Hi FD,

 This site is full of talent without a doubt I am very pleased to here the support MSG is giving the new collection. Unfortunately as with all new web sites we have our first glitch and the thumbs are not loading properly. I will have our web designer fix it in the morning but the images are still viewable they just show up on a light background instead of a black one and the site is loading very slow. Thanks goes out to Rob here on MSG for letting me know, thanks Rob.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi melastmohican,

 Please send me a PM if you want more info on what we are looking for. You don't need a ton of photos for the collection, just good ones with property releases. Locations the average bear might not gain access but through relationships or friends you would be surprised who will sign a release if they get a bunch of free images for signing. Yes, we give our locations free discs of all the images we shoot to motivate them to want to have their location shot. A win/win situation for both and no cost up front for the photographer just a cd. Please stay in touch.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi Leaf,

 Yes they are exclusive to Spaces but we hope to have 100 resellers around the world selling the same content through our distribution channels. Our RM is also multi distributional which is very new to the stock game. It used to be that your Macro RM stayed at just one seller and never had a chance to really be discovered by all the buyers out there.
 It has been realized that buyers of RM that want control of a time period for a certain location or territory are less than 5% so when these sales are made your image is pulled from the other sites until the buyers time is up and then they automatically reload at the other agencies. The best part is if they use exclusive rights it means a much bigger pay check so it is a good thing when your work is being pulled from other sites. It means you are making top dollar on sales. I hope that answers the question, PM me if you want more info.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 My company has just launched a new Macro RM/RF collection titled Spaces Images. You can find it at www.spacesimages.com to see a portion of the work. We are excited to start this collection with the support of Corbis for our launch. We are however multi ditributional so our RM and RF will be carried by many distributors across the globe.
 The collection is much different than my usual lifestyle work actually there is not a person in any of the work. The collection is based on the environments where people live, work and play. After spending 12 years analyzing our personal sales of now 15,000 images we realized by far our best sellers were locations without people that were Property Released when need be. That was the birth of the concept and after a year and a half of work we are now representing 40 wonderful photographers and are launching with 4,000 images.
 We offer all our contributors a 50/50 split so that photographers can continue to be able to afford making stelar photos in this tightening economy. If anyone here is interested in being part of the team please contact us throgh the web site. We already have a couple of MSG members signed and they are exceeding all expectations making the collection stronger every day.
 If you are interested in just learning more please drop me a PM and we can discuss in more detail. No cost to the contributor, we cover all key wording and distribution and you provide us with the finished image and a Property Release where needed, simple as we could make it for the contributor. I hope to hear from some of you, there is a great deal of talent on this site and it is a way to break into the Macro market if that is of interest. Also no expensive models to deal with

Cheers,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 We will be in Dublin releasing our new stock agency www.spacesimages.com. It is an RM/RF Macro collection that has just launched on Corbis and we will be meeting with distributors from around the globe for them to distribute the collection as well.
 Thanks to Lee and Tyler I also get to join in on the lecture portion before the agency meetings. It should be a total blast for anyone that wants to take part in some Micro fun and shop talk.
 We all fly in on the 6th and will be there through till the end of the congress, please keep an eye out or send me a PM I would love to run into some of the people here I haven't had the pleasure to meet.
 If you like the site and are interested in becoming a contributor please feel welcome to send us a message through the site there are already some Micro people from this forum that are contributors and we offer a 50/50 split to everyone.

Look forward to meeting up,
Jonathan

Hi Lisa,

I agree Lisa. Especially about upping your game as a shooter and seeing your sales stay the same or start to drop, how can you control such a thing. It is frustrating.

Best,
Jonathan

 Hi Surpaspro,
 
 I really think it is better in your situation to do the editing for what you know the market will need and then have an out source do them for a per image cost. Lookstat is a good choice. Rahul there could also give you feed back on the work before you spend money on the processing, he has a great deal of knowledge about what will and won't sell in the Micro market place.
 I would totally stay away from a percentage deal and pay for the cost of the salable images yourself. You might need a good editor more than someone to upload at first.

 Gostywk,

 200 photos from a months travel work.  Are you sure those are the correct numbers, they seem a bit low to me.

Good Luck,
Jonathan

 I appreciate all the warmth and whit. Thanks you guys, I didn't know you cared so much to take the time to show it. This place is getting more friendly by the day. Keep spreading the love

Cheers,
Jonathan

SJ,

 You already tried submitting to Macro remember and you said it didn't make you good money so it's good you have the Micro market because from your own words your Macro doesn't sell. That's okay you sell a ton in Micro so you found your niche.

Best,
J

Hi All,

 The best data I think to share to help educate each other is your return per image at these sites on a monthly basis. That would be the total dollar sales in one month divided by the number of images you have in your collection. What you made in actual money is what will tell us what returns are really like at different agencies and how well the subject of the photographer sells at each site. However some here have trouble sharing numbers and feel it is boasting. If anyone wants to hear my numbers please just e-mail me I would be happy to share my info.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi All,

My Weekly downloads at Istock have dropped dramatically this month after uploading new images every week for months, last month was my biggest ever. Must be a best match switch or something of the sort.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 I am sorry for letting this slip through without a follow up. I am getting forgetful in my age . My approach to getting into the big Macro agencies is to enter through a back door or what's known as third party agencies and get yourself recognized. If you produce solid work for these third party agencies under the Getty or Corbis umbrella and your sales are good the big dogs are going to notice.
 After some time feeding several or only one third party and selling well then that is the best time to make your direct introduction to the big agency with an e-mail. Explain who you are and that you have work on their site through so and so brand and would love to work directly with their agency if possible. If your work is selling they will know and they will invite you to join there agency as well. That is a big part of diversifying.
 It is important that you shoot different work for each third party agency so you will have to produce new work but that is a given as you will want to produce your very best, I mean better than what you find on the Third party agency for them to be interested in you. It doesn't take a lot of images but they need to be stelar. Every third party agency has some bad work in their collection but this is not your gage. You want to look at their best work and meet those standards if you want in. The first work is really under the microscope so you must kick some butt on those first submissions.
 Once in then you can follow your sales and see how they are stacking up, remember the idea is to build diversification and an entrance into the big agencies so that has to be your focus at first rather than how much you will make. If your work is strong don't worry about the revenue it will start to grow, however in the Macro market it can take longer to get your work up and even longer for the buyers to find it at first so you have to be patient. I give all our work a six month wait before I start to calculate the sales and see if the subject is selling well.
 The third party lifestyle agencies I would approach are. Image Source, Blend Images, Superstock, Cultura Images, Tetra and many more. You can go to Getty or Corbis and see a list of all their third party collections by using their advanced search section. That way you can look to see what the third party agencies are offering and see if it is a good fit for your interest and style.
 I hope this helps a bit if anyone has any questions please feel welcome to P.M. me or just make a follow up post. I promise not to fall asleep at the wheel again

Good Luck,
Jonathan

Hi Warren,

 Glad to see you have published this. It is an important subject that has more branches than a willow tree, well done.

Best,
Jonathan