Author Topic: MSG Blog: Microstock Interviews with 9 Industry Leaders (Read 11107 times)

leaf · « **on:** November 25, 2010, 07:07 »

Here is a video I finally put together from CEPIC last may.

I interviewed 9 people (actually more but all the interviews didn't work out

Even the ones I did use have some serious sound problems) and asked them 4 questions
The questions

Where do you feel the microstock industry is headed in the short-term (1-5 years)? (00:00)

Where do you feel the microstock industry is headed in the long term (5-10 years)? (02:55)

Tips for anyone wanting to get involved in the microstock industry. (05:02)

How to improve your search rank (07:46)


Microstock Industry Interviews - CEPIC 2010

leaf · « **Reply #1 on:** November 25, 2010, 07:08 »

Sorry, and here is the full blog post
http://blog.microstockgroup.com/microstock-photography-interviews-with-9-industry-leaders/

Eyedesign · « **Reply #2 on:** November 25, 2010, 07:22 »

Nice! Thanks for the info

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #3 on:** November 25, 2010, 08:29 »

Thanks for the video.

It seems the agencies representatives are being more optimistic than many of the photographers.
Which could mean two things:
- they're right, and photographers are worrying too much about the future of (micro)stock;
- things are going to be better for agencies than photographers.

I think both are true to some degree.

sharpshot · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2010, 11:37 »

They all seemed very positive about footage. Looks like I will be deleting a lot of non-sellers on DT. Wish they made that easier.

leaf · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2010, 11:41 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 25, 2010, 11:37

They all seemed very positive about footage. Looks like I will be deleting a lot of non-sellers on DT. Wish they made that easier.

Yeah I went through and deleted quite a few of mine. It's hard to gauge how much it helped, but it makes sense to take away the choice of similars if there are two images side by side - one at level 5 and one at level 1

sharpshot · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2010, 12:04 »

I also wonder if people in the industry are positive about footage, why are DT so late getting in to that market? From my sales, Pond5 are ahead of all the micros, shutterstock could do a lot better.

And I don't think any of the sites link footage and stills taken of the same subject. I would of thought that could be useful to buyers.

Eyedesign · « **Reply #7 on:** November 25, 2010, 12:05 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 25, 2010, 12:04

I also wonder if people in the industry are positive about footage, why are DT so late getting in to that market? From my sales, Pond5 are ahead of all the micros, shutterstock could do a lot better.

And I don't think any of the sites link footage and stills taken of the same subject. I would of thought that could be useful to buyers.

Very useful to buyers!

Jonathan Ross · « **Reply #8 on:** November 25, 2010, 12:42 »

Good stuff, great range of people in the know. Thanks Leaf.

RT · « **Reply #9 on:** November 25, 2010, 12:46 »

Well done Tyler, some interesting replies.

Good info from Serban and that Pond5 guy but I was very surprised that the head of iStock in Europe doesn't know how the sites algorithm works.

oxman · « **Reply #10 on:** November 25, 2010, 13:17 »

Awesome video. Thanks for doing that!!

Blufish · « **Reply #11 on:** November 25, 2010, 13:33 »

Thank you for putting that together. It was very interesting. Exclusive anyone?

leaf · « **Reply #12 on:** November 25, 2010, 14:01 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 25, 2010, 12:04

I also wonder if people in the industry are positive about footage, why are DT so late getting in to that market? From my sales, Pond5 are ahead of all the micros, shutterstock could do a lot better.

And I don't think any of the sites link footage and stills taken of the same subject. I would of thought that could be useful to buyers.

I asked Serban about footage too but didn't have time to include everything everyone said in the video... I had over an hour of video which I need to compress down to 10 minutes.

To summarize though, he said Video was on Dreamstime's priority list and has been for a while, but they don't see that the video market has matured enough for it to be worthwhile. They feel the image market still has a lot of potential "we have barely scratched the surface" - they are currently wanting to focus on capturing the future growth of the image market.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #13 on:** November 25, 2010, 14:18 »

Personally, I find an image conveys a message at a glance, while a video requires comparatively a lot of time.

And since time is a precious commodity in our modern lives, stills will always have a special place in communication, even if technology and bandwidth allow for more videos. Luckily, footage will always be an addition to photography, not a replacement.

sharpshot · « **Reply #14 on:** November 25, 2010, 14:46 »

Youtube gets 2 billion views per day. I think anyone that isn't interested in stock footage should think again. I never like to predict the future but I can't see how footage wont be a huge market. I just don't understand why DT and several other sites aren't in to this market yet. I suppose it's a good thing, as Pond5 pay a better commission than the micros. Hopefully alamy will launch footage soon.

diego_cervo · « **Reply #15 on:** November 26, 2010, 02:37 »

Leaf, thank you so much for posting this interview. Quite useful!

I wonder why if istock stresses so much on footage they don't hire a few more reviewers. As far as I know a footage needs weeks to get inspected, right?

Best,
Diego

lagereek · « **Reply #16 on:** November 26, 2010, 02:59 »

Interesting! thanks!

But to be honest, theyre not really saying anything, are they? at least nothing that we didnt know or could guess. I personally think that in a few years time they will have competed, bought-up or gone out of business, so much that maybe only four or five will remain and ofcourse the fact that some will have moved towards Macro, etc.

sharpshot · « **Reply #17 on:** November 26, 2010, 03:53 »

Quote from: diego_cervo on November 26, 2010, 02:37

Leaf, thank you so much for posting this interview. Quite useful!

I wonder why if istock stresses so much on footage they don't hire a few more reviewers. As far as I know a footage needs weeks to get inspected, right?

Best,
Diego

Yes, at least a month for non-exclusives. With commission starting at 15% in January and an horrendous upload procedure, I have stopped uploading there. After waiting a month, I was asked to upload one clip again, as they had a problem. My sales declined and it really wasn't worth using them anymore, I would much rather buyers went to Pond5, they are so much better for me and have great sales.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #18 on:** November 26, 2010, 07:45 »

Good stuff Leaf.

Anyone else think footage prices need a big increase? Seems like a lot more work to make a video and the prices aren't much different than pictures now.

cthoman · « **Reply #19 on:** November 26, 2010, 10:31 »

Nice interview. It is interesting to see what everyone is thinking. I can't say it influences my direction very much, but still interesting to see. I was surprised by the video push. Do most still photographers enjoy shooting video? I'd think it would be a whole different animal.

sharpshot · « **Reply #20 on:** November 26, 2010, 10:47 »

^^^ I do a lot of landscapes and most of my videos are the same views as my photos. I just stick the camera in to video mode, record for 15-20 seconds and that's it.

I also do timelapses with my stills camera, taking around 300 photos at fixed intervals and making a video with them. Doesn't feel much different to my normal photography and I do enjoy doing them.

Now I am going to get a stabiliser and try some video with the camera off my tripod, that's going to be a new challenge.

I get bored doing the same thing all the time and I have enjoyed dabbling with video.

leaf · « **Reply #21 on:** November 26, 2010, 10:51 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 26, 2010, 10:47

Now I am going to get a stabiliser and try some video with the camera off my tripod, that's going to be a new challenge.

I get bored doing the same thing all the time and I have enjoyed dabbling with video.

Ohhh sounds fun and expensive

You should ask Jonathan Ross for advice about some equipment. I know he has spent a lot trying out a few different systems and eventually found one he really likes.

sharpshot · « **Reply #22 on:** November 26, 2010, 12:03 »

^^^I only do low budget. Will have a go with this one, spent a long time looking at the reviews and I hope it will work.
http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_mini_motion_cam_steadicam_type_camcorder_stabilizer.htm

jbarber873 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 27, 2010, 13:44 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 26, 2010, 03:53

Quote from: diego_cervo on November 26, 2010, 02:37
Leaf, thank you so much for posting this interview. Quite useful!

I wonder why if istock stresses so much on footage they don't hire a few more reviewers. As far as I know a footage needs weeks to get inspected, right?

Best,
Diego
Yes, at least a month for non-exclusives. With commission starting at 15% in January and an horrendous upload procedure, I have stopped uploading there. After waiting a month, I was asked to upload one clip again, as they had a problem. My sales declined and it really wasn't worth using them anymore, I would much rather buyers went to Pond5, they are so much better for me and have great sales.

Sharpshot, you are absolutely right about that. Istock takes a month to review, rejects many clips and pays lousy. They seem to be aiming more to the computer generated type of file in sales and approvals. Pond5 is a great place with really good sales and fast reviews.

ann · « **Reply #24 on:** November 27, 2010, 15:47 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 26, 2010, 12:03

^^^I only do low budget. Will have a go with this one, spent a long time looking at the reviews and I hope it will work.
http://www.b-hague.co.uk/hague_mini_motion_cam_steadicam_type_camcorder_stabilizer.htm

Leaf - seeing your CEPIC video and reading your blog about it are wise use of a stock photographer's time.

.....................

Sharpshot - Checked out your link to Hague Mini Motion-Cam, Camcorder Stabilizer, and was wondering if such a stabilizer would be a plus for Sony Camcorder HDRXR550V, with Optical SteadyShot image stabilization.

What resources do stock footage sellers recommend for those branching out from still photography?

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Author Topic: MSG Blog: Microstock Interviews with 9 Industry Leaders (Read 11107 times)

leaf

leaf

Eyedesign

microstockphoto.co.uk

sharpshot

leaf

sharpshot

Eyedesign

Jonathan Ross

RT

oxman

Blufish

leaf

microstockphoto.co.uk

sharpshot

diego_cervo

lagereek

sharpshot

PaulieWalnuts

cthoman

sharpshot

leaf

sharpshot

jbarber873

ann

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