Author Topic: Is FREE the new black? (Read 15729 times)

KnowYourOnions · « **on:** February 06, 2015, 03:09 »

http://www.liekemuller.com/2015/01/16-awesome-free-photo-resources/

Ava Glass · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2015, 03:45 »

http://designschool.canva.com/blog/free-stock-photos/

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2015, 04:42 »

Quote from: Ava Glass on February 06, 2015, 03:45

http://designschool.canva.com/blog/free-stock-photos/

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:27 »

Is this thread a special resource for the convenience of people who don't want to pay for our pictures?

Semmick Photo · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:45 »

Sad to see Canva is doing that.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2015, 06:12 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 06, 2015, 05:27

Is this thread a special resource for the convenience of people who don't want to pay for our pictures?

we better be aware of this trend...but yes, happy to delete it if you guys think this is counterproductive.

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2015, 06:50 »

This could explain why sales seem to be dropping everywhere, and very sad to see that Canva is so blatantly promoting free images. I had no idea there was a web site called "Death to Stock Photo" and a lot of people seem to hate the idea of paying for images. What idiots would give away their work for free? And how did it get to the point where people don't think you should have to pay for images? Very sad. The future is not bright.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2015, 06:51 »

Quote from: Semmick Photo on February 06, 2015, 05:45

Sad to see Canva is doing that.

Yeah, another way to prevent the photog from earning. Why pay for it when you can get it free, right?

75 different sites should help cut our earnings once again

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2015, 07:39 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on February 06, 2015, 06:12

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 06, 2015, 05:27
Is this thread a special resource for the convenience of people who don't want to pay for our pictures?

we better be aware of this trend...but yes, happy to delete it if you guys think this is counterproductive.

Actually, looking at some of the garbage on offer for free, I'm not sure that it is counterproductive.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2015, 07:53 »

I was worried that Death to the Stock Photo was giving away our images for free, so I signed up. Each month I get an email with a packet of photos—taken by the couple who run the business—that are out of focus, grainy and have purple fringing. I get the impression that they were rejected by all the stock sites, which would explain the name of their enterprise.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #10 on:** February 06, 2015, 11:43 »

I have no problem with free photos as long as the ones you get for free are clearly not as good as the ones you pay for - as noted above.

In everything I've seen to date - and I looked at the Canva blog post, though not at the many sites they reviewed - it's very clear what the difference is. Free stuff generally looks like it was someone's own snapshot - best way to see that is one of the sites that runs paid shots next to free ones, like this:

http://freerangestock.com/search.php?search=woman+computer&submit=&match_type=all

I still see things like Dollar Photo Club as a much bigger threat - full size images and illustrations for $1 with no volume commitment. That gets you really good quality stuff for a pittance.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #11 on:** February 06, 2015, 12:04 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on February 06, 2015, 11:43

I have no problem with free photos as long as the ones you get for free are clearly not as good as the ones you pay for - as noted above.

In everything I've seen to date - and I looked at the Canva blog post, though not at the many sites they reviewed - it's very clear what the difference is. Free stuff generally looks like it was someone's own snapshot - best way to see that is one of the sites that runs paid shots next to free ones, like this:

http://freerangestock.com/search.php?search=woman+computer&submit=&match_type=all

I still see things like Dollar Photo Club as a much bigger threat - full size images and illustrations for $1 with no volume commitment. That gets you really good quality stuff for a pittance.

Problem is those photos are plenty usable for somebody like for a blog. A few years ago those would have been in some sort of discounted dollar bin. Now, buyers are used to getting high resolution photos taken with professional models in an exotic location for $1. So they no longer have a need to pay for pictures that are lower in perceived quality.

Bottom line is, any photo that is worth using is worth something monetarily. Maybe it's only a penny or quarter but anything is better than free.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #12 on:** February 06, 2015, 14:59 »

I don't think the free sites are not making money, especially the ones run by the couple or the one guy by himself. I bet they are giving away their crappy photos and making money thru ads or some other way related to their traffic.

No Free Lunch · « **Reply #13 on:** February 07, 2015, 14:54 »

Notice Canva is off the list now. Good was done in the end by this post...

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #14 on:** February 07, 2015, 21:06 »

Quote from: No Free Lunch on February 07, 2015, 14:54

Notice Canva is off the list now. Good was done in the end by this post...

oh la laaa....good to know that naming and shaming actually works here.

marthamarks · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2015, 22:54 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on February 07, 2015, 21:06

oh la laaa....good to know that naming and shaming actually works here.

Naming and shaming often does work… and sometimes it's the only thing that does.

Keep it up, folks!

PixelBytes · « **Reply #16 on:** February 07, 2015, 23:40 »

I was thinking of joining Canva, but if they are just another site trying to push freebies or put stuff over on us, no thanks.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #17 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:37 »

Deleted!

Ariene · « **Reply #18 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:05 »

I'm going to ask baker in our town if he would bake bread for free if he loves doing this job... I wish we could get clothes and cameras for free too

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on February 06, 2015, 06:50

What idiots would give away their work for free? And how did it get to the point where people don't think you should have to pay for images? Very sad. The future is not bright.

Years ago I was on some gear forum and these "true artists" said it's not good to take money for their artistic work. It's like selling your soul, giving yourself for money like a b.''.ch

Not much changed since then. These artists still believe they are doing something amazing and great for this world.
On the other hand there are children just playing and they have no idea how it (could) work for them.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #19 on:** February 08, 2015, 05:06 »

and more ...
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/05/15/53-free-high-quality-image-resources/

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #20 on:** February 08, 2015, 09:17 »

Have to love this analysis Shelma.

Quote from: Shelma1 on February 06, 2015, 07:53

I was worried that Death to the Stock Photo was giving away our images for free, so I signed up. Each month I get an email with a packet of photos—taken by the couple who run the business—that are out of focus, grainy and have purple fringing. I get the impression that they were rejected by all the stock sites, which would explain the name of their enterprise.

And also:

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on February 06, 2015, 07:39

Actually, looking at some of the garbage on offer for free, I'm not sure that it is counterproductive.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2015, 23:27 »

Pond 5 is no different from the rest. Pixmac was cut from partners many sites, closed, because they held pictures illegally. Now they are a team. What did we expect. Free pictures you lose sales. Just like rest.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #22 on:** February 12, 2015, 14:07 »

Just adding to this black list...

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/video/free-trial

http://www.pond5.com/free

Shelma1 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 12, 2015, 16:01 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on February 12, 2015, 14:07

Just adding to this black list...

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/video/free-trial

http://www.pond5.com/free

There's a big difference between just giving images away free, like some of these sites, and a limited free trial offer where you automatically opt in to a monthly subscription and have to give your credit card information (and I'm assuming the videographers get paid for each download), as with Bigstock.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #24 on:** February 12, 2015, 17:04 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on February 12, 2015, 16:01

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on February 12, 2015, 14:07
Just adding to this black list...

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/video/free-trial

http://www.pond5.com/free

There's a big difference between just giving images away free, like some of these sites, and a limited free trial offer where you automatically opt in to a monthly subscription and have to give your credit card information (and I'm assuming the videographers get paid for each download), as with Bigstock.

That's true... Much smarter than just giving stuff away.
BUT after 2 weeks of Bigstock trial and 70 free downloads one doesn't need to continue at all. That's how I understood this - http://www.bigstockphoto.com/free-trial/5aday14daytrial

"Start Your Free 14-Day Trial!
Any 5 images. Any size. Every day.
Automatic renewal. Cancel anytime. Fuss-free all the way.
Credit Card Information
Your credit card will not be charged today. When your free trial ends on February 26, 2015, we will renew your subscription for €59,29/month, using your information below You can cancel Auto Renewal at any time, right on our site, or by contacting our support team."

Shelma1 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 12, 2015, 18:19 »

I've found Shutterstock to be pretty fair when it comes to promotions. Even when they offer discounts, we still get paid our usual amount (unlike with, say, iStock, where we share the pain). Free trial offers have been around forever. It lures people into buying things. It's a marketing tool to get people hooked and buying more images.

Hobostocker · « **Reply #26 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:16 »

free images are NOT a menace for the stock industry for the simple reason it would be like comparing apples with oranges, free or stolen images don't come with any licence or model release so they're inherently at risk in case somebody wanted to use them for business or commercial purposes.

and we should never forget our biz is based only on professional buyers who need a properly licenced images, not random bloggers lifting images online, they're irrilevant as far as we're concerned and they would never buy images even for a pittance, the same logic and the same scenario has been discussed to death regarding Warez and pirated apps/games.

and most important, there can be trillions of free legitimate public-domain or CC images around but since they're not properly keyworded and captioned they're useless and they just can't be found unless you invest hours and hours.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #27 on:** February 13, 2015, 03:52 »

Quote from: Hobostocker on February 13, 2015, 01:16

and we should never forget our biz is based only on professional buyers who need a properly licensed images, not random bloggers lifting images online, they're irrilevant as far as we're concerned and they would never buy images even for a pittance, the same logic and the same scenario has been discussed to death regarding Warez and pirated apps/games.

+10

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #28 on:** February 19, 2015, 07:02 »

just adding to this list ...
https://unsplash.com/

ppdd · « **Reply #29 on:** February 19, 2015, 11:25 »

It should be noted that many, if not most of these sites either currently are, or will soon be (once they get a bit of traffic), affiliates of Shutterstock or iStock, and act basically as lead generators for larger sites. Free sites drive millions and millions of dollars worth of buyers to their affiliated search partner sites in exchange for a revenue kickback.

Hobostocker · « **Reply #30 on:** February 20, 2015, 04:31 »

Quote from: ppdd on February 19, 2015, 11:25

It should be noted that many, if not most of these sites either currently are, or will soon be (once they get a bit of traffic), affiliates of Shutterstock or iStock, and act basically as lead generators for larger sites. Free sites drive millions and millions of dollars worth of buyers to their affiliated search partner sites in exchange for a revenue kickback.

so further "consolidation" and M&As ? that would be a good news.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #31 on:** March 18, 2015, 16:22 »

and more...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/29-places-get-free-stock-images-boost-your-content-tom-treanor?trk=hp-feed-article-title

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #32 on:** May 16, 2015, 03:13 »

and more....

https://www.facebook.com/pond5/posts/10153315909054777

WeatherENG · « **Reply #33 on:** May 19, 2015, 22:34 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on May 16, 2015, 03:13

and more....

https://www.facebook.com/pond5/posts/10153315909054777

Guess we know why sales are dropping everywhere, I do news/weather video and not still but all out war must be declared on free content and those who produce or permit their work to go for free to disrupt those who make a living in the trade.

There was a comment earlier that public shaming might work, in the online world it might have some serious effect, NO FREE content period, except for the odd promotion by agencies like P5 to lure in customers, some of this free stuff in video and stills is not all that bad, it will make do over paid work for quite a few customers.

I am in Ontario/Canada but I thought I read somewhere that it is illegal to set prices to a point that forces competition out of business, price fixing? something under the competition act, can't remember it though and too exhausted tonight to find it but in order to win work some contractors/suppliers would bid so low they would force competition out and that was deemed illegal and unfair competition under the law, can't price a competing product any lower than FREE.

I shoot mostly news and weather, was browsing a video site that has a lot of free content, searched for something similar to my epic blizzard vis and sure enough I found a few really good clips, better and more beautiful than anything I have, 4500 downloads it showed and it was priced at FREE.

Sure a lot of the free stuff is not perfect but I know with my stuff on Pond5 almost always one of my less than perfect shots SELLS while my rock solid on tripod clips remain unsold, less than perfect often seems to fit for the customer depending on their project.

I've seen it happen in TV news/media, FREE or home video/photos put photographers and camera operators out of work....not perfect but it fills the slot, free will put a lot of people out of work here as well.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #34 on:** August 23, 2015, 13:52 »

Death To The Stock Photo - http://deathtothestockphoto.com/

stockastic · « **Reply #35 on:** August 23, 2015, 15:47 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on August 23, 2015, 13:52

Death To The Stock Photo - http://deathtothestockphoto.com/

And be sure to click on their "About" link for the inspiring story behind this venture. What a load of total BS.

heywoody · « **Reply #36 on:** August 23, 2015, 16:49 »

"Total access to 400 photos" - Oringer must be crapping himself...

Dodie · « **Reply #37 on:** August 24, 2015, 01:14 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on February 08, 2015, 03:37

More free stuff give away to report...

This time free RF Music ready to download.

1. http://incompetech.com/music/
2. http://dig.ccmixter.org/
3. http://www.joshwoodward.com
4. http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary

I ve got to confess, I didn't have a clue YouTube offers free downloads!

I hate thieves too but now, in this fever of naming and shaming you are making a big injustice to a decent guy.

Everybody who has ever uploaded to YouTube, knows Incompetech, the guy is offering his own music and not exactly for free:

Quote

*You do need to attribute correctly if you are using the Creative Commons license or pay for the no-attribution license, if you choose that one.
http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/faq.html

Please, delete that link and don't make a fool out of yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary is a perfectly legit method of promoting young artists ( with attribution) to their own requirement.
That music is to be used as a music background in the videos you upload to YouTube.

What can be wrong in offering freebies from my own work on my own site? Every blogger does that, me too.
The problem is when stock agencies offer our work for free without even notifying us.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #38 on:** August 24, 2015, 02:37 »

Quote from: Dodie on August 24, 2015, 01:14

The problem is when stock agencies offer our work for free without even notifying us.

True!

Deleted done!

Dodie · « **Reply #39 on:** August 24, 2015, 04:15 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on August 24, 2015, 02:37

Quote from: Dodie on August 24, 2015, 01:14
The problem is when stock agencies offer our work for free without even notifying us.

True!

Deleted done!

Thanks.
No offense but freebies are a way of advertising the real stuff, as long as you give away your own work.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #40 on:** August 24, 2015, 14:33 »

in latin america, we call it the "curse of the entitlement generation".
it is difficult to convince someone who never understand the value of having to work a living.
no surprise as i am sure most microstock clients and agencies like ss, is,etc.. were weaned on "entitlement" .
except when they drink coffee, which is paid anyway but mom/dad credit card

sweetgirll · « **Reply #41 on:** August 24, 2015, 16:17 »

IN latin america?

Can you translate that to "latin american"?

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on August 24, 2015, 14:33

in latin america, we call it the "curse of the entitlement generation".
it is difficult to convince someone who never understand the value of having to work a living.
no surprise as i am sure most microstock clients and agencies like ss, is,etc.. were weaned on "entitlement" .
except when they drink coffee, which is paid anyway but mom/dad credit card

Noedelhap · « **Reply #42 on:** August 25, 2015, 00:28 »

Death to the Stock Photo is a total load of bs from two photographers using lots of cheap buzzwords to pretend they have some amazing new concept.
Break barriers, forge a new path, swap awesome ideas, make incredible stuff. Challenges. Rich digital experiences. Living your passion. Blah-dee-blah. Forget about making a living, it's all about creativity! I bet they're not materialistic at all...oh, wait, they ARE making money. They claim the money is being spent on funding the creative photographers who in turn make more free work. So basically they're an agency like any other, with a team of hired photographers, except their marketing strategy is 'money isn't going to be what makes you all happy!'

I just noticed one of the founders has written a book. I bet she's going to give copies away for free, because she loves being all creative without getting paid, no?

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #43 on:** March 07, 2016, 11:18 »

New list just published via Forbes - Free stock photos via 33 EPIC sites!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaslaurinavicius/2016/03/07/free-stock-photos/#691d720522c6

CJH · « **Reply #44 on:** March 07, 2016, 11:33 »

Looks like they are just giving away free stuff in hopes of selling premuim memberships. But, I don't think they will do to well because there target market is getting enough free they will never need to pay

sharpshot · « **Reply #45 on:** March 07, 2016, 11:41 »

Isn't adding more links to free images in this thread just going to make things worse? That's why I removed all my old links to istock when they cut commissions, don't want to help them with google.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #46 on:** March 07, 2016, 12:56 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on March 07, 2016, 11:18

New list just published via Forbes - Free stock photos via 33 EPIC sites!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaslaurinavicius/2016/03/07/free-stock-photos/#691d720522c6

Talk about breathless prose - "...Epic Sites With Breathtaking Free Stock Photos"??

The article reads like an advertorial and if you look at the sites he links to, some quite specifically exclude commercial use, in spite of the article's claim that these are "...breathtaking free stock photos you can use for your personal and commercial projects."

Here's this guy's web site

http://tomaslau.com/

And his tutorial page on envato

http://tutsplus.com/authors/tomas-laurinavicius

I didn't look at all the sites he included in his list, but the ones I did look at were pretty limited in one way or another. Many also included "premium" pages of images so the freebies are only part of the deal.

I realize that Forbes is now owned by a Hong Kong investor group, but this is poorly researched, poorly written drivel.

The interesting aspect for those of us who sell licenses to use our images is people trying various other avenues - specifically the free collection with some paid bundles. They all seem to gloss over use of brand names in the images and who knows if the images with people are released. The bundles are cheap too (although by and large the quality is low, so perhaps it's not a bargain).

There were ads for agencies on several of the sites (as well as all sorts of other ads). Perhaps the model is free images will get you enough ad revenue to make a living?

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #47 on:** March 25, 2016, 03:05 »

FlowerPower · « **Reply #48 on:** March 25, 2016, 11:13 »

Quote from: sharpshot on March 07, 2016, 11:41

Isn't adding more links to free images in this thread just going to make things worse? That's why I removed all my old links to istock when they cut commissions, don't want to help them with google.

Not really. Putting your head in the sand and pretending the free sites don't exist, doesn't make them go away. Post in a forum after a Forbes article is a drop in the bucket. It's not going to make their Google rank go up. We need to discuss and see not hide eyes or cover ears to the truth. Free image sites stink bad, polute the water, but they are there.

Most of these are trash and make money with paid links to our sites that we get paid from. Bait and switch.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #49 on:** March 25, 2016, 14:12 »

Quote from: FlowerPower on March 25, 2016, 11:13

Quote from: sharpshot on March 07, 2016, 11:41
Isn't adding more links to free images in this thread just going to make things worse? That's why I removed all my old links to istock when they cut commissions, don't want to help them with google.

Not really. Putting your head in the sand and pretending the free sites don't exist, doesn't make them go away. Post in a forum after a Forbes article is a drop in the bucket. It's not going to make their Google rank go up. We need to discuss and see not hide eyes or cover ears to the truth. Free image sites stink bad, polute the water, but they are there.

Most of these are trash and make money with paid links to our sites that we get paid from. Bait and switch.

So true ...

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Author Topic: Is FREE the new black? (Read 15729 times)

Semmick Photo

No Free Lunch

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Uncle Pete

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