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Messages - Brasilnut
Pages: 1 ... 58 59 60 61 62 [63] 64 65
1551
« on: January 22, 2017, 09:17 »
I guess they couldn't afford $1 
1552
« on: January 22, 2017, 05:18 »
There is a lot of crap out there, so to put together a premium product that newbies find useful is admirable in my opinion. The market moves quickly (while earnings drop) but there appears to be no shortage of people who want to get into photography but are a bit clueless. As for "why write when you can shoot" argument and "those that can't do teach", I don't agree. I'm painstakingly putting together a comprehensive eBook for newbies/intermediates (not a get rich quick scheme) now that it's winter and i'm shooting less. I must say that from the researching and drafting I am learning a lot, so in a way I am learning to teach. Plus I enjoy writing even if I am halfway through drafting a snooze fest chapter on releases. For me it won't be so much about making money from the sales but to raise my profile as both a photographer and author. Also something to give to prospective clients. If anybody is interested in having a look at my latest draft, I would appreciate comments. Thanks Brasilnut www.arotenberg.photoshelter.com
1553
« on: January 16, 2017, 08:50 »
Looks like a very good start: if in just a couple of weeks you made 4 video sales (out of 80 clips) and 23 images sold (out of 100) I guess you have uploaded high quality stuff. Much better than when I started out!
1554
« on: January 13, 2017, 07:24 »
I'll use my case as as example.
I've been submitting to Alamy for just over a year...
currently: 1405 images
Total views: 7601
Total zooms: 32
Total CTR: 0.42
I didn't have any downloads for the first 6 months, however past 6 months came 8 in a flurry. 7/8 have been heavily commissioned due to the "distribution commission". However, my latest sale was $118.74 and 50% commission to me. That's a lot of subs.
I don't know who came up with that 1,000 portfolio for 1 sale a month rule of thumb. I rather have a portfolio with 100 premium images than 1,000 mediocre images.
What did I change?
- The stuff that goes on Alamy should be different than other microstuff since most buyers are smart enough to shop around (which many people have stated here but should be repeated)
- I've decided to start submitting most of my editorial from micros to Alamy RM. I'll likely leave them there for a year or so and if there are no sales, switch them to RF editorial (when it's rolled out) and also submit them at SS.
- There's the keywords difference but I don't know so much about that. I do try harder with more accurate captions since they also contribute to keywords.
1555
« on: January 10, 2017, 12:01 »
The only remotely stocky to me is the scissors with the paper but the white balance seems off. Perhaps the candles but it needs much more copy space.
The rest of the stuff is too artsy and can't see how a buyer would use it to commercially illustrate their concepts.
1556
« on: January 10, 2017, 09:53 »
Has anyone experience with Robert Harding, is it worth to send best travel/nature images to them? Out of a submission of 84 only 19 were accepted (including the now infamous road) At this rate I will have 1,000 portfolio with them in 10 years. i agree and add that there is rm and rm. alamy is a low end rm agency for example, pretty easy to enter. my best rm is lower than best rf there for example.
then there is the high end boutique rm. i work with reduxpictures for usa editorial, and some news agency in europe, i'm discussing with rm agency for being added at the moment. they have a "personal" assistant which whom you collaborate, send photos, he makes the edit, and help you choose the best work, advertise your work with festival of photo and promote.
these are only rm, and they can sell for very high end prices if you have the right photos.
for creative rm high end the level is very high. i personally don't see similar content in rf for example.
another option i like and will try to upload this year is stocks. i like the style and they way they work. my people rf photography is more their style than the style i see in rf. I can add that recently i see a more oriented to stocks style portfolio even in micro stock , with wide use of visco filter and a more natural approach to shooting. Excellent. I will check out Redux and see if they like my work. Something tells me I must step up my game big time 
1557
« on: January 10, 2017, 05:29 »
I like the look of some VSCOs and many have grain already (sometimes even too much). I add on the RAW file.
1558
« on: January 09, 2017, 12:55 »
Doing all those things for two years and get nothing in return! This business is a business of fear and hope. If you are looking it purely from a financial point of view, it makes sense, even if it's highly unlikely that after 2 years and a reasonable portfolio you will get "nothing in return". However, if you experience some amazing places and meet wonderful people along the way, regardless of whether you make anything, perhaps it will all be worth it?
1559
« on: January 09, 2017, 12:47 »
All I'm saying is this: if anyone is reading this forum because they are thinking of jumping into microstock today because they think they can make thousands a month, consider that you'll be competing with one million new images per week, not to mention the 100 million available right now. Within a year, you'll be competing with close to 200 million and 2 million added per week. It's tough out there and all about managing expectations. When I started all I wanted to do was to recoup the costs of my equipment, I wasn't even thinking of profits. However, one expected surprise has been that Ive received an education in the technical aspects of photograph simply by participating in that market. Now some people pay $1000s for photography courses when they can just submit to microstock sites and maybe even make a few $!
1560
« on: January 09, 2017, 11:23 »
How is arcangel for you? I'm thinking about submitting an application. Go for it! It all depends on whether your style matches theirs and from the pics you have on fb it appears so. I have 400 images there and a whopping $0 earnings...
1561
« on: January 09, 2017, 09:18 »
Renaissance style
1562
« on: January 09, 2017, 09:18 »
I am just curious as to why you picked this one as special. You're right, it's not that special although it should be licensed regularly assuming it's keyworded properly. Having said that I decided to stick it in the RM shortlist, perhaps a gamble but no big deal as I have some similar that I can go with RF. I don't mind the image critique, we are all here to learn. Everyone should be doing this. Even amongst the micros you shouldn't be uploading your newest or best work to the sites with lower RPDs.
Everyone I know that is successful long term, say in the game over 6 years and still successful, works like this. Perhaps this thread should be moved to newbie as some concepts would be more helpful there. My early work wasn't good enough to be considered at boutique travel agencies so that's why I was sticking all my work as RF at micros, now I have more options. Still trying to figure out which image goes where and why but after a few downloads it becomes more clear... From my recent trip to Ecuador, I've selected the following two image to be RM - do you agree? Also image critique is fine.
1563
« on: January 08, 2017, 09:41 »
Sure, I'd say RF. Or were you kidding? Sean, I value your opinion as you produce some outstanding work. I struggle with: at what point does an image become so valuable / unique that it "should" be licensed as RM to obtain the best returns and guarantee some control of the copyright? I shoot mainly travel but in other niches it's also an interesting question. My best earner is the following which happens to be an editorial sold at SS. If I were to offer it at Alamy as RM I wonder if it would have done better. Has anyone experience with Robert Harding, is it worth to send best travel/nature images to them? I'm going to give them a try and can tell you in 6 months or so how I'm doing.
1564
« on: January 07, 2017, 10:58 »
Should this be RF? I don't think so! This whole RF v RM argument sometimes feels like that famous Stanford marshmallow experiment about delayed gratification. In other words, I may either have many low-value (RF) sales now or be patient and get some huge RM later.
1565
« on: January 06, 2017, 11:29 »
I can see the sense and so long as you are completely honest with yourself about the images at the top end i.e are they really as good or better than the competition then I'd say try it. I feel I have very few images in that class...its a very competitive world That's a great point. I'm guilty of sometimes being so in love with an image (either because it was difficult to capture or for any other reason), but it doesn't mean it necessarily has any commercial value. I use 500px sometimes but I don't find it that helpful.
1566
« on: January 06, 2017, 09:13 »
The way I see it, people have their go-to agencies, and it's pretty unlikely they're not going to be able to find what they're looking for at said agency... seeing as they all have a whole bunch of images.
So... unless there's a lack of sales reason going on, which might influence who you upload to... I really can't see uploading less stuff, to less agencies, resulting in more sales. I mean, it's not like deleting all your stuff on one site is going to double your sales at another site.
I could be wrong. Ah, I should have been more clear - my bad. I don't intend to delete any images. This new strategy applies only to new content. I am getting regular downloads but I feel like for the quality of images that i'm uploading, they deserve more and I'm undervaluing my premium content. Yes, I agree that it's risky going exclusive with one agency especially if it's a 3 year contract...
1567
« on: January 06, 2017, 08:48 »
Hey all - happy new year! So, I've decided to streamline my uploading strategy in a more intelligent manner. Basically, I'm just a bit fed up to be undervaluing myself and not happy with premium pics being licensed as RF for pennies - i'm sure many share the same frustration. I would appreciate your comments on its feasibility and whether there are any gaps in my logic. A little background: 2450 images on SS 1300 images on Alamy 880 images Istock - I've stopped uploading to them altogether. 380 images Arcangel 110 images DT - I've stopped uploading to them altogether. 12 images Robert Harding - Signed up recently ---------------------------------------------------------------- Here's my logic to maximise sales: 1. Robert Harding to get my premium commercial travel stuff + model released (RM exclusively) 2. Arcangel to get my premium artsy book cover stuff + model released (RM exclusively) 3. Alamy to get my editorial news stuff (RM only, even if they are coming out with RF editorial shortly)* 4. SS to get the leftovers which would be non-premium generic travel & bland stock stuff (RF) *One assumption: - Should Alamy new content not sell for 6 months, to convert to RF editorial and also upload on SS. -------------------------------------------------------------- Anybody have any thoughts on focusing on Robert Harding? They seem like a good outfit but to be honest I'm not thrilled about 30% commission on exclusive content, it should be more like 50%. I'm trying to apply with other midstock boutique but not getting accepted. Same with boutique editorial. Thanks in advance for any feedback. Alex www.arotenberg.photoshelter.com
1568
« on: December 17, 2016, 18:41 »
i must be missing something here. how is it you are happy with alamy
with 1276 images earning 96 bucks in 1 year and 6846 views???
this many views at ss would get you more in a month. Never said I was happy, just optimistic!
1569
« on: December 17, 2016, 14:11 »
You have at least some of the same images as RF on SS and RM on Alamy. I'll conduct an audit, thanks for pointing this out.
1570
« on: December 17, 2016, 13:53 »
You do realise you can't sell RM on Alamy as Editorial on SS I take it? Yeah, mixing licenses between sites is a big no no.
1571
« on: December 17, 2016, 13:18 »
Maybe I'm stubborn but I'm sticking with Alamy! I like their business model and they seem to treat contributors with respect.
They appear to suit my style for editorial and travel. RF isolated on blue sky stuff I'll keep sending over to Shutterstock.
I've been submitting for about a year now and here's where I'm at (still waiting for that $300+) but I feel it's coming.
Total Images: 1,276
Gross earnings: $96 (4 sales)
Net earnings: $33
Total views: 6845
Total zooms: 31
Total CTR: 0.45
1572
« on: December 14, 2016, 13:40 »
Hello,
It takes long time (many days) , it's normal with other agencies , but with SS I used to get the status of my uploaded content in the same day ?
How long it takes with you nowadays ? I find editorial is usually really quick (anywhere from 5 mins to 2 hours). Other stuff usually takes maximum 24 hours for me.
1573
« on: December 12, 2016, 07:36 »
How much is this photo going to earn me in the long run? I don't think it will sell that much as it's just a simple portrait. If you get the hispanic girl and her friends to start doing selfies, for example, then it will up the images' commercial value considerably.
1574
« on: December 01, 2016, 07:50 »
Shouldn't we all....seriously though if you are happy that you work is top quality technically and aesthetically then you may need to address subject matter and key wording or possibly sites outlets that may suit your work better. Absolutely, I'm on my way out of microstock and going for boutique midstock agencies. I think there's something seriously broken with the RF model from the photographer point of view.
1575
« on: December 01, 2016, 05:43 »
I should be earning more for the quality i'm uploading...
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