I think you’re doing a capital job with m-stock and your studio. You’re making this thing work doing what you love full-time. Hats off to you and thanks for visiting my site from time to time. I’m just doing small peas photography but am overpleased with the results; I never thought I would make any money just posting shots from my hobby!

First let me say that this is my first post, and will likely be my last. While I think this and other forums can be helpful places for sharing information, I also believe they?re ripe ground for people out for a quick buck to steal ideas from those who have turned a lot of hard work into a profitable business. I?m remaining anonymous for this reason, and won?t be replying to anyone?s responses to my comments. You can call me a coward if you wish, but I simply don?t want to open myself up to others to see what I?m doing and duplicate it.

I?ve been watching your site since beginning my own microstock efforts late last year, benchmarking my own progress against yours. I?ve managed month upon month growth for the past nine months and am doing well over $1,000 a month on a portfolio of a few hundred images. I have figured out what sells, how to streamline my processes, and watch my data very carefully. I keep waiting for the age factor I keep reading about to kick in and for my images to sell less as they get older, but it hasn?t happened yet. My sales across all sites are a healthy mix of old and new images. From the very beginning, I?ve averaged about $.10 income per image per day, and that has held steady even during holidays and summer. I expect to grow my income steadily over time and be able to make it a full time gig in a year or two.

Why am I telling you all of this? Not to brag. I?m remaining anonymous, so I?m not after any glory. I just think you need to hear some productive comments on how to turn around your microstock efforts. Everyone is telling you ?great, keep it up!? when it?s clear your current strategy isn’t going to get you to the “Mil” mark.

You?re hitting your head against the wall, doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Not selling enough? The instinct is to just create more and more. I think you now know that isn?t going to get you where you want to be. The answer is not in volume. It?s in more creative set-ups and framing, more conceptual subject matter, and yes, more attractive models. You need to ask yourself, why would someone buy this shot rather than one of Yuri?s? Only if it?s better in some way ? the people are more attractive, the shot is more creatively framed, or it tackles a concept in a way that Yuri or one of the many other equally talented and successful microstockers have already done many times over. Now you?re doing brownies and other foods. It?s great that you?re trying things that are new to you, but these subjexts are being done to death by people who have perfected it after many years of hard work.

So what?s the answer? Stop working yourself to death churning out high volumes of the same old stuff. Instead, spend that time brainstorming truly clever and creative ideas no one has done. Create one tenth the number of images as you?re creating right now, but I think you?ll get 10x the return. For instance, I think your snail on the race track image is one of your best. Sure, it?s been done before, but your competition for images like this one is much lighter than your model shots. Most importantly, it?s CONCEPTUAL, and that?s what my limited time in microstock has told me will sell.

I hope you take this criticism in the constructive manner I intended and rethink what you?re doing. You clearly have the skills to get where you need to go, but you need someone to tell you you?re killing yourself racing down the wrong path. Good luck, and I look forward to reading about your progress.

As I have to explain about once a month, IStock and I don’t seem to see eye to eye on what a stock photo should look like. I have tried adding new images in the past. IStock can’t decide if they are overfiltered or need to be processed. I am still looking for the happy middle for them – and I don’t really want to process images twice really.

cheers and nice month