Ed Rooney Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I’ve been considering going Stockimo. Yes, I’ve been mulling it over now for . . . at least five minutes. Alamy has three different roads forward now: Stock, News and Stockimo. (Are there any others I’ve missed?) I was committed to shooting stock, something I’ve done for some time now, long before I joined Alamy. But QC seems to have taken a strong dislike of me. News? I don’t think so. I’ve done news in the long ago, but oddly they paid me a day rate. I imagine that isn’t going to happen these days. Besides, news set the schedule. Something is happening, and I must run out to cover it . . . on spec. Nah. The nicest thing about being retired is setting my own schedule. And so we come to Stockimo. I picture myself shooting those tiny 10GB Stockimo images, carrying a new, smart, little iPhone in a pocket (It will fit in any pocket) as I move around the city, Yankee cap tipped forward, my eagle eye scanning the scene. Click. Click. Nikons stay home, Sonys stay home. I’ve been set free! I don’t even need a bag on my shoulder or an extra battery. And I don’t have to consider f/stops or shutter speeds or anything — just point and shoot. No more, “Hey, don’t take my picture!” If they catch me pointing I just say, “No. It’s a phone. I’m just calling my mother.” Edo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I have an old iPhone 4...I am waiting for the next iPhone...Or,I may jump to another brand all together seeing I have an iPad and can still use the zillions of APPS I've purchased. Photos from the iPhone 5 and 5s are a big jump from what I have but I'd rather have the shiny new toy with more megapixels.I think it will be announced or released in the fall. I recently received a Canon EOS M and it's small and wasn't expensive. I really like it for the weight and like the fact I don't have to buy $1000 lenses for it. I'm content with the 22mm f2 and I love the fact I can use it in touchscreen mode. Keeping my full frame for Canon studio and location.Since my injury last year I can't do all day photo shoots anyway until I heal up. Have fun with the iPhone.Lots of good info online as well as ebooks and magazine that really are helpful to see which APPS they used. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Sounds like a great idea, Ed, especially since it appears you could be on sabbatical for a few weeks. And you never know. Click, click might even turn into ka-ching, ka-ching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Endicott Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Sounds like a new adventure is well on its way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I may give it a go when they finally add Adnroid to the choices. Not gonna buy a new phone for it. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Mayall Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Why are we as photographers especially the Pro guys and girls lowering our standards to snap shooting with a Iphones, i supply a distributor in Germany, they refuse to take images from anything less than a DSLR, and yes they are making many good sales without going down the road of low budget snap shooting. I remain to be a photographer shooting with quality gear. Stockimo and similar are not for me! Sorry if i am off the topic, i just get uptight when i see our industry going down the slap happy nobody seems to care path! and making everything cheap just to make a quick $ . Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I may give it a go when they finally add Adnroid to the choices. Not gonna buy a new phone for it. Jill Me too, but probably not as a major part of my photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Watkins Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Why are we as photographers especially the Pro guys and girls lowering our standards to snap shooting with a Iphones, i supply a distributor in Germany, they refuse to take images from anything less than a DSLR, and yes they are making many good sales without going down the road of low budget snap shooting. I remain to be a photographer shooting with quality gear. Stockimo and similar are not for me! Sorry if i am off the topic, i just get uptight when i see our industry going down the slap happy nobody seems to care path! and making everything cheap just to make a $ . Paul. Here's the rub, Paul. Define "lowering standards". I have seen some absolutely stunning iPhoneography*. Stunning. How many times do we hear that it's not the kit but the photographer? *Other cameraphone brand neologisms are probably available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 I have an old iPhone 4...I am waiting for the next iPhone...Or,I may jump to another brand all together seeing I have an iPad and can still use the zillions of APPS I've purchased. Photos from the iPhone 5 and 5s are a big jump from what I have but I'd rather have the shiny new toy with more megapixels.I think it will be announced or released in the fall. I recently received a Canon EOS M and it's small and wasn't expensive. I really like it for the weight and like the fact I don't have to buy $1000 lenses for it. I'm content with the 22mm f2 and I love the fact I can use it in touchscreen mode. Keeping my full frame for Canon studio and location.Since my injury last year I can't do all day photo shoots anyway until I heal up. Have fun with the iPhone.Lots of good info online as well as ebooks and magazine that really are helpful to see which APPS they used. L Hmm, I'm thinking I may move this post over to my blog, the subject, anyway. (I've been taking a summer vacation from my blog.) Your comments open up an interesting question, Linda. You pointed out that the next iPhone's image quality will be a big improvement the 5 series. Well, isn't that always the way? Every few months, few weeks, when the next camera, lens, software comes out, it's faster, better, more powerful? But is this improvement what Stockimo is all about? Wasn't Stockimo born out of a desire for rough-edged, down-and-dirty, quick slice-of-life images? So maybe better quality is not what buyers going to Stockimo are after. By the way, I have no solid plan to move into Stockimo shooting -- I don't even own a smart phone anymore. I have an original iPhono with the SIM card changed on a modest AT&T plan. The on-board camera works, but I think the Stockimo app only works on . . . what?, the Series 4 or 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Why are we as photographers especially the Pro guys and girls lowering our standards to snap shooting with a Iphones, i supply a distributor in Germany, they refuse to take images from anything less than a DSLR, and yes they are making many good sales without going down the road of low budget snap shooting. I remain to be a photographer shooting with quality gear. Stockimo and similar are not for me! Sorry if i am off the topic, i just get uptight when i see our industry going down the slap happy nobody seems to care path! and making everything cheap just to make a quick $ . Paul. Until last night, your statement would have been mine, Paul. (Frankly, it may still be mine.) If I were still doing assignments that involved a client looking over my shoulder, I would be shooting only with DSLRs. In Italian, that would be making una bella figura. (Looking good for effect.) But like Russell, when I looked at the Stockimo collection, I was very impressed. Do an Alamy search for Stockimo and see for yourself. This is a new and different area . . . not just new and different equipment. And, Paul, you are not off topic . . . you hit the bullseye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Mayall Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 How many times do we hear that it's not the kit but the photographer? You are rite there Russell, the photographer is the main player when it comes to good photography, we look back to some of the greats with their vintage camera's and find some imagery that is hard to beat! I guess my problem is the thought of a image being taken by such a cheap device as a Iphone and sales being made, then maybe one has to be an excellent photographer to have success with a phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 I may give it a go when they finally add Adnroid to the choices. Not gonna buy a new phone for it. Jill Me too, but probably not as a major part of my photography. Ah, another important point! If I (we) were to follow that thinking would we not continually be thinking, "Should I shoot this scene with the DSLR or the iPhone?" Would we be going out with both or just one system? It reminds me of my early days with film . . . "should I be shooting color or B&W?" The assessments on each were very different, technically and visually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I'm still a dumb guy with a dumb phone with no immediate plans to enter the 21st century (too much hassle, man), so I guess there's no hope for me. I find the compact, mirror-less cameras that I now use to be no problem to carry around. However, I do like a lot of the Stockimo, etc. imagery and certainly see the appeal. That said, I don't see why it isn't possible to take similar shots and create similar visual effects with a "real" camera. Just my two pixels' worth ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 I don't have a "proper iPhone" anymore, John. If I actually do this, I'll need to buy one. Should I wait for the iPhone 6 series like Linda suggested? Well . . . aren't I then moving back toward better quality images? Where will Stockimo be heading in the next few year? We are forced to continually guess what's coming next . . . and the only thing that's sure is we will be spending more money. What do I buy to make my sales better? (A rhetorical question.) I've moved this Stockimo question into my blog and aimed it at non photographers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I don't have a "proper iPhone" anymore, John. If I actually do this, I'll need to buy one. Should I wait for the iPhone 6 series like Linda suggested? Well . . . aren't I then moving back toward better quality images. Where will Stockimo be heading in the next few year. We are forced to continually guess what's coming next . . . and the only thing that's sure is we will be spending more money. What do I buy to make my sales better? (A rhetorical question.) I've moved this Stockimo question into my blog and aimed it at none photographers. Speaking of spending more money, Canada has some of the world's highest cell/mobile phone rates in the world, which is one of the reasons I stick with my inexpensive, pay-as-you-go dumb fone (the kind that panhandlers and drug dealers use). I also don't want to be run over by a rabid Vancouver cyclist while surfing the Web in the park or snapping i-photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 My dumb mobile phone died on me a few weeks back and I picked up a cheap iphone 4s. I am totally not thrilled about having an iphone and would swap it for android right now except for the stockimo feature. I have so far 128 images in stockimo and have quite enjoyed making them. But I don't consider it a replacement for my regular shooting. My experience so far, particularly with travel shots, is that stockimo ones need to be heavily messed around with to be accepted / best rated, lots of grunge, textures, effects, etc. And at the end of the day, it is fun to do, but I wonder what percentage of clients will actually want this type of imagery? I still feel it is a small percentage, so stockimo can only be seen for me as a small add on to my regular shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addict Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 A couple of years ago I was jumped on here for suggesting that phones would soon produce shots acceptable and saleable as stock"........and now stockemo is outselling .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Brooks Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Stockimoto is an internet driven style that is here to stay. Expect to see a lot more of it. Worry about the authenticity and the emotion in the image. Not every last pixel. Here is an interesting story about a successful Toronto company who does lower quality, but authentic, food photography for the very biggest food companies. The photographer sells clients lower cost service packages for a flat fee. Price, cost control, quantity, and authenticity, of images are very important to their clients. Today clients have so many places to put the images, that ultra high quality is the least of their worries. For internet use, technical ultra QC is a costly bridge too far. Here is a quote from the story: "Online photo-sharing has given consumers a new sense of the way food is supposed to look. The most appealing photography does not broadcast its high production values; it is more organic-looking." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/where-the-eye-is-bigger-than-the-belly/article19761499/ Bill Brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels Quist Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I have had an iPhone 5 for more than a year - and entered Stockimo when it started - but I have never uploaded any images - and, in fact, I am not sure that I ever will...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 "Stockimoto is an internet driven style that is here to stay. Expect to see a lot more of it. Worry about the authenticity and the emotion in the image. Not every last pixel." -- Bill B I hear you, Bill. But "here to stay" does not mean things won't evolve and change. The next iPhone that Apple will market, the 6, is to have a much better quality camera than the 5. And the 5 is lots better than the 4. We may be circling around on ourselves. Food shots were the thing that caught my eye when I did an Alamy search for Stackimo. I'm looking forward to reading the article later today. But remember that one man's authenticity is another man's BS. Personally, I do not yet have a point of view on this business. Thanks for posting the link, Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I have an award-winning photographer friend then it has been a professional photographer for more than 40 years.He got into iPhone photography a few years ago and has exhibits all over the world from his iPhone pics and teaches iPhoneography all over the world as well he does phenomenal work and instead of his DSLRs, much of his work now is micro 4/3 and his iPhone. http://iphone-antics.blogspot.com/ http://harrysandler.com/ I've seen amazing images from iphones. If I had the iPhone 5 or 5s I'd be using it more. My iPhone 4 is Meh on image quality. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 And what about waiting for the iPhone 6, Linda? Or the 7 next year or the year after? Do we want better quality for our Stockimo images? I'm asking questions here, not giving answers. I wonder where Alamy's Stockimo shooters are with the hands-on answers about sales and tech matters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Brook Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 ,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 And what about waiting for the iPhone 6, Linda? Or the 7 next year or the year after? Do we want better quality for our Stockimo images? I'm asking questions here, not giving answers. I wonder where Alamy's Stockimo shooters are with the hands-on answers about sales and tech matters? Ed, My iPhone 4 is really old and long in the tooth.The image quality stinks;very low res. It's about 4 years old and has slowed to a crawl even with current upgrades. It's 3 generations behind. I remember in the 1990s when I first started with digital my major pro photo lab and my 1 hour photo told me,'Digital photography is just a fad.Film will always be the best and never die.' The 1 hour photo shops customers dwindled to about 2 a day(previously non-stop customers) and the pro lab filed bankruptcy. They'd been around since the 1950s. It's not the medium but the message the photo conveys.I know you know that. :-) L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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