CalevPhoto

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Changing how I approach the business of photography

As many of you know, though I currently do not make much money with photography what I do make is split between real estate photography and stock photography.  For quite some time I have been deliberating what the next step I want to take is – and I have finally come to a conclusion.  In short, I think it is time to stop monkeying around and become a real photographer.

As far as this blog is concerned, nothing much will change.  If anything, I hope that you’ll notice over the next year that the quality of my pictures increases.  You may also notice that many posts will contain fewer pictures – but of a higher quality.

I am still working out how I will sell my photos.  Most likely I will try to sell prints using a variety of methods.  The main difference is I am going to spend much less time on microstock photography.  Recently sales have been falling despite new submissions.  The stock agencies such as IStockPhoto have become much stricter in what types of photos they will accept.  However ultimately I believe that excess time spent on the microstock sites is now hurting my photography rather than helping it for the following reasons.

1) The time I spend keywording photos could instead be spent learning more about photography, taking pictures, and Photoshopping a few very high quality shots.

2) When I am taking photos, I find myself taking a number of photos of different things.  This isn’t bad, but I sometimes feel guilty if I spend too long taking one subject.  Now, rather than aiming for a number of pictures that will all sell as stock, I hope to focus on one photo that I believe will be outstanding if I succeed at it.

3) It used to be that my profits increased without submitting new photos, and skyrocketed when I did.  This is no longer the case and I don’t want to find myself spending an enormous amount of time to make the same money.

I do not plan to close out my microstock accounts and I may submit a few shots.  However, my top shots will no longer be placed on the microstock sites.  Recently one of my coworkers found one of his shots from Shutterstock published on the cover of a book.  He made exactly thirty cents from the deal – the publisher didn’t even bother buying an extended license.  When he asked Shutterstock why no extended license was purchased, they sent him a  vague e-mail stating they may or may not get around to finding the answer to this.  Clearly I do not want this to happen with my top shots.

For a long time I have been wondering whether my photography has reached the ‘pro level’ yet.  The likely answer is ‘no’, but by focusing on microstock I’m not going to get there.  The only way I will reach the level of a pro who sells many prints and is displayed in galleries is to put all of my energy into creating top notch photos and improving my photography.

Some people may comment that I am focusing on the money too much, but that is a fact of life.  There is no way I can purchase more L lenses and a Canon 1Ds Mark III camera unless I sell more photos.  In the next few months I plan to launch a new web site with my top pictures that will offer prints.  Once that site is up I will replace my ‘purchase’ page above with a pointer to that site.  In the short term I plan to cease my microstock reviews.

In some respect I’m very nervous about the upcoming months.  It takes a truly outstanding photography for someone to want to hang it on their wall.  Perhaps my photos are there now and perhaps they are not.  I’m sure the next few months will offer some setbacks and pictures I think are outstanding will likely be ripped to pieces when faced with hard criticism.  Still, the successful way is usually not the easiest way.  If my pictures aren’t at the level they need to be now, I have confidence that eventually they will be.

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Tags: microstock, photography, plan, sales