New Stock Photo Co. Risky?

I found this thread on the News Forum about a new Stock Photo website called Great Stock Photo.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1000&message=18402709

I would like to get about a thousand images online and working for me but didn't know if this site looked risky or not. It seems to make sense to get in on the ground floor of such a site so I would have a greater percentage of hits and sales from site searches. I think some of my photos would stand out as some of the ones on there are rather ordinary. Let me know what you think, Risky or Not? Also, from looking at my photos on my site (at the bottom) what kind of success might I expect?

http://www.greatstockphoto.com/

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E-1, 14-54, 50-200, 50 Macro, TC, ET, FL-50, Ring Flash

http://www.myfourthirds.com/user.php?id=235&page=user_images

Best, John S.

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D200
D70s as backup
Get a grip…
For the D200 that is
... ( http://www.ycsphoto.com ) ...

Just thinking that once I build up a good base that the extra monthly income would be easy money.

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E-1, 14-54, 50-200, 50 Macro, TC, ET, FL-50, Ring Flash

http://www.myfourthirds.com/user.php?id=235&page=user_images

Best, John S.

hi john,

i dont know much about what sells on theses stock photo sites but i have to say the quality of your stuff is excellent. technically great sharpness and color from the E1. i'm very impressed. VIVID!!!

from what i have read the reocurring point that people stress is "finding the type of photos that sell". whatever it takes to unlock that mystery is beyond me. besides that you have everything else down to your science.

good luck with your venture.

david
http://www.davidprobst.com

I was also lured by these low cost royalty free sites, and uploaded some stuff to one and had some reasonably popular files.

But I pulled out for several reasons:

• I decided it wasn't worth losing my amateur status for pennies
• The idea of not knowing who was downloading my images and how they might be used bothered me
• I think there are better deals with some patience

There is a place for royalty free, but I'd rather do it because I had success in other ways and wanted to take advantage of what it offers rather than try to use it for easy money. I don't think there is any easy money in the photography field (not saying that's what you're looking for, but it was for me).

I pulled out of it before I amassed enough sales to cut a check, and am happy with starving artist syndrome for the time being.
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Aroundomaha
http://aroundomaha.smugmug.com

If the money looks too easy watch out!

Let's see , I'll download my valuable pictures and the checks will start flowing in. Keep dreaming. If money seems too easy to make a Big Big red flag should go up. It is either a scam or you'll win up on the shitty end of the stick.

I think sometimes perspective gets out of wack. Most evey picture on every site I have seen there are pictures that anyone can take. Some of the so called prized pictures are not worth paying more than the ink used to print it. Since almost everyone today has a digital camera, and can take the same picture as anyone else on most occassions. As a general rule I think the value of pictures won't be worth the paper they are printed on. And some day soon the Wedding photographer will go the way of the iceman. What the hell is an iceman? I'll never tell.

Well, I use a couple of the micropayments sites just to earn "wasting money" so to speak, but some seem too good to be true. This one sells "all you can download" subscriptions for just over $12 a month, and then pays you 92 cents for every one you sell? Sounds a bit uneven - I'd say there's little room for profit for them, hence, little tech or any other kind of support, much less having people employed to shop around the web to make sure your pics aren't being used improperly, etc.

I could be wrong - but this particular site seems a bit too out of place in what they offer for what they charge.

Your photos are too good to be wasted on that one. My experience is that it usually takes a long time before new stock agencies are able to sell much, if ever. With the kind of photos you are taking, I would rather look at one of the full price agencies. Have a look at what their style is and try out several. I started out with seven different, and only time will show who generates the best profit.

I wouldn't count out microstock completely, but that's a completely different ballgame. Some excellent photos don't even get accepted as microstock, and even if they do, they might not sell. Think about who their customers are, what they pay and what they need the photos for.

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Zakk 9, the number 9 zakk

Stay away from this one. It looks like a rip-off.

If you read their terms and coditions you will see that you do not get paid at all for any photos dowloaded by customers who have a weekly subscription.

I suspect that most purchasers will use this option so you will be giving your work away for free.

John,

As mentioned above avoid great stock photo as most buyers will use the subscription option which pays you nothing.

Looking at your photo gallery I think you would be better off with a standard stock site. I like shutterpoint as they allow you to set the cost of your pictures (min $20) and have a nice feedback system and take 15% charge. Here's my affiliate link:
http://www.shutterpoint.com/Home-Photographer.cfm?ai=65463L

If you do go for microstock shutterstock offers a reasonable deal at $0.25 per image and they sell through a subscrition. But have a look at the pictures on there and I think you'll see that your type of photos are not the type that sell. I think you've got some lovely images but microstock is something quite different here are the top 50 sellers (affiliate link):
http://submit.shutterstock.com/top50.mhtml/?ref=3871

Of your pictures maybe underwood and sense of pride (if you take the background to white) would work as microstock?

Dan
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http://photo.pidcock.co.uk/ - Photography information
http://www.pidcock.co.uk/photos - My photographs

There are a number of mircostock places. I would stick to the established ones at this stage as they are actually getting good sales. Some of the newer, smaller sites you get nothing.

The big four mircostock sites are:

Shutterstock: http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=60535
Fotolia: http://www.fotolia.co.uk/partner/39857

IStockPhoto: http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php?refnum=Jakich Dreamstime: http://www.dreamstime.com/res125558

[Those contain referal links (cost you nothing) but if you dont want to use them, type in the website directly]

Great pictures John. Love the colours. This is the best advertisement I've seen for the Olympus system.

Have you thought about Alamy? They sell a lot of RF at prices around $250 upwards. Micropayment sites seem to work for very few people - mainly those who own them.

Cheers,

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Laurie Strachan

cool, I'll have to check it out sometime - i already submit to 9 sites UGGGGH

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-graphic designer
http://www.freewebs.com/micropaymentphotography