Author Topic: Bigstock portfolio not selling? (Read 10448 times)

Beolens · « **on:** January 25, 2012, 21:13 »

Hi, new to the site so hello everyone, maybe not the best topic to introduce myself with but here goes anyway, I have 95 photos on bigstock (not many I know, I posted a few to see how they would go a while back and have decided maybe I should start doing more), I have 1 sale!

1st image was posted in Feb 2009. Now while my subject matter may not be the most saleable (I understand that) is there something key word related, or description related I am getting wrong?

My portfolio: http://www.bigstockphoto.com/search/photographer/Beolens/ [nofollow]

As you will see (well I assume you will) images that have been there since 2009 have had under 100 views, now some of these may not be popular or be in large categories (I get that) but I would really appreciate the advice on how to move them up the rankings (or more importantly get future uploads listed higher).

I've had advice on Fotolia (not that I have many images there either) previously with things like first few keywords being important, and the changes I have made there have helped, so anything similar is much appreciated.

Anyway thanks in advance, and I appreciate any help given.

All the best

Ashley

luissantos84 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2012, 21:59 »

1. first 1/4 of your portfolio was uploaded this month
2. you have 2 or 3 subjects (not to mention we are talking about nature where I don´t think there are much sales)
3. your pictures aren´t impressive
4. it is also bigstock
5. basically you have some nice tulips, orchid and the dragon (majority of them aren´t even isolated properly)

best of luck!

click_click · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2012, 22:07 »

You don't have a typical (commercially successful) microstock portfolio.

Flowers, random critters (birds etc.), nature shots - they all need to be executed perfectly to generate sales, especially at Bigstock.

So there are a bunch of things involved that you need to improve (I didn't check on the keywords):

1. Get more images online with them (or any agency)

2. Get better images online

3. You have to submit more images more frequently - to double your portfolio in a couple of years is not going to help much. Make it your goal to double it this year (at least).

4. Be more sellective with what you shoot/upload. Only submit the very best. Less can be more!

5. Improve Titles, descriptions and keywords. Check the big guns how they do it!

Karimala · « **Reply #3 on:** January 26, 2012, 01:40 »

Gotta get out of the habit of shooting pretty pictures, and start shooting subjects that are commercially viable, no matter how boring they might seem. Some of my best sellers are a moldy bathtub, a packet of artificial sweetener, and a paper tag.

wut · « **Reply #4 on:** January 26, 2012, 05:36 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on January 25, 2012, 21:59

3. your pictures aren´t impressive

I can't believe you are saying that?!?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:00 »

Quote from: wut on January 26, 2012, 05:36

Quote from: luissantos84 on January 25, 2012, 21:59
3. your pictures aren´t impressive

I can't believe you are saying that?!?

I was thinking of saying average - but I guess impressive looks more motivational

rubyroo · « **Reply #6 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:14 »

Quote from: Karimala on January 26, 2012, 01:40

start shooting subjects that are commercially viable

^
That's the answer you're looking for Beolens.

I wouldn't agree that it has to be boring though. If you can find an overlap between what's selling and what you love to shoot, you will never be bored.

I love your brown catkins btw. Nature's own structures are so much more incredible than anything mere humans can make

You like macro work and you like nature, so perhaps you could get in closer and find some gorgeous textures in the natural world. But don't just go duplicating textures that are already on sale in abundance or have already been shot better by someone else. If you see (for example) chewing gum wrapper lying in the grass while you're out... you could always shoot that too as an incidental to illustrate littering in the countryside. If it's near visible wildlife, it could illustrate the danger litter poses to our fellow creatures. That way it's less boring and more of a bonus shot that you happened to spot while shooting something more in tune with your heart.

Good luck and keep at it

Carl · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:16 »

I stopped uploading to BS because (1) high rejection rate and (2) virtually no sales. Ironically, on SS (which now owns BS) I have a (1) low rejection rate and (2) daily sales. Your mileage may vary... $:-\$

gostwyck · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:40 »

Oh come on __ you've been dabbling with microstock for nearly 3 years and yet you are asking the sort of questions I might have expected from someone who has been doing it for less than 3 weeks.

If, after all this time, you can't work out for yourself what might sell and what won't then there is no helping you. It's not rocket-science.

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:56 »

Quote from: gostwyck on January 26, 2012, 06:40

Oh come on __ you've been dabbling with microstock for nearly 3 years and yet you are asking the sort of questions I might have expected from someone who has been doing it for less than 3 weeks.

If, after all this time, you can't work out for yourself what might sell and what won't then there is no helping you. It's not rocket-science.

Welcome to MSG Beolens

Beolens · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2012, 17:28 »

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate it (even the harsh stuff

)

Roxxstock · « **Reply #11 on:** January 26, 2012, 18:07 »

Quote from: Beolens on January 26, 2012, 17:28

Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate it (even the harsh stuff )

Take heart from the members here that show themselves - their advice is genuine and truthful. Other (hidden) members may have ulterior motives (gostwyck for example). Well known on these forums as constantly negative and posting derisory comments. Those comments are not harsh, their simply rude, uneducated and posted to 'rise a response' from you. Well done for not rising to his bait. The aforementioned members portfolio is predominantly pictures mainly of plates of Indian curry and assorted dishes from the Indian sub-continent. Hardly a source of inspiraton to any serious stock photographer. Take heed about posting images that can be used by design agencies for promoting their clients aims and aspirations, images that can be used to sell or promote concepts, ideas and ambitions, preferably beyond those of the local curry house or take-away restaurant.

gostwyck · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2012, 19:39 »

^^^ You pompous little arsehole! It's ironic that you call me 'uneducated' when you don't even understand the difference between the words there, their and they're. Now that's what I call uneducated.

Let's enjoy once again your opening salvo on this forum (complete with all the 'uneducated' spelling, grammar and punctuation errors);

"Will
I only came across this website today and have been browsing out of curiosity at the forums and discovered your threads. Although having been a professional photographer for over thirty years I am fairly new to the 'micro' stock image market albeit having been aware of it's growing existence for a number of years, PS Don't be fooled by my user name I have never sold stock images I just made the name up - my cat's called Roxx! Amongst many of my fellow professional and accredited press photographers stock photography seems to have a reputation of being a bit low end - the sort of place you go to when your either retire or don't have any commissions. Basically, if you're looking for a picture of a kettle isolated on a white background or a toothy cheesy model smiling at the camera you go to a microstock site. The growth in these sites is mainly due to non-too-fussy companies looking to buy cheaper images for ad campaigns and equally non-too-fussy advertising agencies looking to buy cheap images and upscale their charges to their client basically ripping them off.

Photography is a profession and one that can give you a great deal of satisfaction and money too. If your looking to develop a proper career in photography the last place you should look is toward stock sites. I say this for one reason, these places are where budding amateur snappers aspire to go with their cheap low/mid end DSLR's, where they can make a few dollars each month. Will, you must have a higher ambition than that. I guess from your posts your a youngster just getting into this area, take the advise of a seasoned pro - don't set your sights too low. Photography is not about a perfectly lit, sanitized pretty picture. It's about capturing a moment in time that stands the test and marks a record of that time. Photography is not about taking pictures of kettles, keyboards, staged business meetings with cheesy models for a few bucks.

In regard to equipment, keep your mobile phone to make telephone calls and buy a decent camera. It is not going to be cheap to get started but you can always grow your 'kit' over time. I started out with good cameras over thirty years ago and believe me, it makes a big difference. In those days we used film SLR's, and I had an Olympus OM1 and an Olympus OM2N - still have them and even use them sometimes now and again when teaching. When the world went digital most professionals were wary until the resolutions could match our beloved Kodachrome 25. When they did (and in some cases exceed) many pro's switched. Today I use Nikons for nearly everything, D3, D3X, 700 and an older D40 (for teaching and snaps). If you can, get one of the newish Nikon's - their 7000 it's nearly as good as the 700 and less than half the price. Check out a useful website www.kenrockwell.com he does very useful comparisons and generally supports the Nikon brand. Personally, I would stay well clear of anything from Canon, Sony, Olympus - the quality is low end and don't be tempted just because their cheap - their aimed at the amateur market, at least with Nikon, even the mid price ones, you're getting into a stable of professional kit which you can grow. Bear in mind also, as you are starting out, switching brands later when you realise you made a mistake is going to be very expensive. Painful as it might be, start out on the right foot now if you can. Don't skimp on lenses either, generally, stay clear of the compatible lenses like Sigma and Tamron - their never as good (I am generalising a bit) as a branded lens - Nikon make really good lenses but so do Canon, albeit the Canon camera bodies are poor and therefore, for me, a non-starter.

I noticed you mention a particular stock site, iStockphoto. Even with my limited experience in the microstock market even I have heard about these folks. In the pro world their called iFlop - as they are rapidly diminishing their market share and treat both customers and I also believe contributors very badly. I was sent a link to one of their forums recently by a pal and I have to say it was laughable how the 'admins' (which they are called) treat people on the discussion boards. I work with Getty images (who own iflop) and I have heard some horror stories from the guy's there! One stock site that I understand does have good reputation is called Shutterstock.com - they are the biggest stock site and I understand act very professionally.

Get your feet wet by getting in touch with some local professional photographers and ask if you can spend some time with them watching, observing and helping. Most pro's will probably allow you a few days. I have guy's and girls regularly helping me out and it actually is quite fun, particularly during semesters and holidays. Or approach your local paper and volunteer to supply pictures to them, if your pictures are good enough maybe they'll use them and probably pay you for them as well.

Forgive the irony, but I would not take too much notice of what you read on forums either - even after a day of reading a few posts a lot of it (albeit basically good advice) is the blind leading the blind. Amateurs, even gifted ones, are amateurs and pro's are pro's. There is a difference and you need to mix with real photographers which means getting out there and seeing how they work, I doubt you'll derive much wisdom here, again forgive the irony.

Finally, Good luck in your ambitions, I wish you well and remember one thing, it isn't about taking a picture that sells something else - it about a picture that sells itself."

2/10 __ SEE ME!

Beolens · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2012, 19:49 »

Many thanks Roxxstock, I have taken onboard and understand the limitations of my current portfolio, to be honest I knew early on images I enjoy taking were not really stock material, which is probably why I have only dabbled over the three years since first joining one. My aim this year though is to alter that, and I am taking note of what I should be looking towards, so any advice is always useful.

My biggest issue is with keywording I've never been very good at knowing what to include and what not to include I usually use colours and what the item is, but I am also (now) aware that I should be doing more and even tayloring keywords to different agencies (after learning that the first few are more important in fotolia I changed a few and almost instantly made a sale there!!).

I have made a concious effort to now concentrate on one microstock site at a time, to learn "their ways" and as bigstock has my largest number of uploads figured there would be a good place to start (they also seem to do well for me for affiliate sales off my website, I assume no advertising so won't link it, so would make sense to get more picture sales there as well). So anyone who can help with tips on keywording, descriptions and title wording and importance etc would be much appreciated.

I'm not after a free lunch, I'm also trawling through the bigstock forum on here and anything else I can find on the web.

Pixart · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2012, 20:10 »

And to think I wasn't going to click on this thread, look what I would have missed!

rinderart · « **Reply #15 on:** January 26, 2012, 21:47 »

2 keywording sites for you. Hope it helps.

http://arcurs.com/keywording/index.php

http://dusegard.se/photokeywording.aspx

Beolens · « **Reply #16 on:** January 26, 2012, 22:35 »

Brilliant thanks Rinderart, much appreciated.

Ash

Leighh · « **Reply #17 on:** June 10, 2012, 10:38 »

I have the same problem with Bigstock, only been a member for a short while but my Dreamstime photos are selling already, only 4 but its a start

CD123 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 12, 2012, 09:19 »

Beolens, just change your heading to a statement by removing the word "portfolio" and the question mark and you will accurately be describing BS for 95% of us.

Their current position in 7th place is also a riddle to me, but I am sure there must be a hand full of mega stock sellers boosting the polls.

Wim · « **Reply #19 on:** June 12, 2012, 09:29 »

Quote from: CD123 on June 12, 2012, 09:19

Their current position in 7th place is also a riddle to me, but I am sure there must be a hand full of mega stock sellers boosting the polls.

Must be.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 12, 2012, 14:35 »

Quote from: Wim on June 12, 2012, 09:29

Quote from: CD123 on June 12, 2012, 09:19
Their current position in 7th place is also a riddle to me, but I am sure there must be a hand full of mega stock sellers boosting the polls.

Must be.

right!

RacePhoto · « **Reply #21 on:** June 17, 2012, 10:34 »

Quote from: Pixart on January 26, 2012, 20:10

And to think I wasn't going to click on this thread, look what I would have missed!

Or that it was six months old and very funny reading. How did I miss it the first time?

BS for me is only active because of SS relationship, or I would have dropped them two years ago. Now for people who have "the bridge" it's a real deal. Everything ports over at the same time, without so much as another minute spent uploading. That's got to be worth the low returns? (I don't have the bridge, I only upload to SS...)

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Author Topic: Bigstock portfolio not selling? (Read 10448 times)

Beolens

luissantos84

click_click

Karimala

wut

luissantos84

rubyroo

Carl

gostwyck

Microstock Posts

Beolens

Roxxstock

gostwyck

Beolens

Pixart

rinderart

Beolens

Leighh

CD123

Wim

luissantos84

RacePhoto

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