How wasn't July?

[wiskerke]

Jeff,

 

You must be able to see if there are spikes in reporting those over the years.

I had a sprinkling in May and July. In between some from European countries.

Over all less than last year.

 

wim

[John Mitchell]

Just over $1500 which makes it a good month for me (love to go back to the over-$2000 and 60% payout days though). August so far zilch. Maybe they are on holiday.

 

Zilch for me too after a very good July. However, good news tends to come in batches lately, I find, and there has been no shortage of zooms.

 

The month is still young...

[Callie]

July was going well until a refund on the months best sale, so ended below average. August so far in a minus state after a refund of a sale from late 2009. Currently, not impressed 

[Paul Mayall]

 

Callie.

 August so far in a minus state after a refund of a sale from late 2009

 

What!  refund from 2009,  it can't be possible, or can it?

 

Paul.

[Callie]

I would hope it isn't, I am still amazed, but yes it has shown up. It was originally from a distributor sale made nov 2009, payment cleared Jan 2010, a Berlin image.

Country: Germany
Usage: Editorial
Media: Television (editorial)
Industry sector: Leisure/Entertainment/Sport
Sub-Industry: Broadcasting/TV programming
Print run: up to 1 transmission
Placement: Use within body of show
Start: 01 September 2009
End: 01 September 2010

 

Contacted MS, still waiting to hear back how this can be justified. If it is correct then it means no sales, however old, are secure.

[Paul Mayall]

It has to be a mistake, i wonder how hard it would be to find out if it was used.

 

Good luck!

 

Paul.

[Ed Rooney]

I've never been comfortable mentioning my numbers. I'm a Scorpio. But let me add this information. I had two sales today (Oh, that's a number!) Prices of late have been medium okay if not large. The subjects sold over the past two years divide into three basic categories: food, landmarks and other. Food includes produce, cooked dishes and people in restaurant, most often alfresco. Landmarks run from the famous biggies like the Spanish Steps to statues or street signs (Mulberry Street sign in English and Chinese is a good one.) 

[Michael Ventura]

John Mitchell wrote:

 

Zilch for me too after a very good July. However, good news tends to come in batches lately, I find, and there has been no shortage of zooms.

 

John, I got all excited about August when my horse shot out of the starting gate with 3 sales on the 1st but then pulled up lame with nothing since!

 

Yes, the month is still young

[Callie]

It has to be a mistake, i wonder how hard it would be to find out if it was used.

Good luck!

Paul.

Thanks! I think the use might make it hard to check usage, but whatever, I think there really should be a time limit on refunds, 4.5 years is insane.

[Cofiant]

 

It has to be a mistake, i wonder how hard it would be to find out if it was used.

Good luck!

Paul.

Thanks! I think the use might make it hard to check usage, but whatever, I think there really should be a time limit on refunds, 4.5 years is insane.

 

 

I thought customers had a 30 day limit to cancel a license, as stated here

[Callie]

Interesting, I hadn't seen that before, thanks

[Paul Mayall]

I still think there has been a mistake made here,  please post what MS comes back with.

 

Paul.

[Lynn Palmer]

I'm not sure that separate pseudos helps much.  I have two pseudos, one has a very high average CTR but no sales.  The other which contains the majority of my images has a much lower average CTR and a couple sales, yet both are within a few places of each other on the same page when I search for BHZ.

[Lisa]

I had a textbook sale today, so they aren't on Holiday.

[Callie]

I still think there has been a mistake made here,  please post what MS comes back with.

 

Paul.

Will do, I am hoping it is a mistake

[Allan Bell]

 

 

It has to be a mistake, i wonder how hard it would be to find out if it was used.

Good luck!

Paul.

Thanks! I think the use might make it hard to check usage, but whatever, I think there really should be a time limit on refunds, 4.5 years is insane.

 

 

I thought customers had a 30 day limit to cancel a license, as stated here

 

 

Had not seen that before either.

 

On reading the details I wonder who gets to keep the 50% after 10 days or 100% after 30 days of the invoice date. The photographer is not reimbursed I bet.

 

Allan

[Addict]

One sale that was refunded so nil. I remember some years ago I grossed $24000 from 4 agencies one year. These days I'm lucky to gross $2400. That is how bad it's getting. I have been in this industry for over 30 years. Used to spend hours preparing slides to send in. In the late 90s it was scanning slides. Then I got my first digital camera in about 2000 I think. The full frame dslr snow are incredible. Camera phones are becoming amazing. Now everybody is a stock photographer. People are sending in great shots to national geographic on the web and giving them full use of them for free. Same with many other web based sites. Same with tv news and other shows. One time a shot of a super cell or tornado could bring big bucks. Now they get them all for free. It's a great time for the media but not for anyone trying to be a pro.

[Robert Brook]

One sale that was refunded so nil. I remember some years ago I grossed $24000 from 4 agencies one year. These days I'm lucky to gross $2400. That is how bad it's getting. I have been in this industry for over 30 years. Used to spend hours preparing slides to send in. In the late 90s it was scanning slides. Then I got my first digital camera in about 2000 I think. The full frame dslr snow are incredible. Camera phones are becoming amazing. Now everybody is a stock photographer. People are sending in great shots to national geographic on the web and giving them full use of them for free. Same with many other web based sites. Same with tv news and other shows. One time a shot of a super cell or tornado could bring big bucks. Now they get them all for free. It's a great time for the media but not for anyone trying to be a pro.

 

There was never a great time to try to be a pro - unless handshakes, weddings or catalogue items are your thing.

 

One door closes, another opens.  Photography as illustration ('conceptual' photography as some will have it) barely existed a decade or two ago - it was all down to caption and copywriters to flush out appropriate content.  The photographer's job was mainly technical, although the skill level required was probably less than that of the average plumber.

 

There are some photographers, even today, who would get a shock if their annual gross fell to $24000 or their RPI fell to the average of the page 1 BHZers

[Paul Mayall]

It's the older folks from film to digital who have been supplying stock for many years that see and feel it getting worse,  more so than the newer breed digital photographers,  i remember the 90's and that wonderful time of film, all the work and cost's we had to endure to have our work seen, accepted etc,  and yes when the print media took pricing more seriously and paid fair to good fees.

 

That was then and now is now,  for me stock is more so a worker bee way of making some money "more than ever before",  thankfully it is still possible to keep the wolves from the door with assignments, the few clients i have only work with pro photographers with experience and the rite gear,  therefore not every tom dick and harry can just walk in and squeeze the fees to the low level that stock imagery has become, although having said that i am sure in time assignment fees  will also  become low, hopefully not to extent of competing with stock pricing.

 

Paul.

[Martin P Wilson]

 

One sale that was refunded so nil. I remember some years ago I grossed $24000 from 4 agencies one year. These days I'm lucky to gross $2400. That is how bad it's getting. I have been in this industry for over 30 years. Used to spend hours preparing slides to send in. In the late 90s it was scanning slides. Then I got my first digital camera in about 2000 I think. The full frame dslr snow are incredible. Camera phones are becoming amazing. Now everybody is a stock photographer. People are sending in great shots to national geographic on the web and giving them full use of them for free. Same with many other web based sites. Same with tv news and other shows. One time a shot of a super cell or tornado could bring big bucks. Now they get them all for free. It's a great time for the media but not for anyone trying to be a pro.

 

There was never a great time to try to be a pro - unless handshakes, weddings or catalogue items are your thing.

 

One door closes, another opens.  Photography as illustration ('conceptual' photography as some will have it) barely existed a decade or two ago - it was all down to caption and copywriters to flush out appropriate content.  The photographer's job was mainly technical, although the skill level required was probably less than that of the average plumber.

 

There are some photographers, even today, who would get a shock if their annual gross fell to $24000 or their RPI fell to the average of the page 1 BHZers

 

 

Absolutely, I recall, just, 35mm being seen as the end of professional photography, then it was auto-exposure followed by autofocus ... There has always been an excuse.

 

As (currently) a very low earner (although I did OK before I switched careers, now switched back) I do not blame the market, I see it as because I have not rediscovered a niche or I simply do not have the talent (photographic and/or marketing). I just keep grinding away, trying things but  aiming to at least enjoy my photography.

[Robert Brook]

I applaud your honesty Martin, and feel sure you will do well in the long run.

This may or may not help: I am (or was) a devotee of pure photography, so it took me a long time to acknowledge what was staring me in the face: the days of passive observer photography are just about over (unless you have unique access: institutions, industries, difficult places in the world, and can get releases where relevant). Pictures have to be made: with lighting, organising, re-arranging, studio and table-top setups, montage, CGI and so on. They don’t necessarily need to be complicated. Sometimes simple is good. Hard to illustrate subjects (say macroeconomics) will tend to do a lot better than easy ones (geography, local history).

Without an art school background and a misspent youth - falling asleep in art galleries, diddling about with ‘conceptual art’ - I would have found it near impossible to change tack: even so it wasn’t easy.

At the end of June I did an analysis of sales for the first half of 2014: one subset of 77 such images, some only on sale since April, and many not yet fully distributed: £5.20 (net) each. That means I am likely to be earning a lot more for 77 images than I do for 800 out-and-about what-you-see-is-what-you-get images with Alamy, that according to BHZ stats (been on or near page 1 for years) should be doing very well.

Having said that, I shall expect my Alamy rank to fall immediately (with these stats there must be a black hole not very far down there) and find that all those sales get refunded.

But I hope you get the gist of what I am saying here.

[Martin P Wilson]

I applaud your honesty Martin, and feel sure you will do well in the long run.

 

This may or may not help: I am (or was) a devotee of pure photography, so it took me a long time to acknowledge what was staring me in the face: the days of passive observer photography are just about over (unless you have unique access: institutions, industries, difficult places in there world, and can get releases where relevant). Pictures have to be made: with lighting, organising, re-arranging, studio and table-top setups, montage, CGI and so on. They don’t necessarily need to be complicated. Sometimes simple is good. Hard to illustrate subjects (say macroeconomics) will tend to do a lot better than easy ones (geography, local history).

 

Without an art school background and a misspent youth - falling asleep in art galleries, diddling about with ‘conceptual art’ - I would have found it near impossible to change tack: even so it wasn’t easy.

 

At the end of June I did an analysis of sales for the first half of 2014: one subset of 77 such images, some only on sale since April, and many not yet fully distributed: £5.20 (net) each. That means I am likely to be earning a lot more for 77 images than I do for 800 out-and-about what-you-see-is-what-you-get images with Alamy, that according to BHZ stats (been on or near page 1 for years) should be doing very well.

 

Having said that, I shall expect my Alamy rank to fall immediatel (with these stats there must be a black hole not very far down there) and find that all those sales get refunded.

 

But I hope you get the gist of what I am saying here.

 

Thanks. That is sort of where my thinking has been going, along with doing more extensive "stories" - Alamy is not the place for them though.

 

The other point a very experienced, now retired motoring journalist, made at a classic car show - it is about people, not the cars as such. Over a coffee in the media centre he pushed me hard on "what is your USP (unique selling point), why should anyone use your pictures rather than someone else's?" So the other aspect I will focus on much more with my "out and about" stuff is people and not just in the background; they will need to be much more central to the image (Jeff Greenberg and others obviously understand that). It will take me out of my comfort zone somewhat but that is no bad thing if one wants to grow.

 

I am thinking about my photography as a completely new start up business and not being wedded to my old work and approach. The world is different from when that worked. I am starting from scratch (albeit with the technical skills, I think )

[Robert Brook]

 

I applaud your honesty Martin, and feel sure you will do well in the long run.

 

This may or may not help: I am (or was) a devotee of pure photography, so it took me a long time to acknowledge what was staring me in the face: the days of passive observer photography are just about over (unless you have unique access: institutions, industries, difficult places in there world, and can get releases where relevant). Pictures have to be made: with lighting, organising, re-arranging, studio and table-top setups, montage, CGI and so on. They don’t necessarily need to be complicated. Sometimes simple is good. Hard to illustrate subjects (say macroeconomics) will tend to do a lot better than easy ones (geography, local history).

 

Without an art school background and a misspent youth - falling asleep in art galleries, diddling about with ‘conceptual art’ - I would have found it near impossible to change tack: even so it wasn’t easy.

 

At the end of June I did an analysis of sales for the first half of 2014: one subset of 77 such images, some only on sale since April, and many not yet fully distributed: £5.20 (net) each. That means I am likely to be earning a lot more for 77 images than I do for 800 out-and-about what-you-see-is-what-you-get images with Alamy, that according to BHZ stats (been on or near page 1 for years) should be doing very well.

 

Having said that, I shall expect my Alamy rank to fall immediatel (with these stats there must be a black hole not very far down there) and find that all those sales get refunded.

 

But I hope you get the gist of what I am saying here.

 

Thanks. That is sort of where my thinking has been going, along with doing more extensive "stories" - Alamy is not the place for them though.

 

The other point a very experienced, now retired motoring journalist, made at a classic car show - it is about people, not the cars as such. Over a coffee in the media centre he pushed me hard on "what is your USP (unique selling point), why should anyone use your pictures rather than someone else's?" So the other aspect I will focus on much more with my "out and about" stuff is people and not just in the background; they will need to be much more central to the image (Jeff Greenberg and others obviously understand that). It will take me out of my comfort zone somewhat but that is no bad thing if one wants to grow.

 

I am thinking about my photography as a completely new start up business and not being wedded to my old work and approach. The world is different from when that worked. I am starting from scratch (albeit with the technical skills, I think )

 

 

"So the other aspect I will focus on much more with my "out and about" stuff is people and not just in the background; they will need to be much more central to the image".

 

That is certainly the case with press photography, if sold as such (not as stock, where press rates are low).  And commercial photography, with releases.  I am not sure that unreleased people shots, especially non-directed ones, gain you much.  You may get slightly more sales in the short run but once the clothes look a bit old they will drop off. Uniforms, work garb and beach wear are good.  I certainly find that directed shots sell much better than casual street shots and suchlike.  Teenagers work best.  Most adults don't know how to be photographed (I never took a commissioned corporate shot that I was happy with).  The problem with commercial work, mobile photography aside, is that you really need to use professional models, which means you may need to use a top agency with ADs to assist, and able distribute to all the major suppliers as well as around 100 regional ones to get the returns in while it lasts. 

 

A small number of contributors here have both a gift for working with people and an RSI inducing production rate, and get good returns (although not very good RPI).  As I say: even page 1 BHZ is still pretty miserable as far as RPI goes.    

[Martin P Wilson]

...

 

 

A small number of contributors here have both a gift for working with people and an RSI inducing production rate, and get good returns (although not very good RPI). As I say: even page 1 BHZ is still pretty miserable as far as RPI goes.

 

Which is why I am starting completely afresh and treating Alamy, and even photography, as just one of many possible routes. I am looking at ALL my skills, knowledge and contacts and thinking about how I can make a satisfactory income from something I enjoy or, even better, feel passionate about. It is more about creating a lifestyle than making money per se; after all money is only a means to an end. We often lose sight of why we are working.

[John Mitchell]

John Mitchell wrote:

 

Zilch for me too after a very good July. However, good news tends to come in batches lately, I find, and there has been no shortage of zooms.

 

John, I got all excited about August when my horse shot out of the starting gate with 3 sales on the 1st but then pulled up lame with nothing since!

 

Yes, the month is still young

 

First August sale popped up today for $116, an image that leases on a regular basis. Thank goodness for repeats.