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Messages - CJH
1
« on: December 05, 2016, 16:46 »
Here is the part many I think have been waiting for;
"Simplified restrictions
In addition to the simplified restrictions that were recently introduced across Alamy, there will now be a check box for Editorial Only. This means you can assign editorial only restrictions to an image if you wish and this includes Royalty Free images."
Great news!
2
« on: December 05, 2016, 16:43 »
Lucky you 
I sent them a message and they said "we will have someone assigned to review your submissions at the soonest". That was on 11th last month and not a single image was reviewed since :| Those were also Christmas images. One month on the queue is the new norm :p
Guess I will send this year's Christmas images to RT next October :-)
3
« on: November 29, 2016, 12:25 »
It's nice to see an agency looking for ways to find win-win solutions in the market place. I will have to build up my portfolio on FT!
5
« on: November 29, 2016, 12:17 »
This doesn't sound legit at all. I agree-respond to FAA, not the hotmail address. If it is not from them, I am sure they would want to find out who sent it and take action. I would also check their site to see if someone there has stolen the image from you.
6
« on: November 28, 2016, 14:27 »
LMAO. I actually just had a B15ME!
7
« on: November 28, 2016, 14:24 »
Just got SOD for $70.80! Is it same glitch or?
Nope....hope yours is real!
8
« on: October 20, 2016, 09:35 »
Agree, it's in the packaging. Hung, I suggest you focus more on estimating earnings and less on what has already been spent on the business. Over-spending (by a lot!) on a domain name that you don't use is not a great advertisement for your business skills. The estimated value of the salary you didn't take doesn't matter much to investors. Yes, it demonstrates your committment, but top of everyone's mind will be "What will I get for my $1Mill investment?" Where are the numbers showing that? And how solid are the forecasted earnings? Personally, I suspect this market is well-saturated, lacking meaningful barriers to entry, and well into milking the cash cow stage of industry develoment. But that's just based on casual observation and I could be mistaken. Good luck.
9
« on: October 18, 2016, 16:47 »
If I had $1 Million to invest....I would hold onto it, retire and build a travel photography biz. Good luck to you! (an to me too :-) )
10
« on: October 18, 2016, 16:43 »
I got some great advice a while back on the SS forum (I think) Basically, as you think up ideas for your next shoot, try to think of how a designer or advertiser might use the resulting images. If you can't come up with at least 3 different uses, then rethink the idea-maybe change the plan around a little bit or make the images more generic. The most successful stock images aren't usually very artsy. But it seems like there are no hard and fast rules. Just keep shooting and pay attention to what sells when the sales start coming in. That's the best way to know where you should build. Or, if you are doing this mostly for fun, just keep shooting what you love to do and tweak it a bit as you go to see what works best. I think it is encouraging that you have good acceptance rates-it means you are understanding the technical basics and that is miles ahead of where I started! Good luck! Hey thanks everyone, especially to those who threw in some encouragement with their advice! I am feeling discouraged. But at least I'm getting a high acceptance rate when I upload.
Thanks Gary for suggesting BS.... I uploaded there today.
I guess I thought that all of the straight shots of objects have already been done umpteen times and that I should make it interesting... but I'm hearing you guys say that straight object photography is the way to go? I haven't even started in on people shots because tbh the model releases put me off.
So I'm liking all of this advice, and I really appreciate it. I did some more today.... but I think with the suggestions on these posts, I have a direction to go in.
Any more advice is still appreciated!
Rachel
11
« on: May 03, 2016, 16:54 »
I just started there. Sold 3 photos in 10 days with fewer than 50 online. I thought that was good enough to upload some more and see where it goes.
12
« on: April 07, 2016, 16:53 »
I would think if you want smaller files it would be best to shoot them small and not risk creating funky artifacts by downsizing. I suggest you set up a test. Mount the camera on a tripod and set up a shot like you usually take. Take the images both ways, downsize the larger ones and compare. The type of lens may even play into the mix.
BTW: I have the same camera and I love it. I shoot RAW-L and upload them that way unless the image is slightly soft.
13
« on: March 07, 2016, 11:33 »
Looks like they are just giving away free stuff in hopes of selling premuim memberships. But, I don't think they will do to well because there target market is getting enough free they will never need to pay
14
« on: February 16, 2016, 15:46 »
Gannett papers sell images uploaded by volunteer contributors with no compensation other than your photo is seen by many. So, maybe the bottom is when they start charging us to sell our images. Oh, wait, there are sites out there that actually do that already. Never mind.
The problem is if this whole thing gets to the bottom and stays there.
The scary thing is, with this new preference for a "natural, unprocessed, candid look" read point and shoot snap shot there is currently no reason for the market to come back. The customers willing to pay for quality work may be driven out of the market by the sheer volume of spam images they have to weed through.
15
« on: February 11, 2016, 16:16 »
Gannett papers sell images uploaded by volunteer contributors with no compensation other than your photo is seen by many. So, maybe the bottom is when they start charging us to sell our images. Oh, wait, there are sites out there that actually do that already. Never mind.
16
« on: February 10, 2016, 17:09 »
Just over 0%.
Where?
US, I don't make that much yet and it is pretty easy to offset (honestly) with expenses. I don't claim a home office or travel, but I claim a small percentage of the allowed depreciation on my gear. Just enough to bring it down to a small profit. I also have a lot of expenses like PS etc that I don't claim but keep records of in case of audit.
17
« on: February 08, 2016, 16:11 »
Just over 0%.
18
« on: February 02, 2016, 17:37 »
I submitted some early January and they are still sitting there. It's my first upload to them and I think there were some problems with the ID-think I grabbed my daughter's and uploaded that instead of mine. I believe it's fixed now, though, so I am hoping they will get approved soon.
19
« on: February 01, 2016, 16:05 »
I think it my vary by what kind of stuff you shoot. Each market has its little quirks. I went exclusive with DT at first because I was able to get more files accepted there and they would actually sell sometimes. I was pretty happy with them, but recently left exclusivity to broaden my distribution base. SS is paying off nicely for me at the moment.
20
« on: January 07, 2016, 11:39 »
In 2016, I wish everyone that works at any type of image based agency at all levels (especially senior level) go through mandatory 3 month full time course where they need to produce, upload, keyword and sell images/ vectors/ videos just to see how it is to be a contributor in this industry so that real changes can be made like wage earnings and the perceived value of the commodity they are licensing out.
The hedge fund managers or any other player with real financial stake in this industry must go through this training for 2 years thank you. 
This doesn't matter. As long as we, the creators, are willing to supply the content for minimal compensation that is what we will get. No business is going to say-oh the perceived value of this work is much higher than we are paying-so we will pay more. The key word here is "commodity." If our work product is a "commodity" than the image sellers will compete on price because that's the diffentiator with commodities. Can we/you/I find a way to differentiate our work so people will pay more? Hard to say and I am guessing those that have found a way are keeping that secret to themselves.
21
« on: December 31, 2015, 12:46 »
Yes, it sure does! Good point about the contract-I hadn't thought of potentially being sued for the whole cost of the wedding! 
22
« on: December 30, 2015, 15:53 »
I really like the idea of getting some "hands-on" experience as an assistant. Maybe not so much with the entrenched photographers in our little town, but maybe from the nearest big town/city. I didn't start out wanting to be a wedding photography, but if people are going to start asking I need to at least think about it.
23
« on: December 30, 2015, 14:04 »
Thank you! I think sometimes we photogs are our own worse enemies. Why would I want to contribute to driving down prices so nobody can make a living? I will just concentrate on proving that I can produce images that take more than just a fancy camera. Also, I majored in Econ in college and have an MBA. It's kind of funny, but in some businesses people that pay a higher price will tend to be more pleased with the service than people that got "a good deal." Even if the quality is actually the same! Who wants to feel like they got bargain basement service for a wedding?
Thank you, Pixart. I think it would be hard to be a second shooter in this town. The businesses are small and not necessarily interested in training the competition. I am going to look into that Shoot & Share group, though. Learning from people that are doing what you are doing is awesome!
24
« on: December 30, 2015, 13:23 »
Thanks for the feedback. I will check into Creative Live's site. Yeah, classes can be expensive and sometimes you don't get much value. Difydave. My initial reaction was to bid low because I don't have experience, but I am trying NOT to get into the "affordable" market. The wedding is in September 2016. If I decide to bid it, I am going to go middling to high and work like crazy to get everything together and do a great job. Do that a few times and that start going for the high end.
I have enough experience with racing to the bottom on pricing in the stock photography world. *lol*
25
« on: December 30, 2015, 11:41 »
A microstock board might not be the place to go with those-but you people happen to be the people I know. I made a commitment to grow my photography business in 2016 including more event photography. I wasn't really thinking weddings. But people are starting to think I am a photographer (probably because of the long white lens) So, I have been asked to price a wedding and I would like to make a bid but I am nervous because I have never done a wedding. So, anybody got some tips that will help me get some know-how? I am thinking of taking an online course with the NY Institute of Photography, but I don't know how good they are. It's one of those I am nervous because I don't have the experience but there's only one way to get the experience situations. Any helpful hints? I'm not afraid to invest in education and/or equipment to enter this field, but I don't want to throw money away and not learn anything.
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