Shutterstock Custom Assignments

Shutterstock Custom assignments seem to be working well for some contributors. Below you will answers to my questions from two of of the more successful Custom Assignment contributors, Adrianne Haskins and Jeremy Pawlowski. Haskins is based in Tenessee and Pawlowski in Portland Oregon.  To see Pawlowski’s work check out this link and for Haskins work go to this site.

Contributor: Adrianne Haskins

Question:  When did you do your first Shutterstock Custom assignment?
Answer:  My first assignment was in October of 2016.



Question:  How many different Custom projects have you worked on?
Answer:  I’ve worked on 135 Shutterstock Custom projects to date.

Question:  Were all the projects for the same customer, or were they for many different


customers?
Answer:  Most of the projects have been for different customers, but I do have a few repeat clients.

Question:  What was the subject matter?
Answer:  The subject matter can vary given Shutterstock Custom works with a broad range of Industries. I primarily work on beauty and health product-focused assignments, and I occasionally take on other varied subject matters including consumer goods like pizza.



Question:   How much time is involved in shooting the average project?
Answer:  Projects definitely vary in length of time and shoots can take anywhere from 2-20 hours to complete.

Question:  How much time do you need to spend in planning before a shoot begins? How much
time do you spend on post production?
Answer:  I typically plan and “prop-hunt” a couple of days before shooting. Planning can take anywhere from 2-6 hours. Regarding post production, I try to keep it pretty light. A small assignment could be about an hour, and a bigger job could be around 3 hours of post-production.

Question:  Were there expenses that were not covered in the project specifications?
Answer:  I’ve never come across the issue of expenses not being covered. Sometimes I’ll buy things out of pocket if I plan to use it again, but that’s a rare case.

Question:  Have you bid on projects that you didn’t get? If so, how many?
Answer:  Oh yes, lots of times! I don’t think I could come up with a number.

Question:  Are you a regular contributor to the Shutterstock collection? If so, how does what you earn from Custom assignments compare with what you earn from regular stock licensed by Shutterstock?
Answer:  Shutterstock Custom is basically my main source of income. Any money I get from stock is just extra income. I definitely receive more earnings for Custom work than stock.

Question:  Some photographers I have talked to feel that they might earn more money shooting the subject matter requested in Custom assignments and just submitting it as stock rather than giving it exclusively to one customer. What are your thoughts?
Answer:  I have to disagree. I haven’t submitted too much for stock photos but it does seem rather open-ended unless you’re already established. Shutterstock Custom assignments have a definite timeline and earnings. Plus, if you do well, the client can always request to work with you again!

Question:  Are you earning a living as a photographer, or is photography a sideline?
Answer:  Yes, I am a full-time photographer.

Question:  Were all your Custom shoots Hyperlapse projects, or were they regular still photography?
Answer:  I specialize in still photography.

Question:  Were your Custom shoots video shoots instead of stills?
Answer:  No, I have only completed projects that requested still photography.

Question:  Was the output of your Custom shoots mostly used online, or was it used in print?
Answer:  I think all of my work for Shutterstock Custom has been used in social media
and online advertising.

Question:  Do you have your stock photography with other distributors in addition to Shutterstock?
Answer:  I have had accounts with other distributors, but I don’t use anything else anymore besides Shutterstock.

Contributor: Jeremy Pawlowski

Question:  When did you do your first Shutterstock Custom assignment?
Answer:  I did my first assignment for Shutterstock Custom in March of 2016.

Question:  How many different Custom projects have you worked on?
Answer:  Counting them all back, I’ve done close to 230!

Question:  Were all the projects for the same customer, or were they for many different customers?
Answer:  The range of customers and projects vary. There are a handful of brands that I’ve worked with over and over again though.

Question:  What was the subject matter?
Answer:  Most of my briefs are food or product oriented with a few lifestyle shoots thrown in to the mix.

Question:  How much time is involved in shooting the average project?
Answer:  Every project varies and luckily so does the pay. Most of the briefs I take on can be shot in a day, but I have done quite a few bigger and more complex shoots that have taken multiple days of shooting due to the change in environments, setups, and props needed.

Question:  How much time do you need to spend in planning before a shoot begins? How much time do you spend on post production?
Answer:  Quite a few hours are spent planning shots, sourcing props online, or running to various stores if any items needed to complete the shoot can not be found online. The post-production time varies per project size, but I aim to get things looking good in-camera, so that most of the editing required would just be minor touch
ups.

Question:  Were there expenses that you had that were not covered in the project specifications?
Answer:  There have been a few projects where the prop budget needed to be increased just based on the nature of what was requested, but for almost all of the projects I do the given budget is enough to work with. It also doesn’t hurt that I’ve amassed a sizable amount of props and backgrounds over the past 3 years that can be used for multiple projects.

Question:  Have you bid on projects that you didn’t get? If so, how many?
Answer:  In the beginning, bidding on projects was very touch and go. I would show interest in a lot of projects and not get them. Coming up with an exact number is difficult but I would guess upwards of 100. I’ve established myself now and have delivered consistently good work, so I now am assigned the majority of the
projects that I show interest in.

Question:  Are you a regular contributor to the Shutterstock collection? If so, how does what you earn from Custom assignments compare with what you earn from regular stock licensed by Shutterstock?
Answer:  I have also been a contributor to the Shutterstock collection for the past year. As of now, my earnings are far greater from Custom assignments as the payout per download from the Shutterstock collection is quite low.

Question:  Some photographers I have talked to feel that they might earn more money shooting the subject matter requested in Custom assignments and just submitting it as stock rather than giving it exclusively to one customer. What are your thoughts?
Answer:  I’ve had this thought many times, and in the long run, shooting a similar subject matter for stock may actually be more beneficial due to the ability to earn residual income from it, but only if you’re with an agency that has higher payouts than the standard microstock model.

Question:  Are you earning a living as a photographer, or is photography a sideline?
Answer:  I’m currently a full-time freelance food and product photographer.

Question:  Were your Custom shoots video shoots instead of stills?
Answer:  I have done a few video briefs for Shutterstock Custom and would love to do more! Right now the majority of briefs that come through are for strictly still photography.

Question:  Was the output of your Custom shoots mostly used online, or was it used in print?
Answer:  When I look at past brands that I’ve worked with through Shutterstock Custom, most of what I can find is used online for websites, social media, etc.

Question:  Do you have your stock photography with other distributors in addition to Shutterstock?
Answer:  I’m also a regular stock contributor with Adobe and Stocksy.

It is unclear whether the majority of assignments are in the U.S. or whether these two contributors just happen to be based in the U.S.  Shutterstock accepts contributors from all over the world, but virtually all the assignments are for low budgets involving little or no travel expenses. Thus, the subject matter of the assignments would need to be something that could be shot near the photographer’s home base.

When a photographer agrees to do an assignment (brief in Shuttterstock terms) it is usually for a specified number of photos to be delivered for a specified gross price. The client then has the option of choosing all or a few of the delivered images as acceptable and pay a proportionate share of the listed gross price depending on the number of images accepted. It is conceivable that the photographer would receive nothing but Shutterstock says, “It is very rare that photographers receive no payment outright, and it would only happen if the content is vastly off brief or of poor quality.”

Shutterstock continues, “Our Custom photographers and videographers go through a strict portfolio review, tiering and genre certification before being eligible to receive projects. We have three tiers to match photographer skill levels, with project matching tailored to their individual skill set. This ensures that both the brand and contributor are aligned on the content that will be created.”

For more information about how to apply for Custom Assignments check out the 29 page Photographer Success Guide. To get an idea of what some of the Custom projects are like check out these case studies. To apply to become a contributor go here.