Contracts and Commissions

Sales on Alamy have nearly zeroed for me recently, although some others seem to be doing fairly well. I can’t be sure if it’s just normal ebb and flow or something I’m doing, or more probably something I’m not doing.

I haven’t submitted any images this year and a quick read at the Alamy forum reveals some people say you need to keep up a constant flow of photographs while others say it makes little difference. No wiser then. The problem with the Alamy forum is that the people there make up a very small percentage of contributors to the platform and their experiences may well bear little relevance to the overall situation. My image views are about normal so I decided to wait and see what happens.

While I was waiting Alamy had another contract review. They’ve increased their commission to 60% from 50% for images exclusively licenced through them. Strangely that’s the same rate as they take for non exclusive images so it may point to further commission increases in the future. They’ve also created commission tiers starting at a cool 80% to them when they licence your photographs although if you manage to licence $25000 they will take only 50% commission.

I’m in the fortunate position of not having to care. In the past I’ve made enough sales to keep me above having to pay them 80% and I’m so badly organised I couldn’t say positively whether many of the images I have on Alamy were not also licensed elsewhere so I kept them all marked as non exclusive. Commission rates will stay the same for me – for now anyway.

What does concern me however is the appearance that the new contract moves much of the liability for problems with licencing and the use of images by Alamy and their clients very much towards the contributor and away from them, although they get more money from licencing an image than the photographer who created it does.

Predictably the Alamy forum erupted in alarm and indignation. At time of writing it consisted of 60 pages. If you have a spare day or two, have a read.

My last three sales with Alamy have been for $3.75, $13.41 and $31.54. From these princely sums Alamy deducted their 60% commission. You can see that I’m unlikely to reach the $25000 threshold.

In between these sales was another for ‘Personal use’ at $13.02 but it was refunded. This ‘Personal Use’ which usually means someone buying the file to have it printed to hang on their wall, was a photograph of a box of 28 Aspirin tablets. These ‘personal use sales are an ongoing problem but that’s for another day.

The future of stock photography is looking bleak, for photographers anyway.

Swimmer, Ballyholme, Bangor
Swimmer, Ballyholme, Bangor

In case you’re wondering – the photographs are not connected with the contents of this post. They’re just of activities that grabbed my attention at Ballyholme today.

Anyway, for now

I’m still experimenting with my iPhone and Hipatamatic and having a great time. With no pressure to actually produce something it feels like a hobby, which I suppose it is. I always have my phone with me and when something presents itself that I think will make an image I snap it. Later I’ll spend a few minutes processing it in Hipstamatic, usually to make it look dramatic.

There’s an agency that specialises in licencing mobile phone images so if I produce something that I feel might work as stock off it goes. All done from my phone. I just need someone to buy some of them.

I’ve read the true, or expert, Hipstamatic user sets the app to produce the effect required before they take the picture. I’m not that skilled just yet. Maybe it’ll come.

With the pandemic and the free time it has brought I’ve been thinking about stock shooting. It hasn’t been financially viable to travel or put much effort into making images for stock for some time but I enjoyed it so I continued to produce images and submit them. There’s no avoiding the issue any longer however. If I continue to shoot for stock I’m subsidising multi million pound companies who in the past have reduced payments to photographers and will continue to do so in the future.

One company charges photographers up to 85% commission to licence their images. Often the photographer gets a mere 10 cents.

Anyway, for now I’m clicking away on my iPhone and I’m looking forward to seeing how this develops.

The Long Hole, Bangor, Northern Ireland
The Long Hole, Bangor

Pills in bubble pack
Pills

McKee Clock, Bangor, Northern Ireland
McKee Clock, Bangor

Eisenhower Pier, Bangor, Northern Ireland
Eisenhower Pier, Bangor

Empty bike dock
Park your bike

Entrance to Ward Park, Bangor, Northern Ireland
Ward Park, Bangor
Shirts hanging on a door handle
Shirts

Placing a shirt into a washing machine
Washing

Old Boots
Old Boots

iPhoneography

With a new, more infectious variant of the Coronavirus pandemic discovered and possibly spreading out of control and with the country in lockdown again things have been quiet on the photography front.

I’ve been using my time to organise my back catalogue, catch up on some reading, watch Netflix and there’s always something needing doing around the house.

When I’m not organising my images, reading or watching Netflix I’ve been having fun shooting with my iPhone and processing many of the images in an app called Hipstamatic. I don’t know if Hipstamatic is available for Android phones but if not there will be something similar.

I found fairly quickly that there are many apps for processing photographs on mobile phones and after some searching realised I wasn’t going to find one that did everything I wanted. This realisation prompted the decision not to spend any more time searching for it. Life is too short.

I initially started processing images in Photoshop camera and was happy with it but I found that when I exported the photographs they were being downsized. This must be down to a setting somewhere in the app but I wasn’t able to find it. If anyone knows please leave a comment.

I settled on Hipstamatic and then stopped looking.

When I get a chance to examine the images on my main monitor I hope, depending on their quality, to get some printed. I have an iPhone 8 with a 12 million pixel sensor which should be easily good enough for a 10 by 8 print.

I read some time ago, probably in F Stoppers, of a photographer who used his iPhone to shoot a wedding. The concept is called iPhoneography – I wasn’t sure that was a proper word but my spell checker hasn’t flagged it so it must be.

Some recent images are below.

Bangor Marina
Bangor Marina
Steps to the shore
Steps to the shore
Eisenhower Pier
Eisenhower Pier
Ballyholme Beach
Ballyholme Beach
Pier wall
Pier wall
Eisenhower Pier
Eisenhower Pier from the Coastal Path
Bollard with ship
Bollard with ship
Tunnel in the park
Tunnel in the park
The Long Hole
The Long Hole
Open Book
Open Book
Boots on grass
Boots on grass
Ladder to the water
Ladder to the water

Another Lock Down Looms

In the last post I said that we were in lock down again but it was not quite as strict as the last time. Although accurate at the time things have changed somewhat.

That lock down has been relaxed for a week with cafes, restaurants and bars permitted to open. From 27th November however a more severe lock down is being introduced for two weeks. All non essential retailers will have to close as well as the aforementioned cafes, restaurants and bars.

The business community are not happy, in fact some are livid with the decisions made by the politicians, or perhaps more precisely with the way the politicians are implementing the decisions they have made.

Although I will continue to take images recording the pandemic these are the last I intend to place here unless something momentous happens.

Wash your hands
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, 25 November 2020: People walk past a sign in Donegall Square North reminding the public to Wash Your Hands

Keep Your Distance
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, 25 November 2020: Sign on the ground Donegall Square reminding people to Keep Your Distance. A figure is seen walking out of frame

The Garrick
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, 25 November 2020: A girl walks past tables stacked outside the Garrick Bar, Chichester Street as lock down looms

Lock down, again

We’re back in lock down again. It’s not quite as strict as the last time but lock down all the same. Restrictions on meeting people and visiting other households have been tightened as have restrictions on selling alcohol. Restaurants, bars and coffee shops are permitted to sell only takeaway food. Some have simply closed.

The Coronavirus infection rate, the R rate, is over one as I think it is in most countries in Europe. The news bulletins carry information on rising hospital admissions and more worryingly, sadly some deaths. People are beginning to realise this may go on much longer than was originally expected. Thoughts are turning to Christmas with possible travel restrictions and social distancing preventing family and friends gathering.

These images with the exception of the last one, are from Cathedral Quarter on a Saturday afternoon. Usually a busy time with bars and restaurants crowded with both locals and visitors to the city. There were few people about. A guy with his young son, seeing me taking photographs, stopped to say how strange it felt. Autumn leaves on the outside tables at 2Taps, a usually busy restaurant and bar tell it all without words.

Hill Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Hill Street, Belfast

Duke of York Bar, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Duke of York Bar, Commercial Court, Belfast

Duke of York Bar, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Duke of York Bar, Commercial Court, Belfast

The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland

St. Anne's Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland
St. Anne’s Square, Belfast

2Taps, Wine bar, Belfast
2Taps, Wine bar, Belfast

The Dirty Onion, Belfast, Northern Ireland
The Dirty Onion and Yardbird, Belfast

Two girls wearing masks walk past Revolucion de Cuba restaurant, Arthur Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Two girls wearing masks walk past Revolucion de Cuba restaurant, Arthur Street, Belfast