Selling Photos via Shutterstock etc

What is the return?
The return refers to compensation, career growth, or benefits gained from the project, clarified in the job description or interview.

What are their requirements?
Requirements include relevant skills, experience, and qualifications, such as roofing knowledge, estimation software proficiency, and certifications.

Do you need signoffs for street photos?
Yes, permissions or signoffs are usually required for private property or people in photos to comply with privacy and legal regulations.

 

Well, you probably saw this on their content buying page, but they claim to have paid out over $1B to creators in the past 15 years. I have only purchased from them, and it has been a while, but I just went to their site and noted that they are embracing AI generated images these days. I wonder how much that will slow down their spending with human creators over the next few years.

 

So, bear with me, but I have begun to use the paid version of ChatGPT as a search engine on steroids. I realize that it gets things wrong and can hallucinate, but you can ask any question and get an answer. Here is what it said about this topic:

<snip>
Shutterstock does work with small creators, not just large studios. They have a contributor program that allows independent photographers, illustrators, and videographers to sell their work on the platform. Creators can sign up, upload their content, and earn royalties whenever their images or videos are downloaded.

While big studios and agencies do contribute to Shutterstock, a significant portion of their library comes from individual contributors worldwide. However, earnings per download tend to be relatively low, and competition is high, so success depends on the quality, uniqueness, and volume of content a creator can provide.
<snip>

It sounds like they are sort of an eBay or Amazon for photo's in which you can put your stuff up there and see if it sells. Also sounds like margins may not be so good.

 

Yes, some people do this, especially for stock photography, mapping services, or AI training datasets. Returns vary depending on the platform and demand. Requirements depend on the use case—some services have quality and format guidelines. For street photos, signoffs aren’t usually needed for public spaces, but recognizable faces or private properties may require consent, depending on local laws.

 

My company is currently offering custom synthetic image data for situations like this where privacy matters. We are more involved with organizations looking to train on medical or financial data (industries where privacy is king) but we do get requests for street scenes, as well. Probably due to the issues you raise.

 

Your tinfoil hat company might be on the chopping block. Elon Musk has been loudly complaining on many social platforms that ever since he started wearing your Oligarchs Model tinfoil hat he has received death threats, his stocks across the boards have gone down, and his Tesla dealerships have been vandalized. He states that he is contemplating suing you. How do you respond to this?

 

It is just a PR stunt. He is a good friend and you know what they say, "All PR is good." We are starting up a third shift at the factory to meet anticipated demand from all the publicity he is generating.

 

At first I thought. Heck someone still buys stock pics? Because there are a bunch of AI based generators out there.
Then I looked at some of the photos there and realized it's not possible to generate such photos (yet). Still the skill of the photographer to catch that very moment in the AI is not yet.

Regarding the platform it seems that many people do not like it https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.shutterstock.com.

 

And what would you call that performance on the Whitehouse lawn where you had a dozen models of your tinfoil hats displayed? You even somehow got Trump to put one on. I think he picked your Dictator Model if I'm not mistaken.

 

No, it was the Anti-Fake News Tinfoil Hat. He likes to have it handy when he holds his daily press briefings with the lamestream press.

 

No, it was the Anti-Fake News Tinfoil Hat. He likes to have it handy when he holds his daily press briefings with the lamestream press.

 

No, it was the Anti-Fake News Tinfoil Hat. He likes to have it handy when he holds his daily press briefings with the lamestream press.

 

Trump is deliberately trying to tank the stock market. He knows if he does this the fed will be forced to reduce the prime lending rate. He will therefore save the taxpayers big $$$ with the lower interest rates when he goes ahead with his big purchase of hundreds of thousands of your Government Employee Private Sector Rehiring Model tinfoil hats.

Truth be told your overpriced hats in no way help inflation!

 

Note that our financing options can stretch out monthly payments over 72 months, if preferred. And you should talk to your accountant about potential tax deductions for these occasionally life-saving devices. Remember, what good is paying your mortgage if you are going to be mind-controlled by cosmic galaxy rays from those pesky earth-based ants? Better to invest in a protective tinfoil hat or two.

 

I remember a few years ago when I purchased your Paris Hilton Model tinfoil hat. It was suppossed to make me popular. I drove up to the takeout window at the burger joint wearing said hat, and they all laughed at me.

 

Did you have the special Fast Food Ear Muffs attachment properly calibrated and inserted? Even if the double wide chinstrap and mouthguard is off a centimeter, it can affect performance. These are highly tuned instruments. You may need a consultation with one of our configuration specialists. I believe that we are running a special this month on their initial consultations.