Have you worked for Everyscape?

[missy3276]

Hi Everyone,

I saw an ad recently for the company Everyscape. The ad is to do panoramic photos of businesses. Sounds great and all but the one thing is that you need specific equipment; 8mm wide angle and a Nodel Ninja 360 Paramount. I would consider purchasing these items for the job. Before I apply for the job, I wanted ask if anyone has done work for this company before. . Does the amount of work compensate for the buying equipment, considering how expensive the items are? Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[sscarmack]

I never heard of them...However you can do a panorama without buying any expensive gear.

Most software now can stitch, photoshop, etc.


I make panos using a 24-70, usually taking 5-7 photos.

 

[missy3276]

Apparently the company does all the post production on the images. You are just responsible to schedule and take the photos and upload them. That's about it from what I can see

 

[tirediron]

^^What Sean said. Unless you doing VERY complex panos (Multiple rows both horizontally and vertically, with extreme detail), a tool like the Nodal Ninja is, IMO, overkill. It's really great looking tool, but I think it solves a problem for which 99.9999% of photographers doesn't exist. My main question though is: If you're going to shoot panos WHY would you need an 8mm lens??????? That makes NO sense at all. Panos are generall shot in order to capture large horizontal/vertical fields of view without the extreme distortion introduced by UWA lenses.... doesn't add up to me.

 

[missy3276]

That's a good point. I would like to get my foot into the door in the photography field, and thought this might be a good start. However, I am not sure this is for me. I don't own a Nodal Ninja and my widest angle is a 18mm. It seems like I would shell out a lot for what they require while getting little in return. Now if I already owned the equipment, that would be another story. Thanks for your imput

 

[tirediron]

It seems to me that there are a lot of companies like this springing up whose sole purpose is to proide [generally] mediocre work at a low price by taking advantage of people like yourself. There's no risk to the company, but if you fall, damage your gear, or worse, injure someone, you're on the hook!

 

[missy3276]

I can't wrap my head of the need to shell out so much for so little. If I may ask, what would be a good way to get my foot in the door in the photography field? I realize it is a very broad general question, but every perspective helps. I'm not interested in portrait or wedding photography though that seems to be what many are doing. For now, I am trying to blog my way the learning or improving different aspects of the photography field; street, food, techniques, photoshop, etc. Any suggestions?? Thanks

 

[KmH]

If I may ask, what would be a good way to get my foot in the door in the photography field?

There are many photography fields.
The 3 main ones are - Retail, Commercial, and Editorial.

Editorial photography is today done almost entirely by freelance photographers who used to have a job as a staff photographer for some type of publication.
Chicago Sun-Times lays off photo staff - Chicago Tribune
Plus Editorial photography doesn't pay very well and a lot of publications find amateur made images on social photo sharing web sites that suit their need.

Retail photography is about making photos of people for the people in the photos. The people in the photos pay for the photographers time and talent and also buy products the photographer offers like prints, photo books, photo albums, etc. Portraits (individuals, kids, family, maternity, pets, etc), weddings, and other events are what retail photographers make photos of.

Commercial photography is about making photographs for business advertising and promotion.
Commercial photographers are hired by businesses, advertising agencies, and/or corporations. Commercial photographers get paid for their time and talent and sell use licensing. Use licensing is a sort of copyright rental agreement.
Many commercial photography users find suitable photographs on stock photography web sites like Shutterstock, Getty Images, iStockphoto, Corbis Images, etc.

Doing photography today to make a decent living is a tough row to hoe.
Editorial staff photographer jobs basically no longer exist.
Most retail photography businesses started these days fail before they reach their 5th year because the business owner doesn't have sufficient business skills to make the business profitable.
Commercial photography is extremely competitive and like editorial photography more and more commercial photography users are mining social photography sharing web sites for very low cost, or even free, amateur made photographs.

 

[robbins.photo]

I can't wrap my head of the need to shell out so much for so little. If I may ask, what would be a good way to get my foot in the door in the photography field? I realize it is a very broad general question, but every perspective helps. I'm not interested in portrait or wedding photography though that seems to be what many are doing. For now, I am trying to blog my way the learning or improving different aspects of the photography field; street, food, techniques, photoshop, etc. Any suggestions?? Thanks

As far as portrait or wedding photography it's what most folks do because that's what people are willing to pay for - I do know some folks who do still make money selling landscapes, etc - but they are pretty few and far between.

 

[missy3276]

Thanks for all the info and breaking down the areas of the photography field. I have put up some photos on iStockphoto. I guess I will have to just see what happens over time and until then just continue as I am doing; as a hobby.Thanks everyone!

 

[tirediron]

Before you worry about 'breaking in' to the field, find out what area(s) of photography you really enjoy and do well. When I first started out, I didn't like portraiture, had no interest in it, but over time, I learned two things: (1) Rocks and trees didn't pay for pictures of themselves, and (2) I was actually kind of okay at portraiture, and now I absolutely love it.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Never heard of them but took a look; didn't see anything under Jobs for photographers - then realized they refer to them as Ambassadors (and if that isn't a bs name for it I don't know what is! lol). I'd want to know a lot more about it before I'd even consider buying all that equipment but I can't find anything about how much they pay, how they determine assignments etc. At the bottom of their application is a link to their Terms; under #5 User Content you give them license to your photos, AND they want you to agree to allow them to use your ideas and techniques etc. with no compensation - I personally wouldn't agree to terms like that.

With any site you're considering it's necessary to read Terms & Conditions. I agree with John (tirediron), there seem to be more and more of what are often called photo rights grab sites that seem to target amateurs.

On iStockphoto under Artist's Supply Agreement #3 Grant of Authority it seems to depends on how a photo is sold/licensed how much a site user would get, but apparently they sometimes sell in bulk so you'd get the 'net', or a photo could be licensed at a flat royalty rate, etc. (under Sell Stock, Royalty Schedule). It looks like for non-exclusive you'd only get 15-20% and I saw as an example a payment of - 28 cents. Apparently you need to sell/license $100 to even get a payment.

If you really want to do stock you could look at the Photo District News (Photo Magazine | Professional Photography Industry News and Resources) under PhotosServe to find agencies but I think you'd have to be really really good. Maybe things will improve but the market seems saturated and it seems to be a challenge for longtime photographers to stay in business. If you want to do work as a photographer you could look at American Society of Media Photographers or look up PPA for info. for professionals.

 

[Overread]

I've also seen a fair few real estate photo companies setup along similar lines - although many also require you to take training and/or buy specific equipment from them. In most of them YOU have to get the jobs yourself, rather like franchising you just use the company name; in others they will get the jobs for you but they take a lions share cut, plus they set VERY low prices. This means lots of work ,but also almost no reward for you.

Almost all of them are companies setup with a focus on getting money for themselves. Often they'll funnel the money into themselves, leaving photographers with significantly less; this basically promotes a very high workload to get any profit for the photographer, which the company loves because it means their very cheap staff are working even harder.
Plus they don't care if they lose a lot of people because they are expecting you to leave - and be replaced by others chasing the dream.

 

[missy3276]

Before you worry about 'breaking in' to the field, find out what area(s) of photography you really enjoy and do well. When I first started out, I didn't like portraiture, had no interest in it, but over time, I learned two things: (1) Rocks and trees didn't pay for pictures of themselves, and (2) I was actually kind of okay at portraiture, and now I absolutely love it.

The one thing I have been doing lately is food photography. I would have to say that is what I have been enjoyed doing the most. For now I am trying to teach myself the ins and outs so I can do that well. Portrait seems the way to make any money. Maybe I will try my hand at it. I guess you never know unless you try it out.