Hi Guys,

Not sure of this is the right forum to post this in, but I'm on the lookout for stock photos of the Sinulog festival, specifically the following aspects:

Street parties/concerts
Santo Niño Procession
Santo Niño coat of arms

This will be for an inflight magazine I'm working on. Please email me at lester.ledesma@ink-publishing.com with some low-res samples. Will discuss rates if we plan to use any of the photos :)

Regards,

Lester

do you have a stipulated contract if one of the photos submitted gets chosen to be displayed in the magazine?

Yes of course. One month's rental with payment and photographer gets credit. Here's my company website:

http://www.ink-publishing.com/

Just to make it clear, photo(s) will be used to illustrate a story on the festival. Better if you look at this as a stock photography business transaction - if I like your photo I'll rent it from you.


do you have a stipulated contract if one of the photos submitted gets chosen to be displayed in the magazine?

Yes of course. One month's rental with payment and photographer gets credit. Here's my company website:

http://www.ink-publishing.com/

Just to make it clear, photo(s) will be used to illustrate a story on the festival. Better if you look at this as a stock photography business transaction - if I like your photo I'll rent it from you.

Hi, Lester

its been quite sometime since we last met (Hot Air Balloon 07). I remember we use to do stock shots together and how times flys. Now you are on the other side of the fence. You are a Picture Editor and I am still a photographer. I was just wondering about the "new" rates for stock photo to be use in your magazine.
Could you help or give pointers to the Newbies who would like to try their luck in stock photography.

Thank you

John

Hey Ninong John!

Suddenly I had memories of loading your Hasselblad 120 back while fighting vertigo and trying to keep from puking inside a Huey chopper. Man those were some of the best moments of my life :)

Haha yeah I've heard the "other side of the fence" from some of our other colleagues as well. I wouldn't call it the opposite side, though (I'm still a photographer!), and it was from you that I learned that photo sellers are photo buyers have a symbiotic relationship and they need each other to survive :)

In a forum like this, though, I often get the feeling that photo buyers are the "enemy" in a way, because they are out to screw the photo sellers, especially the amateur ones. Not exactly true. In my experience, there is no such thing as a "set rate". I've only had to "set rates" because shutterbugs keep asking me how much I'll pay, so I did some math and came up with a good and fair average price for the "Hobbyist/internet sourced images category". Guys, the price is....

Contact me privately, show me your images and let's talk. I need to gauge YOU as a photographer ;)

Generally the reason why amateurs are priced lower is because they're not as dependable as professional photogs. Sorry guys. I've had amateur contributors take weeks before they send me their images. Pros can do it in one hour and they're very easy to deal with. Also, I've had images that look good in low-res but turn out to be horrifyingly unsharp in high-res - this never happens with pros, and this is why we are willing to pay premiums for dependable pros.

Anyway, what I'm saying is - photographers get what they negotiate for, and its a mixture of premiums, supply, demand, price and PR. If the photo is:

Hard-to-find, beautifully shot + photographer is easy to work with = price is higher

Common, mediocre + photographer is hard to deal with = price is lower

If photographer is simply hard to deal with, he will not be contacted.

In the Sinulog case, it seems a lot of people went to the Sinulog but shot the same thing - the festivals, the costumes, the santo nino, etc. The rare stuff which I am looking for - the coat of arms, the street parties, a good shot of the 2008 procession (because it rained that day) - very few seem to have bothered to shoot. Which is why I paid two lucky guys a good amount of money for their stock pictures ;)

Regards,

Lester

Hey Ninong John!

Suddenly I had memories of loading your Hasselblad 120 back while fighting vertigo and trying to keep from puking inside a Huey chopper. Man those were some of the best moments of my life :)

Haha yeah I've heard the "other side of the fence" from some of our other colleagues as well. I wouldn't call it the opposite side, though (I'm still a photographer!), and it was from you that I learned that photo sellers are photo buyers have a symbiotic relationship and they need each other to survive :)

In a forum like this, though, I often get the feeling that photo buyers are the "enemy" in a way, because they are out to screw the photo sellers, especially the amateur ones. Not exactly true. In my experience, there is no such thing as a "set rate". I've only had to "set rates" because shutterbugs keep asking me how much I'll pay, so I did some math and came up with a good and fair average price for the "Hobbyist/internet sourced images category". Guys, the price is....

Contact me privately, show me your images and let's talk. I need to gauge YOU as a photographer ;)

Generally the reason why amateurs are priced lower is because they're not as dependable as professional photogs. Sorry guys. I've had amateur contributors take weeks before they send me their images. Pros can do it in one hour and they're very easy to deal with. Also, I've had images that look good in low-res but turn out to be horrifyingly unsharp in high-res - this never happens with pros, and this is why we are willing to pay premiums for dependable pros.

Anyway, what I'm saying is - photographers get what they negotiate for, and its a mixture of premiums, supply, demand, price and PR. If the photo is:

Hard-to-find, beautifully shot + photographer is easy to work with = price is higher

Common, mediocre + photographer is hard to deal with = price is lower

If photographer is simply hard to deal with, he will not be contacted.

In the Sinulog case, it seems a lot of people went to the Sinulog but shot the same thing - the festivals, the costumes, the santo nino, etc. The rare stuff which I am looking for - the coat of arms, the street parties, a good shot of the 2008 procession (because it rained that day) - very few seem to have bothered to shoot. Which is why I paid two lucky guys a good amount of money for their stock pictures ;)

Regards,

Lester

There you are, my fellow stock shot photographers. Now you see the whole "picture".

Ninong John - nice to hear from a very successful and famous Writer-Photographer based in Singapore.
It too bring back memories when this young man from La Salle came to Adphoto to do his OJT. He did his summer job well and I was so impressed with his work attitude. His dream - to become an Adphoto Photographer... of course during that time, he was already writing travel articles for local magazines as well as airline magazines like Mabuhay and he accompanied his articles with his own photos. Then as soon as he graduated - he came to Adphoto and applied for the position - Junior Photographer . . I turned him down, He was so disappointed. he cried. Harvey was so upset with me and got MAD too. I talk to Lester. I said No doubt you will become a good advertising photographer with us. But I see more in you than you realize. You are a very good writer and you love to travel and adventure is in your blood. Look around - there are a lot of great Travel Photographers in the country who among them knows how to write as good as you - NONE. You are destined to fill that gap. Lester. Go for it. I will be there to support you, give you advise. Just do what you love to do. Travel and Shoot.
It may have been 10 years now since that day. We have our Ups and Downs but I am proud of him. He is the best example of being a photographer first but followed where his heart leads him - love to write and discover new places. He made me his Ninong. whom I am honored to be a part of him.
He is fair in dealing with photographers because he still one of us.
Thats Lester.

Inaanak,
thank you for your responds to this request. I hope it would help young photographers who would like to consider Stock Shot photography.
your ninong John