Microstock Statistics :: iStockphoto Top 500 Contributors

I recently revisited the istockcharts website in hopes of gaining a bit more insight into the world of Microstock.  Looking at the top 500 contributors, in terms of downloads, I was able to sermize a few things about iStock and the industry in general.   Please note that 64 contributors were "xxx" out at istockcharts and the reliability of the data may not be exactly accurate, but interesting data all the same.

I found it very interesting to take a look at the data in excel and sort, average, and develop stats for this list.  Some observations:

• Of the top 500 contributors at iStockphoto, they joined on average in May 2005, with the first contributors joining in Feb 2002 and the last contributor in the top 500 joining in May 2008
• On average they have 2,275 files online the max being 16,289  while the min is 151
• The total files combined for all these contributors was 991,990 and represents 16.8% of all the files currently on iStock.  
• What's interesting is that although they only represent 16.8% of the number of files they account for over 40% of the downloads (or 32,001,000).
• So the Top 500 in iStock (or top 436 in this case due to some accounts having no information) they only represent 1.5% of the contributors, but account for over 40% of the downloads!!

Some graphs and visual stuff to compliment the observations:

Total Number of Downloads for the Top 500 Contributors at iStockphoto

 

Number of Files Online Vs. Total Number of Downloads

So, it seems that I'm a very small fish in a very big pond!!

Travel Photography - Preparation, Shot Lists, and Gear

While I've been on a few trips, this is the first trip that I've been preparing for with a specific plan to take potentially marketable images - either for stock, fine are, or editorial.  I'll be traveling to Vietnam for a few weeks in March, and will be taking in the major site of Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Ho Chi City, Mekong Delta, and Island. 

Preparation

Researching the different locations, noting the top sites, times of day that might be best in certain locations.  For stock photography I've visited a number of existing sites to see what types of images exist already, what ideas I may generate from these images, and how I need to make my images different and unique to become more salable.   Some of the sites I've visited, searching for various keywords, have been: Photoshelter, iStockphoto, Alamy, and Getty Images.

Shot Lists

Knowing what you want to shoot, when, and where will be key in saving time and making the most of the limited time you'll likely have at each place.  A few major categories I'll be concentrating on in each place:

• Skylines, expansive views with a sense of place
• Street scenes, people, restaurants (exterior, interiors, food)
• Culture (customs, juxtaposition, old/new)
• Historic monuments and buildings (hopefully with unique angles / perspective)
• Shopping (markets, buying/selling, interaction)
• Story telling close-ups or details (image series, multiple angles of same subject)
• Special events, holidays, etc. in each place

A couple articles I found with more information on putting together and researching a shot list are here and here.

Gear

In previous trips, I either didn't have an SLR Camera or chose not to take it, trading off image quality and flexibility for a lighter load and less liability.  From those trips to this one I'm much more focused on images and capturing that sense of place, than I am on a camera that fits in my pocket.  I'll still be taking a relatively small amount of gear with me, which would be considered Amateur and not Pro, but the potential for better images has increased ten fold from my previous point-and-shoot trips. 

Nikon D80, with 18-200mm VR II DX lens
GorilaPod tripod, mainly for night shooting or indoor
Memory Cards (4-16 GB)
Charger
GPS / Battery Pack for Geotagging photos (see previous post)