Quote from: Brasilnut on February 25, 2022, 12:52

Quote from: Brasilnut on February 25, 2022, 10:05

I'm heading shortly to a protest at the Russian Embassy in Madrid to get some content. Wish me luck!

Without getting into politics, captured some cool shots and uploaded them to Rex Features (now Shutterstock Editorial) and Alamy Live News. Shot about 1 hour ago so time was of the essence for these breaking news type shots.

I've never actually sold an image on Alamy Live News (only later as a regular stock), so hoping it will be my first.

Serious question. Of course you are legally allowed to take these photos and license them as Editorial without model releases, but how do you decide with regards to the safety of the people there. For example some these people very likely have connections to Ukraine or Russia and could be back in these countries at some point. They could be in real danger if anyone recognises them, and of course these photos are easily searched and catalogued by bad actors thanks to keywords etc. Just wondering.

It's a good question. Not something I have thought about...until now.

The way I look at it, there were at least a dozen journalists there and some recording video non-stop....live streaming, etc. Also, I'm sure that the Russian embassy across the street also has a CCTV device (one that is clearly visible - see pic and there by might be others) and who knows these days what they do with the info.

So my pics are just a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of content that is being produced especially since I was only there for about 45 minutes. Obviously this is not an excuse and if anything happened to those people because someone spotted them via one of my pics, however unlikely, means that I would be indirectly responsible.

In the end I truly believe that there comes greater good by covering newsworthy content in a transparent way as it's a crucial part of living in a free democracy. 

I'm heading shortly to a protest at the Russian Embassy in Madrid to get some content. Wish me luck!

Quote from: Brasilnut on February 01, 2022, 16:37

Quote from: Wilm on February 01, 2022, 16:18

When over 13000 images bring $39, then it's time to question whether it still makes sense.
The other figures also brutallyhonestly show that microstock is a discontinued model.

Thanks for your info, Alex. As far as the trend goes, it's in line with my experience.

Indeed, probably time to pack it in soon or relegate it to some sort of masochist hobby.

If I do ever decide to commit to Microstock I'll have to have a business strategy like Kaspars who I interviewed in January.

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2022/01/10/interview-with-kaspars-grinvalds-lifestyle-microstock-photographer/

The guy is a Microstock beast and earns regularly EUR 4K a month on "just" 9,376 images and 4 agencies. His content is really technical excellent with trending concepts.

I've had a look at the portfolio, Alex.

You wrote that he earns $4000 per month with just under 9,500 images. That's certainly a decent rate these days. But I also see a lot of different models in his portfolio. Are the costs for that taken into account?

$4,000 is an average gross income in Central Europe. If there are too many additional costs (models, rent, equipment, software...), then there won't be much money left over to live on.

Therefore, the figures are not extremely impressive by local standards.

True, he mentions gross earnings...not sure how much he spends on models, etc.

He did mention in the interview that he often photographs his wife, so that should help to keep his costs lower.

Randomly checking up on how some of my best-sellers on SS rank for certain keywords and was surprised to see that some of those best-sellers have listed to buyers as "Never Used".

Here's an example of one of my best-sellers from Sept 2015. I've randomly checked other best-sellers and have encountered the same issues. How about yours?

Perhaps to entice buyers to use it so that it's more unique to their content, which would be fraud. Or at the very best, just plain old negligence. I'm all for more sales but not if you need to trick buyers to achieve this result.

I'll create a thread on their forum, oh wait, there is no more forum 

Quote from: Wilm on February 01, 2022, 16:18

The other figures also brutallyhonestly show that microstock is a discontinued model.

No, they show that it is a discontinued model for Alex, unless he changes his model or microstock changes. Obviously it is not working for him the way it is now. There are people with smaller port size, but bigger earnings.
 I made more in January from Shutterstock alone than he made with 16 agencies combined and SS wasn't even my best earning agency. Whenever I write stuff like this I fear people might think I am here to boost. I am really not. Compared to some other people my microstock income is a joke.
I just feel the need to point out that Alex is not representative for the whole microstock market. Different people produce different content, some things work for microstocks, some don't. Some things work better at certain times than other things. For example, it's not surprising that someone who spend years building a microstock portfolio focused on travel photography will not see the greatest results during a still ongoing world pandemic with travel restrictions.

Well put and pretty much sums it up.

My results are disappointing to say the least but I'm of course largely to blame. I've focused on a travel niche that is both expensive and not highly paid, while not hugely sought after, especially during the middle of a pandemic.

It's been a choice all along and even though I've delved into model released lifestyle stuff and composites, it's not something I particularly enjoy(ed) even if I know for a fact that it would bring in more returns. For those that have been following me for a while, about 3 years ago I decided to focus more on videos but even that isn't bearing fruit. Perhaps with some quality drone shots that will change.

I'm not greedy and have no intentions to make this a full-time job, my expectations have always been realistic but anything under $800/month at this stage in the game is simply a disaster. Hope that this year at least the average earnings will balance out at $1k/month on average which would be acceptable but seems quite unrealistic at the moment (only real hope are the book covers). $1k a month would be enough for guilt-free gear upgrades and travel with enough leftover for some surprises. The rest, to cover my living expenses, I can make with my dayjob, photography commissioned work and freelance writing.

If I choose to continue with Microstock it's insanity which is defined as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting expecting different results". I'm glad I managed to get a bit of tail-end of the good times of the business back in 2012/2013. Nowadays, I'm hoping that I can give away most of my Microstock images for a one-time fee for $5 as was done with AS and not look back.

Happy about book covers and it shows Greener pasture there, or I should say a torture chamber of dark themes Here's to death of Microstock!

When over 13000 images bring $39, then it's time to question whether it still makes sense.
The other figures also brutallyhonestly show that microstock is a discontinued model.

Thanks for your info, Alex. As far as the trend goes, it's in line with my experience.

Indeed, probably time to pack it in soon or relegate it to some sort of masochist hobby.

If I do ever decide to commit to Microstock I'll have to have a business strategy like Kaspars who I interviewed in January.

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2022/01/10/interview-with-kaspars-grinvalds-lifestyle-microstock-photographer/

The guy is a Microstock beast and earns regularly EUR 4K a month on "just" 9,376 images and 4 agencies. His content is really technical excellent with trending concepts.

I know I read this a few months late -but thanks so much for sharing the tips re:Arcangel

I've been concentrating much more on fine art this past year with growing sales and I realize that some of my moodier concept art might be right for Arcangel. I've considered applying before but fear of rejection kept me from doing so. Your post has me thinking it should be on my resolutions for 2022 and since it's still January it's a timely goal to add to my list.

Thanks as always for your in-depth report.

You're welcome

No harm and sending over a first batch, even if it's rejected you may receive some feedback to improve for next time. Embrace it and try to improve...we often think that our work is better/more commercial than it actually is.

Glad I stuck with them, already anticipating that my goal for 2023 is to give up completely on Microstock (right after SS adopts the "free-download model"). Let's see!

For January, I'm at 39.5% acceptance 79/197...whole lot better than 5% back in the summer   

Yes, they have become stricter in the past year.

Gross is highly misleading, I'll stick with net in my pocket on average per sale since 2017.

Our average price for per licence remains remarkably stable and has done since 2017. 2021 had the average licence price in the same bracket as 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020

Certainly not in my case 

Much more travel, a drone and a Nikon Z9...hope that I'm not asking for too much

The year is officially over and it�s that wonderful time again to publish a comprehensive review of the year that was, while providing a glimpse forward to the new year.

To sum up, it�s been largely a year of frustration mainly due to a lack of travel but as always, I remain optimistic for next year, particularly when it comes to capturing book covers and drone footage. Let�s get started!

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2022/01/01/2021-year-end-review-good-bad-and-ugly/

All the best - Alex

If you have the time and inclination better to submit yourself, no doubt. More control and you'll know more about the subject to keyword yourself.

I have no more time/patience for microstock so even for reduced 15% earnings that Wirestock earn, it's well worth it. Their keywording has improved but still has some ways to go.

Lastly, since we're part of a large group, they can quickly rise up the Shutterstock tiers which is a big pro.