Is there anyway to "group check" the boxes on eligible files in the portfolio? Very tedious to do it one by one.

It�s only the sales related discussions and only if you are logged in. There was one recently entitled �a bit disheartening �

Steve

Don't these agencies realize the quality of stock photography will diminish greatly if photographers are only earning 10 cents an image which includes enhanced/extended licensing? Even the "new/pumped up generation" would probably not stay long at that royalty ...

Also, inflation is coming. They are reducing our pay while the cost of everything is going up.

Quote from: trek on March 30, 2021, 19:54

Maybe they intend to populate istock's offerings with newly acquired Unsplash content.  Then increase their profits by skewing the search results towards said content.  Customers need not know the content is also available as creative commons.   Contributors need not be paid because they already gave away all rights.

I think that's exactly what they'll do.

Quote from: cascoly on March 27, 2021, 21:46

like any non-fungible, it's worth what someone will pay for it - what's the intrinsic value of an oil-stained canvas? why is it worth more if Picasso applied the oil[paint] to the canvas?

most photos are worth less because they're now commodities in the context of buyers of stock.  it's not that stockagencies are giving artists so little (a different discussion but one that many keep conflating), it's that the worth of photos has declined precipitously - in the 70s-80 agencies sold  images for $300-1000+ for the same purposes they're  used now when they only cost  $1

I think its a bit more than that. While I agree with what you say, I also think that the idea of selling your Picasso for the same price, and in the same place, as my 30 second breakfast eggs photoshoot was and continues to be a contributor to the decline.

I wonder if a hybrid would work? I remember back in the day my ideal agency had tiers, where the better the work (subjective and hard to measure, I know) the higher the sell price. I wonder if some agency will simply have a permanent free section where the vast majority of product is exactly that. All the stuff every shooter starts out with and doesn't cost extra to produce.

It would give artists something to aim for, increasing their quality and creativity to a point where it generates earnings. Much as I love this industry and have for the past 15 plus years, so much of the collections are, in my opinion (and including some of my own stuff), not even worth the 1-10 cents that are charged for them. It could also train buyers into recognizing that quality should cost more, compete with the free agencies already out there, and maybe get some of those talented people onboard to sell work instead of giving it away...

I know, pipe dream..

Edit: Oooh, and do a plan like 10-5-1. Ten freebies, 5 paid, 1 Premium, all for the low low price of xxx. That way you don't have harvesters soaking up all the free stuff.

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 04, 2021, 14:01

Part of the problem is every newcomer doesn't realize it's in decline and many don't care. So if they only earn $100 from 10,000 images they wouldn't know any better.

It's:

• Better than nothing
• Better than collecting dust on computer
• Good enough for them
• A hobby so financials like profits matter
• Amazing someone wants to pay anything for their photos
• Helps pay the bills during tough times
• And on and on

I'm sure a lot of people are selling at a loss and don't even know it. Spend time and money on equipment, props, models, gas, and never hit break even.

If you have the equipment and travel to those places anyway the cost is in effect zero. I gave up with models as it lost money. Now I just do stuff that is extremely easy to produce....it doesn't sell much but it only costs me time that I would probably be wasting anyway. To invest money in production costs  seems very risky to me at this point.