Panthera tigris Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, If they don't garner at least that much, then I'd be better off just selling them on microstock, wouldn't I? Based on logic Tom, yes you would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squigle Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 OK, for the OP I am in tell it like it is mode, not be cruel but to help... you have a couple of hundred pretty pictures in amongst 50 million other pretty pictures. None of your couple of hundred photographs are especially commercial, work out who buys photographs and then look at what they buy. You may get the odd sale here and there, but like many of us you seem to be making photographs that you like not what buyers want. You might try print sales? I don't like to consider my images just 'pretty pictures', but challenging, beautiful, compelling work. But I get your point, and I took a look at what sells. Yep, as you noted customers have quite specific needs - it was kind of an eye-opener for me. Much of the sales are, to be as equally honest as you, awful from an artistic standpoint - not challenging, dull to look at, almost painfully dull. There was some craftsmanship, but most of the pics were devoid of anything personal, and tend not to have depth (there is a reason we skip ads!). But what sells seems to be informative - the images give information about a certain time and place, or information about a certain product. As for galleries, I have been showing in galleries over the last 15 years - it is gratifying to have a themed show that comes together to make a statement. And of course, it is gratifying to have people buy your images, wanting to live with them - you're enriching their lives! But there is no money in gallery work (even selling quite a few pics) - the gallery takes a portion, the costs of printing/framing are a significant expense, and of course all the investment in camera equipment is there as a real consideration if one is truly considering it a business. There is something else going on in this industry, too; as with music and books, the artists (whether musicians, writers, or photographers earn less and less in the internet age. I am not an economist, but it is clear this is happening (despite claims the internet is democrat and makes for opportunities). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baigent Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Hiya> I don't like to consider my images just 'pretty pictures', but challenging, > beautiful, compelling work. Yes sorry, I was a tad off there :-( > Much of the sales are, to be as equally honest as you, awful from an artistic standpoint Yup, I have some awful images that I must delete from my collection but some have sold. Pics that sell are usually to support a story so you need to make images that can be used on a story told all the time. Smoking, health, crime etc are stories told a lot. Two sheep butting heads is a story not told very often so no matter how good the photo is no story no sale. Ordinary people doing ordinary things are what sells as far a I can tell. I agree about what is happening in the creative "industries". All the bestMark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustydingo Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Even here, if you study the trends, try and match the market to your own POV, understand how ranking works, $5 net is attainable. I would certainly hope so. My current microstock sales exceed $5 per image per year. And that is with my sub-par stuff (I've been saving the good images for Alamy). I sure hope that if my "fair to middlin" images make just under $6.00 per image per year on a single microstock site, that then my BEST images - the really prime stuff - should do significantly better here where they can be sold on a Rights-Managed Exclusive basis. If they don't garner at least that much, then I'd be better off just selling them on microstock, wouldn't I? Good luck. My questions are: what do you mean by "good", "sub-par" and "really prime stuff", and how strong is the correlation between the definitions you use and what Alamy's customer base uses. dd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giphotostock Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I don't like to consider my images just 'pretty pictures', but challenging, beautiful, compelling work. Add salable to your list, and that will point you in the right direction to succeed in stock. GI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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