Author Topic: Economics... (Read 3273 times)

hatman12 · « **on:** February 24, 2007, 16:27 »

From a business planning point of view, what do people here think is the shelf life of photos uploaded today? Three years? Five years?

Given that three years ago the best pro cameras were 4mp and now almost anyone can shoot 10mp, does anyone believe that photos taken today will 'expire' because of advances in technology?

The reason I ask is that I want to work out a net present value formula, and I need a time span for that.

leaf · « **Reply #1 on:** February 24, 2007, 16:36 »

I think that general images that don't look 'dated' after a few years have a shelf life of max 10 years, other images such as portraits - max 5

i don't think the technology with shorten the life more than that as many pictures are only needed at 4mp or so. Small print and web aren't that demanding.

CJPhoto · « **Reply #2 on:** February 24, 2007, 18:10 »

I dont think the internet will ever have 10mp images. Small brochures dont need 10mp. So just because 22mp is the standard, doesn't mean that it will be needed.

photovan · « **Reply #3 on:** February 25, 2007, 01:36 »

Several photographers have posted here about still getting sales from old 2 megapixel shots. If an image meets the designer's need, and high resolution isn't an issue the designer will buy it, and probably be grateful not to have to downsize.

madelaide · « **Reply #4 on:** February 25, 2007, 18:23 »

I still sell many of my 2MPix images (and sometimes I still pick one to edit and upload - I did that for Xmas). In fact, small res images - even the 400x300pix that IS now sells - make the majority of my sales.

Regards,
Adelaide

litifeta · « **Reply #5 on:** February 25, 2007, 19:23 »

CJ and Photovan make a good point. Most of mine are submitted at 6.1mp. But most of my sales are small web shots. Very rare for me to get a big shot sale.

bryan_luckyoliver · « **Reply #6 on:** February 25, 2007, 23:27 »

I'll add a few thoughts

Our two biggest sellers are blog size and large. The blog size is 300x400 pixels...so I would say that objects and buildings that don't date much will have a long shelf life. iStockphoto followed us on this, so they must see the same market.

I don't see computer and phone resolutions changing much in the next 5 years-. I would assume that low res images will still have a long shelf life.

The question really is, will buyers continue to need fresh content- which is yes. A photographer with a stagnant portfolio will have a harder time selling 5 year old images. An active photographer will have more success selling older shots.

Bateleur · « **Reply #7 on:** February 26, 2007, 01:40 »

Quote from: bryan_luckyoliver on February 25, 2007, 23:27

... so I would say that objects and buildings that don't date much will have a long shelf life ...

Agreed. It all depends what the photo is of.

I have 35mm film images of African wildlife that I took over 20 years ago. I'm scanning them, and they're selling. In fact some (like images of rhinos) seem to increase in value as the animal becomes rarer.

On a slightly less specialist note, this image was taken 38 years ago ...

... and now sells steadily (though not spectacularly).

On the other hand, a photo with a model in that I took a just a few years ago is a dead duck now because the clothes look so dated.

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Author Topic: Economics... (Read 3273 times)

hatman12

leaf

CJPhoto

photovan

madelaide

litifeta

bryan_luckyoliver

Bateleur

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