what they are offering and what their credentials are to claim the expertise to teach others. Otherwise they run the risk of being perceived as spammers, which we all see a lot of in these groups.
I still contend that the people (with the exception of Yuri) who are most successful in microstock aren't teaching others how to compete with them. And with Yuri's overhead for photo shooting, maybe he is finding it is more profitable ITLR to blog, post referral links, and offer support services such as keywording, post processing, uploading, and mentorships.
If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of dimishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with. In that case a class on how to succeed in other aspects of photography might be quite useful.
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If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of dimishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with.
Can you usefully extrapolate anything from what one photographer does? Surely you have to look at trends, cost:earnings ratios etc. Personally I always wondered whether his costs were running rather high.
Only he knows what his business model is. Then again building his brand may be more important than just selling pictures at a profit. Perhaps he wants to try to use that brand for something else. Who can tell?
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... And on that notice, May 20th I will have a free call with Stephen Mallon. Very interesting story about copyright and how you can loose it as a photographer. Posted in the blog section of this forum.
:) Nice. Now that's something microstock photographer's can sink their teeth into (besides you that is).
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If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of dimishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with.
Can you usefully extrapolate anything from what one photographer does? Surely you have to look at trends, cost:earnings ratios etc. Personally I always wondered whether his costs were running rather high.
Only he knows what his business model is. Then again building his brand may be more important than just selling pictures at a profit. Perhaps he wants to try to use that brand for something else. Who can tell?
Excellent point about Yuri's costs, Mike. I thought the same thing:
And with Yuri's overhead for photo shooting, maybe he is finding it is more profitable ITLR to blog, post referral links, and offer support services such as keywording, post processing, uploading, and mentorships.
You are right of course, who knows why Yuri is branching out? Nor was my (rather lengthy) post intended to be about Yuri per se. Obviously Yuri is only one piece of the puzzle in the many sources of data available about this industry. :)
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If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of diminishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with.
I don't think most of us as individuals are anywhere near at that point, the trendline on my graph is still very positive. I think it more proves the case that microstock is simply not that easy to scale-up as a business model __ something which I am not sorry about at all.
It's a shame that people have to be so f*ing greedy when you can actually make a good living at this without wrecking the industry that provides it. In unregulated industries there's always some individuals who will 'overfish' until there's no fish for anyone. Personally I'd like to see upload limits to a maximum of 50 images per week at all established agencies as IMHO no individual contributor can consistently produce more genuinely different and creative images than that.
Personally I'm happy enough to bimble about, doing my own thing and taking lengthy breaks for travel, etc whenever I choose. I've never had a 'job' before when I could just drop everything and pretty much disappear for months at a time without even noticing a significant drop in income. No need to even have a phone with you provided you can get on the internet once a week. The longer this lasts the better as far as I'm concerned.
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It's a shame that people have to be so f*ing greedy when you can actually make a good living at this without wrecking the industry that provides it. In unregulated industries there's always some individuals who will 'overfish' until there's no fish for anyone. Personally I'd like to see upload limits to a maximum of 50 images per week at all established agencies as IMHO no individual contributor can consistently produce more genuinely different and creative images than that.
wow, that's thinking out of the box, but definitely a good point , gostwyck.
there is danger in over fishing, like the real world of the fishing industry. you allow the rogue countries to dredge your oceans bottom until there is no life left. the same can be said about the inevitable death of microstock for those offering subs.
in a nutshell , the ugliest consequence would be: site X makes tons of money with subs,
then after the f##king greedy buyers have taken all they wanted, and stopped buying.
site X closes down and say bye to all the contributors. take any hypothetical percentage of contributors with a balance unpaid. that could still give site X a good amount to take way
after declaring themselves insolvent.
unlike a real cooperation, there are no debtors to pay, no forfeiture of assets, etc..
just close up shop and laugh your way into oblivion.
scary. but you just painted a worst case scenario of "over fishing". only losers being the contributors.
time to find a new day job???
8)
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If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of diminishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with.
I don't think most of us as individuals are anywhere near at that point, the trendline on my graph is still very positive. I think it more proves the case that microstock is simply not that easy to scale-up as a business model __ something which I am not sorry about at all.
That's an excellent point. I admit I will also be somewhat relieved if the big conglomorates all eventually discover that the micro model won't support their outlay.
My graph is trending upwards too, but each year the ascent is more gradual and the amount of work needed to keep the numbers going up seems to increase.
It's a shame that people have to be so f*ing greedy when you can actually make a good living at this without wrecking the industry that provides it. In unregulated industries there's always some individuals who will 'overfish' until there's no fish for anyone. Personally I'd like to see upload limits to a maximum of 50 images per week at all established agencies as IMHO no individual contributor can consistently produce more genuinely different and creative images than that.
I would love to see that too. I can't see any way that it would be in the best interests of the agencies to set such limits though. I am sure from their perspective they don't care whether their sales come from a small individual supplier or a huge conglomorate.
Heck, I would like to buy a nicer house with more studio room. We can afford it right now with both our incomes but I always have in the back of my mind that at some point this bubble could burst. And probably a lot sooner than it would take to pay off a 15 year mortgage...
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EDITED FOR BREVITY
Heck, I would like to buy a nicer house with more studio room. We can afford it right now with both our incomes but I always have in the back of my mind that at some point this bubble could burst. And probably a lot sooner than it would take to pay off a 15 year mortgage...
The saddest part of this doomsday theory is that ,for us newbies, it could mean we would never get to enjoy the spell of good income from contributing to microstock. If , as I understand, there is a slowdown
being felt by you long-timers, I can imagine how pessimistic it is for us who just started a year ago.
Lisafx, for you, at least you had already wisely alloted your income from microstock into a more viable investment (ie. real estate), so even if the micro bubble bust, you're well on your way as real estate is traditionally a more capable vehicle for both income and growth. i'd sooner invest in real estate than microstock.
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The saddest part of this doomsday theory is that ,for us newbies, it could mean we would never get to enjoy the spell of good income from contributing to microstock.
Yep __ I guess it's pretty much all over if you missed the boat! Never mind, it looks like designing App's for iPhones is 'the next big thing' judging by all the hype in the media. Staggering money being made apparently. Makes microstock look like mere bagatelle.
NB: Sorry to Sean and others for the use of the apostrophe in 'App's'. It's just how I was brought up.
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The bright spot in the doomsday black cloud is that the number of users of microstock are almost infinite. As long as the prices stay low, buyers will come tumbling in as the number of blogs grows hourly and the number of people using photos on websites also explodes. And no one photographer or group of photographers can serve all those needs for images. Check your local businesses on the web...I bet a lot of them are still showing those grim no photo web designs of 10 years ago. Slowly each will be replaced with a new design w/photos and illustrations. I'm totally bullish on microstock. And on the wonderful variety of images that are found there...creativity that would have never made it into the traditional world that I left. So newbies stay the course. Like Bob Dylan said: What is new will be old...or something like that.-ellen boughn
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The bright spot in the doomsday black cloud is that the number of users of microstock are almost infinite. As long as the prices stay low, buyers will come tumbling in as the number of blogs grows hourly and the number of people using photos on websites also explodes. And no one photographer or group of photographers can serve all those needs for images. Check your local businesses on the web...I bet a lot of them are still showing those grim no photo web designs of 10 years ago. Slowly each will be replaced with a new design w/photos and illustrations. I'm totally bullish on microstock. And on the wonderful variety of images that are found there...creativity that would have never made it into the traditional world that I left. So newbies stay the course. Like Bob Dylan said: What is new will be old...or something like that.-ellen boughn
awesome Ellen, coming from you I must say you lifted that doomsday black cloud for me.
and yes, i will soldier on..
stay the course. like Dylan also sang, "everybody's in despair... but when Quinn the Eskimo gets here,
everybody's gonna jump for joy !" let's hope Quinn is that buyer who likes my images ;)
btw i miss your blog at Dreamstime, but wish you well of course ("most likely you go your way and i go mine"(BD too). :)
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EDITED FOR BREVITY
Heck, I would like to buy a nicer house with more studio room. We can afford it right now with both our incomes but I always have in the back of my mind that at some point this bubble could burst. And probably a lot sooner than it would take to pay off a 15 year mortgage...
The saddest part of this doomsday theory is that ,for us newbies, it could mean we would never get to enjoy the spell of good income from contributing to microstock. If , as I understand, there is a slowdown
being felt by you long-timers, I can imagine how pessimistic it is for us who just started a year ago.
Wow, how is this a "doomsday theory"?? I don't see this as pessimistic at all. To me it is just common sense.
Any reading of economic history, including very recent will verify this. What goes up must come down, bubbles burst, don't count your chickens before they hatch, etc. (insert your fave cliche here).
To me it is just smarter to enjoy the ride while it lasts and not take on excessive long term debt (like huge mortgage payments) against the vague possibility of future earnings. Surely the epidemic of foreclosures rampant across the US supports this point of view...?
The money is nice now. I hope it lasts. If it doesn't, I won't be devastated.
As Gostwyck points out, there is always a "next big thing".
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Now that's something microstock photographer's can sink their teeth into (besides you that is).
Oh my, this is really becoming the Genitives Landmark Thread. That shouldn't be photographer's but photographers. :P
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Now that's something microstock photographer's can sink their teeth into (besides you that is).
Oh my, this is really becoming the Genitives Landmark Thread. That shouldn't be photographer's but photographers. :P
rofl. Maybe English is not their first language, FD. So here is a quick rundown of when to use ' ( apostrophe) and when to add an ass, i mean s to a noun.
Case of former is to indicate possession. as in Sean's comment; Yuri's avatar; photographer's teeth.
Case of latter is to indicate more than one, ie. plural. Microstock photographers; batmobiles; flemishdreams.
Therefore, if you want to say flemishdreams possesses batmobiles, it would read as follows:
flemishdreams' batmobiles or flemishdreams's batmobiles ; not flemishdreams batmobile's.
You also use apostrophe to indicate the use of a contraction (don't, can't, shouldn't).
Finally, to form the plural of lower case letter (watch how you roll your r's).
;D ;D ;D
Then we also have the confusion between loose (not rigid) and lose (do not win, cannot find)... but we won't touch on it today . Perharps flemishdreams will do that for us ;)
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Now that's something microstock photographer's can sink their teeth into (besides you that is).
Oh my, this is really becoming the Genitives Landmark Thread. That shouldn't be photographer's but photographers. :P
rofl. Maybe English is not their first language, FD. So here is a quick rundown of when to use ' ( apostrophe) and when to add an ass, i mean s to a noun.
Case of former is to indicate possession. as in Sean's comment; Yuri's avatar; photographer's teeth.
Case of latter is to indicate more than one, ie. plural. Microstock photographers; batmobiles; flemishdreams.
Therefore, if you want to say flemishdreams possesses batmobiles, it would read as follows:
flemishdreams' batmobiles or flemishdreams's batmobiles ; not flemishdreams batmobile's.
You also use apostrophe to indicate the use of a contraction (don't, can't, shouldn't).
Finally, to form the plural of lower case letter (watch how you roll your r's).
I always though it would be flemishdreams' batmobiles? But; how many batmobiles are there out there, and why has flemish bought them all?
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I always though it would be flemishdreams' batmobiles? But; how many batmobiles are there out there, and why has flemish bought them all?
no, I always THOUGHT it would be flemishdreams' batmobiles . But, how many batmobiles do we have out there?
- semi colon unnecessary after but. a comma yes, but not semi-colon.
- a question mark needed after the second sentence, a question.
- no question mark for the first , a statement.
;D ;D ;D
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I always though it would be flemishdreams' batmobiles? But; how many batmobiles are there out there, and why has flemish bought them all?
no, I always THOUGHT it would be flemishdreams' batmobiles . But, how many batmobiles do we have out there?
- semi colon unnecessary after but. a comma yes, but not semi-colon.
- a question mark needed after the second sentence, a question.
- no question mark for the first , a statement.
;D ;D ;D
psst bat, flemishdreams should be capitalized - proper noun ;)
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psst bat, flemishdreams should be capitalized - proper noun ;)
and it should be Flemish's dreams, am I right?
;D
Claude
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What is correct: FlemishDreams', FlemishDreams's or some other spelling? In Norwegian we only use ' when in genitiv when the name ends in -s. Otherwise we only add the asses without tails.
And according to the forum codes I've been thaught, one should adress other participants of the internet forum in the exact way that person spells his/her nick. I'm sorry for writing FlemishDreams' nick with small letters, but would request that you all spell mine without large letters. Unless you're angry with me. Not that anyone has used my nick here, just mentioning it since we already are far out in the forest picking berries.
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psst bat, flemishdreams should be capitalized - proper noun ;)
and it should be Flemish's dreams, am I right?
;D
Claude
no, not realy Claude... it's an adjective as in English, Spanish, Canadian, FLEMISH...
it's not a possessive, so no apostrophe required.
(OK.... end of English class) ;D
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What is correct: FlemishDreams', FlemishDreams's or some other spelling? In Norwegian we only use ' when in genitiv when the name ends in -s. Otherwise we only add the asses without tails.
And according to the forum codes I've been thaught, one should adress other participants of the internet forum in the exact way that person spells his/her nick. I'm sorry for writing FlemishDreams' nick with small letters, but would request that you all spell mine without large letters. Unless you're angry with me. Not that anyone has used my nick here, just mentioning it since we already are far out in the forest picking berries.
well, if you consider that you would say Jess's dreams; Ness's boat; Chris's house, Bess's beast, etc.. All proper nouns and possessive cases...
then it should be Flemishdreams's dreams ;D
However, it's not uncommon to see Master Peters' cottage, rather than Master Peters's cottage. Either way is acceptable, but if you love s's (ahem, cheeky cheeky... asses, rofl)... you may choose to say s's xxx
;D
However, for common nouns, you never use s's...
as in ladies's room; you say ladies' room.
ok, this time for sure, English class is over ::)
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And according to the forum codes I've been thaught, one should adress other participants of the internet forum in the exact way that person spells his/her nick. I'm sorry for writing FlemishDreams' nick with small letters, but would request that you all spell mine without large letters. Unless you're angry with me. Not that anyone has used my nick here, just mentioning it since we already are far out in the forest picking berries.
To be honest I hate this modern 'texting' trend of ignoring the basic rules of grammer (like not using a capital letter to indicate a proper noun for example).
It's not big or clever and it doesn't make you look cool or trendy either __ just uneducated, lazy or stupid or all of the above. It is simply decending to the lowest level of ignorance/sloppiness of the participants and it is utterly laughable to call it a 'forum code'. A 'code' indicates some sort of standard but of course if it ever actually genuinely attained 'standardisation' __ then the ignorant, lazy and stupid would ignore those rules too.
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If the top seller in microstock is moving toward other revenue streams, it probably means that the rumored point of dimishing returns is a reality we will all have to deal with.
Can you usefully extrapolate anything from what one photographer does? Surely you have to look at trends, cost:earnings ratios etc. Personally I always wondered whether his costs were running rather high.
Only he knows what his business model is. Then again building his brand may be more important than just selling pictures at a profit. Perhaps he wants to try to use that brand for something else. Who can tell?
Sure, "something else" is comming.
Soon, there will be more contributors than buyers in microstock business.
Some people will try to get money from photographers. Services like teaching photography and postprocessing, keywording, uploading etc. will appear. Maybe even sites will try to make us pay storage fees.
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Maybe even sites will try to make us pay storage fees.
These exist already. :)