Now the professional photographers are competing with people who (happen to take photos) didn't even plan on making money with them. It's like, why paying a plumbing company to fix my broken toilet if my neighbor who owns a wrench can also do it (for the same price)Huh

What does it matter if a plumbing company or your neighbors fixes your pipe? The end result is that same?

Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, but I happen to be one of the "hotshot" photographers you are all mocking. My photo is the dog with the wig.

I put a lot of thought and effort into that shot, and the many that followed. That image has made a fairly large sum of money for me. It has been on multiple book covers, used in various ad campaigns and sold as a large print for charity.

Was I or am I a professional photographer? No. Not everyone starts out as a professional. But it really doesn't matter. I, like everyone else, has the right to shoot how and what they want and do whatever they choose with those images.

I don't really know what I am trying to say here other than I have become more and more disheartened by the photography community lately. There is no support, there is only trash talking and "leave it to the pros" attitudes.

If Getty is not your thing, great....but does it really do any good to trash talk other peoples work, or is it just a way to make yourself feel better in an ever changing industry where the size of your lens or being a "pro" no longer matter.

Anyway....I just had to vent.

No problem. Just remember its work, but it is fun. Be careful with commercial links as they don't really like them. You are allowed one link to a personal site but your site cannot have anything directly for sale. So if you sell stock or prints and link to it, they will not take kindly to it.

You can, however, put as many links of whatever you want in your profile.

The best way to take advantage of Flickr is to be active and be a part of the community. More people will follow you and comment on your work, favorite your photos and such. The favorites and comments, the more likely the photo is seen by others. Favorites link to your photos, so if someone browses someone elses favorite photos, they see and link through to yours. The more favorites, the more external link to your photos....

But again, you have to be active, make friends and have fun!

I have been browsing Alamy's stats page looking at what popular and I notice that, for a one month period, there are not that many sales!

If I sort for sales or keyword searches, many of the top results seem very low. Am I using it correctly?

How do I best use those stats to my advantage?

Thanks
Chad

I like how Alamy has the ability to see stats site wide. So you can get a feel for which keywords are being searched the most and what the current popular trends are. Also, I don't think your site is categorized by concept, but it would be nice to see trends regarding searches for concepts, ie, happiness, loneliness, celebration..etc.

Thanks! I have a lot of opportunities coming at me all at once, I really need to slow down and consider my options.

I will look into that book. Thanks

Chad

Thanks.

As I stated in my other thread, I am looking for a way to learn more about the business and get my feet wet in the microworld.

I am at Getty images and it is working well. Its more creative, with fewer images but larger sales. There is no feedback however, I simply get checks once a month!

I would like the option to produce a portfolio of "unique" stock images. Yes, involving animals but also other situations. I have a lot of experience with advertising in the "pet industry" and have a first hand account of what would be needed, when and how best to shoot it. So, building this portfolio for the masses would be an interesting "project" for me.

I was hoping for a site with higher rates than micro and the ability to monitor sales, views, etc as well as gaining experience in keywording and the like.

I shoot portraits and ads for more specific adverts in my area. I am not really interested in distributing myself at this time. I do have my site somewhat up and running (http://www.chadlatta.com) but its a work in progress. A blog is planned to tie me a little more to my community, but not so much stock related. Blogs, distribution and all that take time....something I don't have a lot of and would rather use shooting.

I havent ruled it out, but I have to get started somewhere!

Thanks for the compliments. Its funny you bring up the "oversaturated" word! When I applied at Getty, I didn't submit any animal shots. However, I was accepted and the only images they initially chose where from my photostream and all dogs! Since then, I submit a mix but more dogs than anything, becuase that is what I shoot alot of. I can pretty much say that a dog image I submit will most likely be accepted and sold at least once within two months. I guess right about 90% of the time and its based on a years experience. They sell very well. Each image I sell per month averages a 50-100 commission. My dogs have a nice little retirement fund!

There is no perfect stock solution IMO (at least for me). Getty works well and I love it, but there is ZERO feedback. Just a statement on the 20th for the previous month. No stats, views, etc. They take the image and send me money. No keywording or anything. That is great, but hard to "analyze"

I am seriously looking into Cutstock. I would love to be able to upload images, keyword them and see search results and views. It would be a great way to experiment in the industry.

As far as oversaturation, I agree. There are millions of animal shots in microstock. I have yet to find a niche animal stock agency.

Currently, I get a lot of requests from local pet related business to shoot small photos for adverts. I have charged and received credits for the past year or so, but I have all the pet services I need taken care of for at least 5-10 years. So I am thinking I could put together a portfolio on cutstock, control pricing and refer business to that site. I would receive less than if I licensed the image myself, but when you consider the time of shooting an ad and the amount they want to pay, it would just be easier to point them to a library and go from there. With the added bonus of having it "worldwide". I also wouldn't have to deal with hosting, distributing and all that stuff that sucks the life out of me.

You have really nice photos. I am not sure if you will see quick returns from Alamy if you plan to upload 100 images on similar subjects, such as pets.

If you are doing well at Getty, why not focus on building a substantial portfolio there first?

The problem with Getty is that when I was invited, I really had no idea what I was doing. At that time, it was a great opportunity to build a portfolio. Images were needed and it was easier to get into the collections. Review times were around 2 weeks and upload limits were at 100 a month. But, as time went on and the collection started filling up, things started getting more difficult. Now, the submission limit is 25 a month (there are other ways to get images in, but its not as easy), review times are months and and competition is stiff. I really feel I have no control over any of it. Everything is so up in the air as to how long reviews take, what is being accepted and why images are rejected. The only consistency is payday, the 20th of each month.

My acceptance rate is about 60%, which is pretty good for that collection. But like I said, I just get random emails here and there saying, we want this and that....its just really unpredictable.

Now that I have a better idea of what I am doing, I want a little more control. I want to be able to upload images, see stats and use all that info to get better. I want to be able to have a better feel for what is happening and how I can change things up to make more sales.

I am still building my Getty portfolio and have no plans of stopping, but its a little like if an agency said, "we will stop by your place sometime and look through your photos to see what we want". You never know when they will stop by, what images they will take and what they want next time they stop by, or when they will be back again. 

It's growing, but slowly.

I am really unsure about microstock. I have chosen to stay away from Istock and others because I have heard alot from others about how much work is required for so little return.

I am not against work, but I would go nuts trying to put together such a HUGE portfolio to make any decent money. Where I am at with Getty, I make at least 5 times more than some of my friends with thousands more images online (I currently have 46?). So, I am trying to stay away from micro as long as possible. As it is now, I shoot stuff I enjoy, and it makes me money. I don't have to sit at home on a weekend photographing stuff specifically for stock. I get to be creative with Getty. This is the direction I want to go, but it produces less images (for me anyway)

Which is why I considered alamy as a second choice.

CutCaster looks interesting. I guess it is still micro, but maybe better royalties and higher pricing? I would be able to put up a decent portfolio if I felt it would be worth it. I don't know how to get a hold of Warren Price. It would be great to ask him some questions. Or, if anyone else has any input on CutCaster.

Thank you. I appreciate the comment.