Are Alamy stock photographers all ages?

[geogphotos]

I get the impression that our community here on the forum is a little long in the tooth.🙂

 

I have suggested doing stock to my children - all three are quite arty -  and they just laugh at the idea of all the hard work, the low fees, and the essential 'squareness' of it. They will happily share pics on social media and seem to spend half their time taking photos on their devices.

 

Are we an ageing bunch - are youngsters arriving on the scene or not bothering?

 

I'm 63

[Bill Kuta]

A youthful mid-70's here. (My wife recently got a birthday card from my sister. Outside of card: "We're not getting older, we're getting better."  Inside of card: "Now you say it to me."  They both have August birthdays.)

 

I also got my first SLR in 1968, from the PX catalog while in Vietnam (along with stereo system and all the other stuff everybody got). But didn't get into stock until about 2000, anticipating retirement from the paying job.

[hsessions]

I do think Alamy photographers are all ages, but if talking about regular contributors then I think Alamy has more of an older crowd.  The 'long in the tooth' would be the generation that has more patience, understands that one has to wait and things don't happen all at once, they can look further into the future and just patiently wait.  The younger crowd may have uploaded a few times and then gone off to micro sites for instant gratification, and I don't think that there aren't many of them on the forum because they are shy, possibly they just don't have all that many or regular sales, just what I am thinking.

 

I am a loner, I have never joined to go out shooting with a group, I think it is a very solo activity best done without distractions, it is a very personal thing for me.  I am obstinate and have lots of patience, a bit anti social (not a good thing) but I don't like people invading my space.  Post processing images is something I can spend loads of time on without feeling I am wasting my time or getting bored.  Why I mention all this, because I imagine the young to be exactly the opposite.  They are mostly social, I think; patience is not their strong point and as far as photography with the young crowd isn't it all about shooting with a mobile phone, quickly applying filters rather than spending hours in Lightroom or Photoshop.  I don't know I could be wrong and I certainly don't want to offed any serious young photographers with talent, there are always exceptions I know, but I am talking about a majority.  For these reasons I don't see the young taking stock photography seriously as a business.  Maybe I am completely out of touch, in my head I feel quite old, older than my real age, I am 53 closer to 54 now.  Alamy should value, listen and hang on to their 'long in the tooth' contributors they are the ones that 'make' Alamy, and keep it so successful as an agency.

 

Helen

[jodyko]

On 16/09/2019 at 13:03, Betty LaRue said:

Yes. I went a long distance by car to hook up with a wonderful lady I met on this very forum. We went to many birding places on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Like-minded, fun.

Corpus Christi, Texas is known as "America's Birdiest City," and I was curious as to whether your travels had brought you to this area? I used to live in Port Aransas, a (used to be at least,) little town on Mustang Island nearby. Birding is very popular here and we have a large influx of "Winter Texans" each year from all over the country and as far north as Canada.

 

[Betty LaRue]

On 19/09/2019 at 05:43, Allan Bell said:

 

Could it have been a Kiev? That is Russian.

 

Allan

 

 

Who knows? Obviously I’ve slept since then! 😁

[John Morrison]

2 minutes ago, hsessions said:

they can look further into the future

 

Well, kind of. Personally, I wouldn't go to the expense of buying a five-year diary.

 

I hear what you say about younger folk, Helen; maybe they're too busy raking in the millions by being an 'instagram influencer'. And if they think that the stock pic industry pays too little to those who actually create the images, who can argue with that?

[John Mitchell]

7 hours ago, Matt Ashmore said:

 

There might be something in that as the 'XBox Generation' comes through. And the rise of cameras in mobile phones meaning that less people actually buy a "proper camera".

 

You certainly see fewer and fewer young people with "real" cameras these days. Everyone seems to be using a phone. Also, as evidenced by questions asked by new Alamy contributors, a lot of young people entering stock photography don't understand how traditional imaging licensing works. They've been brought up in the "grab and use right away" digital culture. Rights managed licensing must make no sense to them at all. That said, I still don't know what an XBox is. 😶

 

P.S. Is an XBox anything like a LunchBox? I had one of those when I was a kid. 😄

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, jodyko said:

Corpus Christi, Texas is known as "America's Birdiest City," and I was curious as to whether your travels had brought you to this area? I used to live in Port Aransas, a (used to be at least,) little town on Mustang Island nearby. Birding is very popular here and we have a large influx of "Winter Texans" each year from all over the country and as far north as Canada.

 

No, we didn’t get to Corpus. I am familiar with Port Aransas. Very vague now, (long time ago) but I think that’s the port my husband and I rented a small boat to fish from. (He was in the Air Force at the time) I was 6 months pregnant. The motor was only a few horsepower. We went out too far trying to find deeper water.  Couldn’t see land and the motor quit. We drifted for hours until the rental place sent a boat out to tow us in. I have absolutely no idea how they found that little boat in the vast gulf. I remember a sting ray bit my husband’s bait and soon as he saw what he had, he cut the line.

Betty

[jodyko]

Just now, Betty LaRue said:

No, we didn’t get to Corpus. I am familiar with Port Aransas. Very vague now, (long time ago) but I think that’s the port my husband and I rented a small boat to fish from. (He was in the Air Force at the time) I was 6 months pregnant. The motor was only a few horsepower. We went out too far trying to find deeper water.  Couldn’t see land and the motor quit. We drifted for hours until the rental place sent a boat out to tow us in. I have absolutely no idea how they found that little boat in the vast gulf. I remember a sting ray bit my husband’s bait and soon as he saw what he had, he cut the line.

I've been offshore a few times. That had to be scary.

[Stan Pritchard]

On 16/09/2019 at 16:52, Ed Rooney said:

You "old" dudes seems so young to me. It's less than two months till my 85th birthday. It could be that I'm the oldest contributor with Alamy. ???

 

I'll remind you all that I never had photography as a hobby and never owned a camera until I traded a guitar for one. I sold images from my first roll of B&W film so I was  instantly a pro. That was in 1959 or '60.  

 

Edo

 No, Ed, I can beat you. I will be 86 in January 2020. Been photographing for nearly 60 years. Started with a folding Kodak 620, which I still have.  How equipment has changed over the decades is amazing.

[BidC]

20 hours ago, geogphotos said:

I get the impression that our community here on the forum is a little long in the tooth.🙂

 

I have suggested doing stock to my children - all three are quite arty -  and they just laugh at the idea of all the hard work, the low fees, and the essential 'squareness' of it. They will happily share pics on social media and seem to spend half their time taking photos on their devices.

 

Are we an ageing bunch - are youngsters arriving on the scene or not bothering?

 

I'm 63

 

Maybe so, but a bit like Betty, my teeth havent grown   - I know of photographers who have this same feeling for stock. If you are young and the world still seems to be your oyster, I guess I can understand (in a way) that you'd rather be buzzing with the rest of your contemporaries.

 

I've always been of the mind that it is both absorbing and fulfilling to slow down and be creative, and also to have different income sources. 

 

I had a job I loved, and in that regard work doesn't become a slog. Same with photography (imv).

I guess our world view is different as we weren't heavily influenced by TV (and social media) whilst young.

 

It's a complex issue !

You could write a thesi on the topic  if truth be told  

 

Had a camera on and off all my life, but started submitting to stock in 2016, though more seriously since late last year.

 

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

I’m not long in the tooth. I had them filed down recently.

I’ve been serious about photography for 15 years. Before that, I took pictures of family and as a source for my watercolors. 

None of my family is interested in stock. My married daughter enters photos at the count fair, but I don’t think she’s up for the work involved in stock. She’s more interested in instant gratification and we all know we don’t get that in this business, don’t we?

 

And if you think I’m telling my age....don’t hold your breath or I’ll be attending your funeral. 

Let’s just say I’ve been around since God made dirt.

Betty

 

[Mr Standfast]

 

I like the idea of encouraging the kids to do something which will provide them with something which generates an income, but as you imply, Ian the effort/reward ratio isn't going to appeal. Not sure it will improve soon either. Better off pushing them towards an extra exam, basic carpentry or an organic allotment, but thats just my POV.

 

Any way who listens to their parents? First camera melted on the Parcel Shelf of Dad's Morris 1100, yes he did say don't leave it there.

 

So this Grandad is saying g'night!

 

 

[John Richmond]

Learned some basic darkroom skills from my father around 1960 but didn't really take up photography till the 80's.  Sold a few photos over the years - mostly to accompany articles I'd written.  Got tired of nurserymen, garden centres and others ripping off images from my blog so started submitting to Alamy in Jan 2014.  Enjoying some success now I've reached 69.  Should have started with stock a lot earlier 😊

[Phil Robinson]

4 hours ago, ACC said:

I’m 53. I did O Level photography at school and have loved it ever since. My daughter is doing GCSE photography and has spent the afternoon preparing “contact sheets”. . She looked blank when I explained how negatives (wot?) used to come into CONTACT with the photographic paper. Her teacher might not even remember that.

 

I still do invigilating at the school where I used to work full-time. GCSE and A Level Photography are now exams in Photoshop - the kids hardly go near a camera. It's all rather depressing.

[John Morrison]

My first camera was steam-driven...

[John Mitchell]

LXX  (it looks more official in Roman numerals)

 

I bought my first SLR in 1968 while I was a university student. I did mostly b&w back then.

 

I do have some formal training in photography, but I've forgotten most of it at this point. 😏

 

 

[Harry Harrison]

19 minutes ago, ACC said:

Why should we not discuss Stockimo here?

OK, probably dates from this in July 2016:

 

https://discussion.alamy.com/topic/6076-new-rule-posts-about-stockimo/?tab=comments#comment-101514

 

[Harry Harrison]

11 minutes ago, ACC said:

Why should we not discuss Stockimo here?

Search me, but it is often repeated here, even in a current thread so it must be true I think.

[ACC]

6 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

I suspect that Alamy's sister Iphone upload library might have a younger demographic. We're not allowed to discuss it here apparently but those that have mentioned it in passing seem to be doing well. New members to this forum often have technical questions about pixels, dpi, file sizes etc. - none of that matters over there, you just need an Iphone 4 or later.

 

Then there is also the 'Beautiful Free Images & Pictures" so-called community 'sharing' website and its ilk, I'm certainly not going to mention them by name but they may have more immediate appeal to those growing up in the social networking age.

 

Why should we not discuss Stockimo here? It’s another arm of Alamy isnt it?

[ACC]

I’m 53. I did O Level photography at school and have loved it ever since. My daughter is doing GCSE photography and has spent the afternoon preparing “contact sheets”. . She looked blank when I explained how negatives (wot?) used to come into CONTACT with the photographic paper. Her teacher might not even remember that.

 

Started on stock 6 years ago failed and gave up. Restarted when Alamy relaxed on which cameras were acceptable. I work full tine, this is just a hobby, and when I get a sale (1 or 2 a month) it feels like a small lottery win 😄.

[Allan Bell]

 

Been interested in photography since I was about 4 years old. Was taken into a darkroom to see the process and watched a black and white print develop in the tray. Magical.

 

Course in those days photography was an expensive pastime and at 4 years old I did not have the wherewithal to be able to carry on with the hobby but it must have always been in the back of my mind.

 

Photography was a part of my life from around 17 years old but with some very long breaks. I finally returned to it in the digital era when I joined Alamy back in November 2008 at the age of 63 years.

 

YUP! I am 74 and still learning.

 

Allan

 

[Steve F]

On 18/09/2019 at 23:41, Matt Ashmore said:

 

It sounds like another 20 - 30 years and Steve F,  chrismid259 and myself might almost have the Alamy Marketplace to ourselves.. we'll make a fortune when we're the only contributors left! 😁

 

Oh wow, am I going to really be keywording for another 30 years? Kill me now! (tongue in cheek! )

[JaniMarkus Hasa]

I'm 52 or so I'm told. Not a very talented photographer, I just shoot what interests me. The fact that images can be uploaded to stock agency gives some justification to my street photography. There may not be much demand for images of torn stickers on electrical cabinets, but not much competition either.

 

I work well under pressure, but photography is a hobby. I once photographed a wedding (before the digital age) and I never want to do that again. Relatives expect me to shoot christenings, birthdays and such. That's what I would do anyway, so no pressure there. Having the camera on my face just saves me from the small talk.

[Harry Harrison]

It's amazing any of you meet up at all!

[John Morrison]

Well, we seem to have come to a consensus: we're a bunch of miserable old buggers who prefer to be on our own...