Author Topic: End of Stock Interview (Read 14172 times)

gbalex · « **Reply #25 on:** March 07, 2010, 20:02 »

Quote from: RT on March 07, 2010, 14:51

I agree with Sean's take on it, I stopped reading his ~~advertisement~~ interview when I got to what I think is the real point of his ramblings, here's the way I read it (I've added the blue text)

"We are on the verge of launching a new online information service – PhotoLicensingOptions – that will expand beyond stock photography and deal with the business side of photography and every possible way that I can make money from photographers ~~can~~ who want to earn money from the pictures they produce."

Sadly were seeing more of these 'experts' spreading their wisdom on the future of stock photography which under closer inspection appears nothing more than a thinly veiled way to promote their next venture on making money from other photographers - hey maybe that is the future.

You have a point there Richard. A trend is emerging, we should expect more services, books, web-products, etc which will capitilize on the sheer numbers of new crowd sourced photographers.

lisafx · « **Reply #26 on:** March 07, 2010, 20:08 »

Quote from: gbalex on March 07, 2010, 20:02

You have a point there Richard. A trend is emerging, we should expect more services, books, web-products, etc which will capitilize on the sheer numbers of new crowd sourced photographers.

^^Makes sense. And as the pickings get slimmer for photographers its only going to get worse. That is likely where the real money can be made.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #27 on:** March 07, 2010, 20:35 »

Quote from: sjlocke on March 07, 2010, 15:54

I said about 6 mos ago on the IS exclusive board, that pricing should be broken into 3x3 - s m l across the top and personal/student non-profit/small biz and big biz down the side. Boxes priced accordingly.

Unfortunately I wasn't prognosticating the end of life on the planet, so it just got lost amongst the chatter...

Not a bad idea but how would they prevent a large corp from registering as a person or small biz? Wouldn't this create a lot of overhead trying to confirm who the buyer is?

You need to postion a good idea as the end of the world. Then the angry mob will come with torches and pitchforks to comment on your idea.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #28 on:** March 07, 2010, 20:50 »

Quote from: ShadySue on March 07, 2010, 16:20

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 07, 2010, 14:54
One thing in the article I agree with is pricing based on usage. New licensing needs to be created. Like Micro RM.
I agree in principle, but its just so difficult to police. For example, should an image which is used on a website for a special promotion for less than a week cost the same as the same size of image which is on a website for over years? What counts as commercial, what as 'editorial'. (Example of both previous: I know of a few photos I've had on 'information' pages of commercial travel sites for over two years - based on the date I did the screendumps) If not, how could you (as in the compliance enforcement team) check up on this on a consistent basis?

Policing is a concern but not my main concern today. Price is my main concern. Buyers most likely will not adhere to the RM agreement. But, would you rather initially get .35 from an XS RF or say $15 for the same sales as RM? Maybe it should be an RM variation with unlimited time since it's too difficult to police. Pricing would be based on typical industry, country, media type etc.

But within a few years content tracking will become more available and effective so maybe now is the time for something like Micro RM. LicenseSteam has tracking technology.

I'm not sure what the answer is but it sounds like Macro pricing is dropping faster than Micro pricing is rising. Something needs to be done to get pricing up toward a happy median.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #29 on:** March 07, 2010, 21:05 »

Quote from: averil on March 07, 2010, 15:37

I suspect monitor resolutions will increase significantly, especially with the kind of zoom technologies that have developed recently. After all, if sensor resolution is in the 1000ppi range, why not screen res?

I'm not getting where you're going with this. How does monitor resolution come into play?

stockastic · « **Reply #30 on:** March 07, 2010, 21:10 »

My prediction for the long term is that the market will continue to erode due to steady 'leakage' of images into free and almost-free channels. Right now the people with big portfolios all disparage "free", but many enthusiastically defend payments of 25 cents or less. As time goes by they may feel like they've gotten what they're going to get out of that portfolio at current price points, and agree to market it through new sites/channels/subscription schemes at even lower prices - the rational being, what do I have to lose at this point - I did those photos years ago, and anything is better than nothing. This trend may continue until those images are virtually 'free' from the point of view of someone taking new photos and wanting to recover his actual costs.

In other words, there's a vast number of stock images sliding slowly but steadily downhill in terms of price.

stockastic · « **Reply #31 on:** March 07, 2010, 21:11 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 07, 2010, 21:05

Quote from: averil on March 07, 2010, 15:37
I suspect monitor resolutions will increase significantly, especially with the kind of zoom technologies that have developed recently. After all, if sensor resolution is in the 1000ppi range, why not screen res?

I'm not getting where you're going with this. How does monitor resolution come into play?

Increasing monitor resolution will eventually create demand for better (larger) images in web content.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #32 on:** March 07, 2010, 21:19 »

Quote from: stockastic on March 07, 2010, 21:11

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 07, 2010, 21:05
Quote from: averil on March 07, 2010, 15:37
I suspect monitor resolutions will increase significantly, especially with the kind of zoom technologies that have developed recently. After all, if sensor resolution is in the 1000ppi range, why not screen res?

I'm not getting where you're going with this. How does monitor resolution come into play?

Increasing monitor resolution will eventually create demand for better (larger) images in web content.

I think consumers are flocking more quickly toward portible devices like Iphones than they are higher resolution monitors. I don't see demand increasing for larger images. Quite the opposite. How big does a picture need to be to display an advertisement on an Iphone?

stockastic · « **Reply #33 on:** March 07, 2010, 21:33 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 07, 2010, 21:19

I think consumers are flocking more quickly toward portible devices like Iphones than they are higher resolution monitors. I don't see demand increasing for larger images. Quite the opposite. How big does a picture need to be to display an advertisement on an Iphone?

That's true but on the other hand, here comes the iPad, which will be widely copied. So things are moving in both directions; in the future we'll just have a wider range of display sizes. Eventually it will all be available on great big high resolution displays in the living room, and tiny portable devices as well. And remember you can have higher image resolution at smaller physical size.

gbalex · « **Reply #34 on:** March 09, 2010, 11:56 »

If micro royalties do not rise over the next few years, these posts really say it all. The quality of images coming from eastern europe is very good.

http://www.johnlund.com/2010/03/jim-pickerell-interviewed-end-of-stock.html
"Let’s get down to it; can people still make a living at stock?

NO -- with a few exceptions.
(1) It may be possible if the photographer lives in Eastern Europe, various parts of Asia or other places where the cost of living is low.
(2) If the photographer has very low expectations in terms of living standard.
(3) If the photographer already has a large collection of imagery in distribution channels he can probably “make a living” for a while provided he cuts his costs and transitions into some other type of photography that guarantees a fixed fee for work produced. Gross stock revenue will decline.
(4) And finally, many photographers will be able to supplement another income source with what they can earn from stock licensing, but they will not be able to support themselves on the income from stock licensing alone.

For photographers living and working in the U.S., I think it will be almost impossible to realize a profit from images produced now and going forward. The demand, even for microstock is leveling out or declining, and there is way too much over supply of every subject matter. The supply of good quality imagery will continue to grow at a much faster rate than it has. Prices will continue to fall. As a result no one will ever be able to earn as much as they earned in the past from stock photographs.

Stock can be a supplement to other sources of income, but not a living.

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=79233&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=55
End of Stock Photography or stock is dead!!
"I am in the stock photography more than 4 years. Beginning was good. 1 year ago i thought that it was the end with my income from it. But 5 months ago i have begun to work only with stock photos, no other job. 8 hours in a day, almost every day. It hard work. But my earnings raising from month to month and it is already trebled for 5 months. I hope, even i know, it will continue to raise(if i continue to work ).I am from Ukraine,in my city i can live for money from stocks. I recieve now 3 times more money than my sister as teacher in a school! I think it is now not the end, it is only beginning. We must make only many good photos"

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713215239AALfmLS
What is the average monthly income in ukraine?
"Teachers make about $75-80 USD, not UAH, at the elementary level. That goes up to roughly $175 for a seasoned university professor or school director. "

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #35 on:** March 09, 2010, 20:39 »

Quote from: stockastic on March 07, 2010, 21:33

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 07, 2010, 21:19
I think consumers are flocking more quickly toward portible devices like Iphones than they are higher resolution monitors. I don't see demand increasing for larger images. Quite the opposite. How big does a picture need to be to display an advertisement on an Iphone?

That's true but on the other hand, here comes the iPad, which will be widely copied. So things are moving in both directions; in the future we'll just have a wider range of display sizes. Eventually it will all be available on great big high resolution displays in the living room, and tiny portable devices as well. And remember you can have higher image resolution at smaller physical size.

Good point. I just wonder if the larger stuff like Ipads will sell well enough to fill the gap left by declining print sales.

stockastic · « **Reply #36 on:** March 09, 2010, 22:34 »

As I never tire of pointing out

, I now have 25 years of experience in the computer and software industry. I can tell you that it's not possible to predict the future in ways specific enough to get rich from your predictions. You can foresee some baseline trends, but that's it.

For example, in the late 80s everyone could see that computers would get faster and smaller, digital networks would extend into homes, and wireless communication would be big. Pretty general stuff. No one I know predicted the IPhone, the Web, or cell phones.

mwp1969 · « **Reply #37 on:** March 10, 2010, 00:42 »

Quote from: stockastic on March 09, 2010, 22:34

As I never tire of point out , I now have 25 years of experience in the computer and software industry. I can tell you that it's not possible to predict the future in ways specific enough to get rich from your predictions. You can foresee some baseline trends, but that's it.

For example, in the late 80s everyone could see that computers would get faster and smaller, digital networks would extend into homes, and wireless communication would be big. Pretty general stuff. No one I know predicted the IPhone, the Web, or cell phones.

Star Trek predicted all of it in the 1960's

-Mark

cthoman · « **Reply #38 on:** March 10, 2010, 01:13 »

Quote from: mwp1969 on March 10, 2010, 00:42

Star Trek predicted all of it in the 1960's

I thought it was Jules Verne.

And whatever happened to the information superhighway? I guess the web was a cooler name.

Kone · « **Reply #39 on:** March 10, 2010, 19:39 »

Star Trek predicted all of it in the 1960's

-Mark
[/quote]

In 1891 Tesla began his research into radio. He later published an article, "The True Wireless".

Kone

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #40 on:** March 10, 2010, 22:58 »

Crap. Everything isn't ending: http://blog.johnlund.com/2010/03/positive-indicators-in-stock.html

I like John. He's a very sensible guy.

ap · « **Reply #41 on:** March 11, 2010, 01:28 »

+1 that made me happy or at least a warm fuzzy feeling after all the doom and gloom.

dnavarrojr · « **Reply #42 on:** March 11, 2010, 02:16 »

Quote from: lisafx on March 07, 2010, 16:50

Personally, I am never sorry to read someone claiming you can't make a living in stock anymore. For the vast majority of people that is probably true. Kind of like other creative professions like actor and musician. Yes, a few lucky folks strike it rich, but for most, it is advisable to have a day job to fall back on.

I have to agree there... The more people that believe/understand that they can make a few bucks as a hobby, but not a living without SIGNIFICANT investment of both money and time, the easier it will be for those who do put in the effort and investment to succeed. I would highly encourage ANYONE reading this to quit MicroStock and take a look a the lucrative business of the illegal drug trade.

Fran · « **Reply #43 on:** March 11, 2010, 03:06 »

Quote from: gbalex on March 09, 2010, 11:56

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713215239AALfmLS
What is the average monthly income in ukraine?
"Teachers make about $75-80 USD, not UAH, at the elementary level. That goes up to roughly $175 for a seasoned university professor or school director. "

The situation in Ukraine is not that bad. I spent two weeks in Kiev for work, and I used to spend more than 50$ a week just for food, it's cheaper but not much cheaper than Frankfurt where I usually live.
The rural areas in Ukraine are cheaper than Kiev, but, again, not so much cheaper.

Danicek · « **Reply #44 on:** March 11, 2010, 03:36 »

Quote from: Fran on March 11, 2010, 03:06

Quote from: gbalex on March 09, 2010, 11:56
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713215239AALfmLS
What is the average monthly income in ukraine?
"Teachers make about $75-80 USD, not UAH, at the elementary level. That goes up to roughly $175 for a seasoned university professor or school director. "

The situation in Ukraine is not that bad. I spent two weeks in Kiev for work, and I used to spend more than 50$ a week just for food, it's cheaper but not much cheaper than Frankfurt where I usually live.
The rural areas in Ukraine are cheaper than Kiev, but, again, not so much cheaper.

The fact missing from all these theories is that most of these countries develop in a rapid pace (although somewhat affected by the crisis). So it is not at all a static picture. The same is true for China. Cost of living and more importantly their living standards are ricing. These two variables together form acceptable income to support the living style at given costs. Note that the faster growing variable in this equation is the living standard. Some of them (and certainly those having the DSLR to participate in MS) now perceive good cell phone and a car as must-have. It was very different 10+ years ago.

I'm from Czech Republic. The average salary here rose almost 100% in the past 10+ years. I've University degree in IT. When I started my career, I worked for equivalent of approx. $600. Now I earn approx. $4000. That's obviously affected by my experience that I gained, yet not only. I would hardly start under $1000 these days, probably somewhere around $1500.

How much it rose in the US in that same time frame? The fact is that most of these developing countries are still far behind in their living standards and costs yet they are approach the western countries in rapid pace.

gbalex · « **Reply #45 on:** March 11, 2010, 11:08 »

Quote from: Danicek on March 11, 2010, 03:36

Quote from: Fran on March 11, 2010, 03:06
Quote from: gbalex on March 09, 2010, 11:56
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713215239AALfmLS
What is the average monthly income in ukraine?
"Teachers make about $75-80 USD, not UAH, at the elementary level. That goes up to roughly $175 for a seasoned university professor or school director. "

The situation in Ukraine is not that bad. I spent two weeks in Kiev for work, and I used to spend more than 50$ a week just for food, it's cheaper but not much cheaper than Frankfurt where I usually live.
The rural areas in Ukraine are cheaper than Kiev, but, again, not so much cheaper.

The fact missing from all these theories is that most of these countries develop in a rapid pace (although somewhat affected by the crisis). So it is not at all a static picture. The same is true for China. Cost of living and more importantly their living standards are ricing. These two variables together form acceptable income to support the living style at given costs. Note that the faster growing variable in this equation is the living standard. Some of them (and certainly those having the DSLR to participate in MS) now perceive good cell phone and a car as must-have. It was very different 10+ years ago.

I'm from Czech Republic. The average salary here rose almost 100% in the past 10+ years. I've University degree in IT. When I started my career, I worked for equivalent of approx. $600. Now I earn approx. $4000. That's obviously affected by my experience that I gained, yet not only. I would hardly start under $1000 these days, probably somewhere around $1500.

How much it rose in the US in that same time frame? The fact is that most of these developing countries are still far behind in their living standards and costs yet they are approach the western countries in rapid pace.

gbalex · « **Reply #46 on:** March 11, 2010, 11:13 »

Quote from: Danicek on March 11, 2010, 03:36

Quote from: Fran on March 11, 2010, 03:06
Quote from: gbalex on March 09, 2010, 11:56
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713215239AALfmLS
What is the average monthly income in ukraine?
"Teachers make about $75-80 USD, not UAH, at the elementary level. That goes up to roughly $175 for a seasoned university professor or school director. "

The situation in Ukraine is not that bad. I spent two weeks in Kiev for work, and I used to spend more than 50$ a week just for food, it's cheaper but not much cheaper than Frankfurt where I usually live.
The rural areas in Ukraine are cheaper than Kiev, but, again, not so much cheaper.

The fact missing from all these theories is that most of these countries develop in a rapid pace (although somewhat affected by the crisis). So it is not at all a static picture. The same is true for China. Cost of living and more importantly their living standards are ricing. These two variables together form acceptable income to support the living style at given costs. Note that the faster growing variable in this equation is the living standard. Some of them (and certainly those having the DSLR to participate in MS) now perceive good cell phone and a car as must-have. It was very different 10+ years ago.

I'm from Czech Republic. The average salary here rose almost 100% in the past 10+ years. I've University degree in IT. When I started my career, I worked for equivalent of approx. $600. Now I earn approx. $4000. That's obviously affected by my experience that I gained, yet not only. I would hardly start under $1000 these days, probably somewhere around $1500.

How much it rose in the US in that same time frame? The fact is that most of these developing countries are still far behind in their living standards and costs yet they are approach the western countries in rapid pace.

Your points are well taken and I agree it is not static and we can only approximate. The area I live in is depressed, generally speaking IT wages have been dropping in the states for some time. I think generally the states will see drops in many areas as a result of globalization, etc.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=946

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-10-15-cola-wages-drop-recession_N.htm

dnavarrojr · « **Reply #47 on:** March 11, 2010, 14:05 »

Wages here have been steadily dropping, but sadly the cost of living has not. It's still relatively high, although not as high as in many other parts of the country.

Still, with what I'm making now online I believe I could live comfortably in Mexico or a number of other countries.

Also, I do believe one thing is true... We are nearing the end of amateurs being able to make a living or significant money from stock photography. I think only dedicated professionals will be able to make a living at it.

I think tons of amateurs will still be making pocket change (and happy to do so) which is why only the dedicated pros will be making any real money.

Red Dove · « **Reply #48 on:** March 12, 2010, 03:04 »

Quote from: sjlocke on March 10, 2010, 22:58

Crap. Everything isn't ending: http://blog.johnlund.com/2010/03/positive-indicators-in-stock.html

I like John. He's a very sensible guy.

Cheers for the link. Yep, like any other business it has it's ups and downs. Those who do well or reasonably well see it as an opportunity come what may.

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Author Topic: End of Stock Interview (Read 14172 times)

gbalex

lisafx

PaulieWalnuts

PaulieWalnuts

PaulieWalnuts

stockastic

stockastic

PaulieWalnuts

stockastic

gbalex

PaulieWalnuts

stockastic

mwp1969

cthoman

Kone

Sean Locke Photography

ap

dnavarrojr

Fran

Danicek

gbalex

gbalex

dnavarrojr

Red Dove

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