The plan as a stock photographer 2018 or where is the image licensing industry heading?

The plan as a stock photographer 2018 or where is the image licensing industry heading?

There is a constant thinking ongoing in my head - what’s the best plan for me, where is this industry heading etc etc. These thoughts have been present for a few years now, because this is an industry in constant upheaval. What is the future for me, as a photographer and creator? I need to find the recipe to build something that just doesn't bring in the bacon each month, but also leaves a legacy, something to pass on.

There is plenty of money in this industry (imagery licensing market) with an annual turnover of about $2 billion. The good news is that this is estimated to grow to $4 billion by 2020. Haven't exactly found out where the growth is coming from, but de facto demand for imagery is "exploding" and also technology enables us to harness more and more uses, thus making it harder and harder to getaway with paying nothing for imagery i.e. stealing. Visual content is becoming more and more used, although also in more and more "new" ways - shorter durations, smaller uses, personalised uses etc. The old licenses RM (Rights Managed) and RF (Royalty Free (doesn't mean FREE, stupid name)) are really lagging in suitability to today's requirements and uses.

The bad news is that at current creators (photographers, videographers, illustrators etc.) are the victims of an all out price war between the biggest stock libraries, but also forced to accept lower and lower net percentage take home earnings (i.e. after agency commission), sometimes as low as 15%. The big agencies find it very easy to make themselves more profitable just by doing some trickery and lower the actual net earnings for it's contributors - yes we shout and scream, but compared to shareholders and investors we're worth nothing, no clout and easily replaced. There are agencies, smaller ones that have a much greater relationship with it's contributors such as Alamy. Can't recommend them highly enough, been with them for 14 years, since 2004 and it has always been worthwhile and importantly to me "felt good".

It is 2018, the future is here. There are at least two, to me, known initiatives that are trying to fundamentally change the marketplace in favour of the creators, utilising available blockchain technology, increase decentralisation and minimising the role of the middleman (agent/agency/stock library) - Wemark and Photochain. I've not yet investigated these place thoroughly, but I started to "look" at them and also started to contribute to Wemark.

I've for a long time been a proponent for direct selling. Did it for many years, but in this vast enormous internet that exist today it is difficult for it to be profitable when doing it on your own - the search for imagery needs to be collective, spanning over way more imagery than any one photographer can produce. However, there is no reason anymore that should prevent that. Besides the search, payment and fulfilment (i.e. digital delivery) a creator should be able to keep a much larger chunk of the pie. This also means that we can allow for the new lower pricing, yet find ourselves profitable enough to make it sustainable.

Anyway, I'm rambling - these thoughts keep going around in my head, one wants to be clever, one wants to head in the right direction, but most of all one just wants to work hard, create and be rewarded fairly.

Any fear can be conquered!

I leave you with a positive image. My son is 10 years old. He's a careful character, not a "chicken", just a bit more thoughtful and gentle than many of his peers - he's a thinker and very intelligent. Anyway, he's never really liked the thought of learning how to swim, hating deep water, freaking out about getting his face and head soaked. 

He's been in swimming school for two summers and just barely learnt to swim in shallow water and only for short distances. Swimming school is over for this year and the family banded together and embarked on helping him getting over his fears. We started by letting him dip his face in water in the sink at home, for a longer and longer periods. We progressed to the lake, also adding dipping the head, partly, then completely. All this done calmly and at his pace. I witnessed him battle with his fears, yet desperately wanting to overcome it and also claim the rewards set out for completing various challenges. He got braver and braver, big things like dipping the head under water, became nothing - he beat his fear. A few weeks later and he swims great lengths at deep water, he jumps of jettys getting his head down deep in water and has turned into a complete water bug - I know have to drag him out of it. He's my hero, he stuck at something that he thought he could never conquer, but managed to. So proud of him, so happy for him. Last thing he asks me every evening now is "are we going swimming tomorrow?" and "which island are we going to?". Children are the best, mine are just awesome - love you guys!

So I'm signing off here. Need to put in some more work before the family wakes up and we're heading off to an island somewhere to go swimming in the ocean. We're set for at least 5 days of 30 degree heat. To some that might not sound like much, but trust me, if you are Swedish that is a lot!

Everyone needs a slider to create excellent footage - a "Straight To The Point" review of the 24" 23.6" 60 cm Neewer Carbon Fiber Slider

Everyone needs a slider to create excellent footage - a "Straight To The Point" review of the 24" 23.6" 60 cm Neewer Carbon Fiber Slider

This is my first longer form review - hope someone finds it useful. Please feel free to comment.

For some time I've been wanting to acquire a slider. There is a plethora of options available, both in terms of bells & whistles, as well as price points from low to ridiculously high. 

My criteria were;

1. To be able to add a bit of movement to increase the perceived production value to the footage, as well as hopefully be able to make mundane subjects or situations to look more interesting. The required movement would need to be controlled, smooth and stable, as well as the slider being able to be versatile and giving me a range of useful options as how to use it. The main intended use would be for when I create stock footage which normally are only 15 to 30 seconds in length. 
2. Portability, I decided to go for shorter rather than longer as my thinking was that it would mean less of a hassle to bring and use thus making it used a lot more and brought along on the pure chance of being used (wowser a lot of use/used words in that sentence). Also as I don't only work in studio but on "pure chance" out and about it couldn't add too much weight to an already heavy backpack - I'm an animal and of course can handle the weight but less is always better, especially during long walks/days.
3. Sturdiness which usually goes hand in hand with quality is paramount. When not used it would be strapped to the back of my backpack and it would without question bump into things, well generally be used pretty roughly/careless.

Neewer 24" Carbon Fiber Slider with coupled with
a Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid video head with
Canon 5D MK IV attached.

So how did I settle on the Neewer slider?

So after some research, thinking, weighing up pros and cons with the different options I landed on the newly released updated version of the 24"/23.6" 60 cm Neewer Carbon Fiber slider. I paid £55.49 + £9.79 which brings it to a total of £65.28 or $86.58 (July 11, 2018) no taxes or duties as this was within the EU/Europe.

A few things swung it towards this particular model.

1. Generally heard great feedback on Neewer in terms of value for money.
2. Non-friction based "glide" but proper ball-bearings and 6 of them instead of the normal 4 (4 on the upper side and 2 underneath).
3. Ability to take a heavy load - rated for 8kgs. Well above what I normally would put on top of it, but it gives not just plenty of headroom, but generally I find that keeping a big "buffer" on similar things such as tripods, steadicams etc. works for the better, eventhough you're not close to the max - more is simply better.

Verdict 

Having used it for about 7-10 days now, both in studio and out and about I can attest to it's quality and working as I intended. Found no niggles, smooth as butter and no worries that it would stand the test of time - but time will tell. 

The slider can used with any kind of tripod head on it. For me personally I found that coupling it with the Manfrotto MVH500AH fluid video head gives me the best experience, both with the extension arm and without (which makes it a bit more compact).

Close up images of important details

Metal locking knob to lock feet at a desired angle.

Screw in or out rubberised feet for good
grip and height adjustments. They can be
locked at any certain desired height and
will stay firmly in place.

Best mates - the combo that I initially
found to work the best have been
with the Manfrotto MVH500AH video
fluid head, with or without the extension
arm.

6 ball bearings, 4 on upper side and 2 
underneath, ensures a much smoother operation 
compared to friction based sliders.

Close up of rubberised wheel that
together with ball bearings gives
silky smooth footage.

A recommendation or not?

I can wholeheartedly, genuinely recommend with two fat thumbs up the Neewer Carbon Fiber slider if one is after a price conscious yet quality product that will open up a whole range of options for your footage making abilities. Without having tested the aluminium version or any longer versions I would personally stick to carbon fiber for rigidity reasons and probably not go for anything longer than 100 cm unless you are going to use it on flat surfaces - this is me guessing in an educated kind-of-way, I could be wrong. 

In the spirit of the great Ken Rockwell - if you feel like supporting me and my awesome family, use any of the Amazon Affiliate links in this blog post and I earn a small commission, which is of course very much appreciated.

"The Fox sTrap" - Pro Tips DIY the ultimate camera strap with quick release for my Canon 5D MK IV

"The Fox sTrap" - Pro Tips DIY the ultimate camera strap with quick release for my Canon 5D MK IV

DIY ultimate camera strap the
"Fox sTrap"

There was some interest expressed on social media in my homemade DIY amended Canon 5D MK IV camera strap with quick release and Velcro fastening bundling option.

Obviously there are plenty of time when I need* the camera strap, as well as plenty of times when it annoyingly in the way. 

The two quick release click-
locks make it a doodle to
attach/detach the camera
strap.

However, there are many times when I want the strap off - when creating stock footage where it interferes with sliders, gimbals etc. 

The attached Velcro
strap enables the strap
to be bundled up and
out of the way!

So since a while back I “invented” something "new". I took the original camera strap, two sturdy quick release clip-locks that I re-purposed from two lanyards, two sturdy key rings (from the same lanyards) and a bit of Velcro strap. Now the camera strap can come off/on quickly. When not in use but don’t want it off it can be folded up and the Velcro band holds it in place. The Velcro strap is attached with black gaffer tape, where the second layer/lap and onward to the end is super glued. This ensures that the surface of the strap is unaffected and can be removed without residue when the day comes to sell the camera, it also ensures that the gaffer tape stays in place. I also added bits of black gaffer tape on the camera to protect it from getting any scratches from friction from the key rings. Works like a charm and £50-£110 saved by not buying similar ones from well-known brands. Hopefully this will help someone else.

*Prevent dropping to the ground and break, as an impromptu steadier (tension trick), free up my hands as I always bring a camera with me, not always the camera back pack. Also the viewfinder light blocker is conveniently attached to the strap, which is needed for long exposures.

/Fox