Sign Posts For The Shortest Route To Success

Finding your weak points, and bridging them, is a direct route to success.

The Most Important Thing You Can Do For Your Career

What aspect of your career is the most challenging for you? What knowledge gap do you have that is holding you back? What is your "weak link"? Find that weak link and turn it into a strength. Then find the next weak link, and make that into a strength. Anyone who actually does that cannot help but move up the ranks of success! Look at those problem areas in your career (and your life) as sign posts showing you the most direct route to success.

Assignment Photography, Negotiating and a “Bridged Gap”

When I was doing a lot of assignment photography my biggest “gap” was in my negotiating ability. We are not talking a small gap here…more like the Grand Canyon! Many times I actually had art directors, after hearing my estimate, suggest that perhaps we could go a little higher.  It was obvious to me that I had a problem that I had to deal with. Through a lot of personal work I was able to get marginally better at negotiating, but being a tough negotiator is not pleasurable for me and doesn’t come naturally. I solved my problem by going outside of myself. I “bridged that gap”, by getting a rep.

A Photo Assignment Negotiation In Progress

Shortly after agreeing to work with my new rep I turned a negotiation in progress over to her. I had almost agreed to a job for $12,000.00, which was the total budget this particular client had for the job (or at least what they told me). My rep came back from the negotiations having secured $29,000.00 for two years of usage. That was ten years ago. By January of this year, after yet again re-negotiating the use, we have brought in somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000.00.  Sure, my (now former) rep has kept 30% of that as her share of the fees, but without her I would have settled for that original $12,000.00!

Stock Photography and The Image Glut

My negotiating skills, though having improved over the last twenty years, are still abysmal. Another way that I have compensated is by turning to stock photography where all I have to worry about is making the images. The negotiating is all handled by agencies.  Over the years that has worked very well for me…that is until the onslaught of the image glut and the fall of the barriers to entry (microstock) into stock photography. With this development comes an “opportunity” for me to work on another set of skills, skills that will help me compensate for the changes in this new world of stock photography.

Stock Photos and SEO

Now the knowledge gap facing me is the challenge of getting my work, my stock photos, in front of more people. So I am now “bridging” that gap by using my website to gain more visibility for my work…and to expand the ways in which I can monetize it.  I have to master SEO (Search Engine Optimization), or at least get up to speed with it. Once I gain sufficient proficiency in that task I am quite confident that a new “opportunity” will present itself. And so it goes.

What Challenge Faces You?

What challenge faces you? That challenge just may be a sign pointing directly to success. Knuckle down and turn your weaknesses into strengths. If you can do that there will be no stopping you.

Writing: An Essential Photography Skill

Most photographers have a difficult time with writing, yet writing may hold the key to a photographer's future.

A Million Words On A Photography Website

I now have more than one million words on my website! So why would a photographer be excited about having so many words on his site…particularly when most of us professional photographers cry foul when art directors put copy over our images…and when we strive so mightily to create sites free from words that might distract from the aesthetic integrity of our photography? It is because this Internet thing has twisted everything around. Now one word is worth a thousand pictures (because search engines can’t “see” photos). In reality, if you want to get those gorgeous photographs seen, then your going to need words, and lots of them.

The Unseen Photograph

It was Socrates who said “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  I would contend that the unseen photograph is not worth creating. So whether you are trying to make a living at photography, or sharing your vision with as many people as possible, you are going to need, and increasingly so, to turn to words (you can disregard this suggestion if you are only indulging in photography for therapeutic reasons).Words are what get your images seen.

An Important Skill For Photographers

I believe that one of the most important skills for us photographers to develop, at this point in time, is the ability to write. I am not talking about just adding key words here either, but rather having the ability to write clearly, cohesively and compellingly (I am still working on that). Having the skills to communicate effectively through writing can help with proposals, estimates, blogs, books and innumerable other endeavors that make up the world of photography. Writing certainly isn't always easy, and it takes time and effort. But the results are worth it...getting your work seen is worth it!

Stock Photography, Taking Control, and Writing

For me writing is playing a central role in my efforts to maintain a successful career in stock photography; an effort to make my photography easy to find through search engines and in doing so to supplement my agency sales and add additional revenue through a variety of photography-related avenues from imprinted gifts to print sales to online advertising. But perhaps most importantly, writing and the Internet are giving me an opportunity to take more control over my photography career. Ultimately we all have to take responsibility for our own success or failures. We owe it to ourselves to find the tools that are necessary and that work for us, and with the emergence of the Internet as the de facto vehicle for finding just about everything, well, developing writing skills is as close to a no-brainer as there is.

John Lund Stock Photo Sales Statistics For 2010

Interesting Statistical Observation: The above image of a woman connecting the dots on a dollar sign has been licensed numerous times, but never earning me more than $1.50 per sale! Huh?

Statistics on my stock photo sales for 2010.

I just spent some time looking at my stock photo sales for the year 2010. These images are distributed through (in alphabetical order) Blend Images, Corbis, Getty and SuperStock. My Animal Antics Funny Animal Pictures are not distributed through these agencies and are not included in these statistics. During 2010 I had approximately 7,000 images online (about half of which were shot by others and submitted through me.) Approximately 1000 of these images are Rights Managed, and the rest are Royalty Free. I have no images in microstock. A caution here…it can be misleading to compare top earning RM images with top earning RF images. Comparing RF shoots with RM shoots would be a better indication of which licensing model can earn more money. Unfortunately I cannot easily track by shoots because of my less-than-thorough data entry habits.

• 2593 of those approximately 7,000 images actually were licensed during 2010.
• 1379 stock photos earned me a gross of more than $50.00 each.
• 844 of those images earned over $100.00 each.
• Of those, 46 pictures or clips earned me $1,000.00 or more each.
• 21 stock photos brought in over $2,000.00 each.
• 9 images brought in over $3,000.00 each.
• My top earning image brought in $9,301.00.
• My top top-selling RF image brought in $2,764.00 and was the 14^th best selling picture. It sold 115 times (through Blend Images).
• Of my top selling 100 stock images, 9 were clips and 21 were Royalty Free images.
• Of my best selling 100 stock photos (including clips), 48 had people in them, 14 had animals, and 4 were still life images.  23 of my 100 top selling stock photos (and clips) had neither people nor animals in them.
• 16 of my best selling 100 stock photos from 2010 are over a decade old!

I few observations of my own:

• RF shoots can earn as much as RM, and tend to have more consistent earnings.
• The right image can have a very long lifespan.
• The subject matter of the image is less important than the concept.
• Everything sells…some a lot better than others.
• There is still money to be made in stock imagery.

Summation: Let me repeat that last bullet point…there is still money to be made in stock photography. Some of those 100 best selling images are lifestyle, most are concept stock images, some include animals, some, but not many, are landscapes. I still can’t figure out whether Rights Managed or Royalty Free will bring in more money, so I do my best to guess which image should go where. But I don’t sweat that too much, because when I take everything into consideration it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference…a great image will sell no matter which licensing model is used.  One thing I can say, an image unmade, or unseen, will not sell. Now I am off to create an image...and upload it!

A Look At The Blend Images 2011 Spring Creative Meeting

Blend Images 2011 Spring Creative Meeting deserves a standing ovation!

The Blend Images 2011 Spring Creative Meeting
I just came back from attending the Blend Images 2011 Spring Creative Meeting. Each year Blend Images holds a meeting for its contributing photographers focusing on creative issues. There is generally a quick look at what is new with Blend Images, presentations on where Blend thinks the market will be heading, and presentations to help its’ members hone their own creativity and find more direction in their production of stock imagery. Presentations were made by Blend CEO Rick Becker-Leckrone, Director of Sales at Blend Images, Robert Henson, and by Blend Creative Director Sarah Fix.

Stock Photo Needs, Motion for Still Photographers and Stock Production
This year Blend also arranged for presentations by advertising, editorial and fine art photographer Jill Greenberg, CEO and Founder of LookStat Rahul Pathak (sharing insight on the value of analyzing sales data), Freelance Art Buyer Jessica Mirolla (discussing commercial stock photo needs), and Freelance Cinematographer and former motion editor for Getty Images Tim Sutton (discussing approaches to motion capture for still photographers). There was also a panel discussion featuring photographers Andres Rodriquez, Patrik Giardino, Jamie Grill, Jose Pelaez and Ariel Skelly who gave us insights in to how they approach stock photo production. All-in-all, one Saturday packed with information, not to mention socializing, making connections, and sharing information with numerous fellow shooters. I had a great time, and learned quite a few things as well.


The Right Image and Cautious Optimism
I left the meeting with a sense of cautious optimism. There is still a huge demand for imagery despite the ever-growing glut of photos. The opportunities lie in not in madly pumping out pictures, but rather in making smart images, the “right” images. There is opportunity for those of us who are thinking strategically about what we produce. I heard from photographers who are doing well with Rights Managed stock photos, and I heard from other photographers who are experiencing growth with their Royalty Free photos. We were presented with expensive video shoots that are earning the big bucks…yes, they do exist, and small ones as well. There are still success stories in stock, but they are coming from those who are bringing not just photography talent, but brains to their shoots as well.


My own personal highlights (at least what I can remember at this moment):

• There is no doubt that analyzing sales (and acting on that information) will improve your earnings.
• When shooting motion (video) think in terms of a telling a story. For me this was huge. I can get way more excited about creating a short film that results in clips rather than going out and filling a  “clip list”. Telling a story can get everyone from talent to crew far more into it…and that is essential for great work.
• Art Directors do search Google for stock imagery (and art buyers struggle to find the copyright holders).
• At least one art buyer is yearning for more great images than she can find on the agency sites (and for those of you seeking assignment photography…this art buyer still prefers a portfolio of prints).
• There may be a trend away from “stylized” images…and there is always a demand for “authentic” images.
• The importance of “Talent” can’t be overstated. More than one of the top photographers tracks their sales by model, and at least one such photographer even provides the models with a percentage of the royalties…that is how important he deems the models to be!
• Make your images 2% better than the competition and the benefits are enormous. More than ever before creating quality imagery is vital.
• When combining a motion shoot with a still shoot a good starting strategy is to first shoot the motion, then, when energy starts to lag, switch to stills. 

Success In Stock Photography: Passion and Thought
My overriding take-away is that there are still photographers finding success in stock photography in a wide variety of ways. What the successful photographers take to the party is passion combined with a thorough and thoughtful approach. They photographers aren’t flailing about, they are combining research and preparation to produce images that stand out from the competition and are filling a need in the marketplace. In addition, each photographer (or photography studio) was given a thumb drive with Blend specific tutorials as well as several creative reports (which I haven't had a chance to look at yet).

Coming Interviews
In the coming weeks and months I will be publishing interviews from a number of the featured participants of the meeting including Rahul Pathak, Jose Pelaez, Andres Rodriguez, Jessica Mirolla and Tim Sutton. Stay tuned!

A Shout Out For Blend Images
I think Blend Images deserves a shout out for continuing to provide these yearly get togethers.  Many of us agreed that we'd like to see two days next year. In addition to getting valuable information and insights into this ever changing world of photography and stock photography, getting the chance to hang with each other, compare notes and just plain socialize with our peers is an awesome thing!

Three Keys To Success In Stock Photography

Success in today's stock photography environment requires quality, quantity and visibility in your photography.

Three Keys To A Successful Stock Photography Career

The three key elements to success in stock photography are quality, quantity and visibility. Master those elements and you can still carve out a very good living in stock. In stock photography I would define quality images as images that are flawlessly executed and are needed in the marketplace. How much quantity is needed varies with the individual and their financial goals. Visibility, I believe, is the trickiest of the elements, and potentially the biggest stretch for photographers.

Quality Photography And Passion

What makes a picture a quality stock photo? Quality can be different things to different viewers. In some cases the quality may come from the perfect model and the perfect lighting, in other cases the location might be the key, and in yet other cases humor might be the answer. In any case, quality is revealed in a photograph that connects with the viewer.  The days are gone when you could bang out dozens of shots in a day and hope to do well. There is just too much competition…and the pictures just keep on coming. The shortest path to quality photography is passion. If your not passionate about what you are doing, about the photos you create, be they personal work, assignments or stock, then photography is not the career for you.

Multiply Quality With Quantity

Five years ago I had an return per image (RPI ) with my Getty Rights Managed stock photos, of over $800.00 per image per year. Right now my RPI is at around $130.00. With drops like that you have to go beyond quality; you have to multiply that quality with quantity.  How much quantity do you need? Check your business plan. If you need $200,000.00 a year to run your business, produce new work, and live a great life…and you have an RPI of $78.00, then divide $200,000.00 by $78.00 and you will have a very good idea of what you have to do…at least in terms of producing images.

Visibility, Key Wording, SEO and Social Networking

Visibility is vital to success in stock photography, and it comes in many ways. Visibility can come through careful and smart key wording with Alamy; visibility can come through an exemplary body of work that rises to the top of the searches in agencies such as iStockphoto (think Yuri Arcurs); and visibility can come through your online presence whether it is through great SEO or effective use of social media.  The use of an online presence to supplement the visibility of your stock photos is a strategy with benefits. By driving additional traffic to your images on an agency site you can exercise at least some control over the visibility of your images. This visibility boost can be compounded when the algorithms used by the agencies are positively impacted by the additional traffic and sales produced by your own efforts.  Not only will more potential licensors see your work, but that visibility can also lead to assignments, increased traffic and subsequent monetization through print sales, advertising revenue, imprinted gifts and even opportunities that are impossible to forecast.

Success In Stock Photography

Success in stock photography used to be a matter of making either great images, or a lot of images, and getting them into the agencies. These days that isn’t enough. It is important to find a balance with quality, quantity and visibility. For photographers that visibility part might be the hardest. We love to take pictures, not spend hours understanding and undertaking key wording, learning social media and practicing SEO (search engine optimization), but increasing such skills are vital to our long-term success. They say getting old isn’t for sissies (and I can vouch for that), but success in a photography career isn’t for sissies either!

Surviving, Thriving and Still Learning In Professional Photography

Contributing to the success of this stock photo is the casting (a person who looks "real",good-looking but not like a "model", and the subtle but positive background.

Photography, Change, And Doing What It Takes
The profession of photography, as we know all too well, continues to go through relentless change, and in order to survive and thrive in this industry we have to go through relentless change as well. I often find myself thinking that I shouldn’t have to do this or do that; that it isn’t fair that things have changed. Whether it is fair or not is not important. What is important is whether I am willing to do what it takes to make this profession continue to work for me.

Concept Stock Photos, Lifestyle Productions, And Impromptu Shoots

One change I am making is in taking advantages of those smaller opportunities to create stock images. A few years ago I was into just creating concept stock photos, or shooting large lifestyle productions. There were probably many chances to grab some quick, but good images with little or no fanfare. Such possibilities weren’t on my radar, or if they did catch my awareness I dismissed them as more hassle than I wanted to deal with. Now, however, I am much more open to impromptu, or maybe I should say minimalist, stock shoots.

Pictures For A Web Site And A Stock Shoot

In one recent case a woman I knew through martial arts training (she has a black belt in Aikido), called me up because she needed some portraits for her web site and remembered that I was (am) a photographer. I agreed to shoot some shots for her if I could also shoot some for stock, and she readily agreed. Actually, it is better than that; she agreed to bring her whole family.

An Hour and A Half and Eight Selects

The shoot took me about an hour and a half, and I ended up with eight selects for stock. In the first sales report I received since the images went up online I made over $500.00 from them. Not bad for a shoot with literally no out-of-pocket expenses. In my experience it takes time for images to ramp up in sales, so a quick start is generally a very good sign.

Thirty Years of Shooting and Still Learning

An interesting side point here is that, during this shoot I learned something about shooting portraits. Even after thirty years of shooting I am still learning. Of course, it is a little embarrassing to reveal what I learned because it shows that I have some pretty basic knowledge gaps!

Great Shots and Great Sales

In this situation a friend, another photographer and former assistant of mine, dropped by while I was shooting. He suggested that I pose my model under a covered walkway with some trees in the direct sunlight serving as the background. I was skeptical that without some sort of supplemental light, whether strobe or reflector, the resulting portraits just wouldn’t be any good. I was wrong. The shots turned out great, and the proof is in the sales report.

Simple Portraits and Authenticity

These had to be the some of the simplest portraits I have ever shot. Stand here, look right into the camera, give me smile; snap, snap, snap. Done. I used a 135 F2 lens on my Canon 1DS MKIII and shot wide open. From the first sales report this is the image that did the best with three sales. I think what makes this image work well is a combination of a good-looking, yet REAL looking woman, exuding confidence and well-being, combined with a simple, clean photograph and a background that speaks of nature, perhaps summer, and a kind of peaceful stress-free environment. The photograph has the feel of authenticity.

Risky Images and Every Day Photos

For those of us earning, or attempting to earn, our livings entirely from stock photography, I believe it is very important to shoot those major, and somewhat risky, images that stretch us as artists and that can command the larger licensing fees, but that it is also important to create those cost-efficient everyday photos that are constantly in demand. When opportunities to shoot interesting (and interesting looking) people come up that cost little in the way of money or time, jump on them!

Plugged In, Linked In, Tweeting...And A Little Lost...

"Plugging In" to social media is vital to our photo business, but how do we do it effectively?

Plugged In, Linked In, Tweeting…and A Little Lost

I have plugged in. I twitter, I’m Linked In, I’m working hard on SEO…and I am a little lost.  It is Facebook that really has me flummoxed! Facebook is so big, so pervasive and so, what, imminent…that I feel it must be vital to my goal of utilizing the Internet to advance my photography career and insure an adequate and continuing income stream. But how the heck do I take advantage of it?

Facebook, Building Community, and Clients

The bits and pieces are starting to come together. I can see how Facebook can work for a wedding photographer. One thing that really makes sense to me is the idea of putting wedding images online and tagging the people in the images. Suddenly your work is in front of everyone who attended the wedding (and who is active in Facebook). Cool! But, I don’t shoot weddings. I can see how Facebook can work in reinforcing and keeping your “brand” fresh by building a community that includes clients, but assignments aren’t my thing anymore.  For stock photographers, however, the usefulness is still eluding me.

A Fan Page For Funny Animal Pictures

Since I not only shoot stock, but also create my Animal Antics humorous animal pictures, images that are available as retail items in the form of greeting cards, coffee mugs, calendars and such, perhaps a fan page and growing a Facebook community might be in order. OK, I have started a fan page for the funny animal photos.  Not to complain, ah well, actually I am complaining…another thing I have to keep track of and contribute to! I have only had the fan page up a couple of weeks and I am already getting confused as to what images I have put on my blog versus on my Facebook page or fan page or whatever.

Information and Action

I have started going over Photoshelter’s Social Media guide…which seems really good. But it is going to take me a while to really absorb the information and translate it into action. In the meantime, I will keep dipping my toe in the Facebook waters, checking in on friends (though I feel like I am always getting to the “party” a tad late), uploading images when the stars align properly, and working at integrating my “social media” efforts.

Cold Calls, Taxes, Egos and Social Media

I would love to be able to just ignore Facebook. Heck, I would love to just worry about making images. But part of making a living at photography is dealing with all kinds of things that we don’t really want to deal with.  When I first started thirty years ago it was dealing with cold calls. Over the years it has meant investing in portfolios, source book ads, attending art director events, setting up a studio(s), executing the visions of others, dealing with cash flow issues, deadbeats, paying bills, dealing with taxes, dealing with egos (mine as well as others) and so forth. Now I believe it also means dealing with the Internet, Social Media, and SEO.

Irons In The Fire And The Most Important Thing

At any rate, I won’t pull the plug on my Internet activities. I’ll keep learning what I can, keeping all my irons in the fire, and trying not to lose sight of the fact that the most important thing I can do is to continue to stretch myself in creating the very best images I can.