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Messages - Asthebelltolls
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251
« on: April 01, 2016, 20:57 »
And what's the definition of a "professional photographer"? Certainly it's not one who makes money taking pictures....we all achieve that distinction....it's my view that a professional photographer is "one who earns a good, decent living strictly as a photographer/videographer".
I'm not there yet. I make money but I need other means of income to pay the bills and keep my financial head above the water....And that's what I love about stock photography. There's a learning curve but it provides monetary rewards while you're learning.
252
« on: March 28, 2016, 21:18 »
I'm pretty happy with my earnings.
I guess from my perspective I can't imagine anyone really " happy" with their earnings when all the time, not to mention equipment is invested. There's so much to factor in. Some of us have far less "expense" factors. I'm still shooting with a T3i and my only investment over the past two years was a used 18-55mm lens for $50....Year to year my income increases 25% - 35%.....but despite that, I work 8-10 hours a day, many times, 6 days a week. Regardless, as with most people I'm sure, I love what I'm doing and still get a kick when someone has chosen my photo/video over countless others.....
253
« on: March 28, 2016, 09:51 »
I'm pretty happy with my earnings. I'm doing video though, specifically motion graphics, so not a photographer. Last month I made $1850, February 2015 I made $521, February 2014 I made $30, February 2013 I made $27 and February 2012 I made $0. And is that before or after the currency exchange? Last summer our dollar was par with the American greenback. Since then its' slid to about $0.75 so I got a 25% raise with microstocking - along with increasing sales - my income was/is increasing accordingly. You're with a lot of agencies. I submit clips to two agencies: SS and P5 so it'd be interesting to factor in the income made on a "dollar per hour" basis. A lot more time is invested in creating-preparing-uploading clips.....especially if you're with 8-10 agencies!
254
« on: March 18, 2016, 21:16 »
$112us a few days ago.  Let's see......that's 311 of those typical $0.36 commissions. Yes, I think I can handle that. 
255
« on: March 07, 2016, 08:56 »
There's no cap that I know of - was just airing the idea that maybe the curators should start culling all the old unsold crap (of which there is plenty) instead of rejecting new 4K acceptable stuff.I agree a thousand percent. The trouble is agencies need to brag about how big their stock library is: "no small hands with our agency" so the idea of culling years of crap is a non-starter. Agencies, if they want to attract more buyers IMO need to start being more selective and treat clips like they do with images. Poor framing, exposure, panning, tilting, etc. should not be offered to the buyer who is always seeking professionally shot material.
256
« on: February 13, 2016, 09:06 »
I'm bored of complaining, until we all get together and run our own site or buy a majority share in one of the sites, what can we do about it? Or we could all just use the few sites that pay 50% but that never happens. This is all our own fault, I'm sure we could be much better off but the vast majority of contributors still don't care.
My exact same thoughts.
257
« on: January 28, 2016, 13:41 »
Agencies are empowered. Period. They can do anything they want to increase profit.
Until we organize or, for lack of a better word, unionize and setup an agency made by the contributors/for the contributors - AND agree to submit exclusively to that agency, we will all be at the mercy of stock agencies. Period.
258
« on: January 21, 2016, 19:42 »
Me thinks Pond5 has gotten too popular.  I've been trying to upload clips via Filezilla and the system crashes mid-way...loading, redialing, uploading over and over again. Time to take a back seat and let the dust settle. Hopefully P5 will have things running again sometime soon. I'll dip my toe in the water when the "wait time" has been reduced from a posted "Two Months" to 3 weeks.
259
« on: January 16, 2016, 19:32 »
There's definitely been a DP shift. It was an agency that once accepted 90-95% of my submissions and sales many times were close with the SS....but the last 2 or 3 months rejections have outweighed acceptance and sales have plummeted. I had always valued DP's success in selling my less mainstream images but times have changed. I'll keep my portfolio intact but I won't be uploading anymore.
260
« on: December 10, 2015, 15:36 »
Great start with 123rf this month and now suddenly no sales since December 5.
Strange how the tap can turn off so suddenly. My other agencies (6 total) are either
average or above average for the first 10 days in December.
SS..............Above average
Istock.........Above average
Deposit.................Average
Dreamstime.........average
Pond5...................average
261
« on: December 07, 2015, 20:17 »
"Thanks. Would you suggest any tripod with fluid head for smooth panning?"
Tripods are as individualistic as you are. There are so many factors that play into
the choice you make - and the tripod that best suites your needs. Budget, weight and subject matter (wildlife vs studio setup for example) are, in my opinion, the three main factors that play into your decision. I love combining cycling with shooting so I need a tripod that's compact, light and can be packed in a saddle bag on the back of my bike (my portfolio with SS and P5, BTW, encompasses everything from landscape/nature/wildlife to outdoor sporting events). What suites me may not be the best choice for you.
Bring your cameras to a store and try out their tripods. Is there one that fits your budget and best suites your needs? Please don't order online before taking it for a test drive!
One last thing I'd like to add: Audio. Wind noise in a clip is a sure sign of an amateur production. I use a lav microphone with a wind sock (about $150 Cdn) to capture audio. Very small. Very versatile. Very clean audio).
262
« on: December 07, 2015, 11:02 »
And a few tips for those of you first starting out....
Invest in a good, solid, stable tripod with a fluid head that allows
you to pan and tilt smoothly. It will cost you but the investment will pay off.
Create a 2 or 3 second "establishing shot" before you pan or tilt when
possible. An example: You want to pan from a bridge to a bumper to
bumper congested highway. Allow 2-3 seconds static on the bridge
before panning to the highway. The bridge is your "establishing shot".
and provides the viewer time to recognize where you are in relation-
ship to the congested highway.
Don't pan or tilt unnecessarily. Movement within the frame is your motivation
for following the action. All-too-often I see clips where pans and/or tilts
are used unnecessarily. The action within the frame is your motivation
for movement in most cases.
AND, if there's movement that you're capturing, use the 3/4 technique.
In other words, don't frame the action center framed. Allow more room
in the framing in front of the action. Example: You're panning as you
follow a race car. Leave more room in front of the car within your framing.
This can be applied to any action you're following. A pedestrian crossing
a street. A bird in flight. You name it.....
Pay attention to how action is captured by professionals. TV and sporting
events should be good reference.
I've been a videographer for many years. When I first started out in
broadcasting I was as raw as they come. I remember one of the directors
tieing a tire to the studio lighting grid and swinging it back and forth.
He told me to frame the tire with my studio camera as it swung back
and forth on the grid. Sounds simplistic but it helped a greenhorn learn
how to frame properly.
Practice makes perfect. The more quality clips, the more motivated buyers
will be to look to agencies for the shot they need for their production.....
263
« on: November 19, 2015, 08:33 »
I started submitting 4 years ago with 4 agencies. DT was far and away my
most successful agency. Even with a tiny portfolio at the time (200-400) I
was selling images everyday.
Today with approx. 2500 images in my portfolio I may, if I'm lucky, sell one image
a week. What changed?
The assumption that our portfolios are the perfect fit for ALL agencies, of course,
is naive and incorrect. In the early days when I was first submitting, the vast
majority of submissions were "big city" themes. Its since been replaced with a
"rural/country" theme.
As far as numbers and not income, which agencies have taken over DT's numbers? Surprisingly, DepositPhoto! Followed by 123rf, and then IStock.
264
« on: July 15, 2015, 22:04 »
FYI....this was posted on the B&H site regarding Canon's T6i camera:
Product Advisory: In some units of the EOS Rebel T6i white spots may exist on the optical layer which may result in the appearance of dark circular patterns on the capture image under certain shooting conditions. Potentially affected units include cameras with serials numbers of "XXnnnnnnnnnn" in which XX is 01 or 02. These cameras will be inspected and repaired free of charge by Canon USA.
265
« on: July 03, 2015, 04:42 »
Stunning....thanks for sharing.
266
« on: June 09, 2015, 22:17 »
My definition of a "snapshot" is: Handheld. 30 seconds or less to compose. Less than perfect lighting. Spontaneous....you see something unique or "sellable" and you capture it.
My question: Can you find success shooting "snapshots"? And to you who spend gobs of money renting a studio. Hiring models. Using state of the art equipment capturing that perfect composition of the smiling, middle-aged female CEO leaning across the desk and shaking hands with the enamoured client......do you, on occasion submit "snapshots" and find success?
267
« on: June 02, 2015, 15:49 »
DT was the only agency down, May, 2014 -to-May, 2015 , in purchases. The other five were up-way up. 28% up on average on number of purchases and 38% up on revenue. Is that DT's fault? I doubt it. Things shift over time. When I started 4 years ago DT was consistently my top agency. And I bet two or three years down the road I could be saying the same thing again.
268
« on: May 01, 2015, 09:09 »
You talk yourself into taking a shot of an industrial "Sluice Valve" on a construction site because, well....how many industrial sluice valves can you be compeating against?
269
« on: April 30, 2015, 19:40 »
123RF has changed its loading system in an attempt to make things easier for contributors. I commend them for that. The loading system was a bit awkward at first but that's only because its new. Things move along very smoothly now. I appreciate the fact that I can load multiple images instead of their lame "one at a time" system they had previously. If there's an agency that deserves a rant, in my opinion, it should be directed toward IStock and their antiquated, turn of the century procedure. About as backward and amateurish as it gets.....
270
« on: April 26, 2015, 17:58 »
Hope this will inspire.....
271
« on: April 13, 2015, 22:02 »
I've shot a lot of trains over the years. Please don't under estimate the danger! Think creatively on the other side of the gate. If you're shooting video, set up the shot long before the train arrives and stand safely on the other side of the crossing gate. And give the train engineer a wave. If he honks twice its a signal that he appreciates your cautious approach.
272
« on: April 12, 2015, 16:45 »
....and do you think the SS is snubbing their nose at us, the contributors, with their current home page image where the female is completely out of focus except for her left arm?
273
« on: March 21, 2015, 14:34 »
Me too. 
274
« on: March 21, 2015, 14:32 »
It's a good idea to stand upstream, or away from the crossing and traffic, if you are a railfan. (aka foamer) 
Sage advice. I love shooting trains but always at a safe distance. Always expect the unexpected when you've got 100,000 tons of steel racing toward you. Could make for an interesting topic: "How to capture quality shots using safe techniques."
275
« on: March 19, 2015, 17:22 »
Yeah, their video manual is way out of date.
The whole website is freakin pre-21st Century!
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