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Messages - ClaridgeJ
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351
« on: November 16, 2012, 04:01 »
ja ja, you can always invest in gear.
There is always better and newer gear being let loose on the market.
If you choose Canon or Nikon doesnt matter, both can produce quality far above what is needed at microstock.
But it is worth to remember that the payback per file is very low and it can be hard to earn back an investment.
For me? I produce cheap files with cheap equipment. That means an old Nikon d 200 and a 18-200 mm lens and it also means that when I drop them on the floor so they break, I buy a new old d 200 and a new old 18-200.
If you want to invest, I suggest you invest in lights and software: Topaz, Helicon, Photomatix. There is much more money to be earned in mastering software than hardware.
I invested in a 7D in april... the investment/money were recuperated in two months. the sigma lens ( 50mm f/1.4 EX HSM) in two weeks (all out of stock). i have lights transmitters and other gadgets for controlled light conditions. I do microstock for more than 2 years now and 80% of my stock revenue were reinvested in gear/ shooting sessions. Now finally the 2 years work starting to pay out.
I save now to arrange a studio ( dedicated mainly to stock).
Regarding software/hard i use a HP workstation with a good monitor and Photoshop CS5 with some useful plugins ( including Topaz Denoise)
The only thing that remains is the camera.... stay with canon or go with the Nikon.
No! I totally dissagree with the attitude of the cheaper the better, etc. Equipment is important and many agencies today are selling XXXL files, etc, etc. You should without doubt get a camera whos sensor can produce these sizes and should you wish to serve the RM/RF market, well then its a must. Sure you dont need 36MPs ( d800) for micro, not right now anyway but nobody can foresee the future and required sizes, etc. Stay with Canon, forget the 5dMIII, I got it purely for investment, its got very, very little above the MII. So get yourself a MII and some first class optics, lenses are far more important then camers. Lenses it the one and only thing where you cant play it cheapo and the bigger the sensor the more classy optics you will need.
352
« on: November 16, 2012, 02:51 »
Never any bugs
never any glitches.
never any search-changes.
never any lowering of commissions/ percentages.
never any selling out or take overs.
never any subs sales
never any problems at all
never any contributors / buyers leaving.
I.m sure you talking about IS; not all the stock agencies( i meant the ones that matters).
Well you know. Look around. I am being a bit funny here but really you find a bit of these ingredients in most of them, some more some less. Typical of short term business, strategies and profits. OTOH. We havent heard a word from this OP? does he really exist? or a figment of our imagination?
353
« on: November 16, 2012, 02:46 »
At this stage and in micro, MPs isnt important as long as its full frame and above, the 5DMII is the perfect cam for micro and general stock. The MIII, will give better AF thats all, if you need better AF that is.
For studio and commercial work, advertising, etc. I use an HD4, not by choice but demand rather.
354
« on: November 16, 2012, 01:39 »
Stick to whatever youre used to. Canon btw according to rumors might soon be launching a 34MP cam. I would wait actually.
355
« on: November 15, 2012, 16:34 »
the question really is what does your regular job gets you beside the 2k $ per month and how much you would need to spend if you left it
your 8k $ income from stock won't go to half or less tomorrow, it will go over a few years maybe decades, not to mention that you will have a lot more time to work on new pictures, for sure the double you are producing as part-time
Youre right actually. If the guy was single and not a care in the world but then he tells us about wife, kids, this and that, well you know, Im not sure?
356
« on: November 15, 2012, 16:08 »
I suppose it comes with years and experience. The question here isnt really MONEY, is it? 8K per month is good money and will carry you in most countries. The REAL question here is: for how long will he continue to earn 8K per month after leaving his regular job? and thats ofcourse in the hands of the agencies. Provided they are good guys and NEVER creates any hickups  Its hard not to laugh actually. I mean micro today is very stable and sustainable, is is not? Considering this: Never any bugs never any glitches. never any search-changes. never any lowering of commissions/ percentages. never any selling out or take overs. never any subs sales never any problems at all never any contributors / buyers leaving. So we all are on a gigantic rollercoaster of easy life, fun and games and as microstockers we never, ever have to worry about money, lowered percentages or anytnhing. Now go jack your job in and join this marvellously rich and wealthy organization. In fact all people here encouraging you to leave, will ofcourse gurantee you life on a silver spoon, money in the bank and that the micro agencies have selected only you to enjoy the ride without the sightest bit of problem. 
357
« on: November 15, 2012, 15:08 »
SS - slow at the beginning of nov. but the last two days were fantastic with consistant EL's and big SOD's.....biggest disappointment is FT this month( my 2nd earner ).
Same here __ sales at SS have been going ballistic for the last couple of days, particularly those chunky SOD's. I think I am currently having my BDE there and there's still quite a few hours to go too!
Me three. Lots of Single sales and OD. It does make me wonder what would happen if you just turned off sub sales. And before anyone yells at me... It's just a random musing or curiosity and not a suggestion.
Yes but maybe we should be cautious with three day euphoria? according to some, maybe its a glitch or a bug? but SS is definetely doing something weird with their sort-order and on a day to day basis it seems.
358
« on: November 15, 2012, 13:30 »
DT, is a great agency, might go a few days without too much and then all of a sudden they produce a hell of a lot of sales and for very good money.
Stick with them. There is more to micro then just SS you know.
359
« on: November 15, 2012, 12:13 »
There must be a temporary surge in micro. All four, SS, IS, DT and FT, are doing extremely well. If this keeps up we will laugh all the way to the bank.
360
« on: November 15, 2012, 07:16 »
I am curious if anyone is familiar with the guidelines for exclusive contributors on iStock in regards to deactivating files on iStock and then what you are permitted to do with those files once you deactivate them?
I am considering becoming an exclusive contributor on iStock and, if I do that, I would like to know if as an exclusive contributor I would be permitted to deactivate certain files of my choice in the future that I have selling on iStock now and then to sell the files elsewhere as Rights Managed instead?
I am just trying to get a feel for what the rules are in terms of my content before I pull the trigger to become exclusive.
Thanks...
I been shooting RM since the mid 80s and my advice is. Keep RM and micro or X-micro totally separate, best thing to do. Once an image has been licesenses through micro with some other 100 million, its a gonner. The odds are nobody would ever find out but its not worth it, too small money in general stock. Strictly RM agencies dont really want images thats been hanging around in micro. By misstake I supplied 2 images that I deactivated over 4 years ago. I got them back, they dont want them and once they been in micro, even though deactivated its very hard to police.
361
« on: November 15, 2012, 02:07 »
Yep! last three days in particular, brillant! but I am dubvious, they are fiddling around with the sort and we all know what that can lead to.
362
« on: November 13, 2012, 12:54 »
What seems to be very , very odd is the fact that somebody came on the forum claiming that is making 8k/month and no portfolio visible on any agency for us to see... I don't say that the topic is a joke or impossible to grow that much in a short period of time... but no portfolio visible let me think that all this topic is ''fake''...
No offense SIFD but I'm little skeptical..... 
I have begun wondering the same thing. The OP made the one post, followed up a few minutes later the same day, and hasn't returned to the thread since.
I don't doubt it's possible to make 8k on a good vector portfolio. I am sure there are those doing that and better.
But here's the thing. If I really HATED my job, I would not ask the opinions of a bunch of relative strangers on a forum whether or not to quit. I would already know whether or not I could stand it another day. And the only people whose opinions would matter to me about my future would be my own, and my spouse's.
Yeah, there is a lot of truth in that. Why ask strangers? weird.
363
« on: November 13, 2012, 11:09 »
Is there any money to be earnt? doesnt strike me as a lucrative market.
I believe there is no doubt there, Zazzle does insanely good for many focused contributors, I dont spend there much time, last time was like 6 months ago and I am doing over 100$ per month there
not to mention Fine Art America, they only allow you to upload 25 pictures unless you pay 25$ per year for membership to upload everything you want, many contributors like Sandra Cunningham keep on saying their sales on Facebook and I am talking about daily sales for large amounts not 38 cents
on the other hand DT have tried and failed enormously, I wonder why 
I see from Facebook also many people having sales in Redbubble
Hi Luis! Well thats not bad considering you hardly spend any time there. Pretty good I say. So what do you upload then? I take it its what one consider creative stuff? Do you do anything with fine arts of America? Thanks for the info.
364
« on: November 13, 2012, 07:12 »
Is there any money to be earnt? doesnt strike me as a lucrative market.
365
« on: November 13, 2012, 01:25 »
Is it about hitting the wall or is it that many agencies simply cant handle it and all their self inflicted mistakes result in our losses.
All the Admins of the Trad agencies must be laughing their heads off ( know for a fact that Getty is). If I wasnt in too deep in this micro, I would have kicked it yesterday and I am always looking for a way out of it. This is not the way for a photographer to go.
Agreeing with Lisa though, it comes to a stage where you are bashing your head against a brick wall and its like dragging blood out of a stone, a sort of stand-still, no matter what you do there are no rewards.
Everyday I am deleting a few files here and there and then putting them in for macro RF and the funny thing is, so far its been quite rewarding.
366
« on: November 12, 2012, 17:05 »
Been there - done that. Best five years of my life while I was making good money (macro) - followed by worst three years as the money dried up to a point it would not sustain my family - amazing how fast residual income dries up when you are relying on it.
So it was back to work again away from the family, then I found micro of an evening. If my part time hobby (for which I put in full time hours I hasten to add) paid me enough, would I do it all again? Probably - although it would take some very serious family discussions.. Good luck either way.
Funny you should say that. My Macro, RM/RF, has never been better then right now. OTOH, I have been concentrating on that far more then micro.
367
« on: November 12, 2012, 16:18 »
This is a non-question. If the OP is earning 3x more from his part-time 'hobby' than his full-time day job then it is pretty obvious where his time is more profitably spent.
Microstock is not particularly 'volatile' as others have suggested, at least provided you remain independent. A decent portfolio actually represents $10K's, maybe several $100K's, worth of future earnings. It's residual income and provides far more security than any salaried job.
Just grow some, take the plunge and get on with it.
Residual income, provides far more security? future earnings? microstock secure? beg you pardon sir but are we talking about the same business? microstock? Have we all forgotten the IS shambles, changes, claw-backs, RCs, etc, etc, how thousands of contributors lost half their incomes over a period of time, FTs constant sort changes? this and that. Can you guarantee the OP his security? that nothing drastic, no changes will take place that will lower his income. I wont tell you who says it because it hasnt even been printed yet. Microstock have for the past two years been regarded as one of THE most untrustworthy, dodgy, shakey, edgy, businesses on this planet. There is absoloutely nothing, not even the remotest security in this business. We could wake up tomorrow and its all gone. This guy is trying to support his family. Its utter madness fooling him up the garden path. Almost every week I hear you talking about the IS greed this and that. How can any business based on this type of greed be secure. I feel sorry for the OP. Frankly I really do.
368
« on: November 12, 2012, 13:16 »
No definetely not. was great but at present pretty lousy. Might consider stop uploadning there.
369
« on: November 12, 2012, 03:32 »
Just for the record : I did/do not earn $8000/month with stock, not by far, but then again, I only have myself to support so I need less. Still, diversifying is (IMHO) the key to a big step in life like this. Even if I like stock photography MUCH more than commissioned work.
On the other hand : commissioned work has its opportunities too : when a really cute/beautiful model comes along for commissioned portraits, you can offer him/her a free photo shoot + MR. I did so when parents came along with newborn twins of 11 days old.
Right! thats one of the beauties of commissioned work involving people, never any problems with MRs, for stock, etc. In my case I get into places through commissioned work, places where I would NEVER gain entry if it wasnt for a commission. So keep it up, right way to go.
370
« on: November 12, 2012, 03:17 »
And I thought I was the pessimist in the family
Don't you think that if Daddy comes home depressed every evening "love will fly away" too ?
The question is of course : does he REALLY hate his job, or was he just exaggerating, like in "I hate brocoli" ?
I quit (almost) one year ago because I realised that staying in that job would (1) make me unhappy for the rest of my career (really unhappy, no exaggeration) and (2) would even be bad for my health, both physical and mental. If you realise that, and at the same time earn $8000/month with microstock, becoming a fulltime photographer is a great option. I did NOT say fulltime stock-photographer ... This year, commisioned work amounts to 20% of my income, next year probably 30%. Gambling for 100% on stock photography without diversifying is indeed very dangerous.
Nice one! and youve done well with a great port. Lets hope your commissioned work will take over. Thats what my studio, commissions, advertising, industry, etc did ages ago. Yes I agree with you, does he really hate his job that much or isnt rather that being a photographer, fulltime is just so much more fun and glamorous compared to any old dayjob? Always two sides to it.
371
« on: November 12, 2012, 02:45 »
I am amazed that so many people advise a 33 year old to stick with a job he hates. What, for the rest of his life? At least give him the advice to find another job ... Yes, I know wife/kids is important, but does that mean you have to be unhappy during every working hour for the next 30 years?
You say it's easy for me to tell him to quit his job, well I say it's easy for people with nice(r) jobs to tell him to stay with a terrible job. What about the wife/kids when he comes home every evening depressed after another rotten day at work?
If you think about fulltime stock photography, you have several choices :
- nice job? ask for part-time
- rotten job? find another job / ask for part-time
- rotten job? try stock fulltime (+ diversify!!)
- rotten job? stay unhappy - - - is this really your best solution?
Annika! youre missing the point here. Only 10 years back, I would have told him gladly to stick the job up the bosses back. Micro isnt governed like the traditional agencies, now way near. Micro is short term plans of fast bucks and pictures off the peg, thats it. I mean you can not seriously believe that micro ( as we know it) will be around in say 5-10 years time? Now just the fact that he is asking for advice hear proves that he isnt sure but is using his brain. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and just get on with it. Better or worse? Then when ha tells us he is the sole provider, kids and everything, sorry but you can not gamble with that. That would no doubt end with divorce and all other baddies. When the money stops coming in, love and all that jazz flies out the window. In fact I would rather recomend him to get himself a steady platform with more respected agencies in the RM/RF sphere where they just dont take your money and run. best. I
372
« on: November 12, 2012, 01:42 »
No, absoloutely not! today micro is so unstable that just by the flick of a search change you could be down 50% in income and then what?
Besides isnt it quite obvious micro is on its last legs. There is no future in micro, its totally over saturated and the supply outstripps the demand by lightyears.
In short, keep your job.
I am afraid I have to agree here. Micro is my FT job, but if I was the only support of my family, it wouldn't be. I make more than my hubby does as a teacher, ATM, but this volatile micro market has taught me that it can change in a heartbeat.
The dreaded "wall" is a b1tch once you hit it, and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. Adding more pictures doesn't help, even when they are better than what you have previously uploaded. The fact is that your older images are losing sales faster than your new ones can pick up the slack.
Not to mention, all the major sites are continuously changing their search engine algorithms, so a site that was a top earner one month can see sales evaporate pretty much overnight, along with a significant portion of your income.
Like I said, I have made good money doing this. I and others here were fortunate to be doing microstock during its heyday. The heyday's over.
If you were single and only supporting yourself, or if your wife had a good job and health insurance for the family, as my husband has, then I would say go for it. But it's a heck of a risk to take with your family's future. The signs for this industry are not positive.
Yes it never stops to amaze me. People think they are in the hands of themselves and their work and that great work will prevail? yes it would, in a perfect world ofcourse. They still havent realized they are in the hands of people who doesnt give 2 cents about your work, good or bad and who quite deliberatly will crush thousands of ports just over a night. We have seen it many, many times. there are people here rooting for you to kick your bosses backdside, etc. Its all too easy for them to say isnt it? Consider this! I have been doing stock for over 20 years, RM, RF, micro, even have my own RM library together with a commercial studio with 3 employees and earn substantionally more then you do from stock alone. Think I can speak for Lisa as well here. Dont think about your creative masterpieces, thats one thing. Wife, kids? would you gamble with them? knowing fully well that just a simple sort order change can kill you off, just like that.
373
« on: November 11, 2012, 01:02 »
No, absoloutely not! today micro is so unstable that just by the flick of a search change you could be down 50% in income and then what?
Besides isnt it quite obvious micro is on its last legs. There is no future in micro, its totally over saturated and the supply outstripps the demand by lightyears.
In short, keep your job.
374
« on: November 10, 2012, 13:03 »
Youre all leading him up the garden path. None of you have ever been in this situation and will never be. So just dont say anything, rather just be quiet.
375
« on: November 10, 2012, 08:41 »
This is about every single commercial photo in the world. Apple successfully patents rectangle with rounded corners. I would never guess that it is possible. Is it time to produce triangle tablets? What's next? No more isolations because someone's going to register white background patent? Will all the models wear plain white t-shirts and lying on grass in the future? Well - maybe there will be special triple upside down reversed stitching on the shoulder visible patented by Stitchers Worldwide Inc. and particular color of lawn grass cultivar registered by United Grass Artists.
I hope that this patent madness has some limits.
The differance is Apple is a multi billion corp. They can afford to fend off almost anybody. In a situation like this, you chose your battles.
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