...anyway, when i thanked Mr. Yusouf Karsh for being so considerate to me, a little unknown beginner in the business ... he humble reply was, "
remember this, anyone can be a great photographer if he practises enough. but it's just as important  to always practise to be a great human being".
i think Karsh knew  what community is, as every photographer in the business who've met the great man knew how kind he was.

Great story. It's a nice counterpart to those folks who are full of themselves and very standoffish to have an example of thoughtful and kind consideration for a newbie.

Hi Ichiro 17,

Do you know Ron personally. I think until you do or try to approach him personally what you say is just another opinion with very little merit. This is what I refer to as " The Haters " I can tell you when I started looking into building a Micro collection company I called him out of the blue ( he didn't know me from Adam ) and he spent an hour on the phone giving out very helpful advice, phone numbers of contacts and anything I wanted to know, told me to call anytime. He was an open book and he always has been. I have followed Rons work as have most successful stock photographer for years and outside of this little circle he is very respected and admired for his efforts in helping the stock community. Why don't you look him up and give him a call. He has more to get done in a day than 10 of us but he will still take your call.
 I hear some fear,frustration and envy I hear all those things in this post but I don't here how these people inspire anyone. I am inspired by the biggest players out there because just their efforts to build their own company give me faith that I can do it myself. I spend as much time as I can talking to people from this board and others about any questions I can back door through e-mails and Skype, am I trying to build some secret Micro empire or maybe I just like to help other people when I can.
 If I had 15,000 images in Micro would I become one of the bad guys to. This feeling of entitlement is so prevelant these days in society. What happened to the "one that works the hardest and the smartest gets to the top first ". Is he supposed to throw you a rope after he spent his entire life to get to the top.
 So you feel he should help everyone but if at any time that looks like it might serve his business by helping others that makes him a fake or self serving. If you feel that way I would be concerned about your ability to learn anything from those that came before you. And yes he is a Mentor. I could send you a list the length of my arm of people he has helped in this business that I know personally.

Best,
AVAVA

I'm not calling Ron Chapple anything because I think he's an excellent business-minded, industry leader that knows what he needs to do to get things done.  I don't think for a minute that he's the 'bad guy' or that I should 'hate him'.  In fact, I respect him and follow his work from a distance as a general gauge of his impressions on the industry.   However, I am going to call you naive.  By him helping you, you can go out and generate great photos which in turn will increase the quality and appeal of the stock business to potential buyers who then will come and buy.  And the people with the best quality with lots of quantity will benefit too, because more buyers means bigger pie, and money pie is loved by all and usually shared at the same ratio as the smaller pie.

Don't call me a hater because you only want to believe one side of the story.  His 15,000 - 20,000 photos are good for the industry and maybe not so good for smaller guys bottom lines.  Does it affect me much? No, I don't try to make a living off of this yet and if I was going to try to do so, who better to learn from than someone who knows everything about it.  And good for him for being able to produce so much Q&Q.  His 'mentorship' is good for you and its also good for him in many ways, one of which is that he's giving back, another of which could be a bump in a bottom line. 

I have some observations which I think can add to this discussion. 

First, the agencies 'get it' a lot more than we realise. I was lucky enough to hear Getty, Corbis, Jupiter and Masterfile senior executives answer questions about the industry last month, and I was amazed at how well informed they were about what it happening in the industry and how much I, and many others here at MSG, underestimate the sophistication of their decision making. It really does look from the outside like they're pretty stupid sometimes, otherwise we wouldn't all have this perception, but there are many factors that influence their actions and inactions which we don't see. They get it, trust me.

A new market comes with new rules. We (microstock photographers) opened up the market. In doing so, we took power away from individuals and organised groups. An industry association like SAA works in the traditional portion of the market because it's the old model (limited suppliers, individual contracts, relationship driven, etc). In this context there are many of us here in this forum who 'get it' a LOT less than these 'old school' traditionalist.

It's easy to confuse 'contributing to the community' with pure philanthropy. I have a blog with over 200 posts with the sole aim of helping microstock contributors, completely free for anyone to read. This is NOT an example of generosity, giving back, or philanthropy. I'm extremely happy that what I've created helps people for free, but I'm not doing it for that reason. I'm neither that generous nor that financially independent. It's safe to assume that the top contributors who are creating blogs and videos which help the contributor community have similar business motives. It doesn't mean that they are not generous individuals nor that they aren't happy that what they're doing helps other people. Ron is in fact extremely generous, from someone who knows him personally.

Finally, I'm constantly surprised at how connected the industry is. The top contributors speak directly with the CEOs of microstock agencies, in depth, and frequently. Some agencies approach their top contributors for opinions and insights when considering strategic decisions. I've actually seen information plugged in on one side of the industry pop out on the other side. Again, 'constantly surprised'. Plus, in my experience, with only a few exceptions, both the top contributors and agency CEOs are very open and approachable as Ichiro17's experience below demonstrates. Try it sometime. The thing between us and the information that can make the biggest difference is our resistance to picking up the phone or writing an email.

...Plus, in my experience, with only a few exceptions, both the top contributors and agency CEOs are very open and approachable as Ichiro17's experience below demonstrates. Try it sometime. The thing between us and the information that can make the biggest difference is our resistance to picking up the phone or writing an email.

lee, unless i misread, don't you mean AVAVA, rather than Ichiro17? it was AVAVA who called...
and was responding to Ichiro17.

I use the word " haters " to speak of the people that attack others without any merit or real data I don't think you hate him.

Then can we stop the term using?  I feel like I'm at an Amway meeting or something.  Or is that "dream stealer"?  I can't remember.  Anyways, it's a loaded phrase.

Also, I'm curious as to what "photographer needs" you're discussing with a microstock site, when you're relatively new to the microstock game.  So, be sure to let us know what transpires.

Very interesting article.  I have to admit to feeling somewhat threatened by the high volume producers.  As someone who has been doing this full-time for a couple of years, I don't know how long I will be able to compete.

On the up side, my production costs are extremely low, so much of what I earn is profit.  While I am quite willing to improve my equipment and skills to keep my image quality rising, I am not interested in expanding to a paid staff. 

On my own I am able to produce only about 30-50 high quality images uploaded in a given week.  One of the main things I have always loved about doing this and working for myself is that I can take time off when I want or need to.  As a result I only average around 1,000 images per year added to my portfolio.  1500 of those were added in the last year and represent about the maximum effort I am able to put in. 

Not that I blame higher volume producers.  I admire them, but don't want the high pressure that producing that volume would add to my life.  If I wanted that I would be working in the corporate world. 

I just wonder if there will continue to be a viable living in this industry for solitary practitioners or mom & pop shops.  It is somewhat comforting that Serban at Dreamstime and KK Thompson at Istock do at least have the intention of balancing the needs of the big producers and the small ones.

Only time will tell I suppose.  At least my husband has a secure day job

Hi there SJ,

 Are you asking me questions? I can't tell from your writing I am a bit confused. I believe I already stated that I would not be using the term " Haters " anymore. I probably use to much slang in life in general and since this is a public forum and world wide I think it is better to use only the Kings English from here out.
 I don't even understand you second line but I must say that I would love to know what you are talking about. Is it a criticism of some kind. I have been in Micro for over a year doing very extensive testing and talking directly with the company owners before investing. I have uploaded 1500 images now and have 2000 standing by waiting to see where to place them now that I have completed our first stage of testing.
  You appear to seem to think that Micro is some completely different animal and that Macro shooters just have a hard time understanding it. It is about producing images the buyer needs and how to do it in the most proficient manner, or at least that's how I understand it. I would appreciate it if you would share what it is I have yet to learn in the stock business that you are aware of to substantiate such a statement. On the other hand I don't want to make this a wrestling match. I am only interested in being educated and educating others.
 I believe you once told me you would never help a competing photographer get better or share any information that might improve their career. Like I said in another post, all of us have their way of running their business and their style might not be for everyone. It doesn't make what they do bad, just different.
 I spend most of my time on this site trying to share what I know to make it easier for everyone and also to stop disinformation from being spread. But that is what I get out of this place, that is my buzz. Others have completely different reasons for being here and that is cool to. I find it far more fascinating to talk shop rather than correct people but when you see disinformation about someone you know personally like Ron Chapple I think most people that have actually spoken with the man and know him personally would see him through different eyes. If someone told me you were a hack of a photographer and you only want to take from everyone to make yourself rich and crush the competition I would definitely come to your aid about the remark of you being a hack. You are a very good shooter.

Best,
AVAVA

Lisa,

 I think you are doing great! 1000 images a year is a great work ethic and one that should pay off with time. You keep up the hard work.

Best,
AVAVA

Peter,

Well said sir. It is not for everyone and you can start to really burn out. If I take a day off that means I am paying a staff for my time off as well. If I go on a family holiday do you know how much it costs me. Freedom for living life is a great asset and should never be over looked. Some people are just built that way. Do what fits you best and most of all be happy with life it is so short.

Best,
AVAVA

PDN kind of misunderstood my point with the stereotypes, and my numbers and think I am Dutch... (Im a purebread Dane (Danish), not Dutch or Russian)...Hmmm
 

Yuri,

I was wondering when the Dutch thing would come up. You know, one of those D countries. Was that Deutschland? I have a friend who never reads PDN saying they never get anything right. Maybe he's right.

Peter

but neither is Deutschland dutch !