Why doesn't SM really do Stock photography?
Wiren
Registered Users Posts: 741 Major grins
I am not sure if this is the right area for this, if not, mods can move it where it needs to go.
Let me start out by stating that I know SM offers digital downloads with personal and commercial licensing.... that said, it's not a destination place where companies can go to a main image search window, find a photo, then decide to buy a Royalty Free or Rights Managed license from...
I have been doing a little research (truly a little as there is so much out there) due to a friend of my brothers who owns his own business wanted to know my price for licensing one of my images. You can view that thread here.
I recently ran into another photog while shooting who stated that he makes a couple C-Notes per month via 500px - he switched from Getty....
I have been thinking I should probably join a stock image site to try to make a bit more cash from my imagery, but so far, the best i'm seeing is that you may get up to 50% on the image... and you have to join a whole new site, and if they have member fees.... :deal Then there is the jurying and approval of your photo's.... blech - too much crap for such little pay, even though I would love the couple hundred or whatever I could make per month....
That got me thinking..... Why hasn't SM decided to get into stock photography....? There must be a reason they haven't that I can't think of....... :scratch
I am thinking that it could be another tier of membership... Pro+Stock account for an extra $50 or $100 on top of the Pro acct..... or something, as well as the 15% cut SM usually takes, this could be a nice way for SM to make some more money.. and I am sure many of us Smuggers would love to see our SM staff and Co. make more and do well and be a part of that game.
It would mean that SM would need a landing page for image shoppers to get to, search for images by the Pro+Stock members who have images selected for stock, and then buy them... 85% to the photog, 15% to SM (plus their annual fee of membership for the Pro+Stock acct), this could be an extremely attractive offering to many photogs out there and gain SM many more members (as well as bring back some that have left over the years). Those of us current members wouldn't have to get ripped off by other companies and deal with the headache of yet another site..... just check a box on the image info allowing for either RF or RM image sales....
Am I just full of it, does this sound even slightly viable?... feasable? worth SM's while?
As I said previously, I am certain that this has been thought of, bandied about by SM Corporate and decided against... but I would like to know that it has and what the reasons for not creating this model were....... what about it SM? Inquiring minds would like to know...:wink
Anyhoo, just food for thought... I wouldn't leave SM as I :lust the service, just wishing for an upgrade so I can attract people and businesses (guess these days those are synonymous eh?) to license my images..... :thumb
Cheers
Lee
Let me start out by stating that I know SM offers digital downloads with personal and commercial licensing.... that said, it's not a destination place where companies can go to a main image search window, find a photo, then decide to buy a Royalty Free or Rights Managed license from...
I have been doing a little research (truly a little as there is so much out there) due to a friend of my brothers who owns his own business wanted to know my price for licensing one of my images. You can view that thread here.
I recently ran into another photog while shooting who stated that he makes a couple C-Notes per month via 500px - he switched from Getty....
I have been thinking I should probably join a stock image site to try to make a bit more cash from my imagery, but so far, the best i'm seeing is that you may get up to 50% on the image... and you have to join a whole new site, and if they have member fees.... :deal Then there is the jurying and approval of your photo's.... blech - too much crap for such little pay, even though I would love the couple hundred or whatever I could make per month....
That got me thinking..... Why hasn't SM decided to get into stock photography....? There must be a reason they haven't that I can't think of....... :scratch
I am thinking that it could be another tier of membership... Pro+Stock account for an extra $50 or $100 on top of the Pro acct..... or something, as well as the 15% cut SM usually takes, this could be a nice way for SM to make some more money.. and I am sure many of us Smuggers would love to see our SM staff and Co. make more and do well and be a part of that game.
It would mean that SM would need a landing page for image shoppers to get to, search for images by the Pro+Stock members who have images selected for stock, and then buy them... 85% to the photog, 15% to SM (plus their annual fee of membership for the Pro+Stock acct), this could be an extremely attractive offering to many photogs out there and gain SM many more members (as well as bring back some that have left over the years). Those of us current members wouldn't have to get ripped off by other companies and deal with the headache of yet another site..... just check a box on the image info allowing for either RF or RM image sales....
Am I just full of it, does this sound even slightly viable?... feasable? worth SM's while?
As I said previously, I am certain that this has been thought of, bandied about by SM Corporate and decided against... but I would like to know that it has and what the reasons for not creating this model were....... what about it SM? Inquiring minds would like to know...:wink
Anyhoo, just food for thought... I wouldn't leave SM as I :lust the service, just wishing for an upgrade so I can attract people and businesses (guess these days those are synonymous eh?) to license my images..... :thumb
Cheers
Lee
Lee Wiren
0
Comments
You can sell your stock images on SmugMug. You can choose to sell with a commercial license. Likely the reason SmugMug hasn't done it is because we'd have to start charging the same kinds of fees to review and approve the stock photos and manage all that. It is something to consider in the future so thanks for the suggestion. Really appreciate it.
SmugMug Support Hero
help.smugmug.com
Thanks for the response... figured nobody would touch this one.....
I don't get that..... "review and approve the stock photo's" . If SM created the button to state if I want the image to become a stock image, and it meets the image file size requirements...... is there anything to review really? It would just be available on the SM Stock Image search page..... I know it is probably a lot more complicated than I am making it, but..... I personally think 90% of stock image companies have purposely made the process harder than it has to be so they can cloak their rip off fees inside of confusing bs.....
Keep it simple..... Photogs want to sell stock images and for companies to be able to search for them, get to them and buy them.... nothing more complicated.... no "credits", "subscriptions" etc, etc....
Anyways, thanks for responding.
Lee
Does anyone have a way to customize buttons like this easily? www.brokenbanjo.net
--Trav--