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Messages - PixelsAway
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151
« on: November 16, 2009, 08:01 »
As a scientist I don't believe in exact numbers.  I would prefer to see an estimate with a range of uncertainty. I tried to develop a framework to analyze my earnings and control expenses related to microstock. I have all numbers in spreadsheets, so now I can play with different scenarios. I may include part time sharing of computer, internet access, web hosting, home office expenses, etc. I already included gas and mileage for driving if it is done specifically for shooting microstock. I am not sure what to do with my trips for paddling or hiking where shooting is just a site project. My outdoor pictures are not very profitable anyway.
152
« on: November 15, 2009, 11:18 »
I started microstock photography 2 years ago. Today, I have almost 1800 pictures in my portfolio submitted to multiple agencies with most earnings from IS, SS and DT. Every month, I am posting in my blog these usually happy earnings reports. I am one of few microstockers sharing their numbers. However, it is not a full story. So, finally, I tried to include expenses into my analysis: Am I Really Making Money from Microstock Photography ? Part 1 ... Part 2In summary: - I calculate RPI or other statistics in reference to a total number of pictures prepared for microstock including rejects, multiple versions, pictures not submitted. - I added expenses (including $ saved for camera and gear upgrades) and looked at "net RPI". - Finally, I derived my "hourly rate" as a microstock photographer - currently, about double minimum wage in US, so better than flipping hamburgers or babysitting and, arguably, much more fun. I would welcome any comments or suggestions.
153
« on: November 10, 2009, 09:47 »
RPD=0.88 for the last 12 months with no clear trend
income goes up
154
« on: November 01, 2009, 08:45 »
several BMEs IS + SS + DT = 80% of earnings (with IS providing more > 40%) no changes in BigStock performance more detailed earnings report in Pixels Away blog
155
« on: October 23, 2009, 09:58 »
After almost 2 years in microstock my earnings are still growing at reasonable pace. However, I see a decline of my sales (or rather lack of progress) in SS during last 6 months despite of regularly "feeding the beast" and going to a higher payment rate a few months ago. My growth during last 12 months is mostly due to IS sales.
It looks like 3-5K pictures is reported as a critical portfolio mass after which you can expect much slower growth of earnings or plateau (with the same investments of efforts I assume).
156
« on: October 04, 2009, 12:17 »
just added another post to my blog with earnings splits: My microstock pie
157
« on: October 01, 2009, 14:38 »
my big 2 + 2: IS + SS = 74% + DT + FT = 89% monthly earnings report in Pixels Away blog
158
« on: September 25, 2009, 11:54 »
Big 2 (IS/SS) + 2 (DT/FT) + 2 (StockXpert/BigStock)
76% 15% 6%
159
« on: September 23, 2009, 07:28 »
I guess only "bozo with a tiny brain" would share some numbers here ...
almost 2 years in microstock, ~1600 pictures in microstock portfolio
"breaking even" gives me estimate of my work value as ~5 $/hour for the entire period of my microstock activity
analyzing a few recent months and assuming that 1/3 of sale income is saved for equipment investments my hourly microstock rate is about 15 $/hour, so a double minimum wage in US
My goal is not to be a full time stock photographer. I lost 1/2 of my "other" job a year ago. Microstock is helping me to survive a rough time. Among my supplemental streams of income microstock looks pretty stable and is growing. And, there is also a high fun factor here.
160
« on: September 22, 2009, 22:11 »
Your accountant is talking about taxable profit, which in the case of a self-employed individual does not include labor.
If you're running a business, you're concerned with the operating profit in your business' financial statements which should account for labor.
I agree with above and would like to take my labor into account. So, I would repeat my question: what my labor is worth? Hourly rate for a stock photographer? Example?
161
« on: September 22, 2009, 21:37 »
For tax purposes I record all expenses related to my microstock photography, computer costs, home office costs, etc. However, in a sole proprietorship business model I don't need to trace cost of my time or labor, at least for taxes. I don't pay a salary to myself. I have some other streams of income in this mode, but microstock is starting to dominate.
Of course, it would be interesting and a good business practice to include my labor cost when analyzing a profit or loses from microstok, i.e., to look not at RPI (return per image) but return per investment.
So, what my hourly rate should be when working on microstock? Any ideas or suggestions? Let's assume that things like medical insurance are covered by my other job.
162
« on: September 22, 2009, 06:49 »
At the beginning of my microstock photography, almost 2 years ago, I upgraded to Canon 40d + one new micro lens. I recovered that cost within 10 months from microstock. Since then, I am shooting cheap pictures and resisting temptation to upgrade, but how long I can resist?
163
« on: September 22, 2009, 06:27 »
I am running Windows XP under VMware Fusion on my Mac - mostly some scientific software like Mathcad, Grapher, Surfer, some Fortran compilers, also Garmin MapSource.
I used to run DeepMeta before the Mac version was available.
164
« on: September 17, 2009, 18:18 »
started to submit to PM in Jan/Feb 2008
close to 500 pictures right now (~1/3 of my microstock portfolio)
6 pictures sold - getting close to my 2nd payout
pushing more pictures through submission only when I have time
165
« on: July 22, 2009, 13:40 »
last payment:
requested July 15
received July 20 (PayPal)
166
« on: July 14, 2009, 06:41 »
It looks like all my 123rf pictures are there. 123rf is not working so great for me recently.
167
« on: July 01, 2009, 11:31 »
BME and a little milestone reached IS + SS = 70% IS + SS + DT = 80% a detailed report in Pixels Away blog
168
« on: June 20, 2009, 12:45 »
61% - 16% - 23% April (BME)
72% - 10% - 18% May
80% - 10% - 10% overall (15 months)
169
« on: June 16, 2009, 13:57 »
Another version of my earnings graph against number of pictures - not such a nice shape, but it works for me so far ... 
170
« on: June 16, 2009, 13:42 »
After 18 months in microstock and close to 1400 pictures in a portfolio I still remain a little bit more optimistic ... 
171
« on: June 15, 2009, 09:20 »
June is slightly better for me than May or April. However, I wouldn't consider my statistics very reliable with only 800 files in a portfolio and about 50-60 sales per month.
173
« on: June 01, 2009, 10:16 »
SS 37.6% going down IS 30.6% BME and a big one! DT 10.3% up and, a more detailed earnings report for May in my Pixels Away blog
174
« on: May 08, 2009, 16:10 »
I am getting regular payouts (every month or every 2nd month) from 7 sites, but only two satisfy the ">$100/month" criterion (SS, IS). So, "big 2"?
Here is how it looked during last 6 months for my portfolio:
SS - 50.9%
IS - 21.1%
DT - 9.7%
FT - 6.2%
StockXpert - 5.8%
BigStock - 4.5%
123 - 3.2%
I am not sure if DT will stay on the 3rd place - my acceptance rate dropped there recently from 80+ % to 50% ...
175
« on: May 01, 2009, 10:57 »
I uploaded most of my pictures there (900+) during last two months, but so far, I've collected only a bunch of $0.30 subscription sales. Well, there are some sales at least.
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