Author Topic: My day with Yuri Arcurs (Read 27155 times)

fotorob · « **on:** December 09, 2008, 06:36 »

On Saturday, Fotolia organized a workshop with Yuri Arcurs and invited me to blog about it.

So here it is, my blog-entry about the day with Yuri and some helpful tipps (in German though):
http://www.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de/2008/12/09/ein-tag-mit-microstock-fotograf-yuri-arcurs/

Here a translation in english with BabelFish:
http://de.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de%2F2008%2F12%2F09%2Fein-tag-mit-microstock-fotograf-yuri-arcurs%2F&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=%C3%9Cbersetzen

Bye, Robert

Mellimage · « **Reply #1 on:** December 09, 2008, 06:45 »

That was a truly interesting read.

grp_photo · « **Reply #2 on:** December 09, 2008, 06:55 »

Interesting that he outsourced to india.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #3 on:** December 09, 2008, 07:28 »

If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.

grp_photo · « **Reply #4 on:** December 09, 2008, 07:35 »

Quote from: sjlocke on December 09, 2008, 07:28

If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Make its profitable in the future he is making himself a name as succesful microstocker and a good teacher after that he will publish a book about it which may is a good seller.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #5 on:** December 09, 2008, 07:38 »

Yes, sorry, you're right. I was so surprised that I forgot my theory that he's transitioning into a consulting position, and also taking percentages from those in his "distribution network". I just remembered the complaints in the other thread recently, but maybe that was just ranting against iStock.

ichiro17 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 09, 2008, 08:30 »

Quote from: grp_photo on December 09, 2008, 07:35

Quote from: sjlocke on December 09, 2008, 07:28
If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.
Make its profitable in the future he is making himself a name as succesful microstocker and a good teacher after that he will publish a book about it which may is a good seller.

huh?

grp_photo · « **Reply #7 on:** December 09, 2008, 09:04 »

Quote from: ichiro17 on December 09, 2008, 08:30

Quote from: grp_photo on December 09, 2008, 07:35
Quote from: sjlocke on December 09, 2008, 07:28
If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.
Make its profitable in the future he is making himself a name as succesful microstocker and a good teacher after that he will publish a book about it which may is a good seller.

huh?

I wrote "Make" but meant "Maybe" better to understand now?

pixelbrat · « **Reply #8 on:** December 09, 2008, 10:48 »

I was able to get a better translation through Google if anyone is interested. I found the other translation a bit tough to read. It's not perfect but a bit better.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fstockfotografie.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F09%2Fein-tag-mit-microstock-fotograf-yuri-arcurs%2F&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=de&tl=en

mantonino · « **Reply #9 on:** December 09, 2008, 12:33 »

Great read.

Karimala · « **Reply #10 on:** December 09, 2008, 22:11 »

Quote from: mantonino on December 09, 2008, 12:33

Great read.

With a lot of food for thought. Thanks for a great article, Rob!

AVAVA · « **Reply #11 on:** December 09, 2008, 23:34 »

Hi All,

This is a bit of a rant, you have been notified.....

Have you ever noticed whenever there is a Yuri post there is always some form of what I like to call " Yuri Envy ". It always surprises me that this takes place. It seems to be limited but it happens almost every time.
If Yuri had personally offended someone then I could understand a little bitterness I guess but why do some feel threatened by this one guy. He is great at what he does and he seems to offer a lot of helpful advice for FREE. He is always trying something new to increase profit and reduce overhead at the same time sharing those ideas with all of us for FREE. I guess I just don't get it. He was helping people long before he realized there might be profit in it.
I can tell you why his images sell better than any exclusive at Istock. He is a better shooter, better at understanding the buyers needs and especially better at how to promote his Brand. There will always be a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan in the game. It is the same in Macro stock. There are some guys I know that just make more money than I do, they are better at their craft. I think these people should inspire you and push you to do better work. I know they do that for me and always will.
All I can guess is that some people are just easily threatened and that's a shame. You are all great photographers in your own right and there is no one that can stop you from being the next Yuri of Micro, except for yourself. Don't see him as anything but a mark to shoot for if you wish, or a mentor if you find his information helpful. There is nothing wrong with having mentors. I have had a few in my life and they have all been a great asset.

Just my opinion,
Best,
AVAVA

bittersweet · « **Reply #12 on:** December 10, 2008, 00:28 »

I have found that people tend to assume that most people have the same value set as themselves. Therefore, if they themselves would not help another person succeed without expecting something in return, it is very hard for them to comprehend that someone else might have that ability or inclination.

Not saying that is the case here, of course. Just a general observational statement based on my limited life experience.

AVAVA · « **Reply #13 on:** December 10, 2008, 00:34 »

Hi Whatalife,

That is a very good observation I will keep that one. I especially like the sentence you have at the bottom of your posts. I think in a way it reflects a bit on what I am speaking of. Great statement! I had never noticed it until this post.

Best,
AVAVA

jjauregui · « **Reply #14 on:** December 10, 2008, 01:05 »

Quote from: AVAVA on December 09, 2008, 23:34

Hi All,

This is a bit of a rant, you have been notified.....

Have you ever noticed whenever there is a Yuri post there is always some form of what I like to call " Yuri Envy ". It always surprises me that this takes place. It seems to be limited but it happens almost every time.
If Yuri had personally offended someone then I could understand a little bitterness I guess but why do some feel threatened by this one guy. He is great at what he does and he seems to offer a lot of helpful advice for FREE. He is always trying something new to increase profit and reduce overhead at the same time sharing those ideas with all of us for FREE. I guess I just don't get it. He was helping people long before he realized there might be profit in it.
I can tell you why his images sell better than any exclusive at Istock. He is a better shooter, better at understanding the buyers needs and especially better at how to promote his Brand. There will always be a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan in the game. It is the same in Macro stock. There are some guys I know that just make more money than I do, they are better at their craft. I think these people should inspire you and push you to do better work. I know they do that for me and always will.
All I can guess is that some people are just easily threatened and that's a shame. You are all great photographers in your own right and there is no one that can stop you from being the next Yuri of Micro, except for yourself. Don't see him as anything but a mark to shoot for if you wish, or a mentor if you find his information helpful. There is nothing wrong with having mentors. I have had a few in my life and they have all been a great asset.

Just my opinion,
Best,
AVAVA

Well put AVAVA! You hit on the nail.

DanP68 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 10, 2008, 03:18 »

Quote from: sjlocke on December 09, 2008, 07:28

If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Maybe. People like Bryan Peterson and Lou Manna train photographers every month through Adorama, and I doubt either one is worried that their students will take their business away from them.

It's kinda like NBA stars giving clinics to high school ballers, teaching them their moves and suggesting training regimens. Just because you know how to eat right, train, and do a cross over dribble in traffic, does not mean you have the talent to take Kobe Bryant to the hoop.

People with talent will rise to the top whether Yuri trains them or not. People without talent (like yours truly) will always be a mid tier competitor, no matter what Yuri instructs me to do.

Neustock Media · « **Reply #16 on:** December 10, 2008, 03:38 »

Quote from: jjauregui on December 10, 2008, 01:05

Quote from: AVAVA on December 09, 2008, 23:34
Hi All,

This is a bit of a rant, you have been notified.....

Have you ever noticed whenever there is a Yuri post there is always some form of what I like to call " Yuri Envy ". It always surprises me that this takes place. It seems to be limited but it happens almost every time.
If Yuri had personally offended someone then I could understand a little bitterness I guess but why do some feel threatened by this one guy. He is great at what he does and he seems to offer a lot of helpful advice for FREE. He is always trying something new to increase profit and reduce overhead at the same time sharing those ideas with all of us for FREE. I guess I just don't get it. He was helping people long before he realized there might be profit in it.
I can tell you why his images sell better than any exclusive at Istock. He is a better shooter, better at understanding the buyers needs and especially better at how to promote his Brand. There will always be a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan in the game. It is the same in Macro stock. There are some guys I know that just make more money than I do, they are better at their craft. I think these people should inspire you and push you to do better work. I know they do that for me and always will.
All I can guess is that some people are just easily threatened and that's a shame. You are all great photographers in your own right and there is no one that can stop you from being the next Yuri of Micro, except for yourself. Don't see him as anything but a mark to shoot for if you wish, or a mentor if you find his information helpful. There is nothing wrong with having mentors. I have had a few in my life and they have all been a great asset.

Just my opinion,
Best,
AVAVA

Well put AVAVA! You hit on the nail.

Hear Hear!!!!

fotorob · « **Reply #17 on:** December 10, 2008, 04:42 »

Dan Heller wrote some other reasons why it makes sense to help other photographers in his blog here:
http://danheller.blogspot.com/2005/07/asking-pros-for-advice-about-pricing.html

Bye,
Robert

thesentinel · « **Reply #18 on:** December 10, 2008, 05:27 »

Envy?

I'm sure the bulk of any envy, if there be any, would be his access to a gene pool of blond haired clear skinned models who ate a lot of dairy products when young and have great teeth and above average height as a result.

Fran · « **Reply #19 on:** December 10, 2008, 05:57 »

Quote from: sjlocke on December 09, 2008, 07:28

If he's so concerned with dropping profits, I'm still surprised he's going around training his competition. That doesn't make any sense to me.

It makes a lot of sense to me: tutoring is an excellent marketing tool and improves his brand. He has a lot more to gain from this than what he's losing from competition in my opinion.

Quote from: AVAVA on December 09, 2008, 23:34

All I can guess is that some people are just easily threatened and that's a shame. You are all great photographers in your own right and there is no one that can stop you from being the next Yuri of Micro, except for yourself. Don't see him as anything but a mark to shoot for if you wish, or a mentor if you find his information helpful. There is nothing wrong with having mentors. I have had a few in my life and they have all been a great asset.

I totally agree with you. I've read a lot and I had some great teachers in my main profession (which is programming videogames) and I spend a substantial amount of my time back to writing on books (for free), conferences, answering emails, discussing ideas with people. Doing it doesn't give me any money, and I don't have a brand to create cause I'm selling nothing else than my workforce, but I think I owe this to the community I learnt from in the past and, even more important, when I'm explaining a technique or discuss it with someone, it becomes clearer to me to cause I'm forced to break assumptions. Mentoring others is a great tool to improve yourself. And if you are good at what you do, competition is usually not a problem. So I'm totally against the idea that "giving advices is helping competition".

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #20 on:** December 10, 2008, 07:37 »

Quote from: Fran on December 10, 2008, 05:57

It makes a lot of sense to me: tutoring is an excellent marketing tool and improves his brand. He has a lot more to gain from this than what he's losing from competition in my opinion.

Sure, it improves your brand if you're selling to photographers. I just don't see how buyers care about who he trains to do what. That's why it seems like he's moving to a consultancy position to other photographers.

Quote

And if you are good at what you do, competition is usually not a problem. So I'm totally against the idea that "giving advices is helping competition".

And I still disagree. If you are training people to do exactly what you do, don't expect them to not compete with you. I answer plenty of email questions about lighting, and cameras and 3d, but I don't believe in completely training someone to take over for me. There's one contributor I know on iStock who uses his models, shoots in his place, and uses his "network". Her stuff looks exactly like his. So, when she makes a sale, she's likely taking a sale that would have been his. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Fran · « **Reply #21 on:** December 10, 2008, 07:48 »

Quote from: sjlocke on December 10, 2008, 07:37

Sure, it improves your brand if you're selling to photographers. I just don't see how buyers care about who he trains to do what. That's why it seems like he's moving to a consultancy position to other photographers.

I think we are talking general brand awareness here.

Quote

And I still disagree. If you are training people to do exactly what you do, don't expect them to not compete with you. I answer plenty of email questions about lighting, and cameras and 3d, but I don't believe in completely training someone to take over for me. There's one contributor I know on iStock who uses his models, shoots in his place, and uses his "network". Her stuff looks exactly like his. So, when she makes a sale, she's likely taking a sale that would have been his. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Well, we don't really know if he's teaching absolutely everything he knows. I surely don't do it in my field even if I give out a lot.

crazychristina · « **Reply #22 on:** December 10, 2008, 07:48 »

It's probably his girlfriend, Cecilie. He mentioned somewhere that she is an istock contributor.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #23 on:** December 10, 2008, 10:43 »

Oh, yeah it is. I guess they can buy each other nice Christmas presents then

AVAVA · « **Reply #24 on:** December 10, 2008, 11:25 »

Sentinel,

I totally agree. I can't find a model that blonde and bright in my neighborhood. But remember he is also limited to that model type a bit more in his area. He will not have as strong an Asian community or strong African American community or Latino. Just an interesting point in Macro last year Latinos where moving up the list for usage more than any other ethnicity.
Use what you've got at home there is a good chance others don't have your resources. As for dating maybe take a holiday to the land of the blondes.

Best,
AVAVA

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Author Topic: My day with Yuri Arcurs (Read 27155 times)

fotorob

Mellimage

grp_photo

Sean Locke Photography

grp_photo

Sean Locke Photography

ichiro17

grp_photo

pixelbrat

mantonino

Karimala

AVAVA

bittersweet

AVAVA

jjauregui

DanP68

Neustock Media

fotorob

thesentinel

Fran

Sean Locke Photography

Fran

crazychristina

Sean Locke Photography

AVAVA

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