I just feel like ranting this fine morning.
Has microstock devalued the industry? Sure it has. What once was a $500 photo sale has now turned into a $5 or even 50 cent photo sale. But in general, the internet as well as digital photography have devalued the industry. There are even websites being set up where people are posting links to our images, to download for free. One idiot buys them, and then shares them with the rest of the dishonest people that actually take part in the plundering and looting. There’s really no stopping it, either. There are contributors that can live comfortably off of a microstock income in many countries around the world. Do you think these ones give a crap about devaluing the stock industry? Definitely not; they’re probably making a better living than they ever could before.
Traditional and old school photographers can sit around and whine about how much it sucks, or they can adapt to market trends. Or, stay out of stock altogether. Sure there’s still a market for macro stock, mid-stock, and rights managed. I personally dabble in a little of each. Yes it’s nice when I make a photo sale for $400, but honestly if I relied just on those types of sales I wouldn’t be making enough to pay the bills. Those sales for myself are few and far in between, compared to microstock sales, which are steady and in general, pretty reliable. Overall, the numbers for the rights managed and macro stocks are on the decline. Getty was smart to acquire istockphoto (and they even recently bought stockxpert from Jupiter) so obviously they are trying to gain back their market share whatever ways possible.
Stock is only just one tiny corner of this incredible industry. I started as a graphic designer, and even in that field it’s the same way. You can focus on all sorts of corners of the creative industry…just pick one you enjoy doing the most, and obviously one you can pay the bills with. If you can juggle a variety of things without trying to heat 6 pans on 4 burners, then go for it. There are a lot of ways to make money in this business. We can’t change how the market is, but we can fortunately pick and choose which areas we want to try and compete in.
It never ceases to amaze me…lately whenever I’m traveling every soccer mom, teenager, and senior citizen is rocking a DSLR of some sort. If not a DSLR, then a state of the art point and shoot. The technology is here, and it’s getting cheaper. It’s so available, there is going to be a lot of competition in the future. Thankfully for us there is a heck of a lot more to know in this business than just buying a camera and pressing the shutter. BUT then comes the internet and google…where you can learn anything you want in a matter of minutes. Maybe we’re all screwed 
How long do you personally feel this microstock wave will last? A lot changes have happened in this business. Agencies have come and gone, and there have been some buyouts and mergers. I’ve been selling microstock for just 4 years now, and there have been changes galore. The question is…how long will this microstock wave last? Will it continue the way it is for years to come, or will it eventually get to the point where it’s not even worth the time? What do you guys think? If anyone is reading this – I’d love to hear your predictions.
