Interesting thanks! I have also seen a slow continuing decline of SS in terms of dl's and $$$. They seem to be slipping in $$$ relative to AS and iS.

Thanks Alex for posting your report. 

For mine, the award for the biggest steaming pile of turds goes equally to Shutterstock and Adobe Stock for the month of April.

     

My video ports at both agencies have increased significantly (over 50% each) in the past 5 months only to still have falling earnings.

You can see security heading towards me and I managed to escape on my bike!

I may have a few photos like this. I always watch my surrounding who those security guards.

This is why only way to approach this is as hobby and enjoy the photography which can be very rewarding in non-materialistic way.  Anything else is just bonus

My Photoshop skills dramatically improved after I started doing stock photography

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 30, 2022, 06:23

Dear MSG colleagues,

I'm pleased to share with you my April 2022 detailed monthly earnings report, including a special feature on my experiences as a newbie drone pilot.

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2022/04/30/april-2022-brutally-honest-earnings-report-drone-special-edition/

Alex

Really? Arcangel (RM-exclusive)   1,432 (70)    0   0

1,432 exclusive images and they brought you what? That would be disappointing, especially with the expense of the UAV, time and being exclusive.

After looking at what you and some other people do, I mean lots of hard work and effort, and the numbers, this stock game is worse than I thought. I mean, I can understand for what I do, that I have lower and lower earnings. I don't work hard and I don't do interesting creative projects. I get what I deserve, maybe more, but now I'm looking at people who actually try and the results are terrible.

1. Important not to quit that day-job!

The book cover stuff is a long-term game, it will pay off eventually and I'm patient (see point number 1).

As in poker, in this stock game we need to leave ourselves outs. We've all seen these "exciting news" announcements suddenly and how detrimental they can be to our earnings.

I do work hard and pays off in other ways than monetary. Sometimes I suffer from depression/anxiety and photography helps to place me in that moment, so for me it's naturally therapeutical.

Alex

Quote from: Brasilnut on May 03, 2022, 04:35

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 02, 2022, 11:27

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 30, 2022, 06:23

Dear MSG colleagues,

I'm pleased to share with you my April 2022 detailed monthly earnings report, including a special feature on my experiences as a newbie drone pilot.

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2022/04/30/april-2022-brutally-honest-earnings-report-drone-special-edition/

Alex

Really? Arcangel (RM-exclusive)   1,432 (70)    0   0

1,432 exclusive images and they brought you what? That would be disappointing, especially with the expense of the UAV, time and being exclusive.

After looking at what you and some other people do, I mean lots of hard work and effort, and the numbers, this stock game is worse than I thought. I mean, I can understand for what I do, that I have lower and lower earnings. I don't work hard and I don't do interesting creative projects. I get what I deserve, maybe more, but now I'm looking at people who actually try and the results are terrible.

1. Important not to quit that day-job!

The book cover stuff is a long-term game, it will pay off eventually and I'm patient (see point number 1).

As in poker, in this stock game we need to leave ourselves outs. We've all seen these "exciting news" announcements suddenly and how detrimental they can be to our earnings.

I do work hard and pays off in other ways than monetary. Sometimes I suffer from depression/anxiety and photography helps to place me in that moment, so for me it's naturally therapeutical.

Alex

Oh, Alex, I am so sorry about your occasional depression/anxiety. I had no idea, you always seem so upbeat. And yes, that is so true about doing creative work, it can be so healing/comforting. I too love being in that 'in-the-zone' so sort of thing.

I don't want to discredit what Pete said, because on the surface it can look like hard work for what? But as you implied, its a labor of love. Not hard at all. And in this day and age, its about working out what has potential and what hasn't.

Yes of course this is all the labor of love and sometimes we get paid back.

I saw the zero and the exclusive, that's the problem. Sure one sale will probably beat a month at some low paying Micro site, maybe for some, it could beat a year. But if the image is exclusive, it can't be anywhere and is locked off in a dungeon, except for the one site.

As for therapeutic, sure it's good for going off somewhere, ones own mind, and create something. There's also Scotch, which on a good night, a wee nip while watching the Sunset is pretty good too.

Please don't tell me. I make images that no one will buy and that are only made for myself. (that pretty much no one else will see) I had a coupon for a free print and I actually printed one a couple years ago.  Everything is not based on money and earnings. But if I'm trying to make money, I need to consider competition and distribution, along with expenses and the future compensation.