KHA Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 On 22/06/2019 at 05:26, MDM said: And I certainly did not get anything even approaching a thank you for going out of my way to help you. If you think that's bad, imagine, if you can, MGM, a thread wherein the OP not only doesn't thank you for trying to help him, but actually berates you for having the temerity to defend yourself against a couple of forum members who have ganged up on you . . . 😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 (edited) June was in the doldrums for me last year, but two sales here so far this month (and guess it's the end as the 30th falls on a Sunday). Also quite active elsewhere, including a nice POD sale from the same 2012 live news shoot from which I got my latest Alamy sale yesterday. With the massive glut of images on Alamy and elsewhere, I'm happy to see at least some consistency with a port of around 1,100 images. Some months I see fewer sales here (and elsewhere) than a few years ago when I had many fewer images, but I realize that the market is far more cluttered and glutted than ever before and that the average sales price has dropped, along with our commissions, so all I can do is shoot what I enjoy that also sells, try to improve my craft, and figure out a way to get the thousands of images I have on my hard drives keyworded and online most efficiently. @Marb It is frustrating and sometimes seems like a losing battle to keep up with the way Alamy's overall portfolio is growing, but the alternative is to quit, which I certainly don't want to do, even if that means lowering my expectations as the market for stock photography becomes more and more crowded. When I have bad months, I distract myself by figuring out what kinds of images are doing best for me and where they do best. That helped me to realize that visiting a friend who lives in a popular beach area in New England each fall and taking new photos there to supplement what I already had would not only mean an annual or bi-annual visit with a college friend who I might not otherwise see so regularly, but it also gave me a chance to improve on photos I've taken in the past, helped me gain depth in my portfolio, and led to some really nice $$$ sales. Not to mention getting to visit a place that I love. By focusing on what was working for me, I felt less discouraged by what wasn't working, and saw that I could increase my earnings by doing something I enjoy. That's just one example. I've done the same with other types of images. So, @Marb my advice to you (from someone who is naturally inclined to view the negative but is working hard to focus on the positive) is to focus on what's working and see how to repeat that success. Edited June 29, 2019 by Marianne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Allsopp Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 Well that's the end of a bad month (all bar a few hours) now to get out with the camera and on with uploading and make future months better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpics Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 On 20/06/2019 at 17:52, Michael Ventura said: June is shaping up to be average or maybe a little above average for me. Average, yes, but a new lower average ... 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Bill Allsopp said: Well that's the end of a bad month (all bar a few hours) now to get out with the camera and on with uploading and make future months better! Well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 Well | started this thread with a moan about June, but its turned out OK(ish) after all! Looking back it generated an interesting read, surprising what sparks a discussion! Must find another bogey (something that causes fear among a lot of people, often without reason) month to complain about...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stipe Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 5 pages of complaining about how bad is June and then in the other "How was your June 2019" topic a waterfall of "Good!", "Fantastic!", "Above average", "not bad at all!" and so on. I will never understand topics like this one or the most famous one "slow month". Stefano Travel Photographer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 23 hours ago, Bryan said: Must find another bogey .. month to complain about...... Hopefully not July Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultanpepa Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 3 hours ago, stipe said: 5 pages of complaining about how bad is June and then in the other "How was your June 2019" topic a waterfall of "Good!", "Fantastic!", "Above average", "not bad at all!" and so on. I will never understand topics like this one or the most famous one "slow month". Stefano Travel Photographer If you don't know by now, Brits like a good moan. It makes a change to moan about a 'slow month' rather than the weather. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptoprocta Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 (edited) On 29/06/2019 at 22:00, Marianne said: @Marb When I have bad months, I distract myself by figuring out what kinds of images are doing best for me and where they do best. That helped me to realize that visiting a friend who lives in a popular beach area in New England each fall and taking new photos there to supplement what I already had would not only mean an annual or bi-annual visit with a college friend who I might not otherwise see so regularly, but it also gave me a chance to improve on photos I've taken in the past, helped me gain depth in my portfolio, and led to some really nice $$$ sales. Not to mention getting to visit a place that I love. By focusing on what was working for me, I felt less discouraged by what wasn't working, and saw that I could increase my earnings by doing something I enjoy. You were lucky you can see a pattern. I can't see any pattern at all in what I sell here. lat month I had three sales from pics uploaded ten years ago which hadn't previously sold. The only thing I can say is that my US content punches above its weight in sales and certainly for $$. But that's not helpful to me. (And even then, I couldn't have predicted which of my US content would / wouldn't sell, and there's no discernable pattern within my 'US sales'.) Edited July 1, 2019 by Cryptoprocta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 9 hours ago, Cryptoprocta said: You were lucky you can see a pattern. I can't see any pattern at all in what I sell here. lat month I had three sales from pics uploaded ten years ago which hadn't previously sold. The only thing I can say is that my US content punches above its weight in sales and certainly for $$. But that's not helpful to me. (And even then, I couldn't have predicted which of my US content would / wouldn't sell, and there's no discernable pattern within my 'US sales'.) To be fair, while I do see a pattern here, I also have analyzed my sales here as part of a much bigger pattern across other sites (both stock and POD) as well as my own direct stock photo sales. In analyzing it all, I see similar patterns across most of them, which helps me to decide what is worth shooting, but I also look at trends and other marketing analyses. I also look at my zooms and the other photos that come up for words that aren't zoomed and see if I can improve on them. I have many more US photos than European ones, as I've only been to Europe twice since getting my first digital camera, so I don't think I have enough to make a fair comparison. I do know that my images taken in Scotland in 2007 sell better than those from the continent taken more recently, and I always assume UK photos do better. My sales here seem to be quite varied - some to the US but as many to the UK, a fair number to Germany, and then some to Italy, Norway, Russia, so there is definitely a worldwide market here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cryptoprocta Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 1 hour ago, Marianne said: I do know that my images taken in Scotland in 2007 sell better than those from the continent taken more recently, The pics I took in Alsace in 2017 have had extremely little interest, but then my older files sell better proportionately than my more recent ones. I must have been better then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filip Jedraszak Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 I really thought i was seeing a pattern, but last month i had 0 sales so now i'm not so sure anymore. I also think my portfolio is pretty seasonal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Attempting to see 'patterns', especially in a small portfolio, is not easy. I have 22,000 pix here at Alamy, and I have peaks and troughs in sales. I have 'droughts', when days go by without a sale, then a sudden glut. I generally get an end-of-month surge... but not always. I take note of what sells (it may influence the kind of subjects to shoot more of), yet I have no clue about which pictures will sell next. Pattern... what pattern? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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