Patience, Perseverance, and Perspiration:A Stock Photo Strategy

A businessman pushing an elephant out of the room was created for the stock licensing market.

 
This funny animal photo was create with the consumer market in mind.

Google Searches, Consumers and Stock Agencies
I believe are many more potential purchasers of photography doing Google searches (what I will call the “consumer” market) than those searching stock agencies. This “consumer” market includes everyone looking for fine art prints and bathroom wall décor to photo-imprinted coffee mugs, tote bags, T-Shirts, greeting cards and, yes, licensing stock photos (though they might not know that they are seeking to license a stock image).

Stock Agencies, Publishers and More Money
I also know that it is a heck of a lot easier for me to make money by licensing stock through the traditional agencies than it is for me to license images directly or to penetrate that consumer market. As I have said before, if I want to earn more money as quickly as possible then I should be shooting as many pictures (intelligently) as possible and getting them into Blend, Corbis, Getty, Kimball and SuperStock (my agencies in alphabetical order) as quickly as I can. Similarly, I can earn significant money by getting more greeting cards of my silly animal pictures into the market through brick and mortar publishers.

A Ton of Work and Slow Progress
After over a year of pushing SEO, upload and key wording images, blogging, writing articles, and putting images up on Imagekind and CafePress, I have learned a couple of things. Firstly, it is a TON of work! Secondly, there is progress but it is agonizingly slow. I have gone from an average of one unique visitor per week to my website, to an average of almost 500 a day. I have gone from about 1 sale on CafePress every couple of weeks to pretty much an average of one sale a day. And don’t forget all the click-through ad revenue…about $5.00 a day.

Pumping Out More Images
Given all of the downward price pressure from low price stock and an oversupply of images the idea of trying to pump out more and more images, and adding to that oversupply, just doesn’t make a whole lot of long-term sense to me. I still very much believe in stock photography, and frankly, particularly looking at my Blend sales, I’d have to say there is still a lot of life left in the old girl yet. But it ain’t like it used to be. Not in RF or RM. But creating more new quality content can still work for both the short and long term.


Changes In the Photo Market, Bad Business Decisions, and the Recession
I used to make a killing in greeting cards as well, and I am down about 70% on those (I am only down about 30% on stock photos but still earn enough to make me feel a little guilty). Given that the greeting card company that used to publish my cards made some seriously questionable business moves (like firing their entire sales staff), it is unclear how much of that drop is due to the changes in the photo market and how much due to bad business decisions and the recession.


Shipping Product, Generating Traffic and Income Streams
This brings to the point where I am now, trying to continually adjust my time and efforts to provide for the maximum return. I have to look at both the short and long term. For me, the short term is creating images and getting them to the stock agencies, what Seth Godwin would term “shipping product”. The long term, for me, means tapping into the vast powers of the internet and continuing to build traffic to generate income from that “consumer” market as well as guide more users of stock photography to my images at the various agencies that handle them. The seemingly slow nature of that process is secondary to the evidence that it does work. Ultimately, they all work together. Creating more images for agencies, which I can then put up as additional content on my site, will both generate that short-term income (hopefully middle-term and long-term revenue as well), and will generate more traffic that I can channel into various income streams.

Creating Compelling Stock Photos As Quality Content
My tasks, then, are to create compelling stock photos, market-needed images, get them onto my site, and continue my SEO through key wording, blogging, article writing and link-building. In short, creating quality content for the agencies and my site. I guess it boils down to patience, perseverance and perspiration…all with a sense of urgency.

Pro Photography-A Vendor's Perspective; Interview With Karen McHugh

Photo©Karen McHugh
Karen McHugh shot this "Renaissance" self-portrait when she was teaching herself the 4x5 camera. Karen explains "I would shoot early in the morning before going to work at Samy’s. I shot this off of Laurel Canyon, with a bulb release. A comical sight, no doubt, for the cars driving through!"

Teamwork is more than just a concept when it comes to producing stock photography. The top producing, and most successful photographers, whether it is assignment or stock photography, have put together a strong team. When you think of a photographer’s team you generally think of assistants, reps, studio managers, digital experts, make up artists, producers and so forth. But there are other important “team” members that one often doesn’t think about, but that can also play an important role in your success.  One such member of my team is Karen McHugh. Karen is actually employed by Samy’s Camera in L.A., while I am located in Northern California, but I count on her for most of my equipment needs.  My experience has shown me that having someone you can turn to, and count on, when it comes to camera equipment, is truly an asset. Karen, for example, saves me time and stress in purchasing, and can prove invaluable when I have an emergency need. With that in mind I felt it would prove valuable, and interesting, to interview Karen and get a view of our industry from her vendor’s perspective.

Karen, I have had a number of situations come up in my career where a good relationship with a vendor has really paid off. I am thinking of such things as emergency loaners or parts replacement, knowledgeable answers to urgent questions, and trust that I am getting good value for my money. I first started working with you after some very high recommendations from some of my fellow Blend photographers, and I certainly haven’t been disappointed. As I reflected on the importance of our relationship it occurred to me that it could be both interesting and informative to see a little of our industry from your perspective.

When did you first become interested in photography?

I have always been a visual person.  My father and my step-father were both interested in photography.  I remember being fascinated by my father showing my sister how to develop prints in the bathroom.  My step father was interested in macro photography. 

Can you give us a brief synopsis of what led you to your current position?

I have worked for Samy’s Camera for nearly twenty years. I started as a film clerk, in what I thought was a temporary job.  As the years went by I took on more and more leadership roles at Samy’s.  I developed strong relationships with clients and took great pride in doing a good job for them.  They began to ask me to get things from other departments and I soon had a following of loyal customers. 

I didn’t like the quality of digital when it first came out, and did not learn all necessary tools for creating digital imagery. When my major clients started using digital backs, and were no longer using film, is when I knew that it was time to join the digital crusade.  I transferred into the Corporate Sales division of Samy’s, but also maintained my relationship with my loyal client base. I created a job within Samy’s; what I like to call a glorified personal shopper.  I am the producer on the inside, making sure that you are getting all the equipment that you need, at the right price, without having to call five or more different departments. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My favorite part of my job is my relationship with my clients. A great deal of them are more than clients, they are my friends.

What is the biggest challenge for you?

I would say that one of the biggest challenges for me is being able to be competitive with pricing. Some Internet companies sell things at cost or below.  A lot of photographers think that there is great profit in camera equipment, but there is not.  People want me to give them a “good deal” when we are already down to our cost. 

Getting consistently good value for my money is more important to me than making sure I get the very lowest price. I’d much rather be spending my energy on my craft rather than researching products and prices. When I have asked you for recommendations you have always come up with good advice for me. How do you stay on top of what’s new and good, and what would be a good value for a given photographer?

I try to stay current on equipment by going to trade shows, and reading the photo magazines.  I use the internet and my customers as my guide.  My customers are out in the field and using the equipment everyday and therefore know what they need far better than I do.  Through my clients I have access to a lot of first hand, real world experience. Many of my customers are leading the way in the change of technology and how equipment is being used.

The pace of innovation and change in the photography world just seems astounding to me. You have to deal with new cameras, media, computers, video…how do you keep up with it all? 

I try to keep up by listening to my customer’s needs and complaints, I try to keep abreast with all the new equipment.  Quite often equipment is made and not necessarily designed to be used how photographers use it out in the field. For example, Samy’s has a customer who takes Profoto heads under water to shoot sharks and athletes. Another example: with Polaroid and film no longer a viable resource, photographers want a high-end 4x6 printer to substitute for test Polaroids. These printers are made for home or office use, and not to print 100 prints a day.

The Internet seems to be making everything into commodities. Are you finding that price is the biggest factor in working with photographers, or are there other aspects to your job that seem to take precedence, or at least play a large role, in completing a sale? 

Price is often the bottom line.  I sometimes work with large companies who purchase equipment with a bidding process. If you are off by a nickel, it will go to the lowest bidder.  I try to combine both low prices and great service.

As I mentioned earlier, vendors such as you have helped me out of tight spots more than once. I remember once having liquid spilled on a monitor in the middle of a digital shoot. The only way we could continue was to have an immediate replacement, which my vendor rushed right over. Several times I have had you get items to me overnight for a last minute shoot or trip.  Do you have any stories of unusual requests that you have had to fulfill? 

One of my favorite parts of my job is being the hero and saving the day. I hate to say no, and to tell someone that something cannot be done.  I take it on as a personal challenge on how we can fix the problem. 

I had a customer who needed an iMac computer for a job out in the dessert. They wanted the computer configured a particular way and loaded with Photoshop, and they needed it within a very short time frame. Samy’s did not have the computer, so I drove down to the local Apple store, purchased the computer, and was on my way back to the store.  The ironic or funny part was that I was in such a great rush to get it all done that I forgot where I parked my car!  The producer kept calling me about when it was going to be ready. I finally had to have the security man drive me around the parking structure so I could find my car. However, I was able to deliver and get the job done in time.  I have a fair amount of customers who actually live in my area and pick up equipment from my house. I have even left computer ram on my windshield for someone to pick up while I was at the gym.  There have been countless last minute trips to Federal Express.

I assume the recession has been as hard on you retailers as it has been on us photographers. What kinds of things have you, and Samy’s, been doing to deal with that situation?

Samy’s Camera had to cut back on employees and our hours of operation. We have five retail locations all in the Southern California area.  We did not have to close any of our stores, but we had to reduce the amount of inventory we were carrying. 
We also had to explore social networking, reaching out to customers in different ways.  We co-sponsored a great workshop on hybrid photography.  We have expanded our educational classes and other services such as bookmaking. We even had a traveling photo booth this year. 

Do you have any thoughts on when it might be more prudent to rent and when to buy?

If you are going to make your money back within a short time frame then I recommend purchasing.  If the equipment cannot be used for multiple jobs, or will not hold its value, then I recommend renting the equipment.  Additionally, if you are not sure the equipment will do the job properly, I recommend renting it. Samy’s offers customers the option to try out the equipment for one day, and if the customer decides to purchase it, then we will deduct the price of the one-day rental from the purchase price.

How about when to lease and when to buy? 

If the customer can make more than the amount he is spending on the lease, and then either buy out the equipment or trade it in for newer equipment, I recommend leasing.  I also recommend leasing for high dollar equipment that gets out dated quickly. Most leases start at ten thousand dollars and above. Digital backs are definitely a good item to lease. 

Is there ever a situation when you would recommend used equipment?

Samy’s sells a lot of used equipment as well as a lot of refurbished equipment. Refurbished equipment is a great way to save money.  The customer can buy an extended warranty that even covers accidents.  I have owned many refurbished cameras over the years.

Are you utilizing social media in your work?

Facebook, Plaxo, and LinkedIn are the only social networking that I use.  I have signed up for Planet Illogica but have not been very active on it.  Facebook is both personal and professional and sometimes those lines get a little blurry.  Samy’s has a blog, and fan page and more, but I am not the one representing the face of Samy’s. I was doing product of the day on Facebook and although it did create interest, it did not seem to generate any sales. 

To what extent do you use the Internet in your work, and how?

I use the Internet daily and all day!  I cannot live without it.  I use it to check out the competitors, for product information and to stay in touch with my clients.
 
How can photographers make your job a little easier?

It is important for photographers to have a perspective of the retail environment, which includes price, and supply and demand.  Tell me exactly what you are trying to accomplish, share any research that you have already done. If the photographer can provide part numbers for merchandise or links to products that they might want, it can be a great help. Also, time lines, if the photographer has a deadline, and there is a need to obtain information, pricing, or equipment by a particular date. The more information you can tell me the better.  It helps me plan out my day. If something does not appear to be urgent, then I might let some else take precedence over it. I might add that I am a big fan of email; that is a great way communicate your needs with me.

Can you share some of your photographic journey with us, what you like to shoot and other details about your personal photography?

Although I started taking pictures when I was young, I fell in love with photography when I was in high school.  I studied photography at San Francisco State.  When I moved to Los Angeles I took courses at Art Center, but I would claim to be primarily self taught.
I married a lighting gaffer and so I am completely spoiled when it comes to having a great assistant and someone to help with lighting. I shoot portraits mostly, but I do love to travel and photograph the world as I see it.

Are there any photographers that particularly inspire you?

I love vintage photography and love Julia Margaret Cameron. I am big fan of Avedon and Penn. I know so many amazing photographers today.  One of my favorites of modern day is Frank Ockenfels III.  I work with the American Society of Cinematographers and am constantly amazed at their work, not only in cinema but still photography as well.

Are there any final words you care to leave us with?

Thank you for your patronage. I appreciate all the recommendations and referrals that I have received over the years.  Keep on shooting.

SEO: Opening Doors For Stock And Assignment Photography

 The song and dance of getting photography assignments vrs. optimizing your web site for both assignment and stock photos.

Stock And Assignments
I think about stock photos all the time, but every once-in-a-while I think about assignments. There are a lot of good things about assignments; Money, fresh ideas, subsidized stock, the camaraderie of working with bright, motivated people, did I mention money?  But there are some downsides too. They take a lot of time. There is pressure. There is having to do things that you don't want to be doing. There is the stress of working with idiots (or at least people who think differently than you do).  And, oh yes, there is getting the assignments, the song and dance routine that all of us working pros know so well!

Time, Energy And Money
Those of you who are in the assignment world know of what I am speaking. There is constantly putting books together, putting time, energy and money into figuring out the coolest look, compiling prospect lists, shooting for the book, taking out ads in source books, shipping portfolios, keeping track of portfolios and so forth. Then there are the estimates. It can take an enormous amount of time and effort to put together good, accurate estimates. Unless you are truly exceptional a lot of those estimates will turn out to be, well, if not a waste of time at least a less than optimal use of your time.

Books Open Doors
But like I said, assignments can be good. The last assignment I did brought in $130,000.00 after expenses. I would be open to more of those, particularly because I didn't spend any time seeking that assignment. It just came to me. It came to me because I had written a book on Photoshop (Adobe Masterclass: Photoshop Compositing With John Lund). They say you don't make money off of books, but books open doors for you. I didn't make appreciable money in royalties from my book, but my client said that they hired me because of it. That book opened many doors for me and some of them were quite rewarding!

Art Directors, Art Buyers, And Designers Looking For Me
So I am OK with assignments, when they come, and if they are right for me. But I have no desire to jump through hoops to get them. I prefer to put my energy into my stock photography. Part of that stock effort includes SEO to get more eyeballs onto my images. But effective SEO will bring more than just stock clients. Art directors, art buyers, designers and others who are looking for a photographer with the look and style that I offer will find me. These people will be looking for me as opposed to me struggling to find them and get their attention. How cool is that? Just last week a licensing agent contacted me, all excited about the work I am doing, and exclaimed, “It was so easy to find you!”  It has been a year of heavy SEO now, but it is starting to work.

SEO Opens Doors
Good SEO is like that book. It opens doors. In the short time I have been working on optimizing my site I have had a surprising number of opportunities come my way. Some of them include a contract with a wall décor company, negotiations underway for a line of greeting cards, and a possible calendar deal. I have also executed one assignment and turned a couple of others down.  There is no doubt in my mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe that it will probably be another year before my SEO really kicks in…at least in a big way. I am totally confident that I will look back and be truly glad that I put the time and effort into making my site come up early in appropriate searches.

Awareness, Intention and Energy In Photography

The Practice of Aikido In Photography
Until recently I used to practice the martial art of Aikido. While I gave up the physical practice of Aikido (bad knees, etc.), I am still finding it a great practice in my life and business.  In Aikido you blend with your opponent or attacker and then redirect their energy away from you. You are responsible both for protecting yourself as well as for the safety of your attacker. It is bad karma for you if you either allow someone to hurt you, or if you injure them. For me, the true power of Aikido is not so much in throwing people (and being thrown) in the dojo, but rather the practice of Aikido in everyday life and, in my case, in my photography career.

A Universal Law With Stock Photographers
I will be getting my Getty sales report in a couple of days, and I was thinking about how when the report is good I get fired up to make more images, and when it is not so good I get discouraged. This seems to be pretty much a universal law with the stock photographers I know and talk to, and the last thing any of us can afford to do in this market is get discouraged. All of us, no matter how accomplished, are going to have those moments of negative energy that we must rise above in order to reach continuing success.

Redirecting Energy Into Creativity And Productivity
As I mentioned before, in Aikido, we are taught to utilize an attacker's energy against that attacker by redirecting it. Rather than get bowled over by a bad sales report, an unfavorable edit, or a difficult shoot, I want to be able to redirect that hit of energy into creative and productive activities. This largely amounts to awareness and intention. I maintain awareness of my tendencies and I keep the intention of what I want to accomplish. I want to stay positive, to keep my energy high, and flowing in productive directions.

Awareness, Intention And A Plan
When I get those negative energy hits it helps me to have a plan to fall back on. A plan allows me to avoid indecision about what I should be doing and be sure that my energy is directed towards what is important to advance my career. Awareness helps me know what to expect, intention gets me moving, and a plan allows me to move efficiently into my next step.

Be A Conductor Orchestrating Energy
In Aikido the goal is not to resist energy but to flow with it. In this time of transformation for the photography industry it makes far more sense to flow with the forces of change than to resist a power that is so much stronger than we are. Let that energy propel you into new ways to succeed. Another visual metaphor for this approach is that of a conductor who orchestrates the energy rather than trying oppose it. But whatever the visual or the metaphor, the important point is that while we cannot dictate what is going on around us, we can choose how we react and deal with those forces. For me, keeping the principles of Aikido in mind, and having a plan, helps me to do just that.

iStock, Logos, And Deja Vu All Over Again

iStockphoto has announced their intention to sell logos and it is causing quite a stir in the design community. I guess a lot of designers think that the low price of logos on iStock demeans their profession and threatens their livelihood. There are warnings of infringement issues, calls for a boycott of iStockphoto and dire predictions of the demise of the design profession. While many iStock contributors are excited about the prospect, others are citing the necessity of the design community to band together to stop offering their work so cheaply, and of educating the young designers on the necessity of stopping the race to the bottom.

Commodification And Access To Cool Logos

Deja Vu...it all sounds pretty familiar to any of us photographers who have been around for at least the last dozen years. Should designers be so concerned? Of course they should be. Their profession is starting to undergo the same thing ours has…commodification. They won’t be able to stop it anymore than we did. Some designers will be hurt, some will prosper, and a whole lot of small business owners will have access to cool logos, for far less money than before.

The Reality Has Changed

Just like for us photographers, the reality has changed. The photography profession is more difficult than ever before to make a living at, while making some money from photography is far easier than ever before. It isn’t good or bad, it just is. Mom and pop grocery stories now have to compete with Costco. Everyone has to compete with Walmart. If you think we have it bad, remember typesetters? Many of you may not. Typesetting was big business until the Macintosh changed everything practically overnight. Do they still even have typesetters? The question we photographers need to ask ourselves is whether we want to continue to pursue photography as a profession, and if so what is the best way for each of us to thrive.

Stock Agencies, The Web, And Thriving

I still make very good money through stock agencies. Sure, I make less per image. No, I don’t like the change. Yes, I will find ways to continue to thrive. I am making more images more efficiently and paying much more attention to whether an image is relevant to the market before I make it. I am focusing on timeless images that are, at least in my opinion, aimed at the high end of the market. I am working on both branding myself and building up my web traffic. I am keeping an eye out for expanding the ways in which my photography can earn me money. I am trying out motion footage, keeping a close eye on micro, and experimenting with retail products (i.e. coffee mugs, calendars, greeting cards etc. at CafePress.com). I am even starting to make some print sales through Imagekind.com.

Direct Sales, Micro and Traditional Agencies

I believe that some photographers will do great with direct sales, some with micro, and some through traditional agencies. There will be fewer photographers who make great money in stock imagery, and many more photographers than ever before who will make some money. For all of us it will be more challenging in the future than it is now. But hey, it could be a lot worse…I could have been a typesetter!

Lifestyle Stock And Minutes You'll Never Get Back

I had lunch yesterday with an old friend of mine who remarked that "Things change when you can see the end". He was referring to the fact that he wants to work less and enjoy his life more. He, like me, is 57 years old. It is true. Even at, say 49, life looked different to me. Increasingly, every minute is important. More and more I look at my stock photo career and ask myself how I can use it to not just make money, but to enjoy my life. A good example can be seen in a stock shoot I did in Buenos Aires.

I arranged to go with two friends of mine, Dew Kelly and Sam Diephuis. Both are excellent shooters and often work with me to produce stock photos for Blend Images. This was a ten day trip to produce stock photography and produce it in a way that we could also really enjoy the experience.

After committing to the shoot the first thing we did was to look for some locations for our shoot. We settled on three primary locations knowing that once we were there we could fill in other locations and shoots as needed. The first of our locations was found via the Internet, www.apartments BA.com. We found a luxury Apartment on one of the top floors of the second highest building in Buenos Aires. It has 360 degree views of the city and a clean, modern look. The apartment easily accommodated the three of us, and we were able to stay there as well as shoot there. Even at $600.00 per night it was a bargain. What we saved over the location fee of a comparable place in the U.S. more than paid for our travel expenses! We shot stills and video. Sam shot a panorama video from the roof of the building and that footage, while only having sold twice so far, pretty much paid for the cost of renting the location.

The apartment provided for both upscale lifestyle shots and business shots (the dining room also passed for a corporate boardroom). We shot party scenes, people with their dogs, romantic couples, domestic chores, home exercise and much more. I was able to wake up in the morning to breath taking views and to begin shooting without schlepping equipment. We could dine out or cook our own meals. Actually, we had so much "shoot" food that we couldn't eat all of it. But hey, we had a refrigerator and freezer to store it in. We had a washer and dryer, rooftop access and grounds to enjoy. Not a bad way to conduct a stock shoot!

We rented a smaller, but still nice apartment, for the remainder of the shoot. Our shoots (put together with the help of our Argentinian producer Paula Zacharias) included a gym (shooting a gymnast doing his routine in a business suit), a theater (where we staged a rock concert, a bodybuilding contest, a political debate and also shot audience reactions), and a soccer shoot in which we hired a local semi-pro team. We had an awesome time and came back with tons of great content including ethnically diverse lifestyle, Business, and concept images.

An important thing to remember for these kinds of shoots, is to get property and model releases upfront. This trip went smoothly in that regard, but I have had some unpleasant surprises when I have failed to take the “upfront” precautions. Another important thing is to look closely at every model release before the model leaves. On the whole, models do a terrible job of filling out releases (they also do a terrible job of bringing their own wardrobe...but that is another story). When shooting in situations like these I also tend to hire extra models. The expense of one or two models is small compared to having everything set up and ready to roll, and then not having enough models. It is always a good idea to allow for the "model flake factor" (no offense to the many models who are professional, prompt and thorough).

Also, when in foreign countries it is important to understand the cultural differences around time and commitment. I have shot in Argentina many times and have finally gotten use to my producer calling up models at 1:00 in the morning for a shoot that day! Come to think of it, maybe the most important thing to remember when shooting in far off places is to bring you best attitude. I always try to keep in mind that if a shoot just isn’t working, for whatever reason, it won’t be the end of the world, and every minute I spend in unhappiness over it is a minute I will never get back.