MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Call to Artists 2015  (Read 56261 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jen

« on: July 06, 2015, 15:58 »
+5
The Call to Artists for 2015 just opened: https://twitter.com/StocksyUnited/status/618155280631754752


« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2015, 17:00 »
+1
Do they sell vectors?

« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2015, 17:34 »
+1
Nope.  Although there are some 'illustrative' photos in the collection.

« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2015, 00:12 »
+1
That's a shame. I wouldn't mind making an exclusive collection for them to test it out. I guess I could always make it a raster collection, but it seems like if it is going to be raster then there should be a reason (effects or something else that makes it special). Maybe too much thought for a test though.

« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2015, 08:30 »
0
I have sent portfolio to be reviwed almost 4 weeks ago. Unfortunately I didn't read carefully what is needed before applying so I don't hold my hopes high.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2015, 01:18 by a.pekunova »

« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2015, 03:09 »
+3
Is it worth giving exclusive images to Stocksy instead of uploading to all the micros and alamy?  Their sales would have to be good to make me want to join.  I never got a response to my initial application and I'm not sure I can be bothered now.

« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2015, 04:58 »
+1
My experience with exclusivity is with Getty and for me it works ok. But I don't have any experience with microstock and just have a dozen photos with Alamy which has never sold. So for me Stocksy makes perfect sense.

jen

« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2015, 14:28 »
+2
Is it worth giving exclusive images to Stocksy instead of uploading to all the micros and alamy?  Their sales would have to be good to make me want to join.  I never got a response to my initial application and I'm not sure I can be bothered now.

That entirely depends on your portfolio and what you enjoy.  For me, it works, and sales are good.  I have never had any desire to spend all that time uploading my work to different sites, though. 

« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2015, 04:06 »
+8
I have 97 files on stocksy. Last month I earned around 220 dollars with 6 sales, including one extended license. Even without the extended license stocksy always outperforms all other agencies considering my tiny port and not very "typical" stock content. Cant begin to imagine how much the people with thousands of files are making.

So yes, financially they are absolutely worth it. I think if someone wants to live fulltime from stock photography, then stocksy is probably by far one of the best options right now.

However, stocksy is not a generalist, like Masterfile, or Corbis or Getty. They are a very niche, themed collection. They do what they do exceptionally well, but it is highly specialized and I doubt that stocksy style content if placed in other agencies or "environments" would sell this well. Mine certainly wouldnt. Maybe the content from the superstars, who will sell wherever they go, but not me.

The quality of the editing and how they all make it work together is a key part in the success of stocksy. So you cannot just upload what you want, it has to make sense overall. And if the editors decline images or a series, it is not a commercial decision, i.e. the file or the series can make you a lot of money, you just have to find a different home for it. It simply wasnt what they needed.

It is a more personal atmosphere, small group of people compared to the other places, more direct interaction with the editors and the art guidance they give you what the customers want for the niche.

I am very grateful to be part of the project, so I can certainly recommend applying if the style they focus on interests you. And you dont have to do only stocksy, some people seem to be 100% involved, others mix stocksy with other agencies and other styles. Since I personally love to experiment, I see stocksy as a fascinating learning experience, because the quality is so high and so many talented artists are there. And yes the money is very good, so i am trying to increase my portfolio after spending a year doing mostly video and smartphonestock. But I have to really work hard and become a much better photographer to live up to the stocksy level.

Beautiful collection, I love browsing it, feels like going on a holiday.


« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2015, 04:10 »
+1
Unfortunately I was refused.
I hope that in future it may be opportunities to apply again  :)

« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2015, 04:17 »
+1
Unfortunately I was refused.
I hope that in future it may be opportunities to apply again  :)

If you got responce to your Call to artist 2015 application would you mind to share when you send your portfolio for review? I applied on 07.07 and haven't heard back yet.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2015, 04:21 by a.pekunova »

« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2015, 04:25 »
+2
I have 97 files on stocksy. Last month I earned around 220 dollars with 6 sales, including one extended license. Even without the extended license stocksy always outperforms all other agencies considering my tiny port and not very "typical" stock content. Cant begin to imagine how much the people with thousands of files are making.

So yes, financially they are absolutely worth it. I think if someone wants to live fulltime from stock photography, then stocksy is probably by far one of the best options right now.

However, stocksy is not a generalist, like Masterfile, or Corbis or Getty. They are a very niche, themed collection. They do what they do exceptionally well, but it is highly specialized and I doubt that stocksy style content if placed in other agencies or "environments" would sell this well. Mine certainly wouldnt. Maybe the content from the superstars, who will sell wherever they go, but not me.

The quality of the editing and how they all make it work together is a key part in the success of stocksy. So you cannot just upload what you want, it has to make sense overall. And if the editors decline images or a series, it is not a commercial decision, i.e. the file or the series can make you a lot of money, you just have to find a different home for it. It simply wasnt what they needed.

It is a more personal atmosphere, small group of people compared to the other places, more direct interaction with the editors and the art guidance they give you what the customers want for the niche.

I am very grateful to be part of the project, so I can certainly recommend applying if the style they focus on interests you. And you dont have to do only stocksy, some people seem to be 100% involved, others mix stocksy with other agencies and other styles. Since I personally love to experiment, I see stocksy as a fascinating learning experience, because the quality is so high and so many talented artists are there. And yes the money is very good, so i am trying to increase my portfolio after spending a year doing mostly video and smartphonestock. But I have to really work hard and become a much better photographer to live up to the stocksy level.

Beautiful collection, I love browsing it, feels like going on a holiday.
Thanks for the info, I will apply again when I get a bunch of photos that I think fit their style.  If they reject me, then alamy can have them  :)

« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2015, 04:32 »
+1
Nothing against Alamy, but maybe have a look at the many other themed niche agencies? Or a generalist macro site? Or 500pix?

On msg we dont really discuss all the smaller places, but there are a huge number of more personal and small agencies out there. Maybe have a look at the partner lists for the generalist macro agencies.

I think having one or two specilaist agencies like stockfood,tetra images, or even Offset is a very useful add on if you do stock fulltime.

It is a very different experience working with a highly edited niche collection. Sometimes frustrating, but the challenge makes you stronger ;)

« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2015, 04:47 »
0
Unfortunately I was refused.
I hope that in future it may be opportunities to apply again  :)

If you got responce to your Call to artist 2015 application would you mind to share when you send your portfolio for review? I applied on 07.07 and haven't heard back yet.

On the same time like you.

« Reply #14 on: August 07, 2015, 05:22 »
+7
+1 on Cobalt. I earn more from Stocksy than all the other micros combined. It's a great group of photographers, editors and support staff. Very small community. That said  it is not for everyone. Editing is very tight. There is a very distinct vibe the editors are looking for.

« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2015, 05:49 »
+1
=...

On the same time like you.

Thank you.

« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2015, 22:00 »
+1
Got refused again...  Not very sure what the stocksy look is that they want. Guess will have to build more images of that sort and try again

« Reply #17 on: August 08, 2015, 00:58 »
+2
Got refused again...  Not very sure what the stocksy look is that they want. Guess will have to build more images of that sort and try again

Sorry to hear. What is looked for now in new members is filling "holes" in the collection and not more work that duplicates existing members work. That might be the best strategy for getting accepted. Look for areas that are not well covered and try and direct your work into those areas.

« Reply #18 on: August 08, 2015, 14:02 »
0
I have 97 files on stocksy. Last month I earned around 220 dollars with 6 sales, including one extended license. Even without the extended license stocksy always outperforms all other agencies considering my tiny port and not very "typical" stock content. Cant begin to imagine how much the people with thousands of files are making.

So yes, financially they are absolutely worth it. I think if someone wants to live fulltime from stock photography, then stocksy is probably by far one of the best options right now.

However, stocksy is not a generalist, like Masterfile, or Corbis or Getty. They are a very niche...

thx for the insight. like pixelbytes once said, i too did not show much interest in ...
stocksy ... because not sure what they are looking for or looks like my port is not their niche
offset.. because they initially told "ss contributors need not apply"
 
tetra image and stockfood ... hmm, first time i heard of this here. many thanks for the direction.

yes, i think we have to look at canva, stocksy, etc in a different way we look at generalist micro sites.
i am not sure what alamy is these days.

last thing,  i like to know what rating stocksy is to the right of leaf's page here.
is it not showing because they don't rate well???
so far, only you have said anything about earnings.

« Reply #19 on: August 09, 2015, 03:15 »
+2
last thing,  i like to know what rating stocksy is to the right of leaf's page here.
is it not showing because they don't rate well???
so far, only you have said anything about earnings.

I can't tell how exactly these numbers are calculated. But some assumptions why sites like Stocksy are unlikely to score well:

- Many of the photographers on Stocksy are unlikely to be active on MSG because they only supply Stocksy, or only supply Stocksy and other premium sites

- Some of the photographers on Stocksy have been active on MSG at the start but were met with the typical negativity around here

- Some photographers (and I fall into this category) have stopped filling in their monthly data here because it is becoming more and more meaningless

My personal experience with Stocksy sales is very well. The RPI I see is higher than for my microstock images. I also like that I don't get any royalties below $5. And I like it to see that for example in August Stocksy has a sale on Medium sizes - the Medium files are being offered for $20 instead of $25. But the discount is fully covered by "the agency" (which again is owned by us), so I still get my $12.50 for each sale. And the sale seems to work pretty well because I didn't have a Small sale so far this month.

And in June I had an Extended License sale which made me $225. Basically a single sale that made more money than my 3,000 images I have on iStock made with credit sales, subscription sales plus partner program combined.

It is hard to compare the sales with microstock sites, though. With microstock, I can easily shoot a set of 50 images in an afternoon at home and they are most likely accepted, some of them will sell and some of them won't. With Stocksy I personally have not found a way to spend an afternoon at home and come up with Stocksy-worthy images. I do have an idea where, when and how to shoot images that Stocksy accepts these days, though.

Most of these things are valid not only for Stocksy but also for my macrostock images. Though with them I see a lot of smaller sales (the typical <$1 sales everyone gets from Getty and Corbis) but the upper range makes nice returns as well.

jen

« Reply #20 on: August 10, 2015, 14:52 »
0
last thing,  i like to know what rating stocksy is to the right of leaf's page here.
is it not showing because they don't rate well???
so far, only you have said anything about earnings.

I doubt very many Stocksy members fill out the polls. (I don't - I don't even know how.)

langstrup

« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2015, 15:10 »
0
I mailed them today because I thought I was accepted and they forgot to tell me (They open up for preparing while waiting apparently). Anyway, I got a mail back saying it could take a couple of months before I got the answer.

Now I can see that others have been denied! Does that mean that some gets denied right away and others gets in a "pool" of maybes?

 

« Reply #22 on: August 10, 2015, 15:13 »
0
And in June I had an Extended License sale which made me $225. Basically a single sale that made more money than my 3,000 images I have on iStock made with credit sales, subscription sales plus partner program combined.


thx 4 the insight. 3000 imgs earning what per month...  say versus shutterstock. $225 single sale versus shutterstock $102  sounds pretty good too.
naturally, the idea of not earning less than $5 is appealing too.
but the mad accountant like to just look at the bottom line...
as someone once said, (was it uncle pete???) i really don't look at anything except
what i get at the end of the month.

i was hoping for just that??? compared to shutterstock, as that is the horizon we are comparing with for now.  or as you mentioned istock...
is stocksy in the 40%  like istock,
or 8 % like alamy.

if it's consistently 86% which is low for shutterstock, it would be an incentive to start
designing for stocksy.
but we already saw so many superstars that are no longer in the sky after being flash in the pan for 2-3 years who too claim to make greatly for their small but selective contributos.

« Reply #23 on: August 10, 2015, 15:17 »
+2
In Lee's interview with Stocksy's CEO she says that their top photographers are now making $100,000 per annum:

http://www.microstockdiaries.com/interview-with-stocksy-united-ceo-brianna-wettlaufer.html

« Reply #24 on: August 11, 2015, 01:34 »
+1
i was hoping for just that??? compared to shutterstock, as that is the horizon we are comparing with for now.  or as you mentioned istock...
is stocksy in the 40%  like istock,
or 8 % like alamy.

There is no way to make any useful comparison like you do across the microstock agencies because within microstock you just put more or less the same images everywhere. As far as I know that's even true for Alamy (I'm not on there). Whereas all files on Stocksy United are exclusively there.

So the percentage will differ extremely between photographers because someone like me has a portfolio size of 300 on Stocksy while 3,000 on microstock. Others have a more equal share. And some may only have 100 on Stocksy and 10,000 in micro. So there is no way to do this.

But as I also said before: My RPI is higher on Stocksy than on the microstock sites combined. I still make more money from the 3,000 files I have in microstock than I make with the 300 on Stocksy, though, which I don't find surprising. My highest RPI this is year is coming from macrostock, though I have a tiny portfolio on there.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
2 Replies
6387 Views
Last post March 09, 2011, 12:52
by ErickN
31 Replies
12949 Views
Last post January 07, 2015, 20:36
by etudiante_rapide
57 Replies
17751 Views
Last post March 06, 2017, 07:54
by JimP
24 Replies
9271 Views
Last post December 22, 2016, 13:31
by pixel8
627 Replies
179332 Views
Last post December 30, 2019, 07:25
by jackboy

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors