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Stock Libraries

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scotland said:
How can I make some cash to finance my future upgrades from my
current pics.

I have been reading about stock libraries and this sounds like a
possible route. I know that cash is not gauranteed but it is
possible.

I am looking for digital, online type resources I can sell my wares.

Thanks

--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Explore Alamy.com. I make much of my living from the sales of my digitised and digital images worldwide, Alamy are good.
Chris
 
I like the idea of this, I might try too, any other libaries, what sort of file do you need to send (quality)
Chris Knapton said:
scotland said:
How can I make some cash to finance my future upgrades from my
current pics.

I have been reading about stock libraries and this sounds like a
possible route. I know that cash is not gauranteed but it is
possible.

I am looking for digital, online type resources I can sell my wares.

Thanks

--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Explore Alamy.com. I make much of my living from the sales of my
digitised and digital images worldwide, Alamy are good.
Chris
Click to expand...
 
I have just read some of the info on Alamy and the files are to be in TIFF format and 9mb or greater from a digi cam.

They offer 2 different commission types, 1 is higher commission for them but no running costs for us, the other is more commission for us and a monthly fee for image storage.

I will be looking further and digging out some of my best work and scanning it in.

And will also have to buy more compact flash for these hugh file sizes.....

Ewan

Ewan
v_storm said:
Chris Knapton said:
scotland said:
How can I make some cash to finance my future upgrades from my
current pics.

I have been reading about stock libraries and this sounds like a
possible route. I know that cash is not gauranteed but it is
possible.

I am looking for digital, online type resources I can sell my wares.

Thanks

--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Explore Alamy.com. I make much of my living from the sales of my
digitised and digital images worldwide, Alamy are good.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
 
scotland said:
I have just read some of the info on Alamy and the files are to be
in TIFF format and 9mb or greater from a digi cam.

They offer 2 different commission types, 1 is higher commission for
them but no running costs for us, the other is more commission for
us and a monthly fee for image storage.

I will be looking further and digging out some of my best work and
scanning it in.

And will also have to buy more compact flash for these hugh file
sizes.....

Ewan

Ewan

I usually supply 75 MB files scanned from medium format film and written to CD but I am also about to take a trip to Andalusia testing a new Nikon and taking my 7i plus a 20GB Image Tank. This will give me up to 10,000 images in fine jpeg format. These open to 14.1, as you know, and this or a 2 stage interpolation up to 25MB will certainly do for most uses that Alamy sell to. Remember to get your screen calibrated and to submit Adobe RGB files in uncompressed TIFFs with all your keyword and title info in 'File Info' in Photoshop. This will speed up your uploading of images.
Click to expand...
Keywording and titles are the vital steps to making sales - however good your images are they are only sold if people find them.
Best wishes
Chris
scotland said:
v_storm said:
Chris Knapton said:
scotland said:
How can I make some cash to finance my future upgrades from my
current pics.

I have been reading about stock libraries and this sounds like a
possible route. I know that cash is not gauranteed but it is
possible.

I am looking for digital, online type resources I can sell my wares.

Thanks

--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Explore Alamy.com. I make much of my living from the sales of my
digitised and digital images worldwide, Alamy are good.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
 
Chris,

Can you send links to some of the pics you have in Alamy?

Do you do this professionally or do you also have a "real" job? I would plan on setting this up as a small business so I can "reinvest" all proceeds back into the business (ie more equipment) and therefore not make a profit and therefore not pay tax.

Thanks
Chris Knapton said:
scotland said:
I have just read some of the info on Alamy and the files are to be
in TIFF format and 9mb or greater from a digi cam.

They offer 2 different commission types, 1 is higher commission for
them but no running costs for us, the other is more commission for
us and a monthly fee for image storage.

I will be looking further and digging out some of my best work and
scanning it in.

And will also have to buy more compact flash for these hugh file
sizes.....

Ewan

Ewan

I usually supply 75 MB files scanned from medium format film and written to CD but I am also about to take a trip to Andalusia testing a new Nikon and taking my 7i plus a 20GB Image Tank. This will give me up to 10,000 images in fine jpeg format. These open to 14.1, as you know, and this or a 2 stage interpolation up to 25MB will certainly do for most uses that Alamy sell to. Remember to get your screen calibrated and to submit Adobe RGB files in uncompressed TIFFs with all your keyword and title info in 'File Info' in Photoshop. This will speed up your uploading of images.
Click to expand...
Keywording and titles are the vital steps to making sales - however
good your images are they are only sold if people find them.
Best wishes
Chris
chrisk133606 said:
v_storm said:
Chris Knapton said:
scotland said:
How can I make some cash to finance my future upgrades from my
current pics.

I have been reading about stock libraries and this sounds like a
possible route. I know that cash is not gauranteed but it is
possible.

I am looking for digital, online type resources I can sell my wares.

Thanks

--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Explore Alamy.com. I make much of my living from the sales of my
digitised and digital images worldwide, Alamy are good.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
 
scotland said:
Chris,

Can you send links to some of the pics you have in Alamy?
Click to expand...
Just put my name into the search engine and it will come up with about 170 of my images. I have contracts with Digital Vision and the Science Photo Library as well and this is my job, as well as creating video CDs and brochures and writing the odd article.

If you set up a business do keep good records. You don't need to be limited but you will need to fill in an Income Tax return. Travel and expenses for the purpose of taking photographs for a business undertaking is completely allowable but you should show a potential for profit - say over a 5 year cycle - so that the IR don't look suspiciously at you and cause problems. The best bet is to go and tell your local Tax office that you intend to earn an income from library photography but it may take a long time to take off (ie, show a profit) and ask their advice. Then they will feel they understand why you are not making taxable profits. Do this now and miss out on problems later.
Have fun, it's a lot better than a proper job!
Chris
 
You firstly need to be realistic. Look at your work and compare it with other work that is in the same market. Does yours stand up, is there anything in your work that will make it saleable. There are millions of images on the web now and the numbers are rocketing. We have seen on this forum recently a cracking image that the author was planning to give away for the glory of being published. your work will only sell if for what ever reason someone wants to buy it- obvious- so it needs to be either outstanding or different. The photo world is full of pro wannabees.
Best of fortune to you.
David.
 
mufi said:
You firstly need to be realistic. Look at your work and compare it
with other work that is in the same market. Does yours stand up, is
there anything in your work that will make it saleable. There are
millions of images on the web now and the numbers are rocketing. We
have seen on this forum recently a cracking image that the author
was planning to give away for the glory of being published. your
work will only sell if for what ever reason someone wants to buy
it- obvious- so it needs to be either outstanding or different. The
photo world is full of pro wannabees.
Best of fortune to you.
David.
Click to expand...
That's a very good point, the same subject treated differently is what sells. The old themes, cliches, are what sell but it is the interpretation which makes an image stand out. Individual style is important. However, good technique and a unique set of images is just as good. The other advice is just to go for it - you never know what will sell and I have often had images returned from one library only to sell for thousands in another. There is no accounting for taste, thank goodness.
Chris
 
Thanks Chris, do you use more than 1 library or do you send the same pics to numerous?
Thanks
Chris Knapton said:
mufi said:
You firstly need to be realistic. Look at your work and compare it
with other work that is in the same market. Does yours stand up, is
there anything in your work that will make it saleable. There are
millions of images on the web now and the numbers are rocketing. We
have seen on this forum recently a cracking image that the author
was planning to give away for the glory of being published. your
work will only sell if for what ever reason someone wants to buy
it- obvious- so it needs to be either outstanding or different. The
photo world is full of pro wannabees.
Best of fortune to you.
David.
Click to expand...
That's a very good point, the same subject treated differently is
what sells. The old themes, cliches, are what sell but it is the
interpretation which makes an image stand out. Individual style is
important. However, good technique and a unique set of images is
just as good. The other advice is just to go for it - you never
know what will sell and I have often had images returned from one
library only to sell for thousands in another. There is no
accounting for taste, thank goodness.
Chris
Click to expand...
--
Ewan. (Dimage s404)
http://www.photobox.co.uk/public/detail.html?c_album=229890
 
scotland said:
Thanks Chris, do you use more than 1 library or do you send the
same pics to numerous?
Thanks
Click to expand...
No, I tailor my images to each library, although there is some overlap in content and my style does not change dramatically. They don't like us to place the same image in different libraries because they could not guarantee exclusivity - which is worth good money!
Chris
 
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