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Author Topic: what's the most amount of money you would spend on a single shoot for microstock  (Read 8728 times)

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« on: February 29, 2012, 10:27 »
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hi Guys

in a few days, i will be spending $1100 on a single shoot, for model fees, wardrobe, props, locations and transport. this will be the most expensive microstock shoot for me ever. i'm curious what's the most amount of money you would spend on a single shoot?

wish me luck  ;D

cheers.
« Last Edit: February 29, 2012, 10:29 by dreamstock »


wut

« Reply #1 on: February 29, 2012, 10:44 »
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A few hundred EUR if it was a 2 day shoot, with amazing models, locations, props, organisation etc. I really can't afford more and I usually try to make it as cheap as possible, since in most cases you don't know how much you're going to get out of the shoot. I'm sure top togs that have been in the game since the start have a much better feel for it and also don't care if they loose a grand or two sometimes - they'll also make tens of thousands of dollars of some shoots (in the long run of course)

« Reply #2 on: February 29, 2012, 10:44 »
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I don't spend much at all.  The biggest expense would be fuel and I don't think that's ever be more than about $40.  Most of my objects that I've photographed have been from the boot sale.  I sometimes splash out 1 but it's usually 50 pence :)  Occasionally I've gone crazy and spent 5.  Never paid model fees because I don't use them for microstock.

wut

« Reply #3 on: February 29, 2012, 10:48 »
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I don't spend much at all.  The biggest expense would be fuel and I don't think that's ever be more than about $40.  Most of my objects that I've photographed have been from the boot sale.  I sometimes splash out 1 but it's usually 50 pence :)  Occasionally I've gone crazy and spent 5.  Never paid model fees because I don't use them for microstock.

I really admire such stockers, making it without models and even expenses. For having so much imagination, making bestsellers from more or less everyday subjects (sure you could have access to restricted areas, stuff etc that other don't and it costs you nothing)

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #4 on: February 29, 2012, 11:01 »
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c5, which might not count as I ate the prop afterwards.

microstockphoto.co.uk

« Reply #5 on: February 29, 2012, 11:07 »
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I do mainly Architectural / Travel photography.

I spend less than 100 Euro/Day on average including everything (train tickets or low cost flights, accommodation, beer...) when I travel alone in Europe, or even less when I travel with a girlfriend which pays for half the room price :) (in b&b and cheap hotels, single rooms are almost as expensive as double rooms). I rarely use car.

But I don't even consider travel cost or time spent as a real cost, since I like travelling and would do anyway.

So, basically I spend nothing. The only expense is my time for the boring part (postprocessing, keywording, uploading).

If I had to spend thousands of dollars for a single shot, it wouldn't be sustainable for me.
« Last Edit: February 29, 2012, 11:14 by microstockphoto.co.uk »

grp_photo

« Reply #6 on: February 29, 2012, 11:09 »
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Certainly not more than 100,- .If I spend more I don't put it on microstock but even for macro I would be very cautious to spend a 4-digit-sum. I hope and I'm pretty sure it doesn't work out for you some people need to learn it the hard way! ;D

« Reply #7 on: February 29, 2012, 11:31 »
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My record is 600 euros, and that was spent on clothing and props.  After the shoot, I sold the most expensive costume on Ebay and got 150 euros back. 

« Reply #8 on: February 29, 2012, 12:01 »
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500 hundred bucks is the biggest amount I ever spent on a shoot with models... In my case, I recover that within 3-4 months, depending on how well the series sell. But the funny thing is most my bestsellers costed me nothing, just my time:)

lagereek

« Reply #9 on: February 29, 2012, 12:04 »
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Oh!  1100  bucks, peanuts!  I dont even want to tell you what I paid Cindy Crawford, to stand model inside an oil-refinery. Big bucks my friednd, big bucks.

WarrenPrice

« Reply #10 on: February 29, 2012, 12:08 »
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c5, which might not count as I ate the prop afterwards.

LOL... same here.  And annual vacation pictures are charged to entertainment.

Ed

« Reply #11 on: February 29, 2012, 12:09 »
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Between $400-$500 is the most.

Just out of curiosity...how long do you expect before you think you'll be able to recover the costs from that shoot and turn a profit?

wut

« Reply #12 on: February 29, 2012, 12:39 »
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A group of 5 microstockers spent 700 EUR each for a 2 day shoot last year. The top dog of the group that I talked to approximately half a year later, told me he got that back with 3 images. He's a 100k+ exclusive at IS

« Reply #13 on: February 29, 2012, 12:58 »
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Between $400-$500 is the most.

Just out of curiosity...how long do you expect before you think you'll be able to recover the costs from that shoot and turn a profit?

about 3 or 4 months i estimate.

actually, you remind me that i must come back to this topic after i made the money back to see how long it really takes.
« Last Edit: February 29, 2012, 13:15 by dreamstock »

« Reply #14 on: February 29, 2012, 13:01 »
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Oh!  1100  bucks, peanuts!  I dont even want to tell you what I paid Cindy Crawford, to stand model inside an oil-refinery. Big bucks my friednd, big bucks.

cindy crawford for microstock?  :D

« Reply #15 on: February 29, 2012, 13:13 »
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About 10 bucks.

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #16 on: February 29, 2012, 14:26 »
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this is an interesting topic. I've wondered this myself at times. if you count travel, I spent close to 3,500 CAD  to go to London. but I've almost made it back in sales on the shots, not to mention the education I received while there. I guess that would be my single most expensive shoot. however I have spent close to $500 on a shoot for authentic costumes, paying models and peripherals. i don't do that frequently of course.

I believe that authenticity pays off. I know it does pay off sometimes for colleagues who also invest in their shoots to make them extraordinary. And then sometimes it doesn't and you're left with expensive props laying around. I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.


lisafx

« Reply #17 on: February 29, 2012, 16:40 »
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I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.

That's a really smart idea.  Ashamed to say I don't do that.  I know for a fact that some of my more successful series are paying the bills for the less successful ones, regardless of cost. 

« Reply #18 on: February 29, 2012, 16:59 »
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sometimes something had to be done. Even and also at microstockbusiness.
Some Illustrations of me will never pay out, not in hundred years....
But they have to be done.

« Reply #19 on: February 29, 2012, 17:00 »
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First time small beer, and second time coffee.

« Reply #20 on: February 29, 2012, 17:03 »
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My best sellers only costed me my time (a few landscape and industrial pictures).

Doing model shoots I didn't spend more than 200 Eur so far per one single photo shoot (the session cost did go above a few times, but in these cases it was split with the other photographer(s)).

I certainly would have spent more if I was doing it as a real part-time or full-time job, but not while it remains a hobby.

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #21 on: February 29, 2012, 17:16 »
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I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.

I know for a fact that some of my more successful series are paying the bills for the less successful ones, regardless of cost. 

that is an important point. I keep the table just to be conscious of overspending on shoots. but at the same time, I have a number of successful files that weren't expensive to create.

« Reply #22 on: February 29, 2012, 18:12 »
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I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.

That's a really smart idea.  Ashamed to say I don't do that.  I know for a fact that some of my more successful series are paying the bills for the less successful ones, regardless of cost. 

Yep.

« Reply #23 on: February 29, 2012, 21:40 »
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I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.

as an independent contributor, i found it really hard and time consuming to keep sales of each files. so my lazy way is to use SS catalog manager to put each shoot as a set to track performance. i have done just over 85 shoots (proper shoots with models not just snap here and there), on average cost $300 each, the catalog manager tells me that i have made profit from each every shoot from SS alone, and SS is only about 38% of my total microstock income.
« Last Edit: February 29, 2012, 21:46 by dreamstock »

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #24 on: February 29, 2012, 22:12 »
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I keep a table of expenses for each shoot and I tally sales against the expenditures.

as an independent contributor, i found it really hard and time consuming to keep sales of each files. so my lazy way is to use SS catalog manager to put each shoot as a set to track performance. i have done just over 85 shoots (proper shoots with models not just snap here and there), on average cost $300 each, the catalog manager tells me that i have made profit from each every shoot from SS alone, and SS is only about 38% of my total microstock income.

I think it would be much tougher as an independent. as an exclusive, I use DeepMeta. I have my own keywords for my series. I search on the keywords for a set of images, and DM tallies totals for the selected images automatically. so it isn't much work. again, it's mostly out of curiosity. like I said, I have bestsellers that cost almost nothing to produce, so it's not always relevant


 

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