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Author Topic: it's possible to live only selling photos in microstock site?  (Read 51589 times)

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« Reply #125 on: October 13, 2017, 05:19 »
0
These countries have human beings, dont they?

Taking pictures of elderly people moving around, being helped or cared for by family, young people repairing cars or working in construction, families cooking together.

And you can do it in local clothes, or get a T-shirt and old jeans (not very expensive in these countries)...and voila...many scenes can be created in a generic way for the world market.

Sports, yoga, body weight exercises...looking after pets,taking care of the farm...environmental issues, global warming, pollution in cities...

Women starting a small business and families working together with their business. All kinds of images of children in learning situations.

And of course there are probably a million recipes waiting, travel locations, young people working on computers...I mean you need to have a computer and an internet connection, so there is already a certain selection going on.

There is a strong demand for localised content from all parts of the world.

There are thousands of artists from these countries already uploading really excellent stock.

the biggest barrier is internet access, but with mobile phones going everywhere, I am sure there will soon be hundreds of thousands joining the stock race.
Which is what I've been trying. However people here are very camera shy or hostile. Even normal street photography focusing on some people is met with anger. Heaven forbid if you look like you are trying to shoot a girl

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« Reply #126 on: October 13, 2017, 06:51 »
0
I sell mostly wildlife and nature clips/images. There should be plenty of that around, right?

« Reply #127 on: October 13, 2017, 06:51 »
0
The niche stuff from here sells well though but there are hardly any buyers.

What does this mean? How can it sell well without buyers?

« Reply #128 on: October 13, 2017, 07:11 »
0
These countries have human beings, dont they?

Taking pictures of elderly people moving around, being helped or cared for by family, young people repairing cars or working in construction, families cooking together.

And you can do it in local clothes, or get a T-shirt and old jeans (not very expensive in these countries)...and voila...many scenes can be created in a generic way for the world market.

Sports, yoga, body weight exercises...looking after pets,taking care of the farm...environmental issues, global warming, pollution in cities...

Women starting a small business and families working together with their business. All kinds of images of children in learning situations.

And of course there are probably a million recipes waiting, travel locations, young people working on computers...I mean you need to have a computer and an internet connection, so there is already a certain selection going on.

There is a strong demand for localised content from all parts of the world.

There are thousands of artists from these countries already uploading really excellent stock.

the biggest barrier is internet access, but with mobile phones going everywhere, I am sure there will soon be hundreds of thousands joining the stock race.
Which is what I've been trying. However people here are very camera shy or hostile. Even normal street photography focusing on some people is met with anger. Heaven forbid if you look like you are trying to shoot a girl

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I think the suggestions refer to working with paid models in staged set ups.  Street photography of people can only be used as editorial. 


« Reply #129 on: October 14, 2017, 23:03 »
0
Yet to venture into the paid models and proper setup shots territory. Have been trying editorial for a year now. My local shots do well compared to the rest of my portfolio (which is a very low benchmark itself). Definitely does better than the typical on white type pics I've managed to create. The idea is that its nowhere close to the $500-$1000 a month that you would need to live only off stock photography in a place like india.

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« Reply #130 on: October 18, 2017, 03:16 »
+1
Somethings never change. In twenty years people will still be asking can you make a living from full-time microstock. I did for 10 years but I regret it now. Friends of mine, spent their last ten years building real businesses and they making good money, as in millions. All I have to show for 10 years is a few dollars per day which pays for my adobe subscription. Build a real business that people around you want/need.

« Reply #131 on: October 18, 2017, 03:22 »
0
Build a real business that people around you want/need.

And how many "real" businesses do you think succeed?

How many failed clothing brands do you think there are for each GAP?

« Reply #132 on: October 18, 2017, 03:26 »
0
Build a real business that people around you want/need.

And how many "real" businesses do you think succeed?

How many failed clothing brands do you think there are for each GAP?
A lot... I think Restaurants are the biggest category for failure....In the UK at the moment they are opening at an exponential rate....and most of them second rate chill cook chains with pretend "exotic" food. Making money at any business is hard.

« Reply #133 on: October 18, 2017, 03:30 »
+1
Exactly. Your friends could have been Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That doesn't mean you would be a billionaire if you had started a similar company...

People still make good money selling stock. But of course not everyone, why do people expect that? If you want a job with equal pay go get a standard office job.

Doing your own thing means the upside is enormous, and the downside is 0 (or less).

It's reasonable to believe that working from home is something a lot of people would like, and photography is one of the top interests people in the world have. You don't have to be a nobel prize winner to figure out that the competition will be pretty significant, especially today when the barrier to entry is low.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 03:35 by increasingdifficulty »

« Reply #134 on: October 18, 2017, 04:47 »
+1
Build a real business that people around you want/need.

And how many "real" businesses do you think succeed?

How many failed clothing brands do you think there are for each GAP?

Lots of real business succeed every year.

« Reply #135 on: October 18, 2017, 04:51 »
0
Build a real business that people around you want/need.

And how many "real" businesses do you think succeed?

How many failed clothing brands do you think there are for each GAP?

Lots of real business succeed every year.

Yes. But that's not an answer to my question. How many business do you think fail for each success?

I can give you the answer: Thousands and thousands.

« Reply #136 on: October 18, 2017, 04:55 »
+3
Exactly. Your friends could have been Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. That doesn't mean you would be a billionaire if you had started a similar company...

People still make good money selling stock. But of course not everyone, why do people expect that? If you want a job with equal pay go get a standard office job.

Doing your own thing means the upside is enormous, and the downside is 0 (or less).

It's reasonable to believe that working from home is something a lot of people would like, and photography is one of the top interests people in the world have. You don't have to be a nobel prize winner to figure out that the competition will be pretty significant, especially today when the barrier to entry is low.

I enjoyed working from home and producing stock images but now I have very little to show for it because of oversupply. I uploaded around 10K of images over 9 years and then one company from china uploaded 100K to IS in one year. Another upload 30K to IS and that's just the ones i know about. Whereas my friend who has over 20 year experience in building project management landed 5 mill of work in the first few months of this year. He's been running his own company for less than 10 years. Face it, stock art is very close to the bottom of the financial totem pole.

« Reply #137 on: October 18, 2017, 04:58 »
+1
Build a real business that people around you want/need.

And how many "real" businesses do you think succeed?

How many failed clothing brands do you think there are for each GAP?

Lots of real business succeed every year.

Yes. But that's not an answer to my question. How many business do you think fail for each success?

I can give you the answer: Thousands and thousands.

Man, you've talked me into staying with stock! Just got to work out how I'm going to invest the $8 I made today.

« Reply #138 on: October 18, 2017, 04:58 »
0
Whereas my friend who has over 20 year experience in building project management landed 5 mill of work in the first few months of this year. He's been running his own company for less than 10 years. Face it, stock art is very close to the bottom of the financial totem pole.

Start your own building project management company then and see how easy it is.

« Reply #139 on: October 18, 2017, 05:01 »
+1
Man, you've talked me into staying with stock! Just got to work out how I'm going to invest the $8 I made today.

I didn't say you should stick with it. If you have 10,000 images and make $8 per day that might be a strong indication you might not be producing what people want to buy.

10,000 images could yield $0 per month.
10,000 images could also yield $10,000 per month.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 05:03 by increasingdifficulty »

« Reply #140 on: October 18, 2017, 05:06 »
+1
Man, you've talked me into staying with stock! Just got to work out how I'm going to invest the $8 I made today.

I didn't say you should stick with it. If you have 10,000 images and make $8 per day that might be a strong indication you might not be producing what people want to buy.

10,000 images could yield $0 per month.
10,000 images could also yield $10,000 per month.

I was on the first page of IS top contributors for many years. It's just that I now get 23 cents to $1 per sale. Whereas we used to get between $5 to $13 per sale and we had a lot more sales due to less competition.

« Reply #141 on: October 18, 2017, 05:08 »
0
I was on the first page of IS top contributors for many years. It's just that I now get 23 cents to $1 per sale. Whereas we used to get between $5 to $13 per sale and we had a lot more sales due to less competition.

Yes, there is more competition. Surprised? That means you have to be better and work harder. Evidently, some people do just that and make good money.

Again, the barrier to entry is low. Start your own construction company and see how low the barrier to entry is.  ;)


Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #142 on: October 18, 2017, 05:16 »
0
Quote
Again, the barrier to entry is low. Start your own construction company and see how low the barrier to entry is.  ;)

I'll throw in my microstock 2 cents.

Indeed, this industry's barrier to entry is low and investments are relatively small (money-wise but time-wise can be substantial).

The way I look at it it's small investment and small reward. Other start-ups require substantial investment, which can have a big up-side but huge risks. What are the risks of putting 5,000 images on micros over 2 years and not meeting expectations? Surely they'll still earn a little bit and then can go off to do something else which pays better or is more rewarding.

We like to hear about success stories but as someone else mentioned above, for every success story there are 1000 failures. Look at the World Series of Poker final event...15,000 entries which means 14,000 of those are failures and will lose their initial investment of $10,000. Even within those 1,000 the big prizes are highly skewed towards the top 50.

SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #143 on: October 18, 2017, 05:30 »
+2
Whereas my friend who has over 20 year experience in building project management landed 5 mill of work in the first few months of this year.

Deciding that you should have spent the last year building a successful business is a lot different from actually spending the last year building a successful business. There's a lot more to it than that.

Everyone knows they should have invented (insert popular product here) but they didn't, unfortunately. Having a friend that has set up a successful business makes you no more qualified to actually set up a successful business, than anyone else in this forum... with the exception of maybe having a bit of a mentor and maybe some connections. Just saying that you should have set up a business doesn't mean it would have worked. I should have set up Amazon, but I was busy doing not much.

There's no point regretting something that you didn't do which could have just as easily ended in heartache and financial ruin as it would success... and be happy in the knowledge that you at least managed to do something that provided you with a living for the last ten years. But if you want to head off and set up your successful business now... then go for it! I will wish you well and look forward to seeing your name in lights!

« Reply #144 on: October 18, 2017, 05:31 »
0
Quote
Again, the barrier to entry is low. Start your own construction company and see how low the barrier to entry is.  ;)

I'll throw in my microstock 2 cents.

Indeed, this industry's barrier to entry is low and investments are relatively small (money-wise but time-wise can be substantial).

The way I look at it it's small investment and small reward. Other start-ups require substantial investment, which can have a big up-side but huge risks. What are the risks of putting 5,000 images on micros over 2 years and not meeting expectations? Surely they'll still earn a little bit and then can go off to do something else which pays better or is more rewarding.

We like to hear about success stories but as someone else mentioned above, for every success story there are 1000 failures. Look at the World Series of Poker final event...15,000 entries which means 14,000 of those are failures and will lose their initial investment of $10,000. Even within those 1,000 the big prizes are highly skewed towards the top 50.
Correct ;-). Unless you start investing in studios paying lots of models flying to expensive locations etc. What I do now only costs my time as I'd have the equipment anyway.

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #145 on: October 18, 2017, 05:37 »
+1
Quote
Unless you start investing in studios paying lots of models flying to expensive locations etc.

Absolutely.

Pay models? No, I'll ask friends and family
Flying to expensive locations? Sure, I'll go because I love travelling for personal reasons.  I'll take advantage to take some shots, who knows maybe I'll pay for the holiday with the returns.
Investing in studios? There's some really affordable second-hand lighting equipment and inexpensive lightboxes. In my case it's 99% natural light.

Keeping costs low for low expected returns is the name of the game in this business. Look at the Shutterstock Custom...do they really expect us to invest a lot to get $15/image to give away our copyright  ???

Yuri Arcus saw the the writing on the wall in 2013 when he wrote this:

Quote
Sometimes it felt like having a michelin restaurant inside a burger joint and at the same time having to match the prices. At some point the professional gets tired of selling 12 course testing menues at 0300AM at burger prices.


« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 05:43 by Brasilnut »

« Reply #146 on: October 18, 2017, 05:47 »
0
Quote
Unless you start investing in studios paying lots of models flying to expensive locations etc.

Absolutely.

Pay models? No, I'll ask friends and family
Flying to expensive locations? Sure, I'll go because I love travelling for personal reasons.  I'll take advantage to take some shots, who knows maybe I'll pay for the holiday with the returns.
Investing in studios? There's some really affordable second-hand lighting equipment and inexpensive lightboxes. In my case it's 99% natural light.

Keeping costs low for low expected returns is the name of the game in this business. Look at the Shutterstock Custom...do they really expect us to invest a lot to get $15/image to give away our copyright  ???

Yuri Arcus saw the the writing on the wall in 2013 when he wrote this:

Quote
Sometimes it felt like having a michelin restaurant inside a burger joint and at the same time having to match the prices. At some point the professional gets tired of selling 12 course testing menues at 0300AM at burger prices.
I did shoot models for a while ...much cheaper to hire a studio with much better equipment.

« Reply #147 on: October 18, 2017, 06:18 »
0
I was on the first page of IS top contributors for many years. It's just that I now get 23 cents to $1 per sale. Whereas we used to get between $5 to $13 per sale and we had a lot more sales due to less competition.

Yes, there is more competition. Surprised? That means you have to be better and work harder. Evidently, some people do just that and make good money.

Again, the barrier to entry is low. Start your own construction company and see how low the barrier to entry is.  ;)

My family are all in construction. I'm the only one who went into art. I'm working with them at the moment on a spec house.

« Reply #148 on: October 18, 2017, 06:24 »
0
Whereas my friend who has over 20 year experience in building project management landed 5 mill of work in the first few months of this year.

Deciding that you should have spent the last year building a successful business is a lot different from actually spending the last year building a successful business. There's a lot more to it than that.

Everyone knows they should have invented (insert popular product here) but they didn't, unfortunately. Having a friend that has set up a successful business makes you no more qualified to actually set up a successful business, than anyone else in this forum... with the exception of maybe having a bit of a mentor and maybe some connections. Just saying that you should have set up a business doesn't mean it would have worked. I should have set up Amazon, but I was busy doing not much.

There's no point regretting something that you didn't do which could have just as easily ended in heartache and financial ruin as it would success... and be happy in the knowledge that you at least managed to do something that provided you with a living for the last ten years. But if you want to head off and set up your successful business now... then go for it! I will wish you well and look forward to seeing your name in lights!

Can you send me a link to your stock footage? Thanks.

« Reply #149 on: October 18, 2017, 06:25 »
0
Can you send me a link to your stock footage? Thanks.

They're at the bottom of his posts.


 

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