christian58

Chris! I had a look at your port and I like the interiors and the editorial feel of towns and streetmarkets BUT you know there are billions of this content!...you really want to start aiming the camera at more commercial subjects, hope you understand what I mean!

Exactly! and thats why finding a niche is so important!

Chris! hahaha! there is NOTHING you can come up with that havent been tried and beaten to death by all of us for many, many years!..you can not win! WHY? because just when a formula is working a little along comes agencies search-changes completely slaughtering many portfolios every time! So whats the answer? stay away from cut-price agencies! and go with the Trads!

Alamy is micro-stock! with a slight plus!..they cut commissions to be on par with micro-stock and they even snatch micro-stock photographers from forums like the MSG etc, etc! I'm not worried but if I had 10.000 images plus! yeah they I would be REALLY!! woriied!

My biggest stock-sale was ages ago all the way back in 2002! not here but in one of the old trad agencies in London, sold the copyright to a German engineering corporation a large-format tranny! $ 14K. Sigh! that will never happen again, not even close!...today we are killing each other for nickel and dimes!

How is it going in 2018 so far??? well lets put it this way. I recon all this Alamy pimping for microstock-photographers over at the MSG and other places have finally taken its toll.

Come now Ian dont be jealous!

Well Geoff true it might be pennies, cents this and that but when these amounts to in the region of 3 to 4 grand a month!! well its a pretty good guy sitting up there in that heaven throwing down pennies and cents. Hanging around waiting for that in the trad agencies well?? ever heard the expression "pushing Daiseys"?

Ian! micro-pricing!! which it is. so tell me whats the difference between the average sale being sort of micro-pricing and a proper micro-agency?? haha! no difference at all is it. Read what Brasilnut above is saying! Theonly difference is the subscription thingy thats all. Anyway you cant blame Alamy its either that or bite the dust so to speak. Prices are just falling by the hour, everywhere. Some guy I know had an 0.16 sale at the big G! how about that.

I know what youre saying but the majority of sales are still under a fiver, same as G! I could show you some of my "single-sales" at the biggest micro during january. $303, $199, $92, $84$89 but still the average sale is OD.2.95 or subs 0.38, so lining up these sales dont mean a thing and you know that but you just wont have it will you?

Yes Indeed they do, very close!

Ah come on! Ian! why then did Alamy go to the MSG forum and recruited photographers, its no shame but business. This is micro all over and you know it! higher-end but still micro pricing. Whats the difference anyway I could be saying it for another 20 years and during all that time its micro!

Exactly!! having to compete with micro and that means close to same pricing or else NO sale! the only difference is Alamy do not have subs as micro-agencies but I expect that to come in nearby future.

Haha!! honestly people I mean lets be frank is there really such a thing left as a proper Trad agency holding trad prices?? I can only think of ONE and they really DO sell and its NOT the big-G. who in their turn very often sell for less then even here! However good news! companies have now begun to buy plots of land on Mars! so just imagine being among the first agencies establishing contacts!

Ian! youre forgetting! Alamy is nowadays more or less a Micro-agency, a bit higher but still extremely close to micro!...I think they have to in order to survive!