Making Money in Stock Now

Editor's Notes

3. Industry guru Consultant, appraiser, expert witness New author...
5. Creative Director of Blend Images Career full of industry experience Photographer herself
7. Stock photographer (Andersen Ross) Participating at all levels New collection Spaces...
9. Microstock blogger Aspiring stock photographer
11. Currently producing: microstock, traditional, both? Interested in starting? Agencies? Service providers? Buyers? “Artists”?
13. Original microstock subscription Here in NY Daryl official tweeter
14. Division of Random House Publisher of Ellen’s Book Exhibiting - lots of books for photographers
16. Sarah: Are agencies making money? Is that the place to be in the stock photo industry? Jonathan: What do you see in terms of the growth/decline of agency revenue across the entire market? Ellen: Your consulting gives you a great insight. Without compromising confidentiality, are the agencies making money?
17. Sarah: How are royalty rates and sales volumes moving at Blend? Jonathan: Average royalty rates going up or down? Ellen: If royalty rates are low and/or going down, does that mean agencies are making money?
18. Everyone: What are people saying about the revenue of agencies and the market in general?
19. Jonathan: You’re an established and successful stock photographer. Among yourself and your peers, are stock producers making money in stock? Ellen: What are your consulting clients saying? Are established stock photographers asking for advice about investing their fortunes or about a career change?
20. Sarah: Blend was founded by established stock photographers, but what’s the mix today? Do you have a lot of new stock photographers joining or is the portfolio still dominated by established photographers?
21. Jonathan: You work in a team. How many people work on a shoot from pre to post? Do you ever work alone? What do you like about the different ways of working? Ellen: From your consulting clients do you get a sense for how many are working with teams? Large or small?
22. Jonathan: Which outsourcing service providers do you use? Ellen: Can you recommend any other outsourcing providers in the industry?
23. Sarah: How tight is the edit at Blend? Is there a clear preference among photographers for tighter or looser edits? Which do you see working best for the contributor? Ellen: What do you see working best in the market? Jonathan: What works best for you in the different markets?
24. Sarah: From what’s submitted to Blend, what would you say is the mix of studio versus location shot content? Jonathan: What’s your mix of studio versus location?
25. Jonathan: do you shoot locally or travel? Ellen: what do you see?
26. Jonathan: what’s selling best for you at the moment? Sarah: Blend is a niche agency, but within that context can you tell us what subjects, themes, and styles you’re seeing sell? Ellen: Can we trust the research reports published by the big agencies?
27. Ellen: You presented on selling direct here at PPE last year. Can you give us a quick intro to selling direct? What’s involved? What services does one need? Who are they? Does it work?
28. Sarah: How does one get a contract with Blend? Jonathan: Do you contribute directly to the big agencies or do you go through distributors? Ellen: What advice do you give your consulting clients who are interested in getting contracts with big agencies? Ellen: And your book tells people everything they need to know to get started in microstock, right?
29. Everyone: What’s best: shoot for the market, or find the market for your shots?
30. Jonathan: What are you seeing in your returns? What’s currently earning more, and which is growing fastest? Ellen: What advice are you giving consulting clients about which market to play in? Sarah: Are most of Blend’s contributing photographers sticking with traditional RF or are they playing with microstock too?
31. (explain that we’re talking “per image, per month”, not per year) RM: Jonathan: Can you share your experience and how you believe that compares to the market? RF: Sarah: You’ll have great insight into RF earnings. What’s typical at Blend and out in the wider market? Micro: Jonathan: What’s your experience with microstock? Micro: Ellen: What do you see as typical RPI in microstock? Ellen: Selling direct must surely produce a very wide range of returns, but what do you see as being typical for a stocky-stock photographer or average-to-high quality? Everyone: Who can tell us the story of Jim Erickson? What makes him such an example for stock photographers?
32. Everyone: Speaking generally, are stock photographers on welfare or taking their summers in the Hamptons?
33. Jonathan: Tell us a little about what equipment you use in a shoot. How much is there? Ellen: What range or shoot budgets are you seeing among your consulting clients?
34. Sarah: Are any of the Blend contributors part time, or have their career in another branch of photography other than stock?
35. Jonathan: Are you gifted or did you work your way up to where you are? Ellen: Can you spot talent in a portfolio review? Is there hope for those of us without natural talent?
36. Everyone: What’s the best way to improve as a stock photographer?
37. Ellen: Are any of your consulting clients newbies and successful? Jonathan: What are the challenges you see for people starting out today? What do people starting out need to focus on? Profit? Growth? More gear? Fun? Sarah: what do you see among the Blend photographers? What do the most successful photographers focus on?
38. Sarah: do you see a pathway? Do some contributors come to Blend (primarily RF) from RM and/or from microstock?
39. Ellen: what’s the advice for a photographer who has some capital to invest in their stock photo business upfront? Are they better off buying Apple stock? Jonathan: If an aspiring stock photographer doesn’t have any money to invest, how difficult is it going to be to reach the point where they can survive from their stock income?
53. Thanks to speakers. Thanks to PDN, thanks to our sponsors, thanks for coming. * What’s the deal with stock photography and sharing of information? Everyone gives away their methods and processes, which in any other business are competitive secrets. Why is stock different? * What’s the one stock shot you wish you had shot? * What’s the best criteria to use when choosing an agency, traditional or microstock? * Where in the world are people traveling to shoot stock? Why those places? * Mac or PC? * What industry websites are in your feed reader? * Who is your favorite stock photographer of all time, and why?