A Picture's Worth

Well written and well stated.

A Picture's Worth:

"The average stock photo simply isn't worth what it once was.

I consider myself to be a pretty decent photographer, but when I search for an image on iStockPhoto, I'm blown away. There are some very good photographers with Photoshop skills that make up for any lack of talent or equipment. And the proof of the paradigm shift to me? I've purchased iStock images when I've determined that I can't shoot something better myself. Why spend 2 hours setting up a shot to come up with something inferior, when I can buy something for a few bucks. Should I be hung? Next time your spouse asks you to help throw together a marketing brochure for his/her company, what are you going to do to get that nice photo of a clock?

So as I was saying, stock photography sucks. It's not that you can't make money. It's just much harder than it used to be. Generalists won't survive. We have enough yellow rubber ducks against seamless. You have to specialize and understand who's buying to really succeed. Guys like Masa Ushioda will be fine. But maintaining a staff with salary and benefits to produce seasonal content while facing downward pricing pressure from another one of your properties....forget it."