Is it possible to make a living out of stock photography any more?

[RedSnapper]

7 hours ago, Robert M Estall said:

. For sure, posting a sunny day at the seaside for live news and a set of food containers and a few lego set-ups won't effectively put bread on the table. Just a biscuit or two!

 

 

i don't know.....

 

km

[losdemas]

43 minutes ago, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

Me it's, 1. Yes but still learning 2. Yes 3. Considering 4. No, but would like to. 

 

1. No - and no intention of going there!
2. Yes, with mixed success.
3. No - and definitely no.  Though the potential for sales and new imagery is very exciting, I must confess being put off by potential legal issues and current & future restrictions on owning and flying drones (referring specifically to the UK, here).  I can only see this getting more onerous.
4. Yes, with limited experience.  When it works out well, it can work out very well.

[John Mitchell]

5 hours ago, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

Me it's, 1. Yes but still learning 2. Yes 3. Considering 4. No, but would like to. 

 

1. Have experimented a bit with video and recently made a couple of sales -- much to my surprise -- thru another agency.

2. Yes. Sales have been declining, though, due to overwhelming odds.

3. No. I wouldn't know what to do with one.

4. Yes, whenever one contacts me through my own stock website, which is increasingly rare.

[KevinS]

6 hours ago, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

Me it's, 1. Yes but still learning 2. Yes 3. Considering 4. No, but would like to. 

1. No, but I do have a back-burner interest in trying that someday

2. A few sales/year thru my website now, also uploading to a big POD site, but with low expectations

3. Looks like fun, but legal issues and high cost for a quality set-up mean I'm not going there. 

4. Yes. A few of my old customers are still in business, even fewer new customers since 2008. It used to be that the telephone was an important tool and I'd get some slides over to the customer (usually a publisher) very soon after a call. Now an email exchange is about it (with someone I've never met) resulting in a link being sent for download privileges. My website about covers it's cost now in print sales, with file delivery the real usefulness.

[John Mitchell]

45 minutes ago, KevinS said:

1. No, but I do have a back-burner interest in trying that someday

2. A few sales/year thru my website now, also uploading to a big POD site, but with low expectations

3. Looks like fun, but legal issues and high cost for a quality set-up mean I'm not going there. 

4. Yes. A few of my old customers are still in business, even fewer new customers since 2008. It used to be that the telephone was an important tool and I'd get some slides over to the customer (usually a publisher) very soon after a call. Now an email exchange is about it (with someone I've never met) resulting in a link being sent for download privileges. My website about covers it's cost now in print sales, with file delivery the real usefulness.

 

Re #4, I'm finding that most people contacting me these days are looking for free images. For example, a well-known museum in California e-mailed me last week about using an image. I asked what their budget was, and I've never heard back from them. This surprised me as I've licensed quite a number photos to museums. Unfortunately, my stock website has stopped paying for itself. Not sure if it's worth the cost any longer. It does come in handy, though, for storage and file delivery.

[RedSnapper]

19 hours ago, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

 

 

1 - yes, some

2 - yes, and via galleries (A3 + A4 framed prints / A3 + A4 mounted prints / A5 cards)

3 - yes

4 - yes - i usually have at least one commission to shoot every day

 

km

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

 

No to all 

 

Why not POD? Just curious.

[KevinS]

19 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Re #4, I'm finding that most people contacting me these days are looking for free images. For example, a well-known museum in California e-mailed me last week about using an image. I asked what their budget was, and I've never heard back from them. This surprised me as I've licensed quite a number photos to museums. Unfortunately, my stock website has stopped paying for itself. Not sure if it's worth the cost any longer. It does come in handy, though, for storage and file delivery.

John,

 

Sorry to hear about the requests for free photos. It happens to me once in a while, and I still find it insulting if it's a business doing the asking.

[Panthera tigris]

On 9/27/2017 at 02:45, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

 

1) No, I don't even shoot "stock" photography - I just shoot what I love to shoot. Personally the thought of shooting for money does not appeal to me personally, the thought of photography as an enjoyable experience does so thats what I, personally, keep to. Enjoying myself in retirement.
2) No

3) Definitely, as soon as the Mavic is upgraded with a better camera.
4) No

[Sultanpepa]

I haven't done any of the above but I'd like to do 2 & 3. Don't think I've got anything worthy of FAA and a drone with a suitable stock camera I have no knowledge of. Not sure the investment would be worth it either.

[Rick Lewis]

On 9/26/2017 at 14:45, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

 

 

#1  No.  But if I were just getting into the business I would.  (Too old to learn new tricks).

#2  I have but I no longer do unless someone contacts me directly & the size of the print will justify my time.

#3  No.  But again, if I were just getting started, I definitely would.  (See #1)

#4  Yes I do. 

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Panthera tigris said:

1) No, I don't even shoot "stock" photography - I just shoot what I love to shoot. Personally the thought of shooting for money does not appeal to me personally, the thought of photography as an enjoyable experience does so thats what I, personally, keep to. Enjoying myself in retirement.

 

 

Great attitude. Personally, I find that making some money as well is part of the enjoyment.

 

Also, "retirement" can be very expensive, where I live anyway.

 

 

[Steviebuoy]

I have been reading this thread with interest as a newcomer. I am semi retired with a decent pension and part time job topping up my income. Photography has been a hobby for a good number of years. I have decided to put some images on here as my health is not good and I don't know how much longer I can keep working at the day job. 

 

Im slowly working through my back catalogue and have uploaded 1500-2000 pictures in the last couple of weeks since I joined, with a good number more to come. Everything is passing quality control. I have low expectations as Im my own worse critic. My pictures are technically competent though lack the wow factor, and my photoshop skills are ok at best. 

 

With 255 views, no zooms, and no sales so far, is this something that could provide an income supplement or am I barking up the wrong tree? Any advice or constructive criticism would be welcomed. 

[Brasilnut]

Quote

With 255 views, no zooms, and no sales so far, is this something that could provide an income supplement or am I barking up the wrong tree? Any advice or constructive criticism would be welcomed. 

 

Overall, I think they're technically pretty good but you did get lucky in a few occasions, such as the following (extremely noisy):

 

 

I've looked through your portfolio and I just think that there's few images that make you go WOW...with the exception of your Marrakesh images. Perhaps you were in a holiday mood and relaxed because you managed to gather some quite intimate images of people, whereas in the UK and Belgium, it's far away shots. I've been making an effort lately to try to get closer to people and try to capture moments and expressions. I really like this one as it tells a story and is beautifully framed:

 

 

Lastly, I think there's some issues with the captions (didn't see the keywords). They're not descriptive enough. As this one is just "Marrakech and more Morocco". Perhaps go into more detail on the architecture style and the people (what were they wearing). Are they Berbers? Maybe even the neighborhood within Marrakesh. 

 

I'm relatively new here and only been uploading regularly for the past 6 months, but others on here have much more experience and would be able to shed some light and give you more advice.

 

Good luck

 

Nut

[Steviebuoy]

4 minutes ago, Brasilnut said:

 

Overall, I think they're technically pretty good but you did get lucky in a few occasions, such as the following (extremely noisy):

 

 

I've looked through your portfolio and I just think that there's few images that make you go WOW...with the exception of your Marrakesh images. Perhaps you were in a holiday mood and relaxed because you managed to gather some quite intimate images of people, whereas in the UK and Belgium, it's far away shots. I've been making an effort lately to try to get closer to people and try to capture moments and expressions. I really like this one as it tells a story and is beautifully framed:

 

 

Lastly, I think there's some issues with the captions (didn't see the keywords). They're not descriptive enough. As this one is just "Marrakech and more Morocco". Perhaps go into more detail on the architecture style and the people (what were they wearing). Are they Berbers? Maybe even the neighborhood within Marrakesh. 

 

I'm relatively new here and only been uploading regularly for the past 6 months, but others on here have much more experience and would be able to shed some light and give you more advice.

 

Good luck

 

Nut

Thanks for the feedback. HMS Belfast was taken middle of the night hence the noise, but I see your point. 

 

I have only ever taken photo's for myself and never had to think about what sells before so maybe it's time to re assess. 

 

I will go back and look at my descriptions. All advice is most welcome.

 

Steve

[Brasilnut]

Quote

HMS Belfast was taken middle of the night hence the noise, but I see your point. 

 

Get the tripod out! Or at worst lean it against a steady railing (I tend to do that a lot lately when I don't have the tripod). The only issue is the horizon is not straight most of the time but easily fixable later on in post-processing. 

 

-------------

 

You're welcome  Keep uploading and I trust you'll turn those views into zooms and zooms into sales. 

[Doc]

On 9/26/2017 at 20:45, Brasilnut said:

Out of curiosity, how many on here:

 

1. Shoot stock footage?

2. Sell Print on Demand?

3. Have a drone or are considering purchasing one?

4. Work directly with clients?

 

Me it's, 1. Yes but still learning 2. Yes 3. Considering 4. No, but would like to. 

1. No

2.No

3.No

4. Very occasionally

 

Kumar (the Doc one)

[NYCat]

2 hours ago, Steviebuoy said:

Thanks for the feedback. HMS Belfast was taken middle of the night hence the noise, but I see your point. 

 

I have only ever taken photo's for myself and never had to think about what sells before so maybe it's time to re assess. 

 

I will go back and look at my descriptions. All advice is most welcome.

 

Steve

 

You need to do lots of work on captions and keywords. Lots. "Animals of......" for a batch just won't do. I think you know that. Also, when I got into the keywords I saw things like "cottage" on a peacock. The animals should have scientific names as well as common names. You are just wasting your time if you don't keyword and caption properly. It is a pain in the neck. Believe me, I hate our current Image Manager but it must be done. Your lovely images will never be seen.

 

Paulette

[Matt Ashmore]

14 hours ago, Steviebuoy said:

I have been reading this thread with interest as a newcomer. I am semi retired with a decent pension and part time job topping up my income. Photography has been a hobby for a good number of years. I have decided to put some images on here as my health is not good and I don't know how much longer I can keep working at the day job. 

 

Im slowly working through my back catalogue and have uploaded 1500-2000 pictures in the last couple of weeks since I joined, with a good number more to come. Everything is passing quality control. I have low expectations as Im my own worse critic. My pictures are technically competent though lack the wow factor, and my photoshop skills are ok at best. 

 

With 255 views, no zooms, and no sales so far, is this something that could provide an income supplement or am I barking up the wrong tree? Any advice or constructive criticism would be welcomed. 

 

You have a lot of images where the caption is "National Trust Wales". Are you aware of the whole fuss that National Trust have kicked up with regards to images on their property?

I strongly recommend reading these two threads:

 

Personally, any images taken inside an NT property, I would delete straight away. Any images that are taken outside on NT property (i.e. you paid to get entry) and can be identified as such, I would also think about removing. Pictures taken on NT property that could be anywhere (e.g. three sheep in  field), I would re-caption and re-keyword to remove any mention of NT.

[Steviebuoy]

1 hour ago, NYCat said:

 

You need to do lots of work on captions and keywords. Lots. "Animals of......" for a batch just won't do. I think you know that. Also, when I got into the keywords I saw things like "cottage" on a peacock. The animals should have scientific names as well as common names. You are just wasting your time if you don't keyword and caption properly. It is a pain in the neck. Believe me, I hate our current Image Manager but it must be done. Your lovely images will never be seen.

 

Paulette

Thanks. I think it was batch processing as I have put so many pictures on in such a short space of time. I need to go through individually. Not sure I can think of 50 words for each picture though.

[Steviebuoy]

1 hour ago, Matt Ashmore said:

 

You have a lot of images where the caption is "National Trust Wales". Are you aware of the whole fuss that National Trust have kicked up with regards to images on their property?

I strongly recommend reading these two threads:

 

Personally, any images taken inside an NT property, I would delete straight away. Any images that are taken outside on NT property (i.e. you paid to get entry) and can be identified as such, I would also think about removing. Pictures taken on NT property that could be anywhere (e.g. three sheep in  field), I would re-caption and re-keyword to remove any mention of NT.

I will have a read. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[spacecadet]

I wouldn't (and haven't) removed any myself. If Alamy cares to find any of mine on one of its fishing expeditions, and they meet the threat criteria, which they won't, it can remove them itself. Until then they stay up ready to licence- which they have. Those taken from the ROW say so in the caption.

I'm not doing the NT's nefarious work for it.

[Steviebuoy]

7 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

I wouldn't (and haven't) removed any myself. If Alamy cares to find any of mine on one of its fishing expeditions, and they meet the threat criteria, which they won't, it can remove them itself. Until then they stay up ready to licence- which they have. Those taken from the ROW say so in the caption.

I'm not doing the NT's nefarious work for it.

National Trust Scotland let me take pictures in some properties but not others. National Trust England/Wales allow photo's. Does that mean they are copyright to me or NT? 

[Matt Ashmore]

3 minutes ago, Steviebuoy said:

National Trust Scotland let me take pictures in some properties but not others. National Trust England/Wales allow photo's. Does that mean they are copyright to me or NT? 

 

I don't think NT have a problem with you taking pictures.. it's the selling of those pictures that they have a problem with. Stick them on your Facebook or Instagram pages and I'm sure they are fine with that. 

 

Mark (Spacecadet) and I tend to approach this from different sides. I am cautious by nature so tend to err on the side of safety.... Mark is bolder in his approach and waits to be challenged. Ultimately it's your decision as to which images you have up and how you keyword and caption them unless of course Alamy decide to take the decision out of your hands by making it for you.

[NYCat]

1 hour ago, Steviebuoy said:

Thanks. I think it was batch processing as I have put so many pictures on in such a short space of time. I need to go through individually. Not sure I can think of 50 words for each picture though.

 

Don't try to reach 50 keywords. It is definitely not necessary and can be counter productive. Just be very accurate and very complete. Take a look at what others have done with your subjects but be aware that not everyone is doing a good job. Do a sensible number of words that will lead people to your images. Look at Alamy's advice on keywording.

 

Paulette