TotallyPhotos stock agency?

[SWPhotoImaging]

Has anyone here had any experience with totallyphotos.com? They appear to be a startup stock photo agency, seeking images to build a library. I am hesitant to submit photos until I have heard from others that may have done so and found them trustworthy.

Any feedback appreciated.

[max101]

I've registered and even made a sale!
http://www.totallyphotos.com/image_d...hotograph_id=2

They seem very good - professional and fast at approving (or sometimes rejecting!) photos.
I haven't cashed in my earnings just yet - but with one sale I've made more than from 10 sales on the 'penny photo' sites. I've asked them some questions and they seem to know what they are talking about.

They seem to be aiming at the 'middle ground' - giving you more than the rock-bottom sites, but clearly not as much as Getty or Corbis.
It looks like finally there is a site which gives you a reasonable amount for your photos (although of course never enough

I very much recommend them - and in fact was recommended myself by a friend. See also this thread:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...116#post672116

[SWPhotoImaging]

Thanks for the feedback. I was concerned when they e-mailed me because I registered a week ago and haven't uploaded any images. I was concerned they might be some kind of scam. Guess I'll send them some and see how it goes.

[KevC]

Something you should consider:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=61210

[SWPhotoImaging]

An excellent thread, and one that convinces me not to support low-budget stock agencies. I'll stick with selling matted, framed photo art for now.

[max101]

An interesting article, however it does seem to be ignoring the reality of a changing world.

Today top quality images can be produced by people without spending vast amounts of money - the tools: camera and software are within reach of most people.

It's kind of like back in the days when people used hand tools for carving and produced wonderful objects. Much skill and training were required, and objects were ordered months or years in advance and made to order.
When machines came along you didn't need years of apprenticeship to be able to produce a perfectly functional piece of furniture, in fact pretty good furniture, and lots of it could easily be made - and so prices dropped and shops opened selling furniture to anyone, there was no need to order it anymore.
There was still a place for the craftsman, but much smaller than before, the market and world had changed.

With photography, selling through a stock agency won't make you rich, but for most of us that is not something we are looking at. Sure, if I believe my photos are really special perhaps I will quit my job and look at marketing them myself to the increasingly niche market that will pay for specialist photos.
If on the other hand I think I have some pretty good shots, but a job to hold down and a dream of one day maybe making a living from photos I figure that a stock agency will:
- actually prove that my photos will sell!
- provide a place to showcase my photos (via the agency galleries)
- bring me a modest income (TotallyPhotos pays up to $12.50 for an image)
- give me a good incentive to improve my images and so my sales - instant feedback is great!

If my photos sell well and I see that many people are viewing my shots on the stock sites (they give you statistics like that) perhaps I will think about holding my best ones back to sell myself - but I know realistically they will almost certainly be still sitting on my harddrive in 10 years time.

I take photos first for the joy of it, and monetary gain is just an added bonus. Sure, if I got a photo of Bush in a compromising position I wouldn't be selling it for $12.50, but for us amateurs who love photography it's a way to get some more cash for new gear or a trip somewhere. Maybe one day we will graduate to the 'big time', but for now stocksites are a great training school - and however much the pros complain, they're not going to disappear.

The world is big, selling your images to someone in China will hardly affect the framed prints you sell at your local art fair.

And for those who think we are selling our images too cheaply - keep your images on you computer and see what they make you there.