Happy New Year and all that bullshit. Now, let’s get down to business…If you missed, here’s my 2019 Earnings Recap.
But first, would appreciate if you could help me out!
Throughout my blog, as you can appreciate, I’ve given quite a bit of my time to help you make sense of this complicated stock industry and focus on making money. I’ve also given away earnings info on some of my best-sellers which will directly lead to those images reducing their value (how much is impossible to say but suffice to say that copycat thieves may be lurking).
If you feel that the information below and throughout the blog is useful I kindly ask you to donate as much as you feel is reasonable, such a price of a damn coffee (not as Starbucks though), by clicking on the following link below:
Donate Now!
You can also support me by purchasing one or more of my images as a wall-hanger for a friend / relative.
Alex’s Fine Art Prints!
January Blues
It’s normal to feel down at this time of the year if you live in the northern hemisphere. I haven’t been shooting much but have managed to upload some useful flag-composites – link to tutorial here. Many are starting to sell regularly.
Crisis = Opportunity (for those that choose to embrace the dark side)
Don’t shoot the messenger…here’s my latest creation…
The above two have been widely accepted as commercial as I sufficiently blurred the background, although I must admit that it wasn’t easy getting it accepted at Shutterstock as their rejections have been ridiculous lately….
Already some sales
Nice to see that some of my coronavirus composites have started to sell regularly:
January 2020 Summary
Since the first half of Jan has been slow-going for the past few years, I didn’t hold out much hope this year. However, predictably, sales picked up nicely towards the second half of the month as businesses returned to business.
The standout result for the month was surprisingly at iStock with $193 (for Dec), followed by a strong effort by Adobe Stock giving me a best-month-ever at $133. Shutterstock were average at a clean $300 and Alamy were predictably unpredictable at a disappointing $45 net, however I managed to sell a license directly with a buyer (more on this later). Microstock Minnows sucked, even combined, except for Dreamstime which lead the field with $25, including a surprise clip sale. Am I dreaming? Pond5 drew a blank, which isn’t the first month ever…
Detailed breakdown
Stills
| Agency | Number of Images in port (added Jan) | Net Revenue for Jan (US$) | Avg Return Per Download (US$) |
| 123RF | 4,445 (47) | 6 | 0.33 |
| Alamy | 11,524 (134) | 48 | 5 |
| Arcangel | 779 (4) | 0 | 0 |
| Adobe Stock | 3,354 (29) | 105 | 0.94 |
| Bigstock | 3,796 (30) | 3 | 0.3 |
| Creative Market | 1,359 (42) | 0 | 0 |
| DepositPhotos | 5,840 (27) | 13 | 0.27 |
| Dreamstime | 6,690 (94) | 15 | 0.68 |
| EyeEm | 834 (63) | 0 | 0 |
| Fine Art America | 690 | 0 | 0 |
| iStock | 6,182 (47) | 133 | 0.48 |
| Robert Harding | 383 (0) | 41* | 9 |
| Shutterstock | 10,190 (62) | 260 | 0.56 |
| Pond5 | 1,482 (98) | 0 | 0 |
| Picfair | 5,498 (95) | 0 | 0 |
| Photo4Me | 235 | 20 | 20 |
| SignElements | 1,189 (26) | 5 | N/A |
| Wirestock | 62 | 0 | 0 |
| Direct Sales | N/A | 60 | 60 |
| Total | 668 |
*Q3 2019. Q4 2019 out in a few weeks.
Clips
| Agency | Number of clips in port (added Jan) | Net Revenue for Jan (US$) | Avg Return Per Download (US$) |
| Adobe Stock | 330 (15) | 28 | 28 |
| Dreamstime | 100s | 10 | 10 |
| Pond5 | 1,269 (20) | 0 | 0 |
| iStock | 148 (3) | 60 | 60 |
| Shutterstock | 1,052 (22) | 40 | 13 |
| Total | 138 |
Total = $806 vs 845 in December 2019
Looking at the long-run
Firstly, looking at the net returns per agency, we can see that Adobe Stock, as predicted, is showing promise, even with considerably less assets than the other majors. iStock showing some surprising strength and lately has been the second-best performing agency.
Secondly, looking at the average return per download, we can see that Shutterstock has been on a small downward trend (yet a bit early to tell). This is worrying. The other majors seem quite consistent and nice to see a small up-trend with iStock.
Now, I’ll break it down in more detail with each major agency.
Istock Rollercoaster continues
The standout sale at iStock was of a very very badly captured hand-held footage at the bottom of a giant volcano crater in Quilotoa, Ecuador. I remember that day very well (3 years ago), well before I started doing footage. Glad I uploaded it.
The above sold for $60 at iStock, which is a real mystery considering the lack of technical quality. I dug a bit deeper and by searching for “Quilotoa” within the iStock search engine, there were only 10 hits! For instance, the “Matterhorn” has 928 hits and Everest has 794 hits.
Competition is everything
The above sale goes to show that, generally speaking, by capturing a scene/concept which isn’t widely offered (even if done at a poor technical level), you may stand a better chance to have sales than shooting a very popular landmark at a high level.
It’s a complex topic with many variables which I’ll leave for another detailed analysis…just keep that in mind next that you’re traveling.
Other still sales at iStock
Adobe Stock
Strong month at Adobe Stock thanks to some relatively high-priced sales, including:
Seems like my flooding series was in demand with the below selling for $15 each:
Alamy
Despite a quite low month at $45 net, Alamy Customer Relations were kind enough to direct a buyer directly to me for sale of an editorial image commercially. To make a long story short, after some negotiations and sending over my draft contract, we managed to close the deal for a Rights-Managed license (one-time-usage) for 50 euros / $60 net for this image captured in Utrecht, Netherlands:
Otherwise, a poor month at Alamy and only one really to report at just $10 net. of a man entering Estoril’s Hotel Palacio where Ian Fleming stayed during WWII.
Shutterstock
Relatively quiet month at SS (especially during the first half) with only one really stand-out price for stills:
For footage, only three clip sales for a combined $40 and staying on the topic of food…this clip of Italy’s first-ever Starbucks that I captured in late-2018 sold for the first time earning me $15, which at Starbucks prices won’t get me very far…
The other standout sale was a pretty lady outside my window back when I lived in Milan, which sold for $18:
Microstock Minnows
Very quiet with other agencies, including the Microstock Minnows. Only significant sale was at Photo4Me for this cool shot of a village on Lake Como, Italy which earned me $20:
Really not much more to say about these struggling agencies. No sales yet at both EyeEm and Wirestock.
Dreamstime dream?
Nice to see Dreamstime leading the Minnows pack with a $25 month, including a clip sale of the following lively scene captured at the foot of the Lapas arches in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Started using a new wide-angle lens
Unrelated to results, quite happy to test out my new wide angle lens (9-18mm on the micro two-thirds). Going ultra wide will give me some freedom when I start capturing some lifestyle shots in the springtime while navigating the narrow streets of Madrid.
Here’s an example of a recent clip captured using this fantastic lens.
In fact, for stills it’s pretty good – recent book cover image accepted at Arcangel using this lens:
Turd of the month
Considering that the following agencies all drew blanks (in alphabetical order), it’s a really difficult month to choose a golden turd:
- Creative Market
- EyeEm (bit early but should expect sales soon)
- Picfair
- Pond5
If push comes to shove I’d nominate…………PicFair.
Which would be your choice?
I’ll dominate them all! I’ve been trying to put together a poll so you may nominate your Turd of the Month agency but been having some IT issues (as a self-confessed technophobe). Hopefully will have this setup for next month.
Fame at last!
Happy to see yours truly featured on a German book on stock photography, which was published just a few days ago – link here. Deutsch sprechen?
Unfounded Optimism
That’s it for a relatively quiet month. I remain optimistic that even if February will be a short month, sales should pick up and I’ll easily break the $1000 mark. In any case, days will be longer and warmer so I’m already planning some trips in and around Madrid!
About Alex
I’m an eccentric guy, currently based in Madrid, on a quest to visit all corners of the world and capture stock images & footage. I’ve devoted six years to making it as a travel photographer / videographer and freelance writer (however, had recently go back into full-time office work to make ends meet!). I hope to inspire others by showing an unique insight into a fascinating business model.
I’m proud to have written a book about my adventures which includes tips on making it as a stock travel photographer – Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography
Alexandre Rotenberg's Brutally Honest Guide to Stock Photography & Footage 
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