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Author Topic: Model on white background: still viable?  (Read 17132 times)

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« Reply #50 on: May 05, 2013, 19:12 »
0
95 very simple pictures done in 2 hours (shooting) with zero editing (model on white)

Revenue   $ 1555.28
Downloads   3177
Assets   95
Creation   Feb 15, 2011
Agency   Shutterstock
RPI/m   $ 0.59
RPI   $ 16.37
RPD   $ 0.49
STR   92%

can I add a ;) now?

Care to show us these images  ;)

not that hard to find ;)


« Reply #51 on: May 05, 2013, 20:39 »
0
You must have good looking model(s)  ;)

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #52 on: May 05, 2013, 21:54 »
0
man or woman?

I see lots of male pics...

« Reply #53 on: May 06, 2013, 04:34 »
+1
95 very simple pictures done in 2 hours (shooting) with zero editing (model on white)

Revenue   $ 1555.28
Downloads   3177
Assets   95
Creation   Feb 15, 2011
Agency   Shutterstock
RPI/m   $ 0.59
RPI   $ 16.37
RPD   $ 0.49
STR   92%

can I add a ;) now?

wow... you can fit 4 shoots like this in a single working day... and youre at it for more than 2 years...
you must be a millionaire by now  ;)

« Reply #54 on: May 06, 2013, 06:45 »
0
SS has sets, only have 1 with 95 files ;D

not a millionaire, where I am at this point I cannot shoot models but I believe we all know how good people sell

« Reply #55 on: May 06, 2013, 08:18 »
0
95 very simple pictures done in 2 hours (shooting) with zero editing (model on white)

95 images in 2 hours? That's almost 1 image per minute! wow! I want to be like you! I'm far from that and I have to do a lot of post afterwards.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #56 on: May 06, 2013, 21:41 »
-2
SS has sets, only have 1 with 95 files ;D

not a millionaire, where I am at this point I cannot shoot models but I believe we all know how good people sell

you could have just answered the question: that set is of a male model. different story.


« Reply #57 on: May 07, 2013, 19:49 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

« Reply #58 on: May 07, 2013, 20:44 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

Sounds like you need either assignment work shot for you or higher end RF / RM images. You won't find many microstock photographers who can create those kinds of images in bulk.

Poncke v2

« Reply #59 on: May 08, 2013, 02:16 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.
Maybe I have some stuff for you as I have people in real life situations, elder people, if you are interested to see my portfolio, let me know, and I'll PM you. I will also have the chance to shoot more stuff soon, a family on a camping site.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #60 on: May 08, 2013, 03:59 »
0
if only my olds had "the look". I tried some shots last time we were all together, with their new caravan no less, but it just wasn't good enough.

Poncke v2

« Reply #61 on: May 08, 2013, 04:15 »
0
My dad is doing well as model. I just took photos of him when he was busy around the house, the images do well.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #62 on: May 08, 2013, 05:39 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

Sounds like you need either assignment work shot for you or higher end RF / RM images. You won't find many microstock photographers who can create those kinds of images in bulk.
Or who would be willing to produce them for micro, given their limited sales potential.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #63 on: May 09, 2013, 02:18 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

Stocksy...?
 ;D

« Reply #64 on: May 17, 2013, 17:20 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

I thought of this thread today as I was searching SS/Canstock for some realistic photos of a business meeting and all I could find in the first 5 pages were with a white background and people looking fake and smiling at the camera. So I wanted to chime in PLEASE no more isolated on white photos!! I'm sure people use them but the market is over saturated with them. I agree with fiftyfootelvis - I'm always looking for  candid photos of people in realistic situations and backgrounds for my graphic projects. I do a lot of non-profit work and that's the worst because it's hard to find 'real' looking diverse people to fit the not-happy-shiny-smiling content I'm designing for.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #65 on: May 17, 2013, 17:59 »
+1
@ID, they would be in the first pages, because that's what apparently sells.
So perhaps look at less popular images (way down the page numbers).
But that's also why you don't find many. At micro prices it isn't worth the expense of setting up the sort of images that don't sell in big numbers.
If working with charities/non-profits, isn't it better to use their own staff in the images anyway? - far more credible than stock photos.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #66 on: May 17, 2013, 18:29 »
0
I buy a lot of lifestyle stock and I rarely use models isolated on white. What I am always looking for are natural looking people, not posing, not looking at the camera. I want to see an instant of real life captured. I want great lighting, and artistic flair. As the boomers age, there is definitely a growing market for good looking, active older people. Shopping, golfing, eating, drinking, biking... It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

I thought of this thread today as I was searching SS/Canstock for some realistic photos of a business meeting and all I could find in the first 5 pages were with a white background and people looking fake and smiling at the camera. So I wanted to chime in PLEASE no more isolated on white photos!! I'm sure people use them but the market is over saturated with them. I agree with fiftyfootelvis - I'm always looking for  candid photos of people in realistic situations and backgrounds for my graphic projects. I do a lot of non-profit work and that's the worst because it's hard to find 'real' looking diverse people to fit the not-happy-shiny-smiling content I'm designing for.

did you have a look at Stocksy? I know they've done a big push this month to add business and office images in. Absolutely no cheery people on white, they won't accept those images.


« Reply #67 on: May 19, 2013, 01:40 »
+1
@ SS, yeah, I always forget to check how the search comes up - popular, relevant, etc. I will start my searches from the last page now and look at the older photos.

This project wasn't for a nonprofit, it was corporate but even then I prefer photos with realistic backgrounds. For nonprofits, they never want to use their own staff and rarely have good hi res photos of their population so I have to use stock most of the time.

@gillian - totally forgot about stocksy since I never received anything when I signed up for more info. now that they have launched i will see what they have. thanks!

« Reply #68 on: May 19, 2013, 04:23 »
-2
It sounds cliche, but I need those images all the time, and most of what is available is awful.

try Alamy RM, a recent sale i made was about an asian granny grilling chicken legs on the street and smiling at me with a few missing teeth, more than 100$ net for me, RM licence, you won't find such "obscure" and 100% realistic subjects on micros :)

« Last Edit: May 19, 2013, 04:26 by Xanox »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #69 on: May 19, 2013, 04:40 »
0
For nonprofits, they never want to use their own staff and rarely have good hi res photos of their population so I have to use stock most of the time.
More and more I'm seeing the total difference in culture between the US and here. Whereas I can't find any local person who will model for stock, even on MM and PS, I've never found anyone working for or volunteering for a charity to be reluctant to have their photo appear in the charity's collateral. I must have upwards of 20 newsletters of different groups coming in, and they inevitably use photos of their own people and work. (Occasionally they might use a stock photo of a location or species in the case of wildlife charities, but never people.) I photographed a big charity event at the end of last year, with hundreds of participants, who obviously had to be given the right to opt out of publicity photographs. I was a bit concerned about that, because in group scenes, it would be difficult to remember who couldn't be used, especially as I knew none of them. However, not one opted out.

As an end user of these newsletters, I certainly don't want to see random photos of irrelevant people. I'd rather see no photos than that. I want to see the people and/or the projects. Reality is far more important than hi-res or high production values.

But clearly, it is just a totally, totally different culture and expectation. Over here, at the AGM, supporters would question why money was being spend on stock photos!

I hope you find what you want.  :)

« Reply #70 on: May 19, 2013, 05:07 »
-2
I thought of this thread today as I was searching SS/Canstock for some realistic photos of a business meeting and all I could find in the first 5 pages were with a white background and people looking fake and smiling at the camera. So I wanted to chime in PLEASE no more isolated on white photos!! I'm sure people use them but the market is over saturated with them. I agree with fiftyfootelvis - I'm always looking for  candid photos of people in realistic situations and backgrounds for my graphic projects. I do a lot of non-profit work and that's the worst because it's hard to find 'real' looking diverse people to fit the not-happy-shiny-smiling content I'm designing for.

try Flickr, Instagram, 500px, they're a goldmine and most of them will give away the pics for free.

problem is, it's gonna take a long time to find the diamonds in the rough, hours, or whole days as the images are not properly keyworded ... and of course they dont have any model release so it's a gray area in case you need it for advertising or commercial use and the risk is all yours.




« Reply #71 on: May 20, 2013, 03:14 »
0
For nonprofits, they never want to use their own staff and rarely have good hi res photos of their population so I have to use stock most of the time.
More and more I'm seeing the total difference in culture between the US and here. Whereas I can't find any local person who will model for stock, even on MM and PS, I've never found anyone working for or volunteering for a charity to be reluctant to have their photo appear in the charity's collateral. I must have upwards of 20 newsletters of different groups coming in, and they inevitably use photos of their own people and work. (Occasionally they might use a stock photo of a location or species in the case of wildlife charities, but never people.) I photographed a big charity event at the end of last year, with hundreds of participants, who obviously had to be given the right to opt out of publicity photographs. I was a bit concerned about that, because in group scenes, it would be difficult to remember who couldn't be used, especially as I knew none of them. However, not one opted out.

As an end user of these newsletters, I certainly don't want to see random photos of irrelevant people. I'd rather see no photos than that. I want to see the people and/or the projects. Reality is far more important than hi-res or high production values.

But clearly, it is just a totally, totally different culture and expectation. Over here, at the AGM, supporters would question why money was being spend on stock photos!

I hope you find what you want.  :)



@SS - Well you actually hit on something I've been thinking about. Since I'm really tired of not quickly finding the images I continually need to use and finding other designers that have the same issue, I'm doing research about the viability of jumping in the microstock pool and starting my own agency focused on these kind of images. I have some ideas for unique selling points that I know no other agencies are doing know it's crazy to start anything with the industry the way it is but I believe there is a huge need for images the other agencies don't/won't sell.

So I will eventually find what I want, even if it's a few years away. But until then thank you, I hope I do too! :)

@Xanox - nah those sites aren't worth the time. I spend enough hours searching through the pro photos, I'm not wasting any more on free ones. But thanks! :)

« Reply #72 on: May 20, 2013, 05:40 »
0
@SS - Well you actually hit on something I've been thinking about. Since I'm really tired of not quickly finding the images I continually need to use and finding other designers that have the same issue, I'm doing research about the viability of jumping in the microstock pool and starting my own agency focused on these kind of images. I have some ideas for unique selling points that I know no other agencies are doing know it's crazy to start anything with the industry the way it is but I believe there is a huge need for images the other agencies don't/won't sell.

You're not going to be able to gather together large multi-ethnic groups of paid models and really make it viable for microstock.  The party you shot likely did not even put up a sign or ask people if they cared to be in images - true "publicity" images could be used editorially to show off the event.  No release needed.  You might even be able to get away with putting them in a brochure.  Unless you're saying they did ask them - it's hard to tell from your post.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #73 on: May 20, 2013, 05:55 »
0
@SS - Well you actually hit on something I've been thinking about. Since I'm really tired of not quickly finding the images I continually need to use and finding other designers that have the same issue, I'm doing research about the viability of jumping in the microstock pool and starting my own agency focused on these kind of images. I have some ideas for unique selling points that I know no other agencies are doing know it's crazy to start anything with the industry the way it is but I believe there is a huge need for images the other agencies don't/won't sell.

You're not going to be able to gather together large multi-ethnic groups of paid models and really make it viable for microstock.  The party you shot likely did not even put up a sign or ask people if they cared to be in images - true "publicity" images could be used editorially to show off the event.  No release needed.  You might even be able to get away with putting them in a brochure.  Unless you're saying they did ask them - it's hard to tell from your post.

I think you're mixing up her post with the event I spoke of. Obviously when participants signed up they had to indicate if they were not willing to have their photo used for the charity's publicity (by default, consent is assumed with an opt-out ticky-box, but I bet that reverses in the next few years), and there were signs on site on the night in case they'd changed their mind. This has been the case in all organised events here (in Scotland, I don't know about the rest of the UK), charity or otherwise for a few years now.

The non-ticked sign-up seems to cover the organisers for their own non-editorial use, e.g. promoting future events on their website/posters/adverts. In fact, that must be the only reason for the opt-out, as the photos could be used editorially in any case, as long as the event was held in a public place. At the festivals held in public parks in Glasgow (council-run or council-supported), a notice is put up at each of the entrances so that random joggers, (dog-)walkers etc not participating in the event can be informed of the photography with a polite suggestion to the effect that if they are not willing to be incidentally in the background of an event photo, they might like to walk/jog elsewhere, or else they have to 'inform a steward' (who will thereby have to cover them with a cloak of invisibility, presumably).

I do definitely agree that ID would find it difficult to run sustainably an agency supplying the sort of images she wants for clients with a limited budget. I also agree that the sort of images she wants aren't available, although there is a definite demand for them; but the reason is financial unviability.
« Last Edit: May 20, 2013, 06:19 by ShadySue »

« Reply #74 on: May 20, 2013, 05:59 »
0
I totally misquoted that.  Sorry!


 

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