Hi guys,

If you had to make a bet on how much my 7,000 file (video) portfolio could earn at one top agency (let's say SS) in one average month, what would it be?

I uploaded my video portfolio only a few months ago so I presume its much too early to tell, but in one year from now, what would you guesstimate my current portfolio to be worth? Would it be too hopeful to expect an average income of $1 per video clip per month?

If you could spare 60 seconds or so to quickly browse my portfolio I would be very grateful:

www.shutterstock.com/video/gallery/MotionWorksFilmStudio-4312687/?contributor=MotionWorksFilmStudio&page=1&perpage=100&sort=random&translation_method=service&use_local_boost=0&lang=en

All of my clips are 4k, most are aerials, many have male/female models (with releases) and they were all shot on the paradise islands of the Maldives.

Please be brutally honest guys - what will the portfolio be worth when it has been online and in the SS search engine for 12 months?

Go on please, hazard an educated guess, hit me with a number you feel is a good bet.

Please kindly place your vote at the top of this page.

Thanks guys much appreciated.

BadCompany: Thanks. So you think maybe less than 50 cents per clip per month. Is that about average then for an average portfolio?

BadCompany: Got it. Thanks

Anyone else?

Brightontl: No problem, thank you for your honest answer. Yes I live in the Maldives and am lucky enough to shoot here every day. It's true all my clips are the same theme (beach/sea/sand/islands etc) so I tried to shoot every clip differently, from different locations, with different subjects in different light etc. So what do you think? Only a couple of hundred dollars a month due to the repetition?

BadCompany: Yes that will be done soon when I next work with some models. But for now I am just looking at a value for my current portfolio. Kind of doing some calculations for my future plans Thanks for the input.

BadCompany: Now that is something I enjoy hearing...

I would think if you have already had them up for a few months you should already have some idea of what your income is or would be?

Great portfolio, congrats! Could tell us a little bit about your equipment, camera, lenses etc? Keep up the good work!

7000++ beach theme clips looks similar..
i'm pretty sure you earn less than $1000/month for now
you need more diversify, not just playing around the beach

Beautiful clips!  You know what you're doing, but all in the same category which isn't good for sales, I think.

I would say between 0 and 100k$ per month.
Seriously, how can we predict this ??

An even better question, why would we care?

Uploading so many similar clips might even hurt your sales because no single clip is going to get many sales and rise up in the search results.

Precisely! Duplicates/similars only hurt your sales and is really bad for SEO.

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for your votes, and interesting comments - I will address them all:

Brightontl: "Try by all means to diversify, maybe some shoots inside, at home, by the BBQ, in a garden......I really believe that uploading to many duplicates of the same topic can bring you to the bottom of the search. BTW, this would be a very interesting topic of discussion, after all, understanding how the search engines work is the key to be successful in this game"

- Yes I know I need more diversity, and that is something I will work on next. Especially lifestyle shots with young couples being romantic on the beach etc. No gardens here by the way...lol But yes, of course it is a pleasure to shoot here. The light, scenery and wildlife here is a photographer's dream. With respect to duplicates taking you to the bottom of the search engine - really? This doesn't seem logical. You are right - this is a very interesting topic of conversation for the forum, very important - I am not sure what the problem is with the user cathyslife, but of course there is always at least one fool in the room...


wds: "I would think if you have already had them up for a few months you should already have some idea of what your income is or would be?..."

- Sure but I believe a couple of months is not enough time to judge, as most portfolios usually start earning at a decent level after maybe 6-12 months?


increasingdifficulty: "What do you make right now? Duplicates/similars only hurt your sales and is really bad for SEO..."

- The first couple of months only around $500, so hoping for much more than that in 12 months from now. I don't have any duplicates - I have many of similar theme. Surely having many clips, all with good metadata, is better for sales than a few? Think about this - if someone types 'white sandy beach' into the search engine, and almost all the results on the page are my clips, I'm going to have much better chance of selling than if there were only 1 of my clips in the search results. Unless I am missing something?


Vlad: "Great portfolio, congrats! Could tell us a little bit about your equipment, camera, lenses etc? Keep up the good work!"

- Thanks mate, mainly Canon DSLR's/DJI Phantom/Mavic/Osmo - whatever equipment best suits the shot.


akaza: "i'm pretty sure you earn less than $1000/month for now..."

- You are right, I do earn less than 1k...NOW. I am interested in people's opinions as to what the portfolio will be worth after 12 months.


jonbull: "personally if you do 600 700 dollar is good..."

- Thanks for the guess...of course I will surely prove that amount wrong if I am already doing $500 after 2 months


helloitsme: "Beautiful clips!  You know what you're doing, but all in the same category which isn't good for sales, I think..."

- I don't know - what is wrong with the idea of me saturating a niche? Very few people shoot 4K footage in the Maldives - why not monopolise it?


Thomas From France: "I would say between 0 and 100k$ per month...Seriously, how can we predict this ??"

- By using your own experience, and simple arithmetic - I was asking for a guess, not a precise figure, and most people here with a portfolio have a rough idea at the least.


cathyslife: "An even better question, why would we care?"

- Thanks for your input - so constructive, helpful and intelligent... My question is very important and probably on every photographer's mind when they start selling in microstock. If you don't have anything to contribute...


ForrestBrown: "I uploaded 3000 really diverse high quality clips to Shutterstock almost exactly a year ago and I average a bit over $1000 each month..."

- Thanks for that, it gives me a clue - I can work with those numbers. $0.33 per clip per month. So mine would probably be less than that due to lack of diversity. Or could be much higher due to my niche. Interesting. Thanks.


So thanks for that guys, would love to hear further opinions and numbers

Cheers