MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: hatman12 on March 07, 2007, 03:44
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Looking at some of the most popular contributors to iStock (where I can see statistics) it seems to me that the expected 'value' of a good quality commercial photo is about $40 over a three year period.
The top supplier has about 5,000 images for 450,000 downloads. This suggests a value of about $90. But if we take the average portfolio size over the three years, the number comes out at nearer $180. An exceptional case probably.
Looking at lesser mortals I see others with 7,000 pics for 250,000 downloads, and 3,000 pics for 100,000 downloads. These work out at $35, $33 and $70, $66.
Of course there is a difference between what a picture CAN generate and the actual day to day cash flow. Therein lies the rub.
But it seems to me that if I can spend a few days producing say 20 good quality commercial photos, I can assume that, on average, that work will earn me between $700 and $1400 over three years. Or between $233 and $466 per annum. In other words, a project to produce at that rate consistently each week should produce an annual income of between $12116 and $24232.
On the face of it, that clearly isn't enough to survive.
However, the calculation has to be compounded, of course. $12116 and $24232 apply in year one. The numbers are double in year two. And triple in year three. So by the end of year three the annual income is between $36348 and $72696.
Those are better numbers.
What do people here believe is the average 'value' of the shots they produce, over say a three year period? And does anyone have specific numbers they can share?