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Messages - Brasilnut
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1526
« on: February 18, 2017, 15:31 »
Well, it's not so easy. Goverment have some law that prohibit to shot photos to the lines of people. It's very risky. Yes, I can imagine. Could you try to do it uncover with a point and shoot? Probably not worth going to jail for a few quarters though...
1527
« on: February 18, 2017, 14:56 »
I live in Caracas Venezuela I would imagine that due to the ongoing political and economic situation in Venezuela, you could make some good money from editorial shots (assuming you aren't already doing so). Simple and easy to do shots of people lining up to purchase what little food/supplies is left at supermarkets comes to mind. These would probably be much more in demand than the standard boring Microstock stuff. If these editorials are rare/interesting enough it's probably better to license them as RM at Alamy, for example, rather than RF at Microstock.
1528
« on: February 18, 2017, 13:18 »
It seems there isn't a lot of feedback on the macro agencies...
I can read all about Alamy, SS, istock but nothing on the high end ones. They want to keep it that way, I think 
1529
« on: February 18, 2017, 08:21 »
Robert Harding wants 50 MB files. Unless I got that wrong. My images, converted from RAW to JPEG using LR and quality set a 100% don't have more than 20MB. The 50 MB file requirement is for "uncompressed image size". This should be OK for most images as long as they aren't cropped too much. Also helps if you're shooting with a full frame sensor.
1530
« on: February 18, 2017, 07:37 »
Hi Angela,
Happy to hear you got accepted at Arcangel, they are a nice bunch and I'm optimistic i'll get some images licensed soon, especially since they are excellent on the marketing side...
As for the best Midstock / Macrostock agencies, I'm afraid I don't have enough experience with many except the above and Robert Harding (specialist travel), but in any case I've recently compiled a list of 26 such agencies (attached pdf). If I missed any out, please let me know.
Hope you find the information useful.
Alex
1531
« on: February 12, 2017, 04:41 »
Can someone give a rough estimate regarding the percentage of total income earned by an image or batch in regards to time. I've simulated one image earning $2 RPI/year with a depreciation of 40%/year from the second month. In reality its value should peak on 4-6th month but I've just used an average RPI to keep it simple. Therefore, in its full life cycle it would earn $4.32 after 6 years and very little after that (1 cent a month). Let's say you upload 1000 images in a month and then stop uploading. How much time will need to pass before you earn 80% of all the total income those images will earn in their lifetime? Or how about 50%? Using the same logic of $2 RPI/year with a depreciation of 40%/year from the second month when you stop uploading, it would reach: - 50% of $4,320 (lifetime earning) on the 18th month; - 80% of $4,320 (lifetime earning) on the 40th month. Of course the above depends on 1000 factors but something interesting to consider.
1532
« on: February 11, 2017, 14:06 »
It is very tricky because I would call RPI the the result of the calculation rather than starting with RPI then applying a depreciation. You can either decrease the RPI every year or keep it constant then apply a depreciation, it amounts to the same thing. Basically an overall decrease in RPI year on year.
I haven't run the numbers but 30-40% rings true to me if you don't adjust the RPI beforehand, the result being that after a few years you hit a "wall" where your 30%-40% depreciation per year of existing content outstrips your ability to increase your portfolio size in proportion.
Forget about RPI increasing with quality of images. The overall quality in the marketplace is also increasing constantly due to competition. Failure to improve would decrease RPI further, improvement only keeps you inline with the rest of the competition. Ok, thanks for all your inputs. I've updated the results over a 7 year period with constant RPI of $2/year during constant submission and once submissions stop, a depreciation of 40%/year or 3.33%/month. Total income after 7 years is just over $17,000.
1533
« on: February 09, 2017, 01:47 »
What are you basing this on? Many assumptions on an average, yet talented person starting out. I would have liked to use me as an example but I think my case is a bit peculiar as I don't shoot "typical stock" and don't submit to so many agencies. I'm curious whether if someone starts shooting more intelligently in a niche if that would increase his/her RPI, independent of image quality improvement.
1534
« on: February 08, 2017, 11:00 »
I like your work but your analysis is very wrong. Why do you have RPI increasing every year? The depreciation should be much higher and the drop off much faster. Ah, thanks for the link. I've put together a case-study of a contributor who's a bit clueless at the beginning, but after a year the quality of his images improves considerably. So, if I'm not mistaken, it should reflect in a higher RPI. Should I keep the RPI at about $2/year? In the story he also has access to some unique places. I think I will put the depreciation at 40% a year / 3.33% a month instead of 25%.
1535
« on: February 08, 2017, 05:03 »
Interesting discussion.
As one of the chapters in my upcoming book, I've run a simulation of projected revenues of a complete newbie consistently submitting for 3 years to the largest 7 Microstock Agencies as RF and 2 agencies as RM (premium images only exclusively).
Major assumptions here including a "quality" portfolio within a "niche". He/she isn't shooting flowers and pets.
Year 1: $1 RPI/year, uploading 50 images/month
Year 2: $2 RPI/year, uploading 75 images/month
Year 3: $3 RPI/year, uploading 100 images/month
In this scenario, the contributor stops submitting in Years 4 and Years 5 after building up a portfolio of 2700 images.
Total Revenue after Year 5 and end of simulation: $20,668
RPI depreciation of 25% a year (2.08% a month). Perhaps this is too low as an average?
Lots of unknowns / assumptions here but something to think about.
Brasilnut
1536
« on: February 04, 2017, 11:32 »
SS portofolio for reference - shutterstock.com/g/guyn happy to share other portfolio links if relevant. I see you have done quite a bit of travelling around Italy (where I'm based) - what a beautiful country. Also Israel which I will visit soon. The key is trying to capture those touristic locations in a way that could get your image in the first page of a competitive key word - not easy at all. No offence, but some of the travel images look like nice snaphots. It also means I'm making virtually no progress in all other sites. I'm wondering if there's anything better I can do there? Just keep submitting and improving your technique. I've noticed you have not submitted any editorials, I think it's worth submitting some of interesting illustrative editorials and newsworthy stuff - you were in Israel so i'm sure there was plenty of newsworthy stuff to photograph, even check-points. $1 return per image per year, in my opinion, is a rule of thumb for beginners. This was a lot higher a few years ago. Good luck Brasilnut www.arotenberg.photoshelter.com
1537
« on: February 04, 2017, 11:17 »
I would gladly license some of my early work for 4 cents a piece
1538
« on: February 01, 2017, 10:14 »
Well the good news is that it seems that we are now finally able to license editorials as RF!
1539
« on: January 30, 2017, 15:56 »
I think I have to stop giving everything to microstock. Don't give them everything, only the leftovers. If a shot is premium, license it for premium prices which isn't much higher than 25cents or whatever but still much better than pretty much giving them away imo
1540
« on: January 30, 2017, 15:52 »
This is a bad system for me. I hate it. Why do we as photographers have to put up with this crap down our throats time after time? I agree. I think many, including me, put up with it since there are no barriers to entry and there's the remote potential to earn $100+ an image, unlike the 36cent subs elsewhere.
1541
« on: January 26, 2017, 03:05 »
Worldwide/Czech Republic by any chance?
It's not the lowest I've had for RM, but not far off it. Country: Worldwide Usage: Editorial Media: Editorial website Industry sector: Media, design & publishing Image Size: Any size Start: 01 December 2016 End: 01 December 2021 Online usage only. Flat rate per image. Bulk discount.
1542
« on: January 25, 2017, 10:30 »
Thanks. So the only thing I dont quite understand betwen RF and RM is why would anyone buy an RM if RF are cheaper ? or they are not ?.....I understand that RM its a one time buy per one time use so if a buyer wants to use the photo for the second time he has to buy it again. Just licensed a RM editorial on Alamy today for $5.13. After all commissions, I got paid $1.54 
1543
« on: January 25, 2017, 10:21 »
Any advantage of using different pseudonyms for different agencies? Personally, I think it's good your own personal brand that your real name appears which can be used later to show potential clients.
1544
« on: January 24, 2017, 06:09 »
I don't think it was my thread - so no worries there! Good luck with the book!
Steve Ah, that's right! You too, good luck with your sales and shooting 
1546
« on: January 23, 2017, 14:28 »
Bear in mind that you really should plan to keep it up to date (which can be quite a chore). I try to do a new edition of my book about every 12 - 18 months normally and include the latest sites, what is working, what isn't etc. I also finally decided to focus just on Amazon and took the order form off my own website so I could submit it to the Kindle lending library - still waiting to see exactly how much that pays, but it is getting page views.
I can tell you though, that it doesn't earn anything like as much as actually selling photos. I was the "best seller" in professional photography books for a while and still only sell one or two a day on average. So don't plan to retire on this! I didn't intend to hijack your thread. I have no regrets since we are contributing to a positive discussion and you are getting more links to your page. That's a good point about not earning too much with this gig and I'll keep my expectations low. As for the the new editions, it makes sense as this industry moves fast and with drones and mobile phones, etc. Wish I had a drone though! I'm not the right guy. You want someone who's currently shooting for microstock, and is at least somewhat serious about it. I stopped doing it over a year ago and today I just have a few hundred photos sitting at Alamy and GL. Basically I decided it wasn't worth doing, and the big 'agencies' weren't businesses I wanted to support. You should find someone with a more positive outlook. I think in many ways you'd be the perfect person to comment since you would portray an accurate image of this tough industry, even if it was a year ago. I do respect that you rather not. Hope you are having more success outside of Microstock.
1547
« on: January 23, 2017, 11:24 »
I could imagine a chapter on the business model - i.e. "Is It Worth Doing"? Compare the payments at different agencies, the impact of the subscription model, differences in percentages, will you actually "make it up on volume" etc. And what does the future hold? People obviously come to very different conclusions on this issue, but there are plenty of objective facts to present. Some great ideas there. I have drafted such a chapter (more or less), although it's still quite unpolished. Would you care to take a look and give me your opinion?
1548
« on: January 23, 2017, 10:14 »
lots of ethically challenged suggestions (eg, plagiarize others), poor logic, oversimplification, etc I agree. In my case, I want to put something out there that I'll be proud. It must be original and add value, hence why it's taking so long and I'm ripping my hairs out trying to draft the * thing . Will be worth it in the end though. I'll include a chapter on transitioning out of Microstock and making money elsewhere in photography, as it seems to be a common theme on this forum.
1549
« on: January 23, 2017, 09:01 »
So the only thing I dont quite understand betwen RF and RM is why would anyone buy an RM if RF are cheaper ? or they are not ?.....I understand that RM its a one time buy per one time use so if a buyer wants to use the photo for the second time he has to buy it again. Firstly, nobody is buying or selling anything as the photographer retains full copyright, customers are licensing for a specific usage. You are right that under a RM model its for a one-time usage, at the end of that usage the customer would have to either extend the existing license or renegotiate a new one. It's a myth that RM is more expensive, as it depends on the usage. In fact, RF may be more expensive. There are many reasons why someone would want to license under a RM license, namely: - Exclusivity: this option is not available under a RF model, as customers may use and re-use the same image numerous times. Perhaps the customer wants to license an image exclusively for a certain period (such as one year) which is to be directly associated with the brand. In this case, he would receive protection from the Agency that such image has not been licensed numerous times already for numerous uses. The danger is that a competitor has the same image and uses it to take away business (it does happen unfortunately). One example would be a customer to licenses an image exclusively for a book cover which will make 100,000 prints; - RM are usually of higher quality and more original but this is becoming less so as the standard of RF images has improved; - Some Marcrostock Agencies make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for, with a more bespoke service, instead of searching through 1000s of similar thumbnails in Microstock's RF bank; Hope that clears things up Brasilnut
1550
« on: January 23, 2017, 03:40 »
I've got about 180 photos up on Arcangel and have not had a sale. It takes more time to build a portfolio there as they are far stricter with similars than micro sites. I got 410 and also no sales after about a year. Apparently, they are looking for images like this which I shot last month...
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