How To Start Earning $300 A Week From Your Photos [spam warning]

[EarnFromPhotos.com]

Editor's Note:

I've left this spam up as a warning, because "photo opportunities" like this are a scam.
The original spam/scam is quoted below, striked through.

Understand that spammers aggravate us as it is -- but photography spam pisses me off.

The idea that you can sell "digital photos that you usually remove from your camera or computer" is so exaggerated that it's completely ridiculous. It's false, it's a lie. Stock photography requires skill and a good eye for images that may be useful for marketing or advertising needs. If your photo is so bad that even you don't want it -- NEITHER WILL ANYBODY ELSE!

The statement that "a Picture can also earn a thousand dollars" is also ridiculous (to the chagrin and disappointment of photographers everywhere), thanks to low-end $1 stock services like iStockPhoto.com. The era of thousand-dollar images largely died away with the 1990s, unless you happen to be a world-renowned photographer in a specialized genre (fashion, modeling, or maybe nature work if you're lucky).

This is also misleading: "ordinary digital camera snappers who are quietly going about their daily lives". Sorry, but the "daily lives" of those "snappers" are completely immersed in photography. Those are generally the people who spend so much time in the field, or in a studio, that it actually strains their marriages or family lives. It's not a halfhearted effortless point-and-click done during work-time potty breaks.

If you don't want to believe me, then consider information from somebody even more authoritative, from Luminous-Landscape.com articles:
- Micro Payment Agencies - A Force for Good or Evil?
- Micro Payment Agencies - Some Alternatives

... a well-known, highly respected photography essays/editorials site.
And those were written back in April 2007, and it's only gotten worse in the past 4 years.

Those two articles are from George Munday, whose bio is at:
- http://www.linkedin.com/in/georgemunday
- http://www.coppercoastworkshops.com/about.htm

... a person who established stock agencies in the 1990s, and continues to both shoot and teach photography to this day.

Not the ramblings of some hack named "Qaisar Khan", that spammed a forum from Cedar Valley Community College in Dallas, Texas (according to IP trace*) -- either abusing it as a proxy, or as a wanna-be photography student trying to sell some crap e-book for $15. Remember, we don't take kindly to people who "mess about" in the media fields, pretending to be professionals.

If you want to spend $15 on a photography book, all Site Staff members are photographers (with REAL credentials and resumes, such as Associated Press photo bylines), and would be glad to respond to new forum posts asking about quality photographic learning materials.

If this e-book was on paper, it would be more suited for wiping your butt in a bathroom. From the description alone, it's so misleading as to be nothing but lies from a clueless twit who has clearly never worked in any sector of photography -- especially not stock.

-KP

Quote:

Did you know that you can earn hundreds or even thousands of extra dollars per month? from digital photos that you usually remove from your camera or computer. Did you know that you could be paid for your simple day to day photos? If not, I have good news for you. It is now easier than ever to make some extra income by selling your simple day-to-day photographs and images online on the Internet. On the other side, designers now have the opportunity to purchase high quality pictures and images online, without wasting a lot of money. They say "a picture is worth a thousand words." But for some people "A Picture can also earn a thousand dollars." Did you know that there are hundreds of ordinary digital camera snappers who are quietly going about their daily lives while earning online from home. And they earn really big. All they do is simply pointing and clicking. Today, most of the images sold online are downloaded by buyers immediately. If you want to sell your photographs online and earn some extra money, this ebook (How To Earn $300 A Week From Your Photos @ EarnFromPhotos.com) will grab you by hand and make you become a "Stock Photo Expert".

How does it work? You would create a residual income by posting images and photographs to a few online stock photography sites. The people there need new images and they visit these websites and directories buy it every day! Web traffic is increasing day by day. In fact it doubles every 100 days and further increases the demand of photographs. Therefore, uploading a few popular images may make you substantial extra income per month. Even if it's something you never thought until now - you can still make money from images that would normally clutter your computer! This is a tremendous opportunity for newbies who are intended to create a passive and residual income online from the internet at virtually no initial cost.

The methods listed in this ebook at EarnFromPhotos.com IS A SCAM / SPAMMER do not require any initial investment like the majority of other online income opportunities. All you need to have is a camera, a computer and an internet connection. Qaisar Khan EarnFromPhotos.com to grab this ebook and get benefit from this breath taking online income opportunity.

Don't spam my site again.


* Update: The spammer came back later in the day, this time logging in from a broadband account in Richardson, Texas (Dallas area). So in all likelihood, this is a CVCC student trying to pass himself off as some kind of stock photography expert, and not simply a proxy for some overseas spammer. Again, get digital photography advice from real experts -- not kids that fancy themselves as such.

[kpmedia]

A couple more thoughts...

1. Anybody looking for a good book on selling photos should pick up John Shaw's book: John Shaw's Business of Nature Photography
Buy it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...SIN=081744050X
Here's a real book, from a real pro, for under $25 shipped.
And then the advice isn't necessarily confined to nature -- the concepts transition to other photo styles.

2. For learning more about "people photography", check out the books by Rolando Gomez:
Buy them from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.ht...reative=390957
All of his books are currently in the $15-20 range for Kindle editions, or $25-30 for printed versions. Here's another real professional photographer, who has done work for Playboy (amongst other publications) -- somebody I've learned from, in person, during the past 10 years. He's a real lighting master. The concepts you'll learn from him translate perfectly into lighting required to shoot excellent stock imagery (whether you're shooting nude people, clothed people, or even inanimate objects on a table).


So skip the scams and false promises/prophets -- Get real advice instead.

[Qkonline]

Edit: Qkonline = EarnFromPhotos.com spammer.
Read a few posts down to follow the breadcrumbs, the trail of proof...
-admin

Quote:

Sorry for my question but I have already bought this ebook and am indented to implement the strategies mentioned in it. After buying this ebook I tested the authenticity of it. Just to verify the facts and claims the author has made in his website...

And it passed the test very well. Infact all the photos and proofs of income are verifiable. Here are some of the photos that the author has mentioned

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-pho...9360-grass.php
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-pho...d-strength.php

and another one:

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-pho...ppy-family.php

I am not sure whether to start implementing the strategies shown by the author or not... Because I haven't started it yet...
But looking at the authenticity and verifiable proofs of income... I dont think if its a spam...
Some of these photos have been downloaded more than 3000 times... even from istockphoto which also proofs the statement "A picture can also earn a thousand dollars" made by the author...

So I am not sure what to do. But am kind of confused....

I personally think that EarnFromPhotos.com is not a spam....
Any other guys who have bought this ebook??? please reply here

[admin]

EDIT: Note that this reply was made before the above poster was discovered to be the spammer again.
_____________________________________

Well, it is spam, because this person has been spamming forums.
Spam = unpaid, unsolicited, undesired ad, that does not otherwise add to the community in any way.

Now, as far as the information goes, it's heavily distorted -- so badly that it's essentially lies. If this book "passed" your research, then you didn't dig very deep. Or maybe you just didn't know what to look for? That's fine -- that's why I'll be glad to reply to your post, to provide some better insight. (I'd also add that much of the information from e-books like this could have simply been gleamed from reading the site FAQs -- which are free on each stock site.)

If you look at the photographers in those examples, you'll notice several things. Let's deconstruct this so-called "proof" -- as presented by the above iStockPhoto sample images.

(1) These people have obvious skill at photography, and are not using random cameras. It's very clear from numerous photos that better lenses are in use (f/2.8 apertures, for example), and that carries costs. Same for obvious lighting gear, studio space, costumes and environmental backdrops, etc. So the assertion by the spammer site that there are "No start up investment costs" is bullpuckey.

(2) These are photographers who travel -- not random people who are trying to submit "day to day photos". Dig deeper into the page of R.A. Simon, and you'll notice this quote: "on my travels to various tropical locales this past summer (2010)." Does that sound like a day-to-day photo shot by John Q. Average? No. You'll find many of the top earners are traveling photographers, who shoot all over North America, as well as exotic tropical locations.

(3) I can only assume that the author of this spammy ebook has ever actually been an iStock user -- not the photographer, but the buyer. Most photo sales are in the lowest $1 type pay range, and actual photographer profits are in pennies. A few thousand pennies, stretched over several years, amounts to nothing.

(4) The idea that a photo "can" make big money is surely true. It's just as true as the fact that you "can" win the lottery by using some sort of special system, that you "can" lose 100 pounds in 10 days, etc etc etc. It's atypical, and to cover legalities almost always comes with disclaimers. Or at least the real site does -- as opposed to this spammy e-book's false advertising technique.

(5) In the past year or so, many photographers and buyers have abandoned iStock, due to terrible photo pay combined with shoddy quality for buyers. iStockPhoto standards are often criticized for being low, as the site is bogged down with crappy images. Better sites like Photoshelter.com have filled the quality niche, both for photographers and buyers alike. I know quite a few skilled photographers that use Photoshelter, and they're actually making a decent secondary income stream. (Note that I said "secondary" -- it's rare to be able to quit your "day job" for photography.)

(6) That grass shot looks like something anybody could do -- but it's not. Have you ever shot grass stock? I have. It's not easy. The lawn has to be in golf-course condition (and even many golf courses don't look that nice). I got a "good enough" image and Photoshopped it for the project. But unless you're a master Photoshop user, forget about trying to submit a hacked-up photo to a stock catalog. And again, this particular iStock sample image is a photo that has been there for many years now.

(7) A clear picture of stock photography time/income may be best presented by this page on MicrostockGroup.com. If you want to even earn $1,000/month, you'd be looking at spending probably 30-40 hours PER WEEK on photography shooting, editing and uploading -- AND you'd have to be good at it. Not "my mom likes it" good, but professionally recognized as quality worthy of publication.


~~~~~

Now, I'm all for photographers succeeding at taking great shots -- and for those who want to make a legitimate living by doing it. But for the average Joe looking to find a way to make "easy money" -- this isn't it. Even for photographers with years of experience, stock photo can prove difficult, if not outright turn into a soul-sucking time vampire chore ordeal.

But from what I can see (based on the spam ads), this e-book is using otherwise legitimate information, and wrapping it inside of BS. And until proven otherwise, I would suggest the information that "XYZ photo earned $xxx in it's first month!" are lies. I highly doubt the photographers would share that kind of information with a nobody e-book spammer. I'd have to see some pretty convincing proof that those individuals participated in the publication of something this misleading.

Any joker can release an e-book, so go for printed books. Or Kindle/ebook editions of printed books. Only buy e-books when the author is tied to a verifiable quality business or site -- not the spammer sites like the one being derailed in this thread.

So here's another book to consider: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158...SIN=1582979561
A new edition is released every year.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qkonline

the author

Don't forget that "the author" is a random person, not a verifiable photographer of any acclaim.
This person does not exist to Google.
He/she has never done anything in the photo field, aside from write a spammy ebook.

I also think that Qkonline = "Qaiser Khan" = EarnFromPhotos spammer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpmedia

"Qaisar Khan", that spammed a forum from Cedar Valley Community College in Dallas, Texas (according to IP trace*)

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpmedia

* Update: The spammer came back later in the day, this time logging in from a broadband account in Richardson, Texas (Dallas area). So in all likelihood, this is a CVCC student trying to pass himself off as some kind of stock photography expert, and not simply a proxy for some overseas spammer. Again, get digital photography advice from real experts -- not kids that fancy themselves as such.

Did you happen to read that in the first post?
Do you really want to take business advice from an unknown community college student?
Really?

[admin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

I also think that Qkonline = "Qaiser Khan" = EarnFromPhotos spammer.

Yep.

Qkonline registered with paranormal.page@yahoo.com
from 208.54.14.69

You can find this similar comment from Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/QKonline 
QKonline Qaisar khan
www.paranormalpage.com http://ff.im/lLAFW
9 Jun

Which leads to a Google profile:

http://www.google.com/profiles/Qkstar
Qaisar khan
@QKonline Liverpool, UK.
An Artist, Magician, Web & Graphic Designer, Crazy Video Gamer, Book Worm, Movie Lover, Internet Surfer and a Friendly Frank Person.

https://profiles.google.com/qkstar#qkstar/about
Introduction - A Student as well as An Artist, Magician, Web & Graphic Designer, Crazy Video Gamer. Book Worm, Movie Lover, Internet Surfer and a Friendly Person.
Occupation - Student
Employment - Qkstar
Education - Liverpool John Moores University, present / SPS College Swat

Which then leads to quite a few pages, including Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/qkstar
Qaisar Khan 
Worked at www.Qkstar.tk (Owner/Excecuter Director)
Studied at Richland College
Lives in Dallas, Texas
Knows English, Urdu, Pushto, Hindi
From Swat, Pakistan
Employers - www.Qkstar.tk, Owner/Excecuter Director
College - Richland College, Class of 2010, Associate in Applied Science in Multimedia Web Design
University of Texas at Dallas Class of 2010
High School, Class of 2006, sps college swat, Swat Public School & College

Connect the dots, and you can easily see this is the same person. From Pakistan, then to UK, then to DFW.

Still a student, still a spammer, still no clue about the photography business.
This person has ABSOLUTELY ZERO KNOWLEDGE of this field, based on existing resume information of his own writing.

Again, just a bunch of BS spam crap. The e-book is non-authoritative garbage.

Now go away.