By sell there stuff i mean photos and video. The bar for stock footage is extremely low and anyone can do it.  I produce high end work but also have a lot of clips that id never use in my life, and guess what? They sell. Instagram would be silly not to, and if they dont somebody else will. They have hundreds of millions of producers at their fingertips and with the way phone cameras are progressing media will be worthless. Anyone can shoot a sunset, mountains, a tropical beach etc etc. Point, shoot, click opt in and now your image is readily available on the largest stock site in the world and they didnt even have to lure producers in, because we already are doing it for them.

A lot of doomsday nonsense here. Most people don't have the interest or know how to produce stock photos and footage. In order to make any money at all from footage, a person has to pursue it relatively seriously for an ongoing length of time. Plus they have to be able to produce decent quality content, which is not as easy as you state. Perhaps it is for you, but I've seen first how newcomers struggle when trying to do stock media. Most people see how tough it is and don't persist. I think a lot of average producers of stock have been driven out of the market and will continue to be driven out. Quality has gone up significantly and the need to adapt quickly has become essential for ongoing success. There will always be money to be made for professional stock creators who have niches and know how to stay ahead of the flock.

If you think this is bad, wait until instagram has a simple opt in function thar allows anyone to sell their photos and video. That will be the final death blow for stock imho.

Not exactly, the range of clips and photos on instagram is relatively narrow and covers only about 20% of stock subjects. Most of it is ego me me me driven and will never cover the everyday subjects that stock requires.

Anybody seeing it?

They are no show at NAB this year unlike previous years.  I'm a little concerned.  I hope it's just a technical glitch.

They've completely lost the plot.

And how many clips did you have active at the time?

What's with all the questions?

Anyone know of anything like this?

You'll do much better at stock if you come up with your own original creative ideas, instead of relying on inspiration by copying others success.

2017 was my BYE

Quote from: sharply_done on February 10, 2010, 01:50

I disagree about video - I think it's a trendy fad that will quietly go away sooner rather than later. Those investing time and money into it are going to be very disappointed.

I think you are right about most things but I disagree with you on this one.  I am a complete amateur with video and I have uploaded a small portfolio to a few sites.  The sales are reasonable and the commissions are good.  It is worth getting in to, have a look at the number of sales some people are getting, I was surprised.  Wont most advertising be moving images in the future?  Print is dying, everything is moving to the internet and screen advertising.  I see more and more moving images taking over from stills.  I still prefer stills but what do the advertising people think?

None of us can predict the future with any real accuracy and I think it is sensible to diversify in to footage, there is a chance it wont pay off but it is just as likely to be the next big thing.  I also like the fact that it isn't as simple as taking a photo, most people can master that now.  Footage has a steeper learning curve and at the moment it isn't as easy to upload 500mb files.  There is less competition at the moment, that will probably change in the future.

I agree, keep producing good quality niche photos, a much better option than video IMO

Just a quick question to those that already created a separate exclusive account, while retaining your current portfolio as non-exclusive. How did you go about doing that?  In the e-mail they send I only see the option of going fully exclusive. Do you have to e-mail them requesting a separate account or do you have register as if you are a new contributor? Another question - will payments of the two accounts be totally separate or will earnings be combined between the two?

Thank you

I also don't understand. Can you use the same email address by using a different username and password? Or do you need another email address? and if so what do you do about paypal time when you only have one email as paypal payment?

Quote from: pkphotos on March 21, 2019, 11:49

I didn't hear what they said about going exclusive while already having thousands of clips spread across multiple agencies. Will those non-exclusive clips drop to 40% or would we have to delete all content from other agencies? I'd think about going exclusive, but there's no way I can afford to delete anything from SS

I didn't hear them clarify this beyond doubt, but it is my understanding that this program was ARTIST exclusive, meaning ALL of your clips need to be either exclusive or non-exclusive. Not just some clips in your portfolio. So you would have to delete everything. Good luck with that P5...

They'll struggle to get 99% of us to delete our SS portfolios as it's simply not affordable. Also SS generate some decent size prices

Quote from: Minsc on March 13, 2019, 14:46

With video, it's incredibly tough. Too much production time and content gets outdated too quickly. A few years ago, people were happy with 1080p and now everyone is downloading 4K. It's not that sustainable in the long run so you constantly have to upload.

With images, you have a better chance, but like many have said...you need time to build a portfolio and establish your position in the search rankings. You have to be among the best at what you do and you have be willing to spend thousands of hours on your work. It gets harder everyday with so much content in the market, but it's not impossible. Just don't expect immediate results and don't get discouraged.

I have a mixed portfolio with a strong focus on design. I'm not close to $150k, but it's a reachable goal provided the market doesn't change too much in the next 5-10 years.

The problem is the market is changing.  My yearly return per shot is half what it was 5 years ago and will likely drop by half or more again in the next 5 years.  Eventually the cost per shot will exceed the average lifetime earnings per shot...   

Most buyers are still downloading 1080 not 4K.

Remember Videoblocks announcement after their commission cuts. 'Look forward to more sales' they said. Instead sales have gone completely AWOL for most contributors. I wonder how their financial books are looking. Or can they just survive off their second rate membership library?

It's totally legit. They tax everyone.