36clicks on stock » Photography

Dealing with a creative dip

36clicks — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:19:49 +0000

Reading time: 7 – 11 minutes

Everyone, active in a creative profession, has to deal with it every now and then. The Creative Dip. However, there are a few very basic tricks to overcome this feared block rapidly.

The situation

Over the last few months, I’ve hammered through a lot of shoots for clients and for stock. Processing the results, I noticed my enthusiasm for the photos faded away rapidly. Not that the images were bad – they matched my clients expectations – but somehow, they failed to appeal to me. They lacked the “wow-factor”. They were kinda bland, missing the sparkle and the eye catching effect. To me, those images were uninspiring, unimaginative and – basically – dull.

The next thing

Doubt. Frustration. Postponing things, because I didn’t feel like it. More evasive maneuvering. Rut. As I believe in the merits of striving for continuous improvement, this situation is opposite to where I’d liked myself to be.

The Pitfall

The danger of creating uninspiring images is that people will still buy them, creating room for leniency, and failing to pursue continuous improvement. There’s no creativity killer like indulgence. When you’re in a rut, it’s bound to lead to a creative dip. You’ll end up failing to follow up on leads, because you lost interest. A total killer.

The cause

Overproduction, perhaps. Shooting too many comparable images, shooting too many similar subjects, shooting too many familiar themes, and too little differentiating factors. It just all became repetitive. The weather has been gray, rainy and gloomy for almost 4 months now, forcing me into the studio a few days too many, producing more uninspiring images

At this point, some consider taking a creative break, and pursue other interests. I believe, there are several very useful – yet uncommon – methods to break this downward spiral. In this article, I’d like to are a few with you.

The solution

1. Back to the drawing board.

Put away the camera for a while, and stop trying to force yourself to get over it. I found it to be a waste of time, and it has only produced more uninspiring results. In stead, look at your latest images, and assess their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Be very critical of yourself. What could you have done better to make them tick? Make notes of how to improve on a technical and aesthetically level. It’ll make you aware of your weaknesses and the flaws in your images, as well as help you to accept the current dip in creativity. It’s widely accepted, acceptance is the first step to overcoming a challenge. So set yourself that challenge.

2. Changing the game

Changing the game is one of my favorite methods. In stead of shooting what others want you to shoot (or, in terms of stock, what you think will sell), think about what you would like to shoot, but never actually got around to – yet. Make a list things that you don’t get to shoot often, and which gets your photographers’ blood pumping again. Don’t forget to make the next step and start thinking of how to achieve the images you have in mind.Create the images in your mind! If you managed that, then start thinking commercially, again. It is entirely possible, that what’s not been selling today might start selling tomorrow. So connect to the real world and merge commercial aspects with your just found shooting list. Select a few subjects you’re not familiar with. Go out, and close the bridge between the known and the unknown. Add your own touch to the uncommon in your expertise.
(Personal note: I use mindmapping software, such as freemind, to collect, categorize and assess the ideas captured during this process)

4. Refreshing the way to look at things

Look around you. When you’re familiar with your surroundings, the same surroundings eventually become to look boring and plain. They aren’t. Be a tourist in your own town. Go to the sights, and look at what others are looking at. Observe others. What do the sights, common to you, do to others? How are strangers interacting with an environment that’s new to them? Go up, move down. Tilt your head. Wear sunglasses on a cloudy day; things will start to look differently. But whatever you do, don’t bring your camera. It’s all about scouting for locations and getting inspired again. Inspired by what others see. Consider it scouting for new opportunities. Gather intelligence for tomorrow’s game.

5. Change the tune

Switch to a different channel. Get inspired by other forms of art, whether it is music, the movies or other visual art. Try to capture the feel and the vibe, and think of ways to translate that into your work. And make sure, you go beyond your zone of comfort. Been listening to classic rock lately? Familiarize yourself with the vibe of pop or jazz for a while. It’s as simple as watching TV lying down; your mind adapts to the rotated image easily, however, the experience is entirely different.

6. Retrace your steps.

Move back into your portfolio, and select a handful of photos you’re (still) happy with. Preferably, this selection should convey various themes, shot roughly at the same time, within a two months’ span. Go over them again. Reprocess them. Go out and reshoot them. Elaborate on the themes, and create a series of siblings. See if you can achieve a better result, or at least see if you can make them into one series. Try to create a series of images, in which the series together is stronger than each individual image. This will force you, to plan your shots carefully, whilst keeping the broader picture in mind. It’ll help you to search for a correlation between photos, within a very tight scope.

7. Step outside your zone of comfort.

Been shooting with DSLR’s? Pick up an old film camera, of change to a camcorder for a while. The former will force you to make every click count, and thus make you think twice before you press the shutter. The latter will force you to stay within a fixed aspect ratio, making the choices of composition more challenging. My preferred weapon of choice if I decide to change gear is either an old 6×6 camera, or the HDV option. A combination of the two is to limit yourself in choice of optics; In stead of a medium zoom lens, go for a fixed focal length lens

The theory behind it

As an industrial designer, the methodology of diversifying within the boundaries of the task at hand before converging to reach the final product is multifunctional. This methodology can be applied in a vast array of processes, provided you want to achieve the best solution for your client – whomever it may be – and pursue continuous improvement.

In the trajectory of diversifying, amending associative techniques, such as making cross references, transpositions of external concepts to relevant ones will always provide you new insights. Combine that with the foremost important rule of brainstorming – there are no such things as a bad ideas, but there will always room for better ideas. All you need to do is be open to those new ideas, execute them, assess their effectiveness, and fine-tune them. You’ll be back on track before you know it.

The Sources

My first boss once told me to focus on my strong parts during an appraisal meeting. Create the focus. Improve the strong parts, accept the weaker competences.
My Professor of Design methodologies – who told me, that when you get stuck trying to solve a problem, try to look at it from a different angle.
My dad, who said the answer to any problem is always easier than it may seem at first. Clear your mind, look at the provided information, make an inventory of the tools at hand, and the answer will be right in front of you.
Edward Deming – Plan, Do, Check, Act. [repeat] Mainly as safeguard, as it allows you to steer yourself in the right direction.

Disclaimer:

This article is based on personal experiences, opinion and situations, and may or may not represent the actual situation.
Some statements are rather bold, and rough around the edges (or too feathered :)), and there are of course exceptions possible.
If you think there are any discrepancies or flaws in reasoning in this article, please let me know
As the topic of this article is of a subjective nature, other opinions are equally valid.
Care has been taken the sources used are accurate.
I’m probably my own worst critic, and my views will change over time.

If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!

Thoughts on a changing photography market

36clicks — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:50:56 +0000

Reading time: 8 – 12 minutes

We supply too many images to (micro)stock agencies, and there are too many photographers to base a sustainable business model on for most of us. The suppliers market seems to be over-saturated.

On the other hand, microstock is rapidly gaining market share as cheap source of images for many purposes. The RF microstock pricing structure facilitates new buyers looking for alternative (and cheaper) outlets, due to the current financial situation. As the marketplace is changing, and microstock as business is maturing, competition grows. For the contributor, this means a rapidly growing challenge in meeting the changing image requirements in quantity and quality. This new – microstock – type of User Generated Content is eating away business from traditional stock agents as well as commissioned based photographers. Microstock has changed the photography business. Possibly forever.

All doom and gloom, or has this cloud a silver lining?

Introduction, mindset and time frame

I consider the current market situation in photography to be unstable. Reading various sources on the internet, in blogs, twitter, and in forums, I notice an increased weariness about the (micro)stock industry amongst contributors, and – to a lesser extend – stock agents. What you’re reading now, is the prelude of a series of articles, setting apart my thoughts on the future or photography, based on my experience, and what I see around me. I’m not a visionary, nor an economist or a marketing expert. Even though I’ve spent a large part of my professional career in Business Development and Innovation, I’m foremost a photographer.

I’ve been active in photography for more than a decade, slowly but surely expanding my business, before diving in head first, changing attributes from “advanced amateur” to “professional photographer” in 2004. Early 2007, I became involved in stock photography. I still consider myself to be starting out, building businesses.

Chapter 1: From past to present

2009 is a strange year. Even though the initial panic about the financial crisis is slowly ebbing away, the effects are still very much tangible. According to the experts, this will continue to influence businesses around the world for at least the next few years.
In microstock, the current events indicate that there are also other important factors affecting the User Generated Content market, affecting the position of the contributor. A generalization:

Supply and Demand

The demand in images still increasing.
The supply of images, by us, contributors, is extremely high, and the number of contributors is increasing too quickly to facilitate the growth in demand.

Changing market

From my own experience, large companies, who were previously hiring a photographer to shoot dedicated images, are now actively looking into sourcing their general purpose image needs from stock agencies.
Stock agents are adapting their strategy to facilitate emerging buyers market, by adapting their license terms, opening new outlet channels, and creating more segmented collections.
The difference between traditional stock agencies and microstock sites is slowly disappearing, with a professionalizing microstock market, and a traditional stock industry, focussing more and more on mid and microstock. The image stock industry is maturing rapidly.

The consequences

The increased competition forces the royalty and pricing structures to be under pressure. As the image collection of the major players in the industry explodes, the importance of image requirements in terms of subject selection, image quality and legal indemnification by the contributor is increasing, but revenues are lagging behind. To put it differently: A photographer needs to work harder, producing higher quality to sell his (her) images at a price level that is in disproportion with the needed effort. Because of the average low market share in number of images, an individual photographer has barely any leverage with agents to have any influence on the changing marketplace.

Changing business

I sell images, and make a living out of it. I’m currently selling the majority of my images for “pocket change”, ranging from $0,19 to $300 per individual sale, selling the same images over and over again. A few years ago, my core business solely consisted of commissioned work, with exclusive usage rights to our clients – selling a photo just once. The extremes in image pricing are staggering. A single commissioned image, made me roughly 130.000(!) times more than some of the subscription sales nowadays.
A realistic breakdown of the math, using fictions numbers (expenses and taxes excluded, inflation compensation included):

	A few years ago	Now (stock only)	Now (commissioned only)
Average revenue per sold image	~ $3.500	~ $2,50	~ $1.250
Average production time per image	~ 1.5 weeks	15 minutes	~ 1 week
Image use	Large corporate campaigns	Some website	Marketing campaigns
Number of sales per image	1	> 100	1
License	Exclusive usage	Royalty Free / Rights Managed	Exclusive or Limited share usage
Number of sales per year	~ 25	~ 24000	~ 30
Average Annual turnover	~ $90.000	~ $60.000	~ $37.500

All in all, the grand total remains roughly the same, In addition to this, the total production costs for stock images (planning, model fees, travel costs, assistant fees, image selection, and not to mention acquisition) are substantially lower than for commissioned work. The comparison shows the net worth of an image has devaluated. Images are sold cheaper, against more lenient conditions. This is compensated by an increase in number of sales. Considering the current developments in the market, there’s little leverage to bring this effect to a halt.

Obserbvations

Prematurely, my commissioned work seems to be picking up again, the number of requests is still lower than in the past, and the size of the tenders are, generally speaking, smaller. I anticipate commissioned work will not fully recover.
Trend analysis, innovation and concept development, needed to assess and meet the customers’ demands, require much more market insight (and thus time!) than before. I find this challenge a valuable addition to my business, as it also stimulates creativity.
The production quantity of images has increased big time, requiring more computer hardware, processing capacity and storage space, as well as a change in workflow.
I believe that the critical success factors in both lines of photography augment each other, improving skills and quality in both fields.
Investing time to build a stock portfolio a few years ago was a good decision. With the continuously changing market, it is yet again time to evaluate, and look ahead at the future.
If it weren’t for revenues through stock, my business would’ve been pretty close to filing a chapter 11. With request for commissioned work increasing again, my business is growing again.
With stock continuing to make up for an increasing portion of my turnover, I’m starting to miss the frequent contacts with my clients and users of my images.

To sum up

With a supply chain, which is over-saturated, with an aggressive competition between agents, and a change in buyer demands, the business continues to change at a high pace. The channels, through which images are sourced, have already begun adapting, but the majority of photographers is lagging behind. This makes sense, as the stock agents are for the most part rather large enterprises, compared to their suppliers – the photographers. The majority of photographers consist of hobbyists, or pro-photographers with a different core-business than shooting stock, and the few full time pros. Yet, we all need to change. Change is possible, and the changed situation also has a few positive side effects. The days of “business as usual” are over, and I believe that is a good thing, as “business as usual” is a creativity killer, and creativity is a bare necessity for any photographer. The market is professionalizing, and it is likely, that photographers, who refuse to adapt, will perish in this process, possibly bringing a bit of balance back to the supply and demand equation.
Ways to change to a dynamic marketplace:

Market and target your business
Build a brand (an oldie)
Choose between quantity or quality
Differentiate or diversify your products
Research the future to predict tomorrow’s customer demand
Increase efficiency and reduce costs (the open door)

In the next few months, I intend to explore these methods more thoroughly, elaborating on each in a few more articles, and cross linking them, to put them into (my personalized) perspective. These articles will be published in random order.

Disclaimer:

This article is based on personal experiences, opinion and situations, and may or may not represent the actual situation.
Some statements are rather bold, and rough around the edges (or too feathered :)), and there are of course exceptions possible.
If you think there are any discrepancies or flaws in reasoning in this article, please let me know
As future events cannot be accurately predicted as of yet, other opinions are equally valid.
Care has been taken the sources used are accurate, but I cannot guarantee their accuracy.
I’m probably my own worst critic, and my views will change over time.

If you have any thoughts on his please share them by leaving a comment!