Posted by Terry Sohl on October 26, 2011 at 2:24 PM
I'm not a professional but sell my share of photos. Sure have noticed a drop in commercial sales over the last year or two. It's tough to compete with the cheapo photo sellers!! Here's a typical reply from someone after I sent them a quote on a commercial sales use:
Thanks Terry for your reply. I'm afraid your fees are out of my budget. I've found a similar image at iStockphoto for $20 ea. Though your images are better, I can PhotoShop to make do with the other ones (as I need to photo illustrate all my images so they are compatible).
Posted by Luke Ormand on October 26, 2011 at 3:27 PM
Yup. It's getting really really bad out there. The options I'm seeing to make money in this industry (I've only made a paltry amount this year and 1/2 of that came from a papparazzi opportunity) is to have exclusive deals with business/compaines, to really own a niche (which is becoming impossible anyway) or to have an unreal collection of rarities (and with the advent of game farms, that's not a good strategy either). When it comes to selling images I think it's a no win situation for us photogs. You can run some photo tours and workshops to pay for your equipment but what other opportunities are there?
I've been lucky this year in being able to sell photos of local wildlife/habitats to a wildlife refuge that re-did their visitors center but when is the next time that chance will come about? 25 years from now?
That's a pretty thorough summary of the "world" of stock photography.
Our stock sales continue to putter along at the rate of about 20% of our total sales volume as it has for years, but that's to clients for for our other photo services. I don't think we've had a single stock sale outside of that "niche," but we don't promote ourselves at all as a stock source pr participate with agencies. Other venues for us include the gamut of traditional studio work plus advertising, events, industrial and scientific. My impression is that there's been little change in any of those- neither up nor down- though we won't have a full accounting till the end of the year, of course.
Posted by Varina Patel on October 27, 2011 at 7:33 AM
Running a photography business has always been tough - there are always others who will offer their images for less. For myself, success in business has come from diversity. There are so many options for photographers. I offer images for print and for commercial license - but I don't rely on that for my income. Instead, I teach workshops, webinars, and seminars - and I write eBooks and sell them online. I speak for large and small groups as well - which helps to get my name out there. There are many other options as well - you can photograph events or shoot portraits. And you can submit your images to any number of agencies that are looking for stock photos. (Even Getty understands that microstock is changing the face of the stock photo markets - they've purchased iStockPhoto... and they're making money. You might sell an image once or twice a year at Getty - but you make three times as much selling that same image 100 times at iStockPhoto in that same time period.)
Marketing is essential for expanding my business - I update my blog a couple of times each week, I maintain my website carefully, and I'm active on Google+ and other social networking sites. Internet marketing is cheap - and you can reach millions without paying a dime. It takes time to build an online presence - but it's well worth the effort.
Our business continues to grow each year - in leaps and bounds. Photography isn't dead - it's just changing. Grab it and run with it!
Posted by Steve Sieren on October 27, 2011 at 12:17 PM
Terry,
"I'm afraid your fees are out of my budget". Terry, that is a quote I've heard far too many times this year.
The funnest way of making money at photography is doing it as a side business. There are no worries about paying the bills that way, it was so easy to just buy new equipment with money that came from photography. Now as a freelance pro for the first winter season in 6 years I am honestly a little worried about making it through, I have condensed all of my bills due to less revenue. Might have to drop my name and work under someone else for a bit and take a few orders from a boss. I don't have any free time, it's all spent working on something, it's even gone into my time spent with my girlfriend, I feel guilty about it she sees it's paying off with a few workshop sales that help me make it through the winter. My stock sales have all been done with lots of negotiations so you have the right idea in finding out what they are actually paying before you give up on the negotiating process because there is a price that is too low to compete with. If you look at the great photographers that have been around since before the digital revolution, you can tell that they are just your basic hard working americans, not living luxuriously. Not driving fancy cars or wearing fancy clothes just spending most of their money on travel because they have to. If you want more income from photography in these times you need to work your ass off!
The price of photography has dropped but the need for professional quality work will always be there and with the internet the need for quality work is higher then ever.
The price of photography has dropped but the need for professional quality work will always be there and with the internet the need for quality work is higher then ever.
Bingo!
In our experience the best thing that ever happened to pro photography is the recent era of "buy this camera and you too can be a pro."
A significant share of our contract work is from people who decided to buy a wondercamera and do the work themselves. After a few unsuccessful tries, they appreciate the difference more than ever. And become part of a growing pool of "educated" consumers.
Posted by Jim Sabiston on October 27, 2011 at 1:23 PM
I absorb all this info with great interest. I would probably qualify as a semi-pro: I sell strictly 'fine art' images thru galleries and open air shows during the summer and have been doing this successfully for several years now. My primary income is from my day job in NYC. Their is no 'need' for me to make money from my photography, but I wil be retiring from the day job in 5 years and turning full time to photography. To that end, I run my photography 'hobby' as a business. I track all sales and expenses so I have a realistic view of how I am doing out there. The good news: The hobby pays for itself. The bad news: if I needed to live off the sales, I might be dead by now! (hmmmm, that new lens or this month's food?)
I spend only a small fraction of my time marketing myself, as the day job simply does not leave much. Just the same, I've noted several trends. This past season was setting record sales for me when it opened. The economy was showing signs of percolating again and I'm developing a following of clients who actively seek me out for my current work. Then the debt ceiling fiasco hit and my sales took about a 75% hit for the rest of the season. I also financed a solo show in a large local gallery right about the time of the debt ceiling 'crisis'. Talk about bad timing! Rave reviews, but little traffic and fewer sales. The net is that it looks like it will be just above a break even year for me.
It is clear that I will have to expand into other areas other than 'fine art' sales if I want to turn a real profit unles sI can find a broader print market. Teaching is something that that comes naturally to me, so that will be one option. Stock sales never much interested me, but who knows? I will likely never do weddings (never say never!) but portraits are something that I find very interesting, but they would be 'non-standard' portraits. I need to exercise my muse!
The common element is that a photographer has to be flexible and work harder than ever to adapt to a rapidly changing environment and be willin gto work in multiple disciplines. 5 years from now, the game may be completely different. I'm working my social stuff now and G+ is much better than facebook in this regard. I actually participated in one of Varina Patel's webinars about a month or so ago right after I joined up. It was my first live video chat on the web and it was fun. does that translate into sales? I have no idea.
It is a challenging environment out there and we will have to force ourselves to be creative well beyond the normal boundries we set for ourselves in order to really succeed.
The common element is that a photographer has to be flexible and work harder than ever to adapt to a rapidly changing environment and be willin gto work in multiple disciplines. 5 years from now, the game may be completely different.
It is a challenging environment out there and we will have to force ourselves to be creative well beyond the normal boundries we set for ourselves in order to really succeed.
That sums it up very well Jim. Just so we don't feel "picked on," my friends in other venues of the arts report it's been worse for them. Fabric arts, painting, glass, fine woodworking, sculpture and more simply do not fit the emerging electronic world and markets as well as photography. Similarly, as client budgets for art expand and contract it's a lot harder for them to alter their product lines to match. A continuing refrain from them is "You photographers have it made!"
Discussion
7 repliesThanks Terry for your reply. I'm afraid your fees are out of my budget. I've found a similar image at iStockphoto for $20 ea. Though your images are better, I can PhotoShop to make do with the other ones (as I need to photo illustrate all my images so they are compatible).
I've been lucky this year in being able to sell photos of local wildlife/habitats to a wildlife refuge that re-did their visitors center but when is the next time that chance will come about? 25 years from now?
Our stock sales continue to putter along at the rate of about 20% of our total sales volume as it has for years, but that's to clients for for our other photo services. I don't think we've had a single stock sale outside of that "niche," but we don't promote ourselves at all as a stock source pr participate with agencies. Other venues for us include the gamut of traditional studio work plus advertising, events, industrial and scientific. My impression is that there's been little change in any of those- neither up nor down- though we won't have a full accounting till the end of the year, of course.
Marketing is essential for expanding my business - I update my blog a couple of times each week, I maintain my website carefully, and I'm active on Google+ and other social networking sites. Internet marketing is cheap - and you can reach millions without paying a dime. It takes time to build an online presence - but it's well worth the effort.
Our business continues to grow each year - in leaps and bounds. Photography isn't dead - it's just changing. Grab it and run with it!
"I'm afraid your fees are out of my budget". Terry, that is a quote I've heard far too many times this year.
The funnest way of making money at photography is doing it as a side business. There are no worries about paying the bills that way, it was so easy to just buy new equipment with money that came from photography. Now as a freelance pro for the first winter season in 6 years I am honestly a little worried about making it through, I have condensed all of my bills due to less revenue. Might have to drop my name and work under someone else for a bit and take a few orders from a boss. I don't have any free time, it's all spent working on something, it's even gone into my time spent with my girlfriend, I feel guilty about it she sees it's paying off with a few workshop sales that help me make it through the winter. My stock sales have all been done with lots of negotiations so you have the right idea in finding out what they are actually paying before you give up on the negotiating process because there is a price that is too low to compete with. If you look at the great photographers that have been around since before the digital revolution, you can tell that they are just your basic hard working americans, not living luxuriously. Not driving fancy cars or wearing fancy clothes just spending most of their money on travel because they have to. If you want more income from photography in these times you need to work your ass off!
The price of photography has dropped but the need for professional quality work will always be there and with the internet the need for quality work is higher then ever.
Bingo!
In our experience the best thing that ever happened to pro photography is the recent era of "buy this camera and you too can be a pro."
A significant share of our contract work is from people who decided to buy a wondercamera and do the work themselves. After a few unsuccessful tries, they appreciate the difference more than ever. And become part of a growing pool of "educated" consumers.
I spend only a small fraction of my time marketing myself, as the day job simply does not leave much. Just the same, I've noted several trends. This past season was setting record sales for me when it opened. The economy was showing signs of percolating again and I'm developing a following of clients who actively seek me out for my current work. Then the debt ceiling fiasco hit and my sales took about a 75% hit for the rest of the season. I also financed a solo show in a large local gallery right about the time of the debt ceiling 'crisis'. Talk about bad timing! Rave reviews, but little traffic and fewer sales. The net is that it looks like it will be just above a break even year for me.
It is clear that I will have to expand into other areas other than 'fine art' sales if I want to turn a real profit unles sI can find a broader print market. Teaching is something that that comes naturally to me, so that will be one option. Stock sales never much interested me, but who knows? I will likely never do weddings (never say never!) but portraits are something that I find very interesting, but they would be 'non-standard' portraits. I need to exercise my muse!
The common element is that a photographer has to be flexible and work harder than ever to adapt to a rapidly changing environment and be willin gto work in multiple disciplines. 5 years from now, the game may be completely different. I'm working my social stuff now and G+ is much better than facebook in this regard. I actually participated in one of Varina Patel's webinars about a month or so ago right after I joined up. It was my first live video chat on the web and it was fun. does that translate into sales? I have no idea.
It is a challenging environment out there and we will have to force ourselves to be creative well beyond the normal boundries we set for ourselves in order to really succeed.
That sums it up very well Jim. Just so we don't feel "picked on," my friends in other venues of the arts report it's been worse for them. Fabric arts, painting, glass, fine woodworking, sculpture and more simply do not fit the emerging electronic world and markets as well as photography. Similarly, as client budgets for art expand and contract it's a lot harder for them to alter their product lines to match. A continuing refrain from them is "You photographers have it made!"