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Free microstock sells on macro


MircoV

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Hello fellow photographers,

 

I am slowly cleaning up my Microstock agencies depending how the macro part is going and I have to say it doesn’t need to hide for Microstock.

 

I know you would slap me but I had today a RF sale on a other macro agency for 150 dollars. The same RF image I have on a Microstock agency for free :wacko: . So not only online but really for nothing.

 

I just want to say again that everything can sell…. Even the photos you think that has not much commercial value. Like I said before I am slowly getting my images out of there.

 

Mirco

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Maybe I am being a bit dense... but whats in it for you to give away your work?

 

No you are not dense at all....... it was just stupid beginners move of me. I started like 5 years ago with selling photos. No experience at all and the internet lead me to microstock. I remember there was an option if image will not be accepted allow it to be in free section for extra exposure. So this photo is one of them. Luckily i only have a few of them. But anyway i was naively and now i will never do it anymore.

 

Mirco

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Many of us started like you, Mirco, nothing to be shame on. The reason to be shame on is rather to keep it (giving away for free) going. I sometimes meet photographers who say they would never want get money for their art work. Well... that's ok, but I'm doing commercial work, not B&W artistic crazy pieces. This is industry with huge business and costs and (in my opinion) giving work for free (or cheap) is just killing it. Selling images too cheap is bringing you to only one goal... bottom, so in 2014 I left micros full of doubts if I made good decision. After a year I find my answer - it was the best decision ever! Right now with images in non micro sites I earn even more with one sale than I earned on micro sites through whole year. But there's more - I feel good!!

 

And I've learnt one thing - even the poorest images may be very valuable for someone who needs them ;) No need to work for free. If you want to build a name, build it with respect for your work.

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The main thing for me is also the kind of photos I like to make. I am not creating super commercial photos. My photos are rather casual and nothing superb. I don’t have fun to manipulate photo (I know how to do it but I just don’t like it). I love to spend time to create authentic photos. Taking everything in camera from the situation. I use Lightroom if necessary. On Alamy and some other “Macro” agencies I feel that I am still doing “real” photography.

 

To be successful on Microstock you need photos that sells hundreds or thousands of times. I have several photos that reached the 3000+ sales mark. In total it made me around 800 dollars per photo. Nice amount of money. But on the other hand you know that more than 3000 people have your photo and can use it over and over again since it is RF. Originality of the photo is dead. One of those photos is by the way my profile image ;).

 

Looking now from the macro stock perspective I sold few photos already for 60 dollars net. It is 1 sale only of the photo. Maybe it will never get sales again since it is not super commercial but I don’t have a bad feeling. I don’t mind to sell only one photo if it is 60 dollars net.

 

Also I don’t believe that microstock will take over. Originality is always needed and this you can not get for peanuts. Also when you look around there are people reporting making sales of 1200 gross. Somebody that spends so much money will have a reason and there are many more like that.

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