An article on the further devaluation of stock image prices but it does conclude with some optimism.
"Time Inc., the biggest publisher of magazines in the world, recently made an agreement with the AP, Reuters and Getty Images to license any and all non-exclusive images at a flat rate of $50, regardless of size or placement. This means that magazines like Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated — which used to pay $200 or more for a 1/4 page — will now have the same images for $50."
While many photographers make some money with stock it seems to be a dwindling endeavor. Some still sell prints, but most photographers I know who actually make money at it are doing weddings, family portraits or high school sports.
The nature photographers I know who make the most money teach classes and run workshops.
The photographers we know who are "making it" on stock don't go through any agency. Marketing is hard work, but then they get to keep 100% of the income from their photos. We're on the list of those succeeding, but stock sales are very much incidental to our other photo endeavors. I'm betting that as stock agencies get more and more ridiculous in their photographer fees and sweet deals with markets, a new model will emerge. Stock agency? Isn't that where they sell cattle?
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3 replies"Time Inc., the biggest publisher of magazines in the world, recently made an agreement with the AP, Reuters and Getty Images to license any and all non-exclusive images at a flat rate of $50, regardless of size or placement. This means that magazines like Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated — which used to pay $200 or more for a 1/4 page — will now have the same images for $50."
http://ow.ly/1PEDP
The nature photographers I know who make the most money teach classes and run workshops.