The buzz word in the digital world is that cash can easily be
made from your digital camera. How much, remains to be seen. What
digital does do is level the playing fields bringing thousands of
photographers into play that formerly were restricted by the financial
constraints of film. Does this include the digital point and shooters
with inferior equipment hoping to jump on the band wagon? Absolutely
not!
The making of money from stock photography debate rages on, fueled by the eBook systems that say anyone can make hundreds of dollars per day from their old images. Let me put it straight. There is no money to be made by point and shooters with low quality images that will ever make the grade of the stock site reviewers. 99% of their images are just not good enough. Micro stock does not mean micro standards or micro quality.
What I am talking about are the photographers who are able to shoot great images and have done so for years. These are the ones who will make money. In the past they weren't able to shoot the high volumes of images needed to get the great shots because of the high costs involved. This was one of the barriers for the high quality amateur photographers of film. It is only now with the reduction in prices of good quality SLRs that the former shooters of film are coming out of the woodwork and transitioning to digital. Many have waited for the quality gap between digital and film to narrow and then only taken the leap of faith to digital.
I see that there are two factors involved involved here:
1. Digital allows the amateur photographer to shoot quantity.
Although shooting quantity doesn't guarantee quality it does allow the variations and experimentation that will allow amateur photographers to vary their portfolios thereby increasing their chances of getting those great shots. Time, care and careful composition are still absolutely essential for any photography; digital just helps you get there quicker. In the past cost meant that it took longer to do this. Digital means that you can shoot in a few months what it took to shoot in years with film. No amateur used a motorwinder to increase chances of getting the shot because the film costs were just too prohibitive. With digital, how fast you shoot is only governed by the camera's frame rate, the size of your memory card and not your wallet.
2. Digital narrows the gap between amateur and professional
This leads on from point one. The costs. No amateur could afford the many rolls of film it took to get THE shot. With digital this is now possible. With film the pro used more than one camera with different films of varying speeds. This was not possible for an amateur. But now with digital the ISO, white balance and other settings can be varied from shot to shot on a single camera. The instant feedback of the digital camera allows the amateur to see mistakes immediately and correct them in the field thereby reducing the time it takes to get to a pro level quite drastically. Of course, you can't exclude the raw talent of many professionals but it does level the playing fields and allow the amateur without financial backing and the same raw talent to compete.
Again I want to emphasise the fact that it is the amateur with talent, ability and fine photo composition skills together with good equipment that will make money from stock photography. The reviewers on the stock sites are looking for everyday, run of the mill images of QUALITY that the photo buyers will buy. Not the amateurish photos of the point and shooter using any old digital camera and lead on by the promises of the "cash from your camera" eBook authors.
Just take a look at the microstock photography forums and look at all the questions, moans and crying over false expectations and equipment that doesn't make the grade of the stock site reviewers. These people aren't making the money they were promised. Buy this book, no photography skills required and let the dollars roll in borders on fraud. It's like the stock market. Lots of money to be made but not by the masses. If anyone could make money without any skill there would be no more poverty in the world. Is there still poverty? You answer that.
How is digital going to help you sell your photos? By speeding up the process of learning drastically so that you can begin to produce good quality images that stock companies want on their websites and buyers want to purchase. Learn the fundamentals of great image taking quickly and easily through the amazing medium of digital. Learn first and then work at making money from your camera.
The making of money from stock photography debate rages on, fueled by the eBook systems that say anyone can make hundreds of dollars per day from their old images. Let me put it straight. There is no money to be made by point and shooters with low quality images that will ever make the grade of the stock site reviewers. 99% of their images are just not good enough. Micro stock does not mean micro standards or micro quality.
What I am talking about are the photographers who are able to shoot great images and have done so for years. These are the ones who will make money. In the past they weren't able to shoot the high volumes of images needed to get the great shots because of the high costs involved. This was one of the barriers for the high quality amateur photographers of film. It is only now with the reduction in prices of good quality SLRs that the former shooters of film are coming out of the woodwork and transitioning to digital. Many have waited for the quality gap between digital and film to narrow and then only taken the leap of faith to digital.
I see that there are two factors involved involved here:
1. Digital allows the amateur photographer to shoot quantity.
Although shooting quantity doesn't guarantee quality it does allow the variations and experimentation that will allow amateur photographers to vary their portfolios thereby increasing their chances of getting those great shots. Time, care and careful composition are still absolutely essential for any photography; digital just helps you get there quicker. In the past cost meant that it took longer to do this. Digital means that you can shoot in a few months what it took to shoot in years with film. No amateur used a motorwinder to increase chances of getting the shot because the film costs were just too prohibitive. With digital, how fast you shoot is only governed by the camera's frame rate, the size of your memory card and not your wallet.
2. Digital narrows the gap between amateur and professional
This leads on from point one. The costs. No amateur could afford the many rolls of film it took to get THE shot. With digital this is now possible. With film the pro used more than one camera with different films of varying speeds. This was not possible for an amateur. But now with digital the ISO, white balance and other settings can be varied from shot to shot on a single camera. The instant feedback of the digital camera allows the amateur to see mistakes immediately and correct them in the field thereby reducing the time it takes to get to a pro level quite drastically. Of course, you can't exclude the raw talent of many professionals but it does level the playing fields and allow the amateur without financial backing and the same raw talent to compete.
Again I want to emphasise the fact that it is the amateur with talent, ability and fine photo composition skills together with good equipment that will make money from stock photography. The reviewers on the stock sites are looking for everyday, run of the mill images of QUALITY that the photo buyers will buy. Not the amateurish photos of the point and shooter using any old digital camera and lead on by the promises of the "cash from your camera" eBook authors.
Just take a look at the microstock photography forums and look at all the questions, moans and crying over false expectations and equipment that doesn't make the grade of the stock site reviewers. These people aren't making the money they were promised. Buy this book, no photography skills required and let the dollars roll in borders on fraud. It's like the stock market. Lots of money to be made but not by the masses. If anyone could make money without any skill there would be no more poverty in the world. Is there still poverty? You answer that.
How is digital going to help you sell your photos? By speeding up the process of learning drastically so that you can begin to produce good quality images that stock companies want on their websites and buyers want to purchase. Learn the fundamentals of great image taking quickly and easily through the amazing medium of digital. Learn first and then work at making money from your camera.
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