MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: arapix on July 13, 2016, 04:59
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Hello,
I found one contributor putting personal email address in "about" section of his portfolio !
like this : For any questions please contact me by email ........
My first question , is this legal with SS ?
Also is it useful thing ?
May be some one contact me for custom photo or something ?
so if it's legal what is pros and cons ???
Thanks
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I think it's all self explanatory here
http://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/kbat02/000006581?l=en_US&c=ContributorKB%3APortfolio_account&fs=Search&pn=1 (http://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/kbat02/000006581?l=en_US&c=ContributorKB%3APortfolio_account&fs=Search&pn=1)
I personally do not do that, but if you want to and in doubt you can ask them directly, there is no crime in that. They also have a form for a public profile.
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Not really. I don't think that offering the same images on different stock sites is equal to putting your e-mail on SS site.
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Thanks , but I didn't mean sell exclusive with SS !
I am just asking about providing my personal email address , so any buyer may contact me .
Is it good or bad idea ?
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Let's say you decide to do it. Let's say, you ask SS if it's OK, and they say, no problem. I doubt you will get many extra customers from that, because people who buy on microstocks are not likely to look for customized images of anything. Microstocks are like supermarkets. How often would a person buying grocery would start calling suppliers to buy a "customized" dozen of eggs? You will get a lot of spam and requests from odd people who don't really know what they are doing. You decide what's works better for you.
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Thats true. But what if there are customers who want to buy only one or two photos, or EL. It can be cheaper for them and more $ for you. I'm not saying this is going to happen. Probably it won't. But it sure can't happen if you don't have e-mail there.
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Hi,
Actually on Shuttertock there is a place where you can put your social media links, such as facebook and to your website or blog. So, the customer already can find you.
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Thats true. But what if there are customers who want to buy only one or two photos, or EL. It can be cheaper for them and more $ for you. I'm not saying this is going to happen. Probably it won't. But it sure can't happen if you don't have e-mail there.
It certainly can happen. I am constantly found through social media by people who want something done for them. It did bring some income. Unfortunately most of them were not serious customers, so it was a waste of time. And then it all comes to benefits vs time spent on sifting. A manually built network of customers worked better for me and seems like a better investment of time.
Another issue that has to be considered. When submitting images on SS, you are protected by their TOS and their resources to enforce them. When on your own, you are on your own, along with all the legalities. For example, I was approached once to modify one of my illos in such a way that could potentially constitute a libel. I am not a lawyer, and I bowed out. If bought through SS, it's their problem, not my.
Of course, as with everything, anyone's mileage can vary.
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Let's say you decide to do it. Let's say, you ask SS if it's OK, and they say, no problem. I doubt you will get many extra customers from that, because people who buy on microstocks are not likely to look for customized images of anything. Microstocks are like supermarkets. How often would a person buying grocery would start calling suppliers to buy a "customized" dozen of eggs? You will get a lot of spam and requests from odd people who don't really know what they are doing. You decide what's works better for you.
red says it all. well said, aleutie!
from our map of sales, you can tell it is a buyer of images working for a company.
it's not Miss PixBuyer looking for something eclectic. (for that maybe offset or stocksy)..
your supermarket analogy is perfect. it's a buyer being paid a salary to fill orders for clients
. he/she is not subjectively looking for ansel adams or man ray or even joe blow-local new foto genius
..for a photograph that would curl toes or raise goose-pimples when looked at.
he/she is looking at the clock on the wall thinking,
"hmm, 4 hours before lunchtime, i still have 2,000 images to find..
apples, kiwifruit, marijuana, man shaking hand, telemarketing agent...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
DING
oops, cigarette break!
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p.s.
----came back from cigarette break.
i forgot to add ...
tomatoes.
let's see what ss has for tomatoes.???
hmm, pg 1 of 12830 pages
waaaaaaa.... 1,282,999 images.
if paul is going to compose a song entitled A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A microstock photo..
he would write...
there are one million two hundred eighty two thousand, nine hundred ninety nine
tomatoes ...
to fill the Albert Halllllllll !!!
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Except John would've written that part. ;)
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Except John would've written that part. ;)
heheh, no john wrote about the "####holes" that filled the Albert Hall.
paul would be daring enough to just say "tomatoes". that's rated PG
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I do not have images on SS. However, I have had numerous contacts over the last 13 years which originated from a viewer of my photos in a microstock site. For example:
- Humane Society wanted to be sure my animals in a live trap were a real capture and not a staged shot (internal rules of use). A few images were sold via microstock site that otherwise would not have sold.
- Buyer wanted slightly customized image backgrounds which I could provide because I had the Photoshop files with the clipped images already. About 20 customized images came out of this deal not at microstock prices.
- Travel site wanted to confirm my skylines were current and included any recent construction. Good for a few images I suspect.
- Saw my microstock images and wanted custom travel and tourism shots for a city related book. Made a good deal on 6 images that ended up in the book. Additional later sales as stock images followed.
So I think contact info is a good thing if allowed. There is the occasional inquiry that won't like your pricing quotes. They are expecting custom work at microstock prices so have your defensive arguments ready.
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I get a few emails a month asking for variations on existing items or he creation of custom work based on something in my existing portfolio. Not just SS but other sites as well. Some don't come to anything, some just make me $25, but for less than half an hour of work, and some can turn into half decent projects.
Sod's law though... I've had twice the normal amount of emails in the last six weeks, all straightforward stuff that id happily do, and I don't have a laptop with me as im off travelling the wold. Will need to sort that... payday tomorrow!