Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

varius · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:47 pm

Thankfully most don't make it past #4.

triceratops · Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 7875 Location: The other Nevada

felix_casio · Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 1774 Location: www.felixtm.com

story of my life.

jeffbanke · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:30 pm

geoffwnz · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:02 pm

I've done 1, 2 & 3, skipped 4 and 5, jumped into the middle of 6, bypassing the applying at SS part. So just posting on the forum and getting destroyed. :-p

northumbria · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:53 am

jatrax · Joined: 07 May 2011 Posts: 242 Location: Pacific Northwest

rinder99 · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 1:08 pm

mcfields · Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 1870

interesting thread...love the sarcasm and humor...although I can't personally relate to your experience at all. I came at micro stock from a totally different angle having been an established photographer for years (enjoyed selling some of my work and experienced the thrill of having images published,...being part of a 'traditional' stock site, being ecstatic with winning hundreds of those "photos of the day" buttons on various online sites as well as numerous other prizes) before finally and reluctantly deciding to try microstock - even though I was (and still am) extremely opposed to the concept of selling our quality images at such ridiculously low prices!

Got accepted on my first try and dls started coming in regularly from day one. (a few of my first images still sell regularly.) I was thrilled to have an image chosen for the New Artists lightbox in that first month (Aug.07) and even had my first EL just 2 weeks after joining. I think it was that EL that hooked me. =) Even though I'd had the privilege of selling some of my prints for a few hundred dollars, the idea that someone would choose my image from such a large library with all the competition was addicting. Checking the stats was addicting... uploading was addicting... the forums used to be addicting... I loved it! I managed to pass $100 that first month (even with joining on the 8th of the month) I've continued to shoot daily and upload regularly. slow...and steadily building my portfolio... My perfectionism is a bit of a curse as it's taken me several years now to reach almost 1200 images. My theory has always been that quality far outweighs quantity and so far... so good. ;)

I tried uploading to a few other sites but didn't like the terms, etc. and eventually decided to stick with SS only. I do have a few images elsewhere but haven't uploaded in a couple of years. Shutterstock has been a wonderful experience and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be a contributor here. I've been lucky enough to have images selected from time to time for the front page rotation and for the lightboxes and each time it's an absolute thrill! I hadn't gotten into a lightbox for quite some time but do currently have a four leaf clover showing there and it's still just as exciting to have an image selected. I do miss the monthly contest that was here when I started as I enjoyed the challenge of shooting a specific topic and then the rewards of having images in that designated lightbox...but I can understand how it would have been impossible to continue that with the exponential growth in the number of contributors.

It's been a good ride so far - although, sadly, with the changes in the searches, the introduction of the Relevant search and the fact that new images no longer get immediate sales, the bugs and glitches, the lack of participation in the forums, the slow response time from support, the stock sites being over saturated in general, and the slowing of sales increase percentages, ...it may be that the ride will be over soon. At this point I'm just grateful for every download (and EL!!!) that I get and just hopes it continues for a while longer!

...oh... and I still miss film!!! Most of my best work was done of animals while shooting for the Cincinnati Zoo for a few years and ironically, I don't have any animals in my stock portfolio because I couldn't justify investing in a high quality film scanner for stock... maybe someday ;)

...just a different perspective...

rinder99 · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 2:01 pm

Great Piece.Ditto on a lot of stuff.And i always use your and sandras Port as a shining example of the best of the best.

mcfields · Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 1870

Thanks, Laurin!

I forgot to add what a nice bonus it was to be invited early on to join the bridge program to Bigstock =)
gotta love that!

semmickphoto · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 6:07 am

I am going to quit, after reading this depressing summary of stock photography. ROFL!! ;-)

monet · Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 347 Location: australia

I think the story was different for people who joined 5-7 years earlier. My story is;
1. Discovered Shutterstock purely by chance while googling for something.
2. uploaded some photos (straight from my point and shoot)not expecting anything at all.
3. Next morning discovered that 3 of my photos were approved and already had some downloads. Couldn't believe my eyes.
4. Took more photos, uploaded.
5. Visited forums, started learning more. visited top 50
6. Started learning photoshop.
7. Bought a DSLR.
8.carried my DSLR everywhere with me, shooting everything, photoshopping everything and uploading.
9. Noticed that vectors sell quite well, started doing vectors.
10. Started discovering my photos in newspapers, websites, hoardings.
11. Did a studio shoot with a professional model. Didn't pay off.
12. Something changed. New uploads were not selling much.
13. Lost interest. Haven't uploaded many photos or vectors since last 2 years.

robhainer · Joined: 03 May 2010 Posts: 2772 Location: Dallas, GA, USA

bhaslam · Joined: 21 Aug 2007 Posts: 156 Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Great post. I haven't been on the forums for months and picked back up the other day. Glad I did for this post. Loved it.

Changing jobs and with three boys I haven't posted anything new in months and payouts have better than expected. Then again I don't expect much out of my tiny portfolio.