Author Topic: What is most important to succeed in microstock? (Read 11801 times)

melastmohican · « **on:** May 01, 2009, 13:29 »

I got my coffee so I am in good mood to start discussion ;-) Let's say 25% equipment, 25% photographic skills, 50% post processing (Photoshop). What do you think? Theoretical example: graphics designer with high-end compact camera and no training in photography should do quite well since every mistakes can be corrected in PS.

lisafx · « **Reply #1 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:32 »

Lets hope creativity has a place in there somewhere

fotografer · « **Reply #2 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:33 »

You've forgot a very important one. An eye for what makes a good stock image. You can be a brilliant photographer, with fantastic equipment and photoshop skills but that won't do you much good if you don't understand what makes a good stock image

batman · « **Reply #3 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:38 »

I would steal something sharply_done said over and over again here in the past ,
"keywords, keywords and keywords".
You can have the best stock marketable shot, but if buyers cannot find it, you may as well stay home and wank !

melastmohican · « **Reply #4 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:41 »

Quote from: fotografer on May 01, 2009, 13:33

You've forgot a very important one. An eye for what makes a good stock image. You can be a brilliant photographer, with fantastic equipment and photoshop skills but that won't do you much good if you don't understand what makes a good stock image

Come on, it's that hard to figure out that you need to have photo of people in business suits with laptops

epantha · « **Reply #5 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:43 »

What is most important to succeed in microstock?

Patience

fotografer · « **Reply #6 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:54 »

LOL
but seriously so many people just don't get it, they think that they can just walk around the street or their home and zoom in on anything that takes their fancy and sell it as stock.
I have a friend who is a great photographer but every shot she puts up for stock is far too arty and all though a lot of it gets accepted very little sells.

Quote from: melastmohican on May 01, 2009, 13:41

Come on, it's that hard to figure out that you need to have photo of people in business suits with laptops

Dreamframer · « **Reply #7 on:** May 01, 2009, 13:56 »

The most important thing is to make exactly what buyers want. You can be PS guru, photography guru or whatever... If you don't know what buyers want, you will never be successful as microstocker, and vice versa.

batman · « **Reply #8 on:** May 01, 2009, 15:46 »

Quote from: fotografer on May 01, 2009, 13:54

LOL
but seriously so many people just don't get it, they think that they can just walk around the street or their home and zoom in on anything that takes their fancy and sell it as stock.
I have a friend who is a great photographer but every shot she puts up for stock is far too arty and all though a lot of it gets accepted very little sells.

I have to agree with fotografer. It's not shooting for art sake , it's shooting for generic usage. More like pop music to Jazz or Classical. More like David Foster to Charlie Parker, if you're a musician .Micro stock is like Britney Spears instead of Ella Fitzgerald. Tim Horton and McDonalds instead of an French cuisine.

Quote from: fotografer on May 01, 2009, 13:54

I have a friend who is a great photographer but every shot she puts up for stock is far too arty and all though a lot of it gets accepted very little sells.

That more or less sums it up. You're not going to find an Ansel Adams or W.Eugene Smith image in front of Cat Chow box or a flyer from your bank. Well said fotografer.

crazychristina · « **Reply #9 on:** May 01, 2009, 17:13 »

I think it's entirely possible to do well without too many posed models in suits. Rasmus Rasmussen (theprint) is a good example, and I'm sure there are quite a few others with a style like his.

null · « **Reply #10 on:** May 01, 2009, 22:29 »

Be different.

helix7 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 01, 2009, 22:44 »

Most important? I think image quality, at least in the illustration part of the business. There is a lot of crap out there now, and many collections are being diluted with these crappy images. A lot of people are just uploading any old junky images, favoring quantity over quality. The people that seem to be remaining successful and are continuing to sell at steady rates are those who favor quality over quantity. The best illustrators can make a 6-figure income with less than 1,000 images, some with as few as 300. I think that says a lot about who has the real staying power in this business and who will be swept away in the sea of mediocre images.

Graffoto · « **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2009, 22:45 »

Tell a story - a picture is worth a thousand words - remember?.

Basically a stock photo is about an illustration of an idea.
Think of things that need to be illustrated (family, security, health, fitness etc, etc) then shoot something that fits the idea!
Post process, upload, repeat.

null · « **Reply #13 on:** May 01, 2009, 22:57 »

Quote from: helix7 on May 01, 2009, 22:44

The best illustrators can make a 6-figure income with less than 1,000 images, some with as few as 300.

Illustrations are a totally different game than photos. Anybody can push a button, but it takes a real artist to make good illustrations. If you look at the port of a contributor with a mixed set of photos and illustrations, you will see that the illustrations always come in front in #downloads/popularity.

I don't think that technical quality for photos is very important, given a certain quality. Buyers don't buy undistorted pixels and no-noise since they mostly just buy judging the thumbnail. It's the usability and the originality of the concept that counts. If you are different and you produce shots that are difficult to duplicate, you will keep selling. All done in studio is easy to repeat given the proper models and props. Shots like that, when original, are shock and awe for 6 months, then will die because the copycats redid it, often even better. So, one should also concentrate on shots that are difficult to repeat. And never upload similars because they will compete with yourself.

gostwyck · « **Reply #14 on:** May 01, 2009, 23:01 »

Actually, truthfully it's mostly 'hard work' for several years __ at at least for 95% of us anyway.

You can have all the good ideas, skills, etc, etc but the hardest thing is motivating yourself to apply them ... again and again and again ... and learn some more whilst you're doing it ... and then do it again. It's really not that easy.

Perry · « **Reply #15 on:** May 02, 2009, 09:55 »

I think one of the most important things is to have very fast workflow: Good exposures with good light that need as little post processing as possible. In addition to that decent equipment, computing power, and fast photoshop skills are needed to produce images as fast as possible.

It's also important to figure out what will sell. There is just no point to put hours in some extremely good image that won't sell.

The rest is just hard work and long hours...

What is NOT as important as many thinks: The most expensive camera with the most megapixels, the best artistic eye, the best imagination, the most good looking models and the most exotic locations

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #16 on:** May 02, 2009, 10:19 »

A day job

patballard · « **Reply #17 on:** May 02, 2009, 10:47 »

All of the above posts have merit, but I'd agree most with hard work. Also, the ability not to get discouraged, and having good health. The people that rise to the top of most businesses have the health and stamina to get the job done. They aren't necessarily the most talented or the smartest.

batman · « **Reply #18 on:** May 02, 2009, 11:04 »

Quote from: Perry on May 02, 2009, 09:55

I think one of the most important things is to have very fast workflow: Good exposures with good light that need as little post processing as possible. In addition to that decent equipment, computing power, and fast photoshop skills are needed to produce images as fast as possible.

It's also important to figure out what will sell. There is just no point to put hours in some extremely good image that won't sell.

The rest is just hard work and long hours...

What is NOT as important as many thinks: The most expensive camera with the most megapixels, the best artistic eye, the best imagination, the most good looking models and the most exotic locations

Goooood points, hats off to you Perry. You make a good Public Auditor.
What is successful is not how much you invested in equipment, but what the bottom line is at the end of the I/E, P/L . I've been some good sellers that made images from 4MP camera while others shoot literally the same type of images using top of the line pro models. Would seem to some like using a tank to shoot a beaver. But hey, that's their choice, but in the long run, considering your paying the models, depreciation of your equipment,etc...
the one who is accounting wise could still be more successful earning fraction of what his/her peer earns, and still take time off in the Greek Islands or Bahamas . Success is how much it cost you per image to make. Less is more , or as they say, "KISS, keep it simple , stupid!

Quote from: FlemishDreams on May 01, 2009, 22:57

I don't think that technical quality for photos is very important, given a certain quality. Buyers don't buy undistorted pixels and no-noise since they mostly just buy judging the thumbnail. It's the usability and the originality of the concept that counts. If you are different and you produce shots that are difficult to duplicate, you will keep selling. All done in studio is easy to repeat given the proper models and props. Shots like that, when original, are shock and awe for 6 months, then will die because the copycats redid it, often even better. So, one should also concentrate on shots that are difficult to repeat. And never upload similars because they will compete with yourself.

Geesh, I so detest agreeing with FlemishDreams, but once again I have to.

travismanley · « **Reply #19 on:** May 02, 2009, 11:08 »

Lots of good tips here guys.

In my experience I would say to be successful is being well rounded. You need to be able to take good photos, you need to be able to do necessary post production (editing), you need to be good at writing keywords, descriptions and titles. You need to be efficient in your workflow from shooting to uploading.

On top of that you need to keep up on your uploaded files and update them when needed. Work your top selling photo, get the most out of them by adding new keywords etc.

You also need to promote your portfolios.

Jack Schiffer · « **Reply #20 on:** May 02, 2009, 11:39 »

Was diversity mentioned

madelaide · « **Reply #21 on:** May 02, 2009, 14:53 »

Is it important to succeed in microstock?

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #22 on:** May 03, 2009, 07:14 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on May 02, 2009, 10:19

A day job

Lol, still Lol. That was a great answer.

grp_photo · « **Reply #23 on:** May 03, 2009, 07:25 »

diligence - unfortunately i'm not good in it

Smiling Jack · « **Reply #24 on:** May 03, 2009, 09:15 »

I would agree with what batman said when he quoted sharply _done-"keyword,keyworld and keyword". Unfortunately I have been unable to figure out what are the right keywords.
Smiling Jack

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Author Topic: What is most important to succeed in microstock? (Read 11801 times)

melastmohican

lisafx

fotografer

batman

melastmohican

epantha

fotografer

Dreamframer

batman

crazychristina

null

helix7

Graffoto

null

gostwyck

Perry

PaulieWalnuts

patballard

batman

travismanley

Jack Schiffer

madelaide

Microstock Posts

grp_photo

Smiling Jack

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