Stock Photography - Is it a numbers game?

The common wisdom for contributing images to stock photography libraries is that it is a ‘numbers game’.  Simply put, the more images that you have represented by a library will produce the greatest return on your investment.  After ten years of contributing images to a number of libraries, and some 6000 images later, I have started to question the logic behind this common perception and have actually started to produce a far higher return on my images by actually supplying less shots.

Like many other photographers, I started my stock career by carefully looking through the pages of the Freelance Photographer`s Market Handbook, and short-listing a small selection of libraries that may be suitable for my landscape and travel shots. I steered away from the bigger libraries (ie Getty & Corbis) simply because I felt that I would not be able to supply the number of images that they required.  Upon signing a contract with my first library, I quickly amassed around 500 images which were accepted.  So all I had to do now was to continue shooting and wait for the cheques to appear. I shot, and I waited but to no avail. I quickly realised that I had probably made one of my biggest mistakes. I had simply put all of my eggs in one basket.

A quick flick through the pages of the handbooks later, I noticed an online library accepting general images and offering the lowest commission structure of probably all of the libraries. Of course the library in question was Alamy, now a regular name in publications worldwide although back then I was taking a bit of a gamble. Alamy were the perfect library to represent my Australia and New Zealand images, so I started to have my old Velvia slides scanned (which was not a cheap process) and started sending in my CD’s.  200 shots later and I had my first sale (£100 for a image reproduced at a ¼ page in an education textbook).  Things were looking good. I started to plan trips to destinations purely to shoot stock. And it started to provide a good return.

For a while I put most of efforts into supplying new images to the big A.  I did keep in mind that I should not put all of my eggs into one basket so I also started to contribute to a couple of libraries that only represented British material – Loop Images and the former Britain on View collection. Both libraries have provided good returns over the years with the former showing increasing promise over the recent months. Which is far more than I can say for Alamy. By the start of 2009 I had over 5000 shots with them and I was receiving regular sales of at least 10 images being reproduced every month. But my return per image was slipping and I felt like I had hit a plateau. More images were not necessarily meaning more income.

To be honest if overseas material did not make such a large proportion of my portfolio, then I would have probably just have increased my efforts with Loop and BOV (now managed and marketed via PhotoLibrary) but having returned from a previous around the world foray (which was purely a stock trip) and still having a large amount of un-represented shots, I needed to find a new outlet for this material. I looked through the handbook again but also did extensive web searches looking for overseas libraries. One Canadian library caught my eye. Masterfile had a reputation for being extremely stringent about image quality and the photographers that they represent perhaps understandable if you consider that they are the largest independent stock photography library in North America. I sent in my contributor application, waited, and was accepted.

I knew things were going to be a little bit different with Masterfile when they appointed my with my own picture editor and arranged a phone conversation so that we could discuss exactly what their requirements were and what they were looking for. Technically it was a nightmare getting my first submission through – Mainly because the specifications for the shots are stringent and every single shot has to pass a computer processed test as well as a visually examination by a human being. The second submission was easier but I started to feel a bit disheartened as they were accepting on average about 25% of the images that I was contributing. Alarm bells starting to ring and I started to slow down the submissions at about 100 images being represented by them.

Twelve months in and I had still not received a single sale. However, the start of last year I received my first monthly sales report. A modest sale of £50 (after Masterfile have taken their 60% commission which should be noted is far higher than the commission structure of Alamy) but it was a sale and it was paid into my bank account immediately.  At the time I was pleased but did expect it to be my only sale for a while – After all I have only 100 shots with Masterfile compared to 5000+ with Alamy.  Imagine my surprise when I received another sales report a month later, and indeed the month later. In fact I have received a regular payment of at least £50 every months (with the best payment being £300) up until the time of me writing this piece. Admittedly I now have more shots represented by them but I still have a total of only 200 images.

You can draw your own conclusions from my experiences but as a general rule my profit percentage for my images represented by Alamy is now surpassed from the other libraries representing about 20% of my portfolio. Stock photography is numbers games but a higher commission percentage for the photographer and a larger portfolio of images represented by a single library does not necessarily mean the highest return.  Choose your library carefully but above all do not put all of your eggs into one basket.

Monochrome Returns

Nearly fifteen years ago I attended my first every photography class.  At that time I had no desire to become a professional photographer, or even shoot colour, all I wanted to do was to learn how to photograph and print good black and white pictures.  There was absolutely no hint at that time of how my life would unfold to set me on the path to become what I am now. I knew nothing about f-stops and honestly had sweaty palpitations when somebody asked me an awkward question like what is the filter thread size on my SLR.  What SLR? This all began with a simple point and shoot, compact film camera.

Before I knew it I had my first rangefinder and then first SLR. I continued to shoot black and white although i did use colour for my first overseas trip to Mexico. As I took more pictures and also began to travel more, colour started to become the logical choice. I started reading more books and started to appreciate what could be done with colour transparency film, I began to see that colour work could actually be considered as a creative art with the added bonus that it could also be sold to magazines, which actually helped to fund my early trips away. Gradually and really without me noticing, I began making and marketing images as a profession - and there wasn't a roll of black and white film in sight.

This continued for a decade but something started to change a couple of years ago. After an extensive period of capturing images for a number of Halsgrove books, I started to become despondent. I started to begin questioning why I had become a photographer. Did i have anything left to say through the medium. I had to learn how to enjoy my craft again.

These events coincided with the recent resurgence of interest in black and white photography, probably mainly due to the sudden convenience of obtaining these shots in the world of digital.  No more loading films in the darkroom surrounded by the unpleasant aroma of processing chemicals, now shots can be captured on a digital camera and loaded onto your home computer. With the additional convenience that you can even print the image at home. And the prints can be very, very good.

I now still mainly shoot colour images but black and white does play a huge part in satisfying my creative urges.  Currently I am working on my first e-book which also happens to be my first entirely black and white project. Entitled 'Black Light' it contains a portfolio of images from different stages throughout my career - Some film but mainly digitally captured shots, processed with the care that I gave to my darkroom prints all of those years ago. Over the next few weeks through the website I will be sharing some of the techniques used to create these images, as well as some of the stories regarding the events behind the camera.  In the meantime here are a few shots to wet your appetite.

Picture of the month | May 2011

I had been looking forward to May for a while mainly due to a planned return to the Scottish Highlands to capture images of the splendour of the Cairngorms National Park for a forthcoming book to be published by Halsgrove.  The weather at the start of the month was simply fantastic so imagine my dismay when the forecast for my planned visit was simply horrific.  Unfortunately work and home commitments meant that I was unable to reschedule the trip so there was only one decision to make - To cancel the trip or go ahead and hope for the best.

It can be so easy to get disillusioned with a trip when you find yourself sitting in a tent with rain battering on the canvas.  OK, modern technology like my newly purchased iPad means that I can continue to work but when you are in a location like the Cairngorms it seems an almost criminal action to do. I was there to make images and although poor weather can really hamper the image making process, it can also provide some outstanding natural lighting that can simply not be found at any other time.

In between hiding behind bushes to shelter from the wind and constant wiping of the front element of my lens to remove raindrops, I managed to create some memorable images that I feel convey the emotion of trip perfectly.

Typically is was on the drive home to Northumberland when the weather began to improve. Consistent sunny spells with occasional light showers created the perfect environment for rainbows to appear.  Unfortunately I was driving down the A1 through the Scottish Borders when the rainbow pictured here magically appeared.  At first it was a perfect ark above the border landscape yet however hard I looked I could not find a suitable viewpoint to do it justice.  I continued to drive and as the last rays of the setting sun started to paint the clouds a magical orange glow, I managed to reach the small village of Burnmouth.

Time was running out. I had followed this rainbow for nearly 20 miles but by now the sun had nearly disappeared below the horizon. I had little choice other than to fit my 70-200mm zoom lens and create a composition around the rainbow itself.  I decided to keep a slim slither of the North Sea mainly to enable a sense of belonging and place for the rainbow.  I took this shot and then it was over. The rainbow disappeared in front of my eyes.  But I had the shot of the trip.

Tweet

Twitter users... Win an Artists Proof Print!

I am pleased to announce the launch of a new range of open edition black and white landscape photography prints which are now available in-store.

Forming part of the ever-expanding 'Black Light' collection, these prints offer you a chance to own one of my monochrome images at a more affordable price. Be assured though that these images are printed to the same archival, fine-art standards as the limited edition prints.

To celebrate the launch of this range, I am offering all Twitter users a chance to win a 'Black Light' Artist Proof.  This is an unique A4 print, initially printed to proof the 'Black Light' limited edition print.  This size strictly has a print run of only one copy, and the print has been marked as an 'artists proof' and is signed on the front and rear of the print.  If ever one of my prints was going to become collectable, this is the one!

So how do you enter the draw to win this print? All I am asking is that Twitter users tweet the following message:

New Black & White #Photography prints from @jasonfriendfoto - http://tinyurl.com/blprints . RT to win a print! http://tinyurl.com/696e2to   

I will select a random user who has either tweeted or re-tweeted this message on the 1st June 2011.  If you would like to increase your chances, please feel free to tweet or re-tweet the message as many times as you would like. The more times you tweet the message the better your chances of winning!

Good Luck!

Picture of the month | April 2011

April has seen me capturing far less landscape images as I have been turning my attention to taking macro shots of the signs on new life all around us as the incredible spring weather continues.  All of this good weather has helped to speed along the season with many flowers and trees showing the characteristics of early summer.

This has also meant that I have been able start to using my infra-red modified Canon Eos 30D in earnest, safe in the knowledge that I can continue to create pleasing landscape images during the harsh light of mid-day. I must admit that I can sometimes find that colour will distract from the essence of a shot and I am finding myself increasingly shooting monochrome images to share my vision of a location.

This shot of the Alex Boathouse located on the banks of Talkin Tarn is a good example of why I love this type of photography.  Results with an IR modified camera can be unpredictable but when it works - boy does it work!

Picture of the month | March 2011

March arrived with a distinct feeling of spring being just around the corner.  To many photographers this brings fresh opportunities after the long winter months.  For me it was a case of digging out my macro gear and heading out to the local woodlands, as well as revisiting locations that I have photographed during the previous seasons in a quest to capture some new images for the libraries representing my stock photography.

Durham is unquestionably one of my favourite cities to photograph and I rarely need much of an excuse to head south of the river to spend a day there.  During the middle of the month we were graced with a period of fine weather so I decided to revisit some of my favourite Durham viewpoints but also made a point of looking for some new ones.  This shot was captured from a viewpoint which I had found during a winter visit but had on that occasion failed to produce anything worth keeping.

Captured towards the end of the day, I could hardly believe my luck when the breeze began to disappear leaving me with a perfect reflection of Durham Castle and the Cathedral on the river Wear. I tried some shots omitting the footpath but I decided I would like something to anchor the complete scene so I opted for a scramble up a nearby waist level flowerbed (without any flowers in it I hasten to add) which allowed me the height to include the street lamp without any signs of converging verticals.  Then it was simply a case of fitting my 3-f stop ND graduated filter to balance the  footpath (which was in the shade) with the distant vista of Durham Castle and Cathedral.

Picture of the month | February 2011

February was actual quite a productive month for photography, and choosing my picture of the month was actually quite a hard decision. However I have opted for a shot from towards the end of the month mainly because of the symbolic meaning of the image - This image was captured on my last photography session before the impending birth of our second child and I think that this image captures the spirit of an arrival of a new life perfectly.

I shot this image using my Digital X-Pan. Oh, if only that was the case! I really do wish that Hasselblad would release a digital version of what was my all-time favourite film camera.  OK, medium format quality in a small, 35mm size camera is now easily achieved with cameras like the Canon 5D Mark 2 but I do miss the ease of creating a panoramic with the X-Pan.  Multiple frame stitching works but can be time consuming in the field. Or so I thought until my recent purchase of a 24mm Tilt & Shift Lens.

This shot was captured just before sunrise and was created using the shift function on my new Tilt & Shift lens. Basically I took 3 exposures. The first with the lens shifted to the left, then the center and finally the right. All 3 shots were then merged in PhotoShop and slightly cropped to an X-Pan style preset I have set up in Lightroom.  It takes a couple of seconds to adjust the shift on the lens to the new position - Far quicker and simpler than the traditional method of taking panoramic images and also results in far less problems with parallax error that can occur with using a normal tripod head as opposed to a specialist panoramic head designed to eliminate parallax errors.

Of course all that really matters is the final image, and I must say that my 'Digital X-Pan' set-up really does deliver the goods and this shot just looks great as a 28" x 10" print!

I was definitely be exploring the virtues of using my new X-Pan in the coming months, after the birth of my own little Angel of course!