In this edition, I’ll share the details of my latest book covers licensed through Arcangel. I’ll also dive into a candid update about my ongoing struggles with Robert Harding after sequential disappointing earnings results. Let’s get started!

Monthly Highlights

November was a month of travel for me. I took advantage of this time of year to score better deals on flights, while avoiding the crowds. The month started out in the sunny Algarve, followed by not-so-sunny Luxembourg.

The cherry on top was spending some time in Madrid, a city that I really love.

While in Madrid I took advantage to shoot a poker tournament at Torrelodones.

Then back at my local Casino Estoril where I also shot another large poker tournament.

Other highlights

Blog posts published that are worth taking a quick look:

• Unlocking Profitable Trends for 2025: Using Google Trends Analytics for Your Stock Business
• Where’s the Pay? iStock/Getty’s AI Compensation Pledge Still Unfulfilled
• New Interview: Historical Footage, Modern Profits: Daniele Carrer’s Inspiring Story
• From Autumn in Europe to Spring in Africa at the Damiano Nigro’s RounderDotNet Poker blog

Now, let’s break down my earnings for the month.

Monthly Earnings Breakdown

Image Earnings (USD)

Agency	Number of Images in port (new images Nov)	Net Revenue Nov	Avg Return Per Download
Alamy	16,324 (26)	96	6.86
Arcangel (RM-exclusive)	4,903 (77)	750*	250*
Adobe Stock	4,766 (34)	106 + 18 “free” clips (2 clips selected)	0.84
DepositPhotos	8,511 (30)	22	0.59
Dreamstime	9,418 (31)	4	0.40
Etsy	9 (0)	0	0
Freekpik	1,182 (18)	10	0.06
iStock (Oct 2024)	9,152 (26)	123	0.51
MotionArray	334 (28)	12	0.16
Robert Harding (Q3 2024 monthly average) – RM/RF exclusive	635 (24)	2	0.59
Shutterstock	12,486 (34)	107	0.45
Wirestock	3,066 (0)	6	N/A
Total		1,256

Clip Earnings (USD)

Agency	Number of clips in port (new clips Nov)	Net Revenue for Nov	Avg Return per Download
Adobe Stock	1,314 (46)	47	5.88
Pond5	2,935 (104)	0 + 44 Dataset	0
iStock (Oct 2024)	1,020 (18)	19	2.10
Shutterstock	2,294 (68)	11	2.30
Total		121

Grand Total: $1,377

Reflections on the month

Obviously, the standout result for the month were the three book covers licensed by Arcangel for $250 each on average*. Note that I take the historical average as I’ve been asked not to reveal exact figures. This brings my total book covers for the year at 9 and just shy of my yearly goal of 12. Without further ado, here they are:

Results at other agencies

Without these covers I would have earned just $627 net. This is a far cry from my $1k/month goal, although there were some nice results worth mentioning.

Alamy

Alamy pulled in a quite strong month at $96 net in large part thanks to these images.

iStock

iStock also showed some positive results (although low-priced sales as always) particularly in the clips department. There were many drone shots that sold from my latest trip to South Africa. Just maybe I’ll manage to reach my goal to recover some of my costs from that trip.

Adobe Stock

Sticking to South Africa, there were also some decent drone clips from there of the Victoria & Albert Waterfront.

Along with some that I shot with with my drone alongside Dmitry on a nice summer evening in Lisbon in Belem. In fact it was my first-ever flight with the Air3.

With one clip from that evening also selling at Shutterstock.

Now onto some less-than-positive news.

Robert Harding Update

While everybody knows that I have a love-hate relationship with platforms like Alamy, which sometimes deliver unexpectedly positive results. Robert Harding, on the other hand, has been more consistently disappointing putting them squarely in the hate-hate category. This is not a reflection of the staff. They have always been professional and courteous. Instead, it is due to the platform’s poor financial performance. This is particularly true when it comes to working within the pricey travel niche.

How Did Things Go So Wrong?

I’ve been working with Robert Harding since 2018, slowly building a portfolio to now 634 exclusive images. Initially, as you can see below, the results were promising, with excellent earnings per download despite a smaller portfolio. Yet, from 2021 or so that success was short-lived. In 2024 I’m earning just a small fraction of those pre-2020 results, now reaching unsustainable microstock levels for premium content.

I’m partially at fault since I saw the writing on the wall and took a two-year break (2021-2023). Nearly two years ago, I chose to give the platform another chance. I did this by submitting aerial drone shots. These included panoramas like the one below.

The broken business model

Robert Harding operates similarly to Wirestock. It distributes images to around 80 agencies. They also distribute footage, but I don’t send them any. Still, unlike Wirestock, which takes a 15% commission, Robert Harding takes an eye-watering 70%.

I’ve always known this. This sacrifice seemed acceptable at first because of the perceived access to premium libraries. These include Getty, Offset, and Adobe Premium, which promise higher-priced sales. Also, in theory, higher rankings due the premium quality of the overall portfolio.

Unfortunately, those sales have not materialised probably due to no direct fault of Robert Harding. It’s a tough market right now for travel content. Investing in traveling to capture stock content is a gamble.

Contributors are getting bread crumbs from their hard work

Using a middle-man agency has some obvious downsides, including as mentioned above, the steep commissions. Let’s break down how Robert Harding’s 70% commission affects my earnings:

If an image sells for $100 on Alamy through Robert Harding, here’s the math:

Alamy Sale Price: $100

Alamy’s Cut (40% commission on direct sales): $60

Net After Robert Harding’s 70% Cut: $18 ($60 x 30% = $18).

So, for a direct sale on Alamy, I only end up with $18, just 18% of the sale price…bread crumbs!

Open letter to Robert Harding

As a result, I’ve written to them the next letter which I’ll reveal on here:

“Title: Shockingly low royalty prices

Dear RH,

I have just seen my latest quarterly statement for Q3 2024 and am extremely saddened and frustrated to see that despite regular uploads the average license price was for 11 Items totaling just £5.20 or £0.47/image, which is completely unsustainable as a travel photographer.

Most worrying is that if we compare the same quarters from previous years the average returns have been drastically reduced:
2018: £6.82/image

2019: £4.41/image

2020: £8.13/image

2021: £5.13/image

2022: £5.67/image (started uploading drone images)

2023: £1.09/image

While volumes are quite depressed despite consistent uploads (average of 15 per month):

I understand that RH isn’t directly responsible for the fall in earnings as it’s a difficult  market with threats from microstock, AI, free sites, etc. However, at the current rates I’m earning from RH puts me in an extremely awkward situation since I’m earning considerably less than if I were to place the same images at multiple microstock agencies or even Alamy as Rights-Managed exclusive with the occasional sale.

RH is also a travel agency and travel requires considerable investment and time. The former which at these rates is impossible to recover even a small fraction of the investment like a coffee after an afternoon shooting.

I’ve decided that I will not upload to RH anymore in the next quarter and until I see that my average royalty rate is above the historical average of £4.50/image, which is probably quite low but the minimum at least to cover some of my costs. It may be likely that I’ll never upload to RH again as the average prices continue to drop despite regular uploads of premium content, notably aerials.

Best regards,

Alexandre Rotenberg”

It’s been two weeks and I haven’t received a reply.

Where will I upload travel content instead?

Unless there is a drastic turnaround, I won’t be uploading to Robert Harding again. Still, I won’t be deleting my portfolio. Since it’s indexed at over 80 agencies, removing it would cost me time and money.

Instead, I will return to my original strategy from the 2010s: uploading my content to Alamy as Rights-Managed exclusive images. I stay hopeful that this will lead to better results especially as I cut out the middle man.

What’s in store for December?

After a hectic travel schedule in November, December will be more relaxed. I plan to stay within Portugal while hosting a friend from Brazil. As we approach the winter solstice, the shorter days and weaker light may pose challenges for photography. I will make the most of these conditions. I will continue capturing the best shots I can.

The December report will be short, as usual. I am putting together another epic year-end report with goals and predictions for 2025.

Thanks for reading until the end and until next time!

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About Alex

I’m an eccentric guy. I am currently based in Lisbon, Portugal. I am on a quest to visit all corners of the world. I want to capture stock images & footage. I’ve devoted ten years to making it as a travel photographer / videographer and freelance writer. I hope to inspire others by showing an unique insight into a fascinating business model while shaming scammers.

I’ve gone all in on submitting book cover images to Arcangel Images. I was also flying a DJI Mavic 2s drone regularly. It crashed into Botafogo Bay on NYE – here is the story. I’ve upgraded the drone to a Mini 3 Pro and the Air3.

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