Another interview in our series with 'Twittermonk' Jack Hollingsworth.
What can be more challenging than running a business during a recession, at the same time that technology and business models are morphing before your eyes? The race to get ahead requires agility, business acumen, courage and vision. Jack Hollingsworth has been a successful player in stock photo production for years, and manages to keep an eye on the bouncing ball.
He talks about negotiating “game changers” and developing “coping strategies.” For the last couple of years he put his heart and soul into creating image collections like Photosindia, Redchopsticks and 40to60. Now he’s focused on social networking and Web 2.0. In his words, “we’re experiencing a migration from the web as product to the web as platform. The market is changing from consumption to co-creation. Today’s users want to have a say in what the product is. We are moving from portals to de-portalization. Pulling people to the portal and pushing content to them doesn’t work. You have to go to the community where the customers are hanging out.” It’s called, “migration”.
Jack is describing everything from Microsites to Flickr, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. He feels that somewhere along the line this new market will make up for what’s lost in the traditional image market.
The “next generation photographer” can benefit from some of Jack’s pearl’s of wisdom and sage advice.
1. No Easy Answers
Stock used to be pretty predictable. Shoot “x” number of pictures per year and expect “x” in annual revenue. Not any more. Doesn’t work like that. Not exactly. Industry is upside down right now. It’s quite honestly a matter of experimentation. Find out what works for you. In your world.
2. Don’t Leave Your Day Job
Stock photography today, except for a privileged few, should be considered by most, a supplemental income. Not a primary income. Don’t leave your day job. Shoot in the evenings and on the weekends.
3. Shoot on the Cheap
By cheap, I mean, “free”. Don’t spend a penny more than you need to. Because it’s going to take a longer time to get it back than normal. Barter time with family, friends, and co-workers in exchange for pictures. Same with location access. If you’re into micro…keep your per image cost to between $5-$10 per select. Macro...$10-$15.
4. Stay Toward the Center, Not the Fringe
No time to get too experimental. Shoot predictable subjects, themes, concepts that you know will have repeated sales. But do it in a style that is contemporary and visionary.
5. Pick 1-2 Specialties
Generalization, in stock, is the fastest way to go out of business. Pick one or two specialty subjects. Drill down. Get to know them better than anyone else. Start to build a body of work in that genre. Get known for your work in that niche. By customers and agencies alike.
6. Broaden Your Mind, Broaden Your Portfolio
No time to be splitting hairs. Work both sides of the fence. Macro and micro. See where you get most revenue traction, and then do more of it! Rinse and repeat, often!
7. Expect Lower Returns
The stock photography market, in both macro and micro, is super-saturated. Expect lower returns per image. Fact of life. Monitor those returns on a monthly basis. Tweak what needs fixing. Repeat your successes.
8. Move Into Footage
It would be foolhardy not to be exploring shooting stock footage using the new generation of video DSLR’s (Canon 5DM2 or Nikon D90). And it’s not stills or video, it’s both. On the same set. Maybe get a video shooter to 2nd shoot what you set up, direct and produce. Double your output.
9. Make A Lot of Friends
The micro submission process is still pretty mechanical, technical and done online. Not so with macro. Make friends with your agency editors. Develop rapport and relationships. Be open to long and short arm art direction.
10. Listen to Creative Briefs
It’s the absolute worst time to be shooting what you want to be shooting instead of listening carefully and critically to what the market needs and wants. Pay close attention to your agencies with lists, creative briefs, online newsletters, call outs, etc.
11. Post Production Perfections
If you want to improve your click-to-check timeframe…then do better on post-production: captions, keywords, retouching, and metadata. Create to spec. Leave no stone unturned.
12. Concentrate on Your World
Best for you to concentrate on your own world. Your own opportunities and experiences. Think locally. What you have access to. What subjects matter. What do you have a vested interest in? What friends and family are available to help you tell this story?
Comment on this article at www.twitter.com/mactribe
(Pat Hunt is a writer and workshop leader for the stock photo industry, and Managing Director of Huntstock.com in Boston, a lifestyle image production company.)
Image Credits: Copyright Jack Hollingsworth
All Rights Reserved. Used by kind permission.
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