State of the Industry

[LeeCSP]

I'm new here. I was a professional photographer for about 6-7 years and had a studio in Columbia, SC. I left the business for a few reasons and after a couple years am considering coming back. My question to you is basically, how is business? I know that can vary, depending on a lot of things. I am in a more rural area, but have a good range of potential clients within about an hours drive. I want to mainly focus on business/commercial portraits and kids. I know when I left, the market was flooded and I'm guessing it is no less flooded now. Anyways, just asking your thoughts if you are willing to give them. Thanks!!!

 

[The_Traveler]

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

 

[Steve5D]

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

That doesn't even begin to remotely answer the OP's question...

 

[The_Traveler]

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

That doesn't even begin to remotely answer the OP's question...

Well, perhaps I can sketch out an slightly less than intuitive jump. The supply of free high quality Getty images will make commercial low level photography even less of an profitable niche and will also make the stock photo market become even less lucrative. Many more lower level folks who might make a few bucks that way will migrate sideways into the currently crowded field of baby and senior pictures.

A business niche being besieged by free stuff on one side and more competition on the other with very low barriers to entry doesn't seem like a good career to plan on. I think most people who have been in business or written business plans for investors would see that connection.

To me it's like planning to open a video store in the current marketplace.

Clear enough?

 

[KmH]

That doesn't even begin to remotely answer the OP's question...

A complete answer would take a lot of research and a book length response which is likely why no one before today had replied to a thread started several days ago.

The link provided certainly makes a comment on at least one segment of the the current state of the industry when it notes that theft of stock images has become endemic on the Internet.

By comparison to the link, your post provides not one iota of relevant information regarding the state of any part of the industry.

The OP in fact stated a valid assumption that effectively answered their own query - that there has been no improvement.

 

[The_Traveler]

What seems like the constant effort to prove oneself right and smart in comparison to other responders just becomes so dreary and tiresome.
I think I will just answer whatever questions I want and then unsubscribe to the threads.

 

[tirediron]

The Cole's Notes version, in my opinion is: It sucks! The ever-present cell-phone and huge repositories of dirt-cheap stock images mean that there are fewer opportunities than ever before, and when you add to the mix the ability of anyone with a couple of hundred dollars and a facebook page to be a 'pro'...

 

[Derrel]

The Cole's Notes version, in my opinion is: It sucks! The ever-present cell-phone and huge repositories of dirt-cheap stock images mean that there are fewer opportunities than ever before, and when you add to the mix the ability of anyone with a couple of hundred dollars and a facebook page to be a 'pro'...

Not only a 'pro', but also anybody who has a Facebook page is ALSO a "publisher", to quote the representative from Getty Images. Woo-hoo! I is a publisher! I is a publisher! Gawd, I feel like,like, well, like such a tycoon! My own publishing empire!!!

Yeah, the Getty Images free embed program, with advertising possible, and all--it's going to change things somewhat I think.

My take is, if you want to make money, you'll need to sell directly to "real people", selling custom-crafted images. Stock is flooded with low-cost images and 39-cent downloads, with you receiving maybe seven cents per 'sale', if a seven-cent transaction can be considered a 'sale'. So, yeah, selling stock...that's a dead-end for most people, unless they really go all-out and create a lot of REALLY EXCELLENT, and highly-desired types of images. ALl the old postcard images?? Useless, worthless. Zillions of shots of every single tourist area in the entire world are available, cheap.

Some people are making money in photography, yes, but you'll need a good plan and solid procedures, products, services, and business practices. The new low-end is images on disc...which is what it is...you can find out what's being sold in your area by looking around Craigslist for a few weeks. "The phone book" and "the yellow pages" are no longer what they used to be--nearing dead, vanished, archaic.

If you can differentiate your business and your photo services, and differentiate them from the images of the great, unwashed masses, you might have a shot.

 

[Steve5D]

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

That doesn't even begin to remotely answer the OP's question...

Well, perhaps I can sketch out an slightly less than intuitive jump. The supply of free high quality Getty images will make commercial low level photography even less of an profitable niche and will also make the stock photo market become even less lucrative. Many more lower level folks who might make a few bucks that way will migrate sideways into the currently crowded field of baby and senior pictures.

A business niche being besieged by free stuff on one side and more competition on the other with very low barriers to entry doesn't seem like a good career to plan on. I think most people who have been in business or written business plans for investors would see that connection.

To me it's like planning to open a video store in the current marketplace.

Clear enough?

Hardly.

Look at what he wants to focus on: Business portraits and kids.

I'm gonna' go out on a limb and say that the Manager of the local bank isn't going to be able to go to Getty Images when he wants a portrait of himself. What goes on with stock photography isn't going to impact a portrait photographer an iota. More competition? Meh; no big deal. There's always competition, and your scenario relies on everyone who gives up stock photography migrating into kids/ portraits/seniors, etc. That's a silly assumption.

Look, we understand if you're afraid to try to make it in the business of photography, but the reality is that it's very doable. And one of the biggest stumbling blocks to success would be listening to "advice" such as yours...

 

[Steve5D]

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

Getty Images makes 35 million images free in fight against copyright infringement » British Journal of Photography

That doesn't even begin to remotely answer the OP's question...

Well, perhaps I can sketch out an slightly less than intuitive jump. The supply of free high quality Getty images will make commercial low level photography even less of an profitable niche and will also make the stock photo market become even less lucrative. Many more lower level folks who might make a few bucks that way will migrate sideways into the currently crowded field of baby and senior pictures.

A business niche being besieged by free stuff on one side and more competition on the other with very low barriers to entry doesn't seem like a good career to plan on. I think most people who have been in business or written business plans for investors would see that connection.

To me it's like planning to open a video store in the current marketplace.

Clear enough?

The Cole's Notes version, in my opinion is: It sucks! The ever-present cell-phone and huge repositories of dirt-cheap stock images mean that there are fewer opportunities than ever before, and when you add to the mix the ability of anyone with a couple of hundred dollars and a facebook page to be a 'pro'...

Not only a 'pro', but also anybody who has a Facebook page is ALSO a "publisher", to quote the representative from Getty Images. Woo-hoo! I is a publisher! I is a publisher! Gawd, I feel like,like, well, like such a tycoon! My own publishing empire!!!

Yeah, the Getty Images free embed program, with advertising possible, and all--it's going to change things somewhat I think.

My take is, if you want to make money, you'll need to sell directly to "real people", selling custom-crafted images. Stock is flooded with low-cost images and 39-cent downloads, with you receiving maybe seven cents per 'sale', if a seven-cent transaction can be considered a 'sale'. So, yeah, selling stock...that's a dead-end for most people, unless they really go all-out and create a lot of REALLY EXCELLENT, and highly-desired types of images. ALl the old postcard images?? Useless, worthless. Zillions of shots of every single tourist area in the entire world are available, cheap.

Some people are making money in photography, yes, but you'll need a good plan and solid procedures, products, services, and business practices. The new low-end is images on disc...which is what it is...you can find out what's being sold in your area by looking around Craigslist for a few weeks. "The phone book" and "the yellow pages" are no longer what they used to be--nearing dead, vanished, archaic.

If you can differentiate your business and your photo services, and differentiate them from the images of the great, unwashed masses, you might have a shot.

I'll bet the OP is happy to see all of these negative comments about stock photography, seeing as he never once mentioned wanting to do stock photography...

 

[Derrel]

I'll put it to you simply: the once-lucrative stock, then micro-stock cash cows that many professionals used to make money off of by shooting images during "down-time"? You know, for people who were in business 6,7,8,10,15,20 years ago? THOSE markets have dried up for the majority of shooters, as Getty has become the 800-lb gorilla, and negotiated sales and licensing fees that are very disadvantageous for individual single proprietors who wanted/hope/needed to shoot stock, and then later, even less-lurative micro-stock images...you know...to help keep cash coming in in between higher-paying client-based jobs.

MORE information, about what MILLIONS of photographers have seen happen is a good thing,

 

[table1349]

Simply put....... It ain't what it used to be.

 

[webestang64]

Good luck........here in St. Louis, everybody with a DSLR is a pro........and the worst part, nobody gets prints anymore. My general lab printing is very low.

 

[pixmedic]

i dont know much about the market in NC, but here in central florida, the wedding/portrait/senior/baby/maternity market is saturated. to the point where i cant log into my personal FB page without seeing ads for photographers in my area. Me and the wife do mainly formal portraits with the occasional wedding or event. we don't do a lot of work, but we also don't do much advertising. mostly word of mouth. Aside from actually reeling in the clients, the hardest part is competing with the FB "pros" doing $30-$50 "mini-sessions". "competing" might not be quite the right word as we don't really see them as competition per se, but it puts us in a position where we have to explain to potential clients why we cant/wont give them 20 high res images on disk for $30, especially when we charge $200 for 1 person, up to 10 images on disk, with prints a la carte. (we do give fire/EMS and Military discounts)

Its a little easier dealing with people that want "formal" portraits though. most of the FB photographers don't have backdrops or off camera lighting equipment, so its easier to justify a higher price when the other photographers don't have the equipment to do anything except shoot pictures outdoors somewhere when the sunlight is good.
we just tell them, "sure, if you want your picture taken in your back yard or on some train tracks, go pay the FB guy $50, but if you want a nice formal portrait with muslin backdrops and a few OCF's for good lighting, its going to cost a little more than that".

Sometimes though, people are just looking for the lowest price, and no amount of equipment or better image quality is going to convince them to pay your rates.
Its not just FB pros either. our area is full of good photographers as well. sometimes we get clients because they like what we produce. sometimes its because we can shoot on the day they want/need us to. sometimes they just happen to like our personalities. (well, my wife's anyway...certainly not mine) all you can do is wade into the madness, give it your best shot, and see what happens.

I think good marketing and a good business strategy is worth more than anything else nowdays.

 

[pixmedic]

come on guys...lets keep it nice.
don't make me start putting people in a corner to hug it out.
after that, I will have to resort to a "kiss and make up" strategy.