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Messages - jamiehooper
26
« on: March 21, 2016, 16:32 »
I'm caring less and less all the time. SS used to make more in a month 4 years ago (when I started) than FT, BS, and DT combined.
I have 20% more images on Shutterstock than Fotolia....and FT has been a bigger earner EVERY month for the past half year. Right now (20th of the month) my earnings are almost twice (90%) that of SS.
When people I meet ask me what I do, I say "I play the stock market."
27
« on: March 17, 2016, 11:45 »
Client does not care about this. They see only "per hour". And often you can hear that "oh you want such money for a button click!" :-)
Hey! It's actually $200 for 1/30 of a second! 
28
« on: March 16, 2016, 14:45 »
I had a wedding and portrait studio for 22 years. Closed in 2002 when I read the digital handwriting on the wall. I was still tracked down by clients wanting family portraits. Not often, but enough that I had to come up with a price and plan.
First problem, no sales room. How to show proofs (or "previews", as we used to call them.) And, I REALLY didn't want to go though all that production work. And, I didn't want to go to their homes multiple times to give, explain, sell, and deliver.
Sell the digital files? Just didn't seem right. A bad print of my file would be a bad reflection on me.
Second problem, I could no longer accept credit cards.
So, I decided to take a radical approach; because I was "through with portraits", and did not want to spend lots of time and effort for a unknown (possibly small) sale. Basically I set my own terms that I would be comfortable with. My personal goal: continue to produce a quality family portrait, spend as little time in sales/production as possible, keep expenses to a minimum, and know beforehand how much I would make.
My solution? Charge $XXX.xx at the time of the portrait. Never move the tripod, take only one arrangement BUT make enough exposures so that I was assured of having a good, natural expression of everyone, and then combine the best expressions for a single "perfect portrait". Then, make one beautiful 11x14 print on my Epson printer, mat it to fit a 16x20 frame. Then, they get a (single) stunning, perfect portrait and the digital negative so everyone could make their own prints AND pass it on for generations.
I knew it probably wouldn't work, but those were the terms I could live with, so I didn't care if no one would agree to it.
Knowing all the downsides of * established portrait traditions, I was prepared for rejection when I got my first inquiry from a long time client.
No different poses to choose from? YOU pick the best one?
Did I get disappointment, anger, and rejection?
Nope.
I got people that were SO happy that they didn't have to make any decisions!
And no high pressure sales pitch!
And no "add-on's", putting them over budget.
They loved it!
Now for the payment. "Can I put it on my credit card"?
So sorry,(gulp) I can't take them any more.
"OK. Will you take a check?"
SURE!
Now, to be honest, I don't do many family portraits now; mainly because there's not much of a call for them - or any other portraits - in this age of phone photos and cloud storage.
But, when I do, I know beforehand what I'm going to make, and feel personally satisfied that all their family members and future generations will have this moment of everyone looking their best to cherish and value forever.
And, I've kept my professional pride. (and made some extra money).
29
« on: March 02, 2016, 17:26 »
Well, I'm amazed. I've never looked at (or submitted) to Alamy until I read this post. Their prices appear to be, overall, higher than the other micros from a customer viewpoint; and I have to say, to my eyes, their images don't seem to be as good or varied as even (dare I say) BigStock.
Let alone SS or FT.
But, kicking the tires today, I did like their dashboard, ease of upload/edit, and payment to us.
If anyone can elaborate or clarify, I'd love to read it.
Meanwhile, I'm off to join and upload.
30
« on: February 21, 2016, 15:42 »
Yeah. I've learned now to ALWAYS check and see when the first post was made. 6 years ago, that would be me too, but not today. SS still one of the best for me, but FT has been creeping up in the past few months. In fact, last month FT bested SS in sales for me. As of today (Feb 2016) FT is ahead of SS. Step into Microstock, and you step into a rapidly moving river.
31
« on: January 26, 2016, 13:48 »
Since the Adobe takeover, my sales with Fotolia have increased every month and for the most part outperform SS now. If it wasn't for extended license sales FT would have crushed SS.
This, I think is because my photographs appeal more to the Adobe crowd and because Adobe is better at marketing overall than SS.
This and almost all the posts here reflect my experiences exactly. I've watched this happen slowly over the past year, and have made a few posts to that effect (with little to no comments), so I'm glad to see this topic. As I write (25th of January) my sales from Fotolia are almost TWICE those of Shutterstock - and I have more files on SS than FT by about 25%. EL and SOD have been dropping drastically at SS over the year to almost nothing; and I'm at the .36 level there; so that minimum accounts for most of my sales. I still don't understand exactly how Fotolia assigns their prices; but while I have many sales that are at the .25 range there, I have many more getting .75, 3.00, and even 7.50. That adds up.
32
« on: January 24, 2016, 14:00 »
i did not see a decline in ELs after the license adjustment to 500k. us 38centers might see the same earnings for EL after 25 jan but this change will make them more money for ELs purchased from lower level contribs. which kind of relates to lowering acceptance rules. increasing images at a lower payout level etc. benefits them
My FT portfolio is only slightly bigger than at SS (since FT accepts way much more than SS does), but small overall as I started around one year ago (~500 photos on FT). However, FT sales have been accelerating since the beginning of January, have equaled SS's sales in mid-January and exceeded the SS sales by now. Not only sales on FT are more frequent than the ones at SS, they bring considerably higher RPD. Could be a one-time event, or could be a turnaround for FT and demise of SS (in the mid- to long-term), who knows.
I too have about 500 images, and my experiences with SS and FT mirror this exactly. In fact at the moment, FT $ALES this month are almost twice my FT sales; a trend that has been increasing over the year.
33
« on: January 22, 2016, 18:37 »
Just got my e-mail and checked the forum to see if there were any post. Yup. And, looks like we're pretty much in agreement. We can wait and see how it works out...but it does not look good for us.
At least on SS.
However. I want to add to Beketoff's comment. I've been seeing FT increase and then match SS this year. As of today (2/3 through the month) my sales on FT are 75% higher than SS.
Yes, 75%.
And every month it has been increasing regularly.
The new SS schedule doesn't worry me too much, because I now hardly ever, ever see an EL from SS anymore.
We should watch FT. The worm may have turned.
34
« on: January 17, 2016, 15:43 »
I actually love the creativity of figuring out WHY someone could use my image, and then adding passwords to attract them. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the subject, but the emotional or storytelling content. I use Lightroom to mass-keyword (auto-alphabetically) ; but since Adobe decided that FT should have the words in order of relevance open them in Bridge and re-arrange keywords in the images I think will benefit the most.
Photography is satisfying, but keywording is where the money is made.
And, come'on...stock is not about art or creating a great image. It's about sales.
Fortunately, it's possible to both love what you do and make money.
35
« on: January 06, 2016, 13:44 »
Good advice from everyone here. I would just add that you need to "keep your eye on the prize". That is not uploading a lot of images. Also, it is not "making a great photo" (although that can be a prerequisite.)
The only thing that counts is what someone buys from you. If the market is saturated for a type of image (beautiful flower close up, for example) it will never sell.
Keep in mind that most buyers are not looking for "great photos"; they are looking for the ONE that illustrates what THEY want to communicate. As you select images to take and upload, ask yourself "why would someone want to buy this? How might it be used? How many images like yours are online? How versatile is the image?
For example, there's lots of photos of firemen at fires, so competition is high - and there's only one market, people looking for firefighters (probably for an insurance blog or ad.)
But, how many photos of firemen holding a dog or cat are there? Not only are there few to none, BUT that image could be used not only for firefighting, but the concept of caring, protecting animals/the helpless, or service. Any time you can come up with a compelling, story-telling image that can illustrate many different concepts, you have a good candidate.
Staying with that illustration, you might upload 50 photos of firefighters that never sell, but the one of them holding a pet could sell 50 times. So, again, it's the quality, not the amount.
Keeping all these things in mind, in the end it all comes down to your own research. Pay attention the images you upload that sell and those that don't. Then you can build on your own strengths to add more of that type of image.
And one last, surprising thing. Different sites have different buyer "personalities". I have some photos that sell like gangbusters on SS; but very low on FT. And vice versa. Uploading to the top 4 or 5 microstock sites and then noting how sales compare will give you some personal feedback that will help you do better.
And, oh yeah. As others have said, don't quit your day job.
36
« on: January 06, 2016, 13:12 »
Ditto.
37
« on: December 29, 2015, 20:26 »
Excellent post by sgoodwin4813! Said it all, and said it well.
38
« on: December 29, 2015, 11:54 »
Yup - me tool Hopefully BS can take care of this. NOT good for their brand.
39
« on: December 20, 2015, 15:29 »
No complaints or surprises here. My sales from FT are equal to or better than SS for the 4th straight month. And, I'm seeing more credit sales higher than $.29; $.58, $.99, even $2.50 to $4.50.
With SS (unless I get the occasional $2.50 or VERY occasional $35+ SOD) it's $.36 most all the time. I used to get regular $65 SODs - but no more.
And, FT accepts more of my files, quickly, and with pretty much fair assessments.
I spoke with a rep from a local design firm, and they are planning to move to FT after their one-year commitment to SS expires this March.
40
« on: November 03, 2015, 14:19 »
Anyone that reads these boards on a regular basis (especially newbies, including me at only 4 years) must be puzzled by the wildly different results we all seem to have from each other. Just look at some of the posts. "DT sales dead", "SS dropping badly", "BME on Alamy". OK...I made that last one up; but you get the idea. There are always posts that people make giving totally different experiences. We can all have different sales within the same site and wonder if it's due to management, policy changes, partner sites, etc. But I'm thinking there might be another reason that we don't think of or check: what are the subjects of the photos? It seems to me (looking at my own portfolio) that sales of the same image can vary wildly from site to site. Why? I dunno. Different types of search technologies? Attracting different types of art directors? Attracting more bloggers than designers? Who knows? So, here's an example of one of my images. Both uploaded the same day. http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=200092391Total Sales on SS: 9 Total Sales on FT: 331 Hard to know just what to do with this information. But sure is interesting.
41
« on: November 03, 2015, 13:57 »
I WIN!!!!
Yesterday I got 2 (two!) SOD from SS for a whopping .25 each. Whoop-de-do!
In the past, my SODs were $62....then early last year I started getting only SODs for .36.
Looked at their payment page, and now the highest SOD payment listed is $28.
Which I never get.
Might be a reason that Fotolia has provided me more earnings than SS for the past 3 months.
It's only the 3rd as I write this; but currently this month's sales on FT are 40% higher than SS.
"A change is coming. I feel it in my bones" (for LOTR fans)
42
« on: October 26, 2015, 13:19 »
As I write this, Shutterstock has reverted to the way previews were shown a couple of months ago. Meanwhile, this is the first time that I haven't met my own minimum in over 2 years by the middle of the month...and I still haven't today.
Oh - and my Fotolia sales (and downloads) have consistently stayed 20%-25% ahead of Shutterstock this entire month. Well over my minimum for more than a week.
I feel a change in the air, and it ain't Autumn.
43
« on: October 22, 2015, 13:01 »
Darkly amusing, but I don't care. DT has fallen to my least downloads & least profitable site; so whether they accept or deny, it all comes down to sales.
I submit to 4 sites (with an average of only 350-400 images in each), and here they are, in order of sales (money, not downloads):
Fotolia:(Gaining over SS for several months, and so far this month (10/22) 30% more sales than SS!
Shutterstock : slip slidin' away. And yeah, much tougher (and wildly inconsistent) reviews.
Bigstock - And let me just say, BS is pretty tiny, but more than...
Dreamstime 1 or 2 sales a week, right now - and they have more of my files than any of the others.
This is only my 4th year of shooting stock, and I marvel at how the game has changed in that short time. I'll bet it's even more head-spinning for those of you that have been doing it for much longer.
44
« on: September 28, 2015, 13:04 »
I have a small amount of images (around 400) and just passed $120 usd for the month of Sept. On FT.
On SS, I just passed $115 usd, same time period.
Clearly, we all have different experiences. My guess is that it has to do with the types of images we all make and the type of customer base each microstock site attracts during any given month/season.
Either that, or the God Of Microstock just spins a roulette wheel and laughs each month.
45
« on: September 24, 2015, 13:31 »
This really, I think, just emphasizes what most of us know. It's not ALL the website; a lot of it has to do with the types of images in your portfolio, and the types of people that use that site. My top selling image for the 4 years that I've been in Microstock has over 400 downloads in SS, but only 17 with FT. On the other hand, one of my most downloaded images on FT (117) has no sales on SS.
(I have only about 375 images online).
And one more thing. As I have noted a couple of other times, since the beginning of the year (2015) when FT was taken over by Adobe, my sales in SS (which used to be more each month than FT, BS, and DT combined, both in downloads and sales) has been slipping while my sales at FT have been on the rise. In the entire month of September my sales from FT and SS have stayed within $10 of each other every day (with FT being the one ahead). In fact, at this moment, they are only $0.48 apart.
Of course, if I get one large SOD on SS, everything changes. But I hardly ever see them any more.
I guess the conclusion I take is that, while I love reading about everyone's experiences, as in life, your most important competitor is yourself. I take a look at the types of images ("stories") I tell that do well, and do more of them.
46
« on: August 05, 2015, 16:08 »
SS is way, way, way down for me in August so far, by 75% of what I'd expect (even in August)
On the other hand, FT gets better and better for me each month. In fact, right now (Aug. 5) my revenue on FT is 5 times SS for the same period - AND the number of sales are 5 times those of SS as well!
Now, that may change as the month progresses; but I personally have been seeing an increase in files sold and revenue with FT since Adobe took it over and a continuing decline in my SS sales. Also, as I have read elsewhere on the Forum, I'm getting more and more files rejected for what I KNOW are incorrect reasons on SS (mostly accepted when I resubmit them) The same files were accepted and starting to sell on FT.
Is this a trend? Is this just me? Stay tuned.
47
« on: July 25, 2015, 13:15 »
Every once in a while I log on to all of the "big 4" and use the same search terms and test out how relevant the search results are. (SS seems to be the best, but FT getting better.)
But a few days ago doing this on Fotolia I went to the image's purchase page and was amazed (and pleased) to see that they now have a feature for buyers where they can zoom in to the image to check expressions or whatever. If I were a buyer, I would love this feature.
So here's my question:
Is this a new feature with them, or has it been around for a while and I just never noticed?
And, BTW, my sales on FT continue to climb to the point where they are often within a few dollars of sales with SS. That is, until/unless I get a SOD of $60+ from SS. But that doesn't happen much for me any more.
48
« on: July 18, 2015, 13:05 »
Thanks all.
Keeping the originals was what I was thinking I should do. But, it's just another complication in my life, so I was hoping I was wrong.
Sounds like I wasn't, so they stay in the filing cabinet.
49
« on: July 17, 2015, 12:40 »
I've only been in microstock a short time (3 years), but already have quite a stack of signed model releases. Always looking to simplify my life, here's my question:
Since I have them all digitized as JPGs, do I need to keep the original?
If so, for how long?
Thanks in advance for chiming in.
50
« on: July 16, 2015, 15:49 »
This month my sales from FT and SS are running neck and neck. (As I write, they are only .96 apart.) I've been watching my FT sales climb each month for the past 6 months and SS declining. SS is still my best agency though, even with the decline (disappearance?) of the SODs I used to get.
One more thing:
The payment level of of my sales on FT are .29 ea. and .36 ea. for SS. I sell more images on FT, but that small price difference adds up.
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