Author Topic: 2015: your image market predictions & personal resolutions ? (Read 53145 times)

cobalt · « **Reply #50 on:** December 20, 2014, 15:09 »

smartphone images are a much bigger market than just eyeem...there is a reason so many agencies are now writing apps for it. But like with all things stock, the majority won´t make money from it, but there are quite a few interesting smartphone artists out there. It is not as easy as it seems, if you want to do it well.

the stock market overall is huge, all kinds of specialized niche agencies, also for high end content. But I think unless you do stock full time it will be very difficult to see where the money is.

Seyyah · « **Reply #51 on:** December 22, 2014, 07:06 »

It seems nobody likes newbies, huh?

Mantis · « **Reply #52 on:** December 22, 2014, 10:01 »

As Clubber Lang would say, "PAIN............."

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #53 on:** December 22, 2014, 12:24 »

i think, like the other "stock" market, it is still possible to make money in microstock. only like the other "stock" market, you have to spend a lot of time keeping track of what is being bought. you can either go long term with "blue chip" images or find some of those subjects that are hard to produce or not available in the millions .
if you are with Shutterstock, (and who isn't,lol?) it's easier to do your market research as they give us that sale summary of our images. i could make more if i only spend more time looking at the stats SS has for us. but i'd rather get pissed,lol

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #54 on:** January 04, 2015, 14:52 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on December 18, 2014, 12:23

I expect SS will continue to gain market share, but I have the opposite prediction. I think they'll start making more big sales to ad agencies and pay contributors more. I say this because for the first time, I'm working in a major ad agency that has a contract with Shutterstock. It was all Getty until recently. And the art director I'm working with is impressed by the rise in image quality over the past couple of years.

Exactly my thoughts!
We got to think about buyers and what they want/need when thinking about which agency will grow.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #55 on:** January 04, 2015, 18:00 »

Quote from: SSArtist on January 04, 2015, 14:52

Quote from: Shelma1 on December 18, 2014, 12:23
I expect SS will continue to gain market share, but I have the opposite prediction. I think they'll start making more big sales to ad agencies and pay contributors more. I say this because for the first time, I'm working in a major ad agency that has a contract with Shutterstock. It was all Getty until recently. And the art director I'm working with is impressed by the rise in image quality over the past couple of years.

Exactly my thoughts!
We got to think about buyers and what they want/need when thinking about which agency will grow.

but are the clients looking for the same old same old they did with the big G from ss???
i read here bad news or not optismistic expectation from those who have been in microstock a long time. is this like the shift we get in music and movies where the buying age bracket changes so do the selling music and movies. if say the big earners are complaining significant drop in profits, are their images not selling due too over saturation of clones

so what else is there to make that is not already over saturated in supplies today???

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #56 on:** January 05, 2015, 05:37 »

Buyers are looking for quality files, convenience and superb search engine, fast download, fast and easy checkout with options on payments, superb customer support, legal clearance to avoid any risk, affordable pricing.
I don't see how millennial generation would look for different in buying process? This of course, considering them working in professional capacity on big projects that have great budgets too.

Sadly buyers do not care about our commissions nor agency's employees crap salaries, but that's the way it is.

Red Dove · « **Reply #57 on:** January 05, 2015, 06:03 »

I predict that I will be none the wiser after reading all the predictions.

Personally, I can only act on my own successes and failures since everything else is outside of my control. Also, the only information I have that I can guarantee has been doggedly accumulated and is authentic and accurate is on my laptop. We have very little to go on since the agencies (probably for competitive reasons) are extremely stingy and poorly organised when it comes to providing their contributors with any data or trends or customer feedback that will help us make business decisions....I predict that won't change.

As for resolutions, I plan to diversify more fully this year and join the footage brigade and will also work harder to improve my limited success in illustration by learning Adobe.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #58 on:** January 05, 2015, 06:26 »

Quote from: Red Dove on January 05, 2015, 06:03

We have very little to go on since the agencies (probably for competitive reasons) are extremely stingy and poorly organised when it comes to providing their contributors with any data or trends or customer feedback that will help us make business decisions....I predict that won't change.

Agreed...Ad agencies with massive budgets using our work for nothing. So with keeping prices down we help those who actually doesn't need help at all.

One would expect stock agencies to protect us and help with this.

stockmarketer · « **Reply #59 on:** January 05, 2015, 07:04 »

(This is a repost of what I wrote in the other 2015 predictions thread which looks like it's dying, so I'll add it here:)

My prediction: the Wall will come down on more people than ever in 2015, making them so depressed about microstock that they will give up. This will include many hobbyists who earn just a few thousand a year, as well as some of the big contributors who earn (or once earned) six figures.

People will do the math and realize that they can no longer increase their own ports as quickly (by percentage) as the agencies can, making microstock a losing game once your port hits a certain size. There's just no way around this math. In my first few years, I was certain I could beat the Wall. I was going to work harder, achieve better quality, find better niches than anyone else. Oh, how deluded I was.

I'm predicting my own income will fall 20% or so, and my resolution is to find another income stream. For me, 2014 was the big wake-up call that microstock is not the reliable source of secondary income I hoped might carry me into retirement. That dream is long gone. 2015 will be the year I resolve to find another income source to get passionate about and reduce the time I waste on this unsustainable numbers game.

Rinderart · « **Reply #60 on:** January 05, 2015, 14:39 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on January 05, 2015, 07:04

(This is a repost of what I wrote in the other 2015 predictions thread which looks like it's dying, so I'll add it here:)

My prediction: the Wall will come down on more people than ever in 2015, making them so depressed about microstock that they will give up. This will include many hobbyists who earn just a few thousand a year, as well as some of the big contributors who earn (or once earned) six figures.

People will do the math and realize that they can no longer increase their own ports as quickly (by percentage) as the agencies can, making microstock a losing game once your port hits a certain size. There's just no way around this math. In my first few years, I was certain I could beat the Wall. I was going to work harder, achieve better quality, find better niches than anyone else. Oh, how deluded I was.

I'm predicting my own income will fall 20% or so, and my resolution is to find another income stream. For me, 2014 was the big wake-up call that microstock is not the reliable source of secondary income I hoped might carry me into retirement. That dream is long gone. 2015 will be the year I resolve to find another income source to get passionate about and reduce the time I waste on this unsustainable numbers game.

Perfectly said. and +1.

Dook · « **Reply #61 on:** January 05, 2015, 15:56 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on January 05, 2015, 07:04

People will do the math and realize that they can no longer increase their own ports as quickly (by percentage) as the agencies can, making microstock a losing game once your port hits a certain size. There's just no way around this math. In my first few years, I was certain I could beat the Wall. I was going to work harder, achieve better quality, find better niches than anyone else. Oh, how deluded I was.

You are mostly right. But, I don't think you can do math with something so unpredictable like art, and photography is art. It's not just numbers, one picture sometimes earns more than other 1000. That's the beauty of this job, it just sounds so depressing when you put it in numbers.
My income is not falling. Your numbers do not apply to my port.

Pixart · « **Reply #62 on:** January 12, 2015, 11:05 »

One of my resolutions was to drop a couple dead weight agencies, but they payout so far into the future I didn't want to cut the cord until they payouts arrive. Of course, since the payout button was pressed they are both selling again like they never have before. Sigh. I guess I'll jump back on the hamster wheel.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #63 on:** January 12, 2015, 22:28 »

Same as when I created this in parody GIF in 2013:

It represents perfectly how Microstock agencies (some of them) offer you things, make smiling promises as bait, (hope = the football...) and then yank it away, just as you make the kick, you feel like a fool, tricked again...

Two years later, has anything changed?

Karen · « **Reply #64 on:** January 13, 2015, 02:37 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on January 05, 2015, 07:04

(This is a repost of what I wrote in the other 2015 predictions thread which looks like it's dying, so I'll add it here:)

My prediction: the Wall will come down on more people than ever in 2015, making them so depressed about microstock that they will give up. This will include many hobbyists who earn just a few thousand a year, as well as some of the big contributors who earn (or once earned) six figures.

People will do the math and realize that they can no longer increase their own ports as quickly (by percentage) as the agencies can, making microstock a losing game once your port hits a certain size. There's just no way around this math. In my first few years, I was certain I could beat the Wall. I was going to work harder, achieve better quality, find better niches than anyone else. Oh, how deluded I was.

I'm predicting my own income will fall 20% or so, and my resolution is to find another income stream. For me, 2014 was the big wake-up call that microstock is not the reliable source of secondary income I hoped might carry me into retirement. That dream is long gone. 2015 will be the year I resolve to find another income source to get passionate about and reduce the time I waste on this unsustainable numbers game.

My thoughts exactly!

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #65 on:** January 13, 2015, 07:29 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on January 05, 2015, 07:04

(This is a repost of what I wrote in the other 2015 predictions thread which looks like it's dying, so I'll add it here:)

My prediction: the Wall will come down on more people than ever in 2015, making them so depressed about microstock that they will give up. This will include many hobbyists who earn just a few thousand a year, as well as some of the big contributors who earn (or once earned) six figures.

People will do the math and realize that they can no longer increase their own ports as quickly (by percentage) as the agencies can, making microstock a losing game once your port hits a certain size. There's just no way around this math. In my first few years, I was certain I could beat the Wall. I was going to work harder, achieve better quality, find better niches than anyone else. Oh, how deluded I was.

I'm predicting my own income will fall 20% or so, and my resolution is to find another income stream. For me, 2014 was the big wake-up call that microstock is not the reliable source of secondary income I hoped might carry me into retirement. That dream is long gone. 2015 will be the year I resolve to find another income source to get passionate about and reduce the time I waste on this unsustainable numbers game.

Good post.

And at one time I was hoping this would be my retirement. Ain't happenin'. This whole thing started off with so much promise.

I hit the wall too. Seems like most people need to increase their portfolios by 50-100% every year to see some growth or at least get the same revenue as the previous year. This is why it looks so promising to newbies. Because it's not hard to go from 100 images to 200 images in a year and have all kindsa BDEs, BMEs, and BYEs. But its not so easy after you're in it for a few years and need to increase your portfolio from 3,000 to 6,000 images in a year.

I've been working on other income sources for the past couple of years. Experiment. There's life beyond stock.

Monkeyman · « **Reply #66 on:** January 13, 2015, 09:22 »

I plan to leave the sinking ship that is iStock. I'm not expecting massives sales at the other sites either, but according to my quite pessimistic estimates I should at least make a little more than I do right now as an iStock exclusive.

Like most other contributors I also believe that the golden days of microstock are over, and I'm thinking about trying to do some custom work. Or perhaps leave graphic design completely and do something else...

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Author Topic: 2015: your image market predictions & personal resolutions ? (Read 53145 times)

cobalt

Seyyah

Mantis

etudiante_rapide

KnowYourOnions

etudiante_rapide

KnowYourOnions

Red Dove

KnowYourOnions

stockmarketer

Rinderart

Dook

Pixart

Uncle Pete

Karen

PaulieWalnuts

Monkeyman

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