I haven't gone through all 43 pages of this thread, but did working with Istock come into play? They work with other photo sites like Getty to offer stock for sale....just a thought and you may have already addressed it.
I haven't gone through all 43 pages of this thread, but did working with Istock come into play? They work with other photo sites like Getty to offer stock for sale....just a thought and you may have already addressed it.
Thanks for the suggestion. We're working on our own solution and right now, I don't think we're partnering up with another stock site.
Please...... allow images of whatever size we want!
Currently, our digital downloads have to be a minimum size. I find limiting in scope to not be able to upload whatever size I WANT to upload to make available for sale.
For example: if I want to offer images for download that are the size of a cellular phone image (which is quite popular), why does Smugmug want to limit me to a size minimum?
After all not all digital downloads..... stock or otherwise are used for print media, right? I can think of MANY reasons for downloading images of a smaller res than the minimum Smugmug currently allows to be digitally downloaded.
In addition, why does an image have to be a certain minimum size for us to be able to have them watermarked? Can't I created / design a watermark small enough to work with the low res sample I upload and, why does Smugmug care what size the upload or watermark used is?
I hope the heroes, wizards, sorcerers, and knights in shining armor :-) are listening on this one ????
I have two specific needs for this that I do not need / want to mention specifics on, that are holding me back.
TIA for listening.
Markjay
Canon AE1 - it was my first "real camera"
Canon 20D - no more film!
For example: if I want to offer images for download that are the size of a cellular phone image (which is quite popular), why does Smugmug want to limit me to a size minimum?
I hope the heroes, wizards, sorcerers, and knights in shining armor :-) are listening on this one ????
I have two specific needs for this that I do not need / want to mention specifics on, that are holding me back.
upload and sell ANY size you want - just sell it as Original size. Could be 200px by 300px. Could be any size you like.
Flickr almost did stock
An interesting article about how Flickr almost started their own Stock Photo selling, but then bailed and partnered with Getty Images.
Commissioned Royalty Free Stock
Is there such a thing?
Assignment: Several shots of Morning Glory flowers. Macro, tight, and wide shots of flower and environment/bed. Pays $100.00 flat fee.
??? is there such a thing?
Better yet, could smugmug facilitate the sale of flat fee, royalty free offerings. Say I find the perfect image of a rare butterfly or, a great shot of an interesting restaurant that I'm writing an online article for, and I find it in a Smugmug search. I'd like to buy it if I can get it with a one-time fee and if it has similar RF language as, say, iStock... and here's the kicker--- the photo does not have to belong to a gallery with pro sales enabled... it could be a photo I like in Joe Schmo's gallery about his trip to Pikipsi.
I stink at copyright rights and usage language. I just have a need for specific images that I often find in a simple search on smugmug, but the effort involved in initiating a offer and negotiating terms daunts me and I settle for something maybe less impactful and more generic from, say, Istock or Jupiter.
Smugmug could be the 'middleman'....
Let me know if I'm way off here...
btw, I work for a media company-- we estimate we will purchase a minimum of 94,000 royalty-free stock photos in 2009. This is in addition to the 60,000 images that will be created by my department alone. My team alone will touch close to 245,000 images each year.
Better yet, could smugmug facilitate the sale of flat fee, royalty free offerings.
I understand the allure of RF sales from the standpoint of the person buying the images. No more worrying about what they can and cannot use the image for. What I don't understand, because I know so little about the stock industry and hits history, is how RF got priced so low when its obviously of extra value to the customer over RM.
Which post in this 43 page thread tells me the current status of smugmug's plan to add stock functionality?
I am subscribed to all of smugmug's blogs and haven't heard a word. Is it off the books, hung up on a technicality, or arriving tomorrow? I have no idea - but it does affect my business plan for 2009.
I am sure you've heard this question often - but what's the latest?
I understand the allure of RF sales from the standpoint of the person buying the images. No more worrying about what they can and cannot use the image for. What I don't understand, because I know so little about the stock industry and hits history, is how RF got priced so low when its obviously of extra value to the customer over RM.
It's not really extra value. The same image could have been used by hundreds of other advertisers. Not very unique way of advertising. Your competition might be using the same image. Get my drift.
It's not really extra value. The same image could have been used by hundreds of other advertisers. Not very unique way of advertising. Your competition might be using the same image. Get my drift.
That makes sense. The value I thought for the customer was "we no longer have to track if we have the rights to use this image in some particular manner". Obviously of some value to that, but I can see how the fact that others might be using the same image as a negative as well.
Status ?
Oh oh... I came here today to ask where we are on the project to sell stock via SmugMug but I can tell there are more people with the same question unanswered. SmugMug, any chance anyone can summarize where we are on this ? Hoping to receive encouraging news soon... Thanks !!! Celso.
I think I have it working...
I have a small test up and running on my new site using LicenseStream and the PLUS Coalition licensing standard. There are only a few samples and all are published using RS ('Rights Simple') licensing at the moment. Two are also published to GoogleBase -- just to see if the dog wags its tail.
RM licensing is also available.
Everything seems to be working?
(Now all I need is for every publishing and advertising house in the entire world to ... )
Haven't heard of RS before and my meager Google skills came up short. Is it similar to RF?
LicenseStream defines 'Rights Simple' as "Usage based, non-exclusive, simple license, with wide appeal" I see it as a hybrid of RF and RM. You can choose from any of the three options are for each licensed work. The RM licensing can be very detailed, though. So I chose RS for my testing until I learn the complexities of RM. Prices are set at industry standard levels for a predefined set of uses.
LicenseStream explains further that RS content is "licensed for a specific, but broad use with no regard to other parameters such as industry and region. The simplicity and low cost of Rights Simple licensing is its chief appeal. To keep these licenses simple exclusivity is not offered. Pricing is based on the selected usage and can range from twenty-five dollars to a few hundred dollars.
"Rights Simple content may be priced low", the site says, "but it is likely to find a larger potential market. Unlike Rights Managed and Royalty Free content, Rights Simple content can appeal to buyers outside the typical industries that purchase stock, namely commercial media and advertising firms."
I'd provide a link, but it seems you need to be signed up to access these pages.
The Flickr Collection Debuts on gettyimages.com
Hello, since it looks like we are not making progress on selling stock photos through SmugMug (not even a status we have) then maybe SmugMug could think of some kind of association with another Microstock company, just like Flickr did with Getty Images, no ? What about that ? :patch
Getty Images and Flickr launch first-of-its-kind creative imagery collection
Seattle, WA & San Francisco, CA, March 11, 2009. Getty Images, the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and other digital media, and Flickr, a Yahoo! Inc. service and one of the world's largest photo sharing communities, today announced the launch of the Flickr Collection, a creative imagery collection now available exclusively on gettyimages.com for commercial licensing. With the debut of this first-of-its-kind collection, customers can easily access and license the inspirational and unexpected photographs for which the Flickr community is known.
I have only been a Pro here for about a year. I am really wondering about the value in adding stock sales to SmugMug. Would this really be able to compete with the other agencies (both big name and microstock)? Those agencies offer a rigorous inspection process that guarantees at least some level of quality. Here, it would be a free for all.
I guess that doesn't matter if someone on SmugMug wants to sell stock, as they are "paying" for the service. Still, I guess I don't see the difference in that and just individually pricing file downloads for Commercial Purposes. As for me, I make a few hundred a month selling stock on another site and would not bother with trying it here as I can't see getting near the traffic over here.
If you can't beat them, join them...
I agree with you. Buyers need to trust they won't waste time searching bad pictures and this is why the microstock companies have the inspection process in place, to guarantee quality to their customers. And without that inspection I agree we would not be able to make it work on SmugMug.
On the other hand, maybe SmugMug could consider some sort of alliance just like Flickr did with Getty images. Getty will not expose all the images on Flickr to their customers. They again will have the inspection process in place and they will pick and chose the ones they judge will sale.
Some sort of alliance like that could give the SmugMug users new opportunities, without trying to turn SmugMug into a MicroStock company... Who knows...
I have only been a Pro here for about a year. I am really wondering about the value in adding stock sales to SmugMug. Would this really be able to compete with the other agencies (both big name and microstock)? Those agencies offer a rigorous inspection process that guarantees at least some level of quality. Here, it would be a free for all.
I guess that doesn't matter if someone on SmugMug wants to sell stock, as they are "paying" for the service. Still, I guess I don't see the difference in that and just individually pricing file downloads for Commercial Purposes. As for me, I make a few hundred a month selling stock on another site and would not bother with trying it here as I can't see getting near the traffic over here.
Stock Photo Licensing
I've been trying to convince stock photographers who are considering PhotoShelter that they should try SmugMug. Here is the general answer:
"Unfortunately it has to be a store front with instant RM licensing and back-up. Best of both worlds....it has to be out there!"
Get busy, SmugMug!! There is a very large market out there that is frustrated by the lack of RM marketing of stock photos. Set up something - maybe with License Stream or your own version - but do it fast before everybody gives up and goes with PhotoShelter or one of the other stock licensing sites. I'll promote SmugMug every chance I get, but you have to come up with something for independent RM stock sales. NOT MICRO OR RF!!!
Didn't Photoshelter get out of the stock business? I know I had to remove all my photos from there...is there something new I don't know about?
They are still active as a web site for photographers (like SmugMug). They are no longer a stock agency but sell themselves as a site where photographers put up a web page and sell their own photos. As some have complained, they spend all of their effort on selling to photographers, not on selling photographers' work.
Joe NietersRegistered UsersPosts: 3Beginner grinner
edited March 27, 2009
What I need from SmugStock!
I want to use SmugMug as the tool for selling my images, but I really don't care much about using SmugMug as a marketing tool. In other words, I don't need or expect to get new business from buyers searching for images on SmugMug and finding my images. I use SmugMug to deliver images to existing clients. I send my clients to my galleries on SmugMug after the licensing and usage terms are defined and agreed upon.
What I need from SmugMug is a better way to manage these sales and the variety of licensing and pricing that make up my sales to my clients.
Every transaction I process is different and no two include exactly the same license or usage terms. The common micro-stock/unlimited/royalty-free approach of low prices and broad, boilerplate usage rights is of no use to me. Instead, I want to be able to set up a gallery, setting the prices and defining the license and usage terms, and allowing the client to download the images and pay for them. And at the same time, maintaining a record of the transactions along with the license and usage terms that were defined.
With "stock" in mind, I would want SmugMug to use the PLUS license system, allowing buyers to define the usage they need, and based on a pricing structure that I predefine, calculate the total price for the client's selected usage, and at the time of the sale, present my contract, license and usage to the buyer for final agreement, and then allow the buyer to download the image after submitting payment. If a client has selected exclusive use (and they should be able to), SmugMug should ensure that the same image is not made available for sale or presentation until the term has expired.
I could care less how others might rate my images and I have no use for a royalty-free approach. If I want to offer broad rights, I can do that even with a rights managed system, and I don't expect random browsers to generate significant sales.
I want to use SmugMug as the tool for selling my images, but I really don't care much about using SmugMug as a marketing tool. In other words, I don't need or expect to get new business from buyers searching for images on SmugMug and finding my images. "
But, as some of the photographers on PhotoShelter are discovering, SmugMug photos come up first on a search of keywords with Google. That is a big plus for anybody trying to sell stock photos these days. The SmugMug guys know how to optimize the SEO. The stock model here should definitely include RM licensing, using PLUS or License Stream to make it easier for the buyer and still allow us to track usage. I hope it's in the works!!
Really?
That's the first I've ever heard that from anyone on SM.
Seems to me most of the photogs on SM have been unhappy with how their images are picked up by the search engines... although it's really not SM fault entirely. Some just assume because they have a photo named red rose that if it's on a photo site Google is going to find it.
Truth is, it's NOT going to find it if the photog does not do it's part in
creating alt tags, and creating titles and descriptions that work towards the goal of being seen / or found. Don't want to turn this into a SEO discussion but, I wanted to clear up the idea that SM photos are being found on Google "first".
Markjay
But, as some of the photographers on PhotoShelter are discovering, SmugMug photos come up first on a search of keywords with Google. That is a big plus for anybody trying to sell stock photos these days. The SmugMug guys know how to optimize the SEO. The stock model here should definitely include RM licensing, using PLUS or License Stream to make it easier for the buyer and still allow us to track usage. I hope it's in the works!!
Comments
Fairbanks, Alaska SMUG Leader
My Site | Fairbanks SMUG | Facebook | Twitter
Sebastian
SmugMug Support Hero
Currently, our digital downloads have to be a minimum size. I find limiting in scope to not be able to upload whatever size I WANT to upload to make available for sale.
For example: if I want to offer images for download that are the size of a cellular phone image (which is quite popular), why does Smugmug want to limit me to a size minimum?
After all not all digital downloads..... stock or otherwise are used for print media, right? I can think of MANY reasons for downloading images of a smaller res than the minimum Smugmug currently allows to be digitally downloaded.
In addition, why does an image have to be a certain minimum size for us to be able to have them watermarked? Can't I created / design a watermark small enough to work with the low res sample I upload and, why does Smugmug care what size the upload or watermark used is?
I hope the heroes, wizards, sorcerers, and knights in shining armor :-) are listening on this one ????
I have two specific needs for this that I do not need / want to mention specifics on, that are holding me back.
TIA for listening.
Canon AE1 - it was my first "real camera"
Canon 20D - no more film!
upload and sell ANY size you want - just sell it as Original size. Could be 200px by 300px. Could be any size you like.
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
An interesting article about how Flickr almost started their own Stock Photo selling, but then bailed and partnered with Getty Images.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/12/the-photo-marketplace-that-never-launched-flickr-stock/
Homepage • Popular
JFriend's javascript customizations • Secrets for getting fast answers on Dgrin
Always include a link to your site when posting a question
Seeing the problems that Flickr encountered, hence my suggestion to work with Istock as a way to market our pictures.
Fairbanks, Alaska SMUG Leader
My Site | Fairbanks SMUG | Facebook | Twitter
Mark Baigent
http://markbaigent.smugmug.com/
www.markbaigent.co.uk
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Is there such a thing?
Assignment: Several shots of Morning Glory flowers. Macro, tight, and wide shots of flower and environment/bed. Pays $100.00 flat fee.
??? is there such a thing?
Better yet, could smugmug facilitate the sale of flat fee, royalty free offerings. Say I find the perfect image of a rare butterfly or, a great shot of an interesting restaurant that I'm writing an online article for, and I find it in a Smugmug search. I'd like to buy it if I can get it with a one-time fee and if it has similar RF language as, say, iStock... and here's the kicker--- the photo does not have to belong to a gallery with pro sales enabled... it could be a photo I like in Joe Schmo's gallery about his trip to Pikipsi.
I stink at copyright rights and usage language. I just have a need for specific images that I often find in a simple search on smugmug, but the effort involved in initiating a offer and negotiating terms daunts me and I settle for something maybe less impactful and more generic from, say, Istock or Jupiter.
Smugmug could be the 'middleman'....
Let me know if I'm way off here...
btw, I work for a media company-- we estimate we will purchase a minimum of 94,000 royalty-free stock photos in 2009. This is in addition to the 60,000 images that will be created by my department alone. My team alone will touch close to 245,000 images each year.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I am subscribed to all of smugmug's blogs and haven't heard a word. Is it off the books, hung up on a technicality, or arriving tomorrow? I have no idea - but it does affect my business plan for 2009.
I am sure you've heard this question often - but what's the latest?
Thanks,
www.photographyontheside.com [My blog about creating a part-time photography business]
Create A Gorgeous Photography Website with Smugmug in 90 Minutes [My free course if you need help setting up and customizing your SmugMug site]
http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=996260&postcount=416
Hi, What is the latest on Stock on SmugMug?
L
Nautical & Travel Photographer
http://leightonPHOTO.com
It's not really extra value. The same image could have been used by hundreds of other advertisers. Not very unique way of advertising. Your competition might be using the same image. Get my drift.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Oh oh... I came here today to ask where we are on the project to sell stock via SmugMug but I can tell there are more people with the same question unanswered. SmugMug, any chance anyone can summarize where we are on this ? Hoping to receive encouraging news soon... Thanks !!! Celso.
Ditto on this . . . seems like it's backed-up somewhere in the pipeline?
Consider this another "feature request" for marketplace functionality that I was under the impression was announced as "coming soon" a while ago.
Keep up ( and speed up
Photographer - Oceanographer - Digital Media
ThomasMoorePhotography - Blog
www.ThomasMoorePhotography.com
www.DigitalTasmania.com
www.CoastView.com.au
thomas.moore@coastview.com.au
0409681127
I have a small test up and running on my new site using LicenseStream and the PLUS Coalition licensing standard. There are only a few samples and all are published using RS ('Rights Simple') licensing at the moment. Two are also published to GoogleBase -- just to see if the dog wags its tail.
RM licensing is also available.
Everything seems to be working?
(Now all I need is for every publishing and advertising house in the entire world to ...
Comments?
Stock from The Picture Taker
Haven't heard of RS before and my meager Google skills came up short. Is it similar to RF?
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
LicenseStream explains further that RS content is "licensed for a specific, but broad use with no regard to other parameters such as industry and region. The simplicity and low cost of Rights Simple licensing is its chief appeal. To keep these licenses simple exclusivity is not offered. Pricing is based on the selected usage and can range from twenty-five dollars to a few hundred dollars.
"Rights Simple content may be priced low", the site says, "but it is likely to find a larger potential market. Unlike Rights Managed and Royalty Free content, Rights Simple content can appeal to buyers outside the typical industries that purchase stock, namely commercial media and advertising firms."
I'd provide a link, but it seems you need to be signed up to access these pages.
LicenseStream
Hope this helps.
Hello, since it looks like we are not making progress on selling stock photos through SmugMug (not even a status we have) then maybe SmugMug could think of some kind of association with another Microstock company, just like Flickr did with Getty Images, no ? What about that ? :patch
The Flickr Collection Debuts on gettyimages.com
Seattle, WA & San Francisco, CA, March 11, 2009. Getty Images, the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and other digital media, and Flickr, a Yahoo! Inc. service and one of the world's largest photo sharing communities, today announced the launch of the Flickr Collection, a creative imagery collection now available exclusively on gettyimages.com for commercial licensing. With the debut of this first-of-its-kind collection, customers can easily access and license the inspirational and unexpected photographs for which the Flickr community is known.
Continue reading "The Flickr Collection Debuts on gettyimages.com" »
I guess that doesn't matter if someone on SmugMug wants to sell stock, as they are "paying" for the service. Still, I guess I don't see the difference in that and just individually pricing file downloads for Commercial Purposes. As for me, I make a few hundred a month selling stock on another site and would not bother with trying it here as I can't see getting near the traffic over here.
I agree with you. Buyers need to trust they won't waste time searching bad pictures and this is why the microstock companies have the inspection process in place, to guarantee quality to their customers. And without that inspection I agree we would not be able to make it work on SmugMug.
On the other hand, maybe SmugMug could consider some sort of alliance just like Flickr did with Getty images. Getty will not expose all the images on Flickr to their customers. They again will have the inspection process in place and they will pick and chose the ones they judge will sale.
Some sort of alliance like that could give the SmugMug users new opportunities, without trying to turn SmugMug into a MicroStock company... Who knows...
What about i.stockphoto.com - just another configuration group on the gallery settings page
I've been trying to convince stock photographers who are considering PhotoShelter that they should try SmugMug. Here is the general answer:
"Unfortunately it has to be a store front with instant RM licensing and back-up. Best of both worlds....it has to be out there!"
Get busy, SmugMug!! There is a very large market out there that is frustrated by the lack of RM marketing of stock photos. Set up something - maybe with License Stream or your own version - but do it fast before everybody gives up and goes with PhotoShelter or one of the other stock licensing sites. I'll promote SmugMug every chance I get, but you have to come up with something for independent RM stock sales. NOT MICRO OR RF!!!
Thanks,
Tina
www.tinamanley.com
www.tinamanley.com
Didn't Photoshelter get out of the stock business? I know I had to remove all my photos from there...is there something new I don't know about?
They are still active as a web site for photographers (like SmugMug). They are no longer a stock agency but sell themselves as a site where photographers put up a web page and sell their own photos. As some have complained, they spend all of their effort on selling to photographers, not on selling photographers' work.
Check it out:
http://pa.photoshelter.com/
I really don't know why photographers choose them over SmugMug, but many, many do.
Tina
www.tinamanley.com
www.tinamanley.com
I want to use SmugMug as the tool for selling my images, but I really don't care much about using SmugMug as a marketing tool. In other words, I don't need or expect to get new business from buyers searching for images on SmugMug and finding my images. I use SmugMug to deliver images to existing clients. I send my clients to my galleries on SmugMug after the licensing and usage terms are defined and agreed upon.
What I need from SmugMug is a better way to manage these sales and the variety of licensing and pricing that make up my sales to my clients.
Every transaction I process is different and no two include exactly the same license or usage terms. The common micro-stock/unlimited/royalty-free approach of low prices and broad, boilerplate usage rights is of no use to me. Instead, I want to be able to set up a gallery, setting the prices and defining the license and usage terms, and allowing the client to download the images and pay for them. And at the same time, maintaining a record of the transactions along with the license and usage terms that were defined.
With "stock" in mind, I would want SmugMug to use the PLUS license system, allowing buyers to define the usage they need, and based on a pricing structure that I predefine, calculate the total price for the client's selected usage, and at the time of the sale, present my contract, license and usage to the buyer for final agreement, and then allow the buyer to download the image after submitting payment. If a client has selected exclusive use (and they should be able to), SmugMug should ensure that the same image is not made available for sale or presentation until the term has expired.
I could care less how others might rate my images and I have no use for a royalty-free approach. If I want to offer broad rights, I can do that even with a rights managed system, and I don't expect random browsers to generate significant sales.
www.tinamanley.com
That's the first I've ever heard that from anyone on SM.
Seems to me most of the photogs on SM have been unhappy with how their images are picked up by the search engines... although it's really not SM fault entirely. Some just assume because they have a photo named red rose that if it's on a photo site Google is going to find it.
Truth is, it's NOT going to find it if the photog does not do it's part in
creating alt tags, and creating titles and descriptions that work towards the goal of being seen / or found. Don't want to turn this into a SEO discussion but, I wanted to clear up the idea that SM photos are being found on Google "first".
Markjay
But, as some of the photographers on PhotoShelter are discovering, SmugMug photos come up first on a search of keywords with Google. That is a big plus for anybody trying to sell stock photos these days. The SmugMug guys know how to optimize the SEO. The stock model here should definitely include RM licensing, using PLUS or License Stream to make it easier for the buyer and still allow us to track usage. I hope it's in the works!!
Tina
www.tinamanley.com[/quote]
Canon AE1 - it was my first "real camera"
Canon 20D - no more film!