Author Topic: New guide for beginners - "Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography" (Read 42965 times)

Brasilnut · « **Reply #50 on:** June 16, 2017, 16:34 »

I just published a list of my top 5 best selling photos at Shutterstock

http://wp.me/p8yHUo-fz

steheap · « **Reply #51 on:** June 16, 2017, 16:58 »

Great shots and interesting to hear about why they are successful!

Steve

Brasilnut · « **Reply #52 on:** June 17, 2017, 01:54 »

Quote

Great shots and interesting to hear about why they are successful!

Thanks Steve

It's a good lesson for newbies to focus on which types of premium images tend to do well and simply produce more of them.

I don't know if it's the same with your portfolio but those 5 images alone (and similars) make up something like half of my revenue at SS.

steheap · « **Reply #53 on:** June 17, 2017, 10:35 »

My best seller is a cat. $2560 on Shutterstock and just $2.91 on BigStock. Go figure...

The power of getting onto the first page in the search results I guess.

Steve

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #54 on:** June 17, 2017, 10:51 »

I do like a good cat.

steheap · « **Reply #55 on:** June 17, 2017, 11:20 »

Especially a good earning cat...

Brasilnut · « **Reply #56 on:** June 17, 2017, 11:28 »

Oh looks like he's got a friend now...

http://www.dinamys-sas.com/a55_rium%C3%AC.html

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #57 on:** June 17, 2017, 12:02 »

I do like a dog as well. Probably a bit more than cats.

dpimborough · « **Reply #58 on:** June 17, 2017, 15:13 »

Cats are much better than dogs

Brasilnut · « **Reply #59 on:** June 18, 2017, 17:44 »

Short article on why images with people tend to sell better:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/why-images-with-people-tend-to-sell-better/

ShadySue · « **Reply #60 on:** June 18, 2017, 20:55 »

Quote from: Brasilnut on June 18, 2017, 17:44

Short article on why images with people tend to sell better:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/why-images-with-people-tend-to-sell-better/

In your pics of the cropped people making rugs, didn't the rugs need property releases? I'd have expected the first pic also to require a MR, because of the recogniseable hoodie.

Brasilnut · « **Reply #61 on:** June 19, 2017, 01:32 »

Quote

In your pics of the cropped people making rugs, didn't the rugs need property releases? I'd have expected the first pic also to require a MR, because of the recogniseable hoodie.

Fortunately, the reviewer didn't have any issues and those two images were accepted commercially. However, from time to time similar commercial submissions are rejected for lack of a MR/PR. Then have to think about whether it may be submitted as an editorial and if not, just move on.

ShadySue · « **Reply #62 on:** June 19, 2017, 02:35 »

Quote from: Brasilnut on June 19, 2017, 01:32

Quote
In your pics of the cropped people making rugs, didn't the rugs need property releases? I'd have expected the first pic also to require a MR, because of the recogniseable hoodie.

Fortunately, the reviewer didn't have any issues and those two images were accepted commercially. However, from time to time similar commercial submissions are rejected for lack of a MR. Then have to think about whether it may be submitted as an editorial and if not, just move on.

It would never have occurred to me that the rugs wouldn't need PRs.

steheap · « **Reply #63 on:** June 19, 2017, 09:22 »

The crazy thing with all this is that everything around us has been designed by someone and so they own the rights to it. All the agencies are trying to do is to minimize the chance of a problem and so brands with a well known desire to control their publicity are weeded out, the artisan maker of a rug is so unlikely to complain about the use of their image that they will leave them in. Whatever the law actually says about these things is secondary to the desire of the agencies to protect themselves against the smallest risk.

Steve

ShadySue · « **Reply #64 on:** June 19, 2017, 09:50 »

No, they want to protect themselves from the largest risk. For sure on Alamy I'd say 'needs PR' and 'no PR'; but as any tiny part of a person needs an MR on Alamy, for these pics lack of a PR is moot anyway.

Nastasiy · « **Reply #65 on:** June 20, 2017, 03:59 »

Is instagram not popular anymore? Usually my friends upload their perfect pictures on Instagram and kill of the ghosts with help of newbielink:https://spamguardapp.com/dashboard [nonactive] , stocks often make lesser coins than IG, so I can't understand it.

Brasilnut · « **Reply #66 on:** June 20, 2017, 04:19 »

Quote

Is instagram not popular anymore? Usually my friends upload their perfect pictures on Instagram and kill of the ghosts with help of newbielink:https://spamguardapp.com/dashboard [nonactive], stocks often make lesser coins than IG, so I can't understand it.

Yea, instagram is huge! It's more about building your professional profile and networking. There's some really talented people on there so a nice place to get some inspiration (avoid the narcissists).

Brasilnut · « **Reply #67 on:** June 22, 2017, 08:07 »

Hey fellow photography grinders,

I've decided to share the love and I've put together a new offer, which lasts until the 30th of June. Thereafter, I'm off to the beach.

So here it is: Buy a copy of my book and I'll critique 5 of your stock images. I'll advise you:

- whether they have commercial value;
- how to improve them technically;
- on which agencies I would recommend to submit; and
- even which key words to use to make sure buyers find your image among the masses.

Visit my blog for more details at www.brutallyhonestmicrostock.com

Thanks

Alex

Brasilnut · « **Reply #68 on:** June 24, 2017, 05:09 »

Anybody here have much luck with photography competitions? I'm trying for the Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: Here's my latest post:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2017/06/24/travel-photographer-of-the-year-2017-my-entry-wish-me-luck/

Good luck!

Pauws99 · « **Reply #69 on:** June 24, 2017, 05:23 »

Quote from: Brasilnut on June 24, 2017, 05:09

Anybody here have much luck with photography competitions? I'm trying for the Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: Here's my latest post:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2017/06/24/travel-photographer-of-the-year-2017-my-entry-wish-me-luck/

Good luck!

Read the T &Cs carefully

Brasilnut · « **Reply #70 on:** June 24, 2017, 05:34 »

Quote

Read the T &Cs carefully

Good point. I've made a link of the T&Cs available on the blog post.

steheap · « **Reply #71 on:** June 24, 2017, 09:21 »

There is a great section on "selecting your images" which should give us all something to think about in terms of what makes a great photograph:
http://www.tpoty.com/awards/selecting

Steve

Pauws99 · « **Reply #72 on:** June 24, 2017, 09:26 »

Quote from: steheap on June 24, 2017, 09:21

There is a great section on "selecting your images" which should give us all something to think about in terms of what makes a great photograph:
http://www.tpoty.com/awards/selecting

Steve

Yes I might turn it into a checklist and pin it on the wall apart from "subtlety" no $$ for that on Mstock in my experience ;-)

Brasilnut · « **Reply #73 on:** June 25, 2017, 15:59 »

Here's a quirky article I just put together from a photo shoot I did today on deciding whether images should go to Micros (RF) or Midstock (RM):

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2017/06/25/shots-of-the-italian-alps-from-today-which-will-go-as-rf-and-which-as-rm/

Hope you enjoy!

Brasilnut · « **Reply #74 on:** June 29, 2017, 14:40 »

Exciting news!

Veteran stock photographer, Steve Heap and I have teamed up. We are offering both my Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography and Steve's Getting Started in Stock (4th edition) for a bundle price of $10.99, a discount of almost $5 from purchasing them separately.

Our respective books complement each other nicely as I took a broader view, discussing the various agencies out there, photographic technical elements and opportunities outside of microstock using the skills gained from being a stock contributor. Steve’s approach was to focus less on the market and the photographic skills needed and put much more detail around the “OK, so how do I do it?” question, with chapters about how to work with each agency, a workflow for handling all the images, sections on keywords and keywording tips and so on.

You can purchase this bundle either on my site at: https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2017/06/04/new-guide-for-beginners-brutally-honest-guide-to-microstock-photography/

Or at Steve's site: http://www.backyardsilver.com/stock_photography_ebook/

Quote

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed - Napoleon Hill

Good luck

Alex & Steve

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Author Topic: New guide for beginners - "Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography" (Read 42965 times)

Brasilnut

steheap

Brasilnut

steheap

SpaceStockFootage

steheap

Brasilnut

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dpimborough

Brasilnut

ShadySue

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ShadySue

steheap

ShadySue

Nastasiy

Brasilnut

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Brasilnut

Pauws99

Brasilnut

steheap

Pauws99

Brasilnut

Brasilnut

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