Author Topic: Share your knowledge or keep it secret? (Read 23910 times)

PaulieWalnuts · « **on:** June 24, 2011, 21:17 »

There seems to be some strong opinions on this from two camps.

Some openly share everything including their best secrets and think it will improve photography overall.

Some share little to nothing and think giving away knowledge trains your competition.

What's you take on this and why?

Mantis · « **Reply #1 on:** June 24, 2011, 21:25 »

I guess it depends on what kind of knowledge you share. Many share model lighting techniques or something along these lines but when you actually try to use it, failure. That's because there's so much more to nailing that image, including equipment, settings, "the touch" and other intangible visual aides that are likely not to be shared. Even if they are shared, he uses Canon and you use Nikon. He uses Photomax and you use Elichrome. He has an all white studio you have a garage. Just a few reasons why sharing is safe under many conditions.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2011, 21:49 »

I believe that the most people dealing with FB, Twitter and here at this forum are already sharing, some do share a lot more other a lot less.. perhaps on this forum (which everyday we open it) there isn´t much or perhaps zero technical stuff (the occasional help on a newbie which somestimes go nasty or quite well) but overal there is nobody "sharing" their techniques/gear photography/illustration

is that what you are talking/asking? or you are into best sellers, niches or little tricks regarding submiting and such? or even agencies that might be pulling good numbers and "we" don´t talk about them?

or about contributors that hide portfolios perhaps to keep their business running smooth and I must say I agree if somebody want privacy.. actually about that I have been thinking a lot lately and also telling other that posting uploads/sales daily on twitter or facebook won´t help their business.. and why? because I do have a small group of people on my FB and 95% share this stuff and a week later or such people have "copied" they sales and they are taking/decreasing other people sales.. not that pictures weren´t online already but this all spam around "sold xx pictures today ...." is been very prejudicial to them.. some like the LIKES.. come on if you have no buyers/designers at your FB it will just screw or business sooner or later..

I am a sharing guy, if someone pops out on chat or send me an email I am totally open, I am not going to say what I sell mostly, if someone wants to find out, they can open portfolio and such and they the research themselves.. I also post my monthly earnings but I believe that not what you are looking for at this topic..

I also believe that contributors above 1k $ and such are more open but I am sure that won´t take longer, I am talking less and less and I believe that more people into stock aren´t good, something that when I got to this forum I didn´t enjoy when people keep on telling nothing to see here, move along.. but overall I am an open book, I don´t know much but a lot more than when I started two years ago

disorderly · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2011, 21:55 »

I like learning, and I like teaching. In another life I might well have been a teacher, and I might even have been good at it. I also refuse to see photography as some kind of zero sum game, even this little microcosm of microstock. Helping others to get better won't hurt my own skills and isn't likely to have much of an effect on my revenue.

That's part of what I hate about iStock's tier scheme; they've turned us into competitors who only win when someone else loses. I'd rather enjoy my work, and learning and experimenting and teaching others is a very real part of that enjoyment. And if others do better with what I teach them than I do, well, I'm sure lots of teachers have had that experience too.

Mantis · « **Reply #4 on:** June 24, 2011, 22:00 »

Quote from: disorderly on June 24, 2011, 21:55

I like learning, and I like teaching. In another life I might well have been a teacher, and I might even have been good at it. I also refuse to see photography as some kind of zero sum game, even this little microcosm of microstock. Helping others to get better won't hurt my own skills and isn't likely to have much of an effect on my revenue.

That's part of what I hate about iStock's tier scheme; they've turned us into competitors who only win when someone else loses. I'd rather enjoy my work, and learning and experimenting and teaching others is a very real part of that enjoyment. And if others do better with what I teach them than I do, well, I'm sure lots of teachers have had that experience too.

^^ Excellent post.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #5 on:** June 24, 2011, 22:50 »

Quote from: disorderly on June 24, 2011, 21:55

Helping others to get better won't hurt my own skills and isn't likely to have much of an effect on my revenue.

That's part of what I hate about iStock's tier scheme; they've turned us into competitors who only win when someone else loses.

Well, those two sentences conflict, don't they.
http://blog.johnlund.com/2011/05/under-radar-or-in-spotlight.html

disorderly · « **Reply #6 on:** June 24, 2011, 23:23 »

Quote from: sjlocke on June 24, 2011, 22:50

Quote from: disorderly on June 24, 2011, 21:55
Helping others to get better won't hurt my own skills and isn't likely to have much of an effect on my revenue.

That's part of what I hate about iStock's tier scheme; they've turned us into competitors who only win when someone else loses.

Well, those two sentences conflict, don't they.
http://blog.johnlund.com/2011/05/under-radar-or-in-spotlight.html

They're only in conflict if I let iStock get away with creating that conflict. That's why I'm withdrawing from that particular field. Well, that and the fact that iStock pays me pennies and treats me like crap.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #7 on:** June 25, 2011, 01:48 »

Share!

Microstock photography is not difficult, but it takes a lot of time and devotion - so those who are serious about it will find out anyway sooner or later, while most people will give up even if you showed them the way.

There's no reason to keep it secret, I like to help people if I can.

johnnydao · « **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2011, 02:07 »

I share just about everything. Well, anyone who's willing to listen. I think only about 20% of what I share, others actually follows. But, now and days, everything about techniques, products, etc. can be found on the internet. There's always someone sharing something. I share my experiences and techniques because photography is a passion. When anyone has a passion for anything, they tend to spread the word or teach others about what they discover.

Even though I'm still fairly new in photography, I have no issues in sharing to others less knowledgeable in photography. Maybe one day the person I've shared with will learn something new and share something he/she learned.

Slovenian · « **Reply #9 on:** June 25, 2011, 04:31 »

By sharing you get feedback and info from other people (they are more open to share if you are) and so we can all better ourselves. If you're scared of someone getting an edge on you because you shared some info or even secrets, than you're lacking confidence (which can be a bigger problem than leaking some info).

Not that I'm falling completely for Yuri's "I share everything", but it works great for him, he gets so much publicity and ppl like him for sharing info. And he can afford to share lots of info, he's a few steps ahead of most ppl and at least a step ahead of top contributors, even top exclusives at IS, who have much better port exposure, ports that are bigger (because they can upload so much more) and compared to him, they still look like clueless school boys/girls. So if it works for Yuri, I really don't know why wouldn't it work for all the rest. Perhaps that's the key, competitive edge on the top exclusives at IS. Sharing. Because they all make the same type of imagery anyway (Lise is an exception, her work is indeed interesting, not all boring, generic, cheesy smiled, stocky stuff), so images can't make that much more difference (even if Yuri's are a bit better). By that logic (only the content matters), he should make way less, but it's the other way around.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #10 on:** June 25, 2011, 06:29 »

Don't share! Unless you are skill-challenged yourself you get nothing in return (the only exception is where people sign on to your referral links. You might want to help them)

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #11 on:** June 25, 2011, 09:31 »

Quote from: Slovenian on June 25, 2011, 04:31

Not that I'm falling completely for Yuri's "I share everything", but it works great for him, he gets so much publicity and ppl like him for sharing info. And he can afford to share lots of info, he's a few steps ahead of most ppl and at least a step ahead of top contributors, even top exclusives at IS, who have much better port exposure, ports that are bigger (because they can upload so much more) and compared to him, they still look like clueless school boys/girls. So if it works for Yuri, I really don't know why wouldn't it work for all the rest.

Images are what gets buyers. "Publicity" gets you photographer fan boys.

Smiling Jack · « **Reply #12 on:** June 25, 2011, 09:38 »

I share everything-except that little light that goes off in my head that says-"That is the photo you are looking for"

Smiling Jack

LesHoward · « **Reply #13 on:** June 25, 2011, 11:14 »

In my experience, most people ignore most of my advice most of the time. When someone asks for help, I usually share what works for me. Then they tell all the reasons they think my advice won't work. *sigh*

madelaide · « **Reply #14 on:** June 25, 2011, 11:25 »

I don't mind sharing knowledge. Is there something that is really a secret? What make some more succesful than others is experience, hard work and talent.

Lambros Kazan · « **Reply #15 on:** June 25, 2011, 12:19 »

totaly agree with Madelaide...
+
"Every step has a secret. Its not one. And it does not apply to every photo.
Keep shooting.Experience makes the difference.
The only truth is that there is not a single face similar to other."

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #16 on:** June 25, 2011, 15:33 »

Quote from: madelaide on June 25, 2011, 11:25

I don't mind sharing knowledge. Is there something that is really a secret? What make some more succesful than others is experience, hard work and talent.

But creating more competition doesn't help. Look at the guy Yuri trained who's on iStock - his 240 sales a day are coming off someone else, aren't they? And we can guess who is hardest hit. There may be others who have to spend a year at a lower earnings level because someone they helped picks up the redeemed credits they would have had - If you get 30% instead of 35%, then 16% of your year's income could have gone down the tube. For an exclusive on the 35% borderline, that would probably be around $5,000 gone as the price of being nice to someone.

There aren't any secrets but it can take hard work to find the answers. Why provide those answers on a plate to people who can't be bothered to look for them themselves?

cobalt · « **Reply #17 on:** June 25, 2011, 16:10 »

I don´t mind sharing.

In my experience most people completely underestimate how much work good stock is. Once they try, they give up pretty fast. The ones that do take my advice and become productive usually have something to give back as well.

Those who are hell bent on copying me will do so anyway. Pictures and downloads are open to see for everyone.

I´ve shared many things (finance, health, photography, social) over the internet and still feel I got back 10 times more in information and time saved when I did my own searches.

ETA: the bell curve on istock is demotivating. I know many people who are relcuctant to share openly on the forums. Sue has a point when she said that it is part of the reasons why so much community interaction is moving behind closed doors on facebook. Unfortunately it is a negative spiral. The less goes on in the forums, the more we share on facebook, the less time we spend on the forums...etc...

istock used to be my one stop "watering hole" to hang out all day while I was working. Now my attention is split over several sites and I am becoming active in non-photo ccircles as well. In the end you just follow the fun. I hope that at least the money (buyers) stays with istock...

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #18 on:** June 25, 2011, 16:50 »

It's stuff like this that keeps pushing me closer to just not bothering to help or share knowledge anymore.

cobalt · « **Reply #19 on:** June 25, 2011, 16:59 »

Oh come on, I also thought Sean was strange when I first got on the forums. He is a complete newbie asking simple questions. He wil learn about us all pretty soon...;-)

And probably as soon as he realizes how much work it is...probably move on..and tell everyone that there is no money in stock...

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #20 on:** June 25, 2011, 17:21 »

I don't see why my initial question was strange. Of course, once he came back the way he did, he gets what he gets.

cobalt · « **Reply #21 on:** June 25, 2011, 18:01 »

Your question was the best one in that thread. I am referring to those long ago dark ages in 2005 when I got onto istock and watched all the different characters on the forum with amazement. But it didn´t take long to realize your sometimes snarky comments were great at speeding up the conversation. They still are. Straight to the point.

SNP · « **Reply #22 on:** June 26, 2011, 00:18 »

is it too ironic to respond to the OP?

lots of people have been really nice as I've learned the stock ropes over the years. in my experience, very little harm--but potentially a lot of good comes from reciprocating kindness. I try to help where I can, but I admit that it's tough not to feel competitive at times.

PeterChigmaroff · « **Reply #23 on:** June 26, 2011, 00:34 »

Sharing is caring.

grp_photo · « **Reply #24 on:** June 26, 2011, 01:27 »

Mostly I'm just too lazy to share my knowledge - maybe it is good thing maybe not - who knows.

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Author Topic: Share your knowledge or keep it secret? (Read 23910 times)

PaulieWalnuts

Mantis

luissantos84

disorderly

Mantis

Sean Locke Photography

disorderly

microstockphoto.co.uk

johnnydao

Slovenian

BaldricksTrousers

Sean Locke Photography

Smiling Jack

LesHoward

madelaide

Lambros Kazan

BaldricksTrousers

cobalt

PaulieWalnuts

cobalt

Sean Locke Photography

cobalt

SNP

PeterChigmaroff

grp_photo

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