Copycats or just working for the same boss?
*removed*
Among many others.

Sniff, sniff...  It smells fishy

admin edit: we shouldn't link to other's portfolio pointing fingers.

Stupid Censorship! 

Ok. No links...
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Copycats or just working for the same boss?
kupicoo (iStock exclusive)
Squaredpixels  (iStock exclusive)
steex  (iStock exclusive)
annebaek  (iStock exclusive)
And of course we can't forget laflor  (iStock exclusive)
Among many others.

Sniff, sniff...  It smells fishy
***************************************
 

Quote from: lisafx on September 25, 2012, 11:27

Quote from: Drexxle on September 24, 2012, 10:06

We all browse through the libraries looking for things to copy, i mean inspire us.

Umm.  Actually, no, we don't all do that.

I usually take a look at the existing images AFTER I have come up with an idea, just to see how many similar images are already on sale, and I also want to find out how to make my images better than the existing ones.

Same here. I have really no shortage of Ideas. Just watch myself in daily life and I get plenty of them. Afterwards I may check the market.

... I don't want to find myself aping someone else's style and I don't want to feel I shouldn't do something just because someone else has done it.

I'm sorry but did you actually read my last post?
Speaking for myself, I check many other contributors portfolios to find holes and niches that aren't covered yet.

What I do look at from time to time is the overall quality of images in the niches I work in, since my aim is to be among the best at what I do.

This is my exact point! I am NOT looking what to copy, I'm looking for niches that are NOT covered yet and to check if my quality is up to par.

If you go and hunt for the stuff that hasn't been done, the chances are that it is in low demand, so you may make just as much or as little from high-demand done-to-death stuff or low-demand not-been-done-before stuff. ...

After many years in the advertising/photography/illustrating industry I kind of "got the hang of it." I'm not perfect and not every image I submit is #1 on each SS search. But I can say I have improved my work and how I approach my new productions. So far I'm satisfied with it. Your mileage may vary.

Doesn't the ratio of 20% of most people images earn 80% of their income still apply?

Again, I can't tell other people how to run their business, I can only speak for myself and express my point of view.

Due to time constraints I cannot attend large shoots therefore most of my images are limited to illustrations. In any case I never understood the concept of uploading 20 or more images from one shoot. It's like shooting birds with canon balls.

I submit few images that need to be commercially very attractive to rake in a minimum amount of money over their lifetime to make it worth my while.

However, Yuri has thousands (if not tens of thousands) of images with no or very few downloads. I understand that his best sellers pay for the shoot but only someone like him who produces a large stream of new content can afford to do that.

For 99% of microstockers, trying to copy the leaders is a waste of time. What they should be doing is learning about light. Without that, their efforts to mimic the masters are doomed.

I hope you didn't address me with this response as I never said anyone should copy someone elses work.

I said checking other peoples work is key because I need to make sure that the buyers will be happy with the quality of my work over the quality from other contributors.

It's called competition which brings out the best of us.

Car, food, electronics and more manufacturers, purchase the competition's products to analyze them and to make their own better. It happens all the time.

Yuri as 15.000 unsold photos on fotolia

He really ought to try harder

Yes, and that the market is oversaturated.

This was posted in another thread before but I think it's quite suitable here as well

Everything is a Remix Part 1: Watch It Now

Everything is a Remix Part 2

Everything is a Remix Part 3

Everything is a Remix Part 4

Quote from: Yuri_Arcurs on September 24, 2012, 05:18

Read this thread...

Correct me if i'm wrong but years ago Yuri has been accused from the start by RM photographers to do copycats of the best selling RM business and lifestyle images.

Really? I find that highly amusing as the total time I have spent in my entire life looking at "best selling RM image" is probably in the minuts. I don't even know where to go to find such images ranked by "best selling". How does one obtain this information MetaStocker? As far as I know RM is not even ranked by sales... Very strange comment.

Quote

For 99% of microstockers, trying to copy the leaders is a waste of time. What they should be doing is learning about light. Without that, their efforts to mimic the masters are doomed.

I hope you didn't address me with this response as I never said anyone should copy someone elses work.

No, it was just a general observation about the subject of the thread.

Quote from: Yuri_Arcurs on September 27, 2012, 12:15

Really? I find that highly amusing as the total time I have spent in my entire life looking at "best selling RM image" is probably in the minuts. I don't even know where to go to find such images ranked by "best selling". How does one obtain this information MetaStocker? As far as I know RM is not even ranked by sales... Very strange comment.

I don't know, maybe in their eyes you started copying stuff sold on Getty and other agencies and taking lots of inspiration from the top tier lifestyle photographers and they ended up claiming you were doing low cost copycats.

However, the outrage was much about doing copycats but rather about selling studio shoots for a pittance on micros.

In any case, i fully agree with them.

Really? Who exactly? Sources please (assuming that they exist, of course).

Everything's been done before. Yuri didn't invent it. Probably even the complaining RM shooters didn't invent it either.

Concepts cannot be copyrighted - get over it. Yes it pi##es you off the first 10 times but then you deal with it and move on.

If someone who shoots concepts with a specific style and succeeds it's not just the concept.

Anyone, try to reshoot Yuri's portfolio and see if you can match his downloads.

Again, there is a huge piece of the pie and we all can get some. Complaining about other contributors "ripping" ideas is not going to change anything but wasting time.
If they do it better then they deserve the downloads.

Otherwise go to the first guy who shot an apple over white and be grumpy with him.

Quote from: click_click on September 28, 2012, 12:12

Otherwise go to the first guy who shot an apple over white and be grumpy with him.

Someone called Samsung lost a recent court case for copying an apple.

Good one. 

I still want to know exactly what we are meant to be doing about this, since Yuri said we shouldn't tolerate it.

Any answers?