Author Topic: where i should sell my images? (Read 4219 times)

mtkang · « **on:** July 16, 2010, 03:03 »

Hello all,

I had been done this microstock for a few months, i started as i have been taking pictures for quite some time but just on film. So i have some problem for images being noise and grainy. Anyway, i took up some vector illustrations until i got my first DSLR.

However i found out that photos i usually took didn't do it quite well in microstock like dreamstime or shutterstock.

what i like to do is mostly travel style photo, street photography. I happened to read that some editorial type photo may have more demands in RM license, macro stock? so i think maybe i had put my photos in wrong market. I don't mean my photos should get paid more but i just try to find a market that sell my photos and i can still take that kind of photos. If you don't mind please check my gallery so you have some ideas what kind of photos i got. some of it are negative scanned so please ignore the grainy quality, it is for you to get some idea what kind of photos i refer to.

is most RM license are sold as editorial images? is it useful to obtain Model release for travel style photos? hope you all can give me some directions. thank you.

Oldhand · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2010, 03:49 »

Hi there

Alamy should be your first port of call for travel pics sold as editorial RM. If you have releases great, but in most cases you won't. Once you have a large collection of travel pics with an ongoing supply there are a huge number of agencies you can approach to represent your work in countries throughout the World. That will be challenge, but is possible if you fill a niche etc. Have a look at cepic.org which will give you an idea of the number of agents out there.

Keep going with the Micro where you can. It's worth adapting some of your work specifically for this market.

Quality will remain an issue wherever you supply.

On the plus side if you are based over in Asia / Hong Kong, then you've a head start on me as there are only so many green English fields and sheep you can take, and that's all that surrounds me.

Good luck - Oldhand

mtkang · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:12 »

hi oldhand, thank you for taking time to read and answer my questions.

i had tried to sell few photos of those in dreamstime, shutterstock, 123rf.. but it just sell as few cents. That's why i am thinking maybe there is no demand of photos like that in microstock.

so in RM market, do you think i should get model release whenever i can? sometimes i feel that a lot of people will sign for it but they won't really understand what a model release means, even everything is written on paper. I guess if i explain to them that the photos can be sold and maybe used in some product cover, commercial promotion.. guess most people will think twice. But it is also difficult to decide how much to pay them even without a sale of their photos.

once a photo had been sold as RF in microstock or any agency, it shouldn't be sold as RM license again, right? it seems i have to decide to sell them in microstock as RF or macro as RM..

does RM has to be exclusive to agency? or can sell as non-exclusive?

leaf · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:24 »

some places that sell RM images allow you to sell other places as well but as a general rule, when you sell RM images they have to be exclusive to an agency.

mtkang · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2010, 06:35 »

may i 'shamelessly' request anyone to give me some opinions of my images? is it that kind of images that is demand in RM market? thank you.

Oldhand · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2010, 11:08 »

Hi there

Don't worry about model releases for RM, it's very inconvenient and practically impossible unless you are shooting with specific models. I'd send everything up to Alamy as RM. Next, everything I'd sent to Alamy I'd see if it was accpetable for micro, if so I'd sell it there RF as well (that's what most people do).

Alamy is not exclusive, nor is micro unless you choose to be so.

With other agents, most will insist on exclusive representation in their own country. Say you found a German agent, send them all the same material you have on Alamy as RM and micro as RF. This will not cause a problem.

Your market shots and HK skylines have editorial travel written all over them. Tailor your shooting so you take some nice street scenes in Kowloon, with some extra "no people" shots of buddhist statues, street signs, food close ups etc etc for micro.

More outlets the better.

Oldhand

mtkang · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2010, 11:45 »

thank you for your advice, it is very useful for every newcomer.

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Author Topic: where i should sell my images? (Read 4219 times)

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