Guilfoyle Report, worth it?

When the rates for Guilfoyle Report were increased awhile ago, I let

my subscription lapse. I know this was part of their intention, to

reduce the number of subscribers. I would be interested in the

opinions of continuing subscribers, are you getting your money�s

worth?

I personally had the GR for 1 yr and was not pleased with it enough to

warrant subscribing again. Photographers Market was and still is one

of the most useful tools in the business for folks who aspire to get

published. While maybe not as descriptive as GF, PM covers more bases,

enough to get your foot in the door with the editors to find out what

they need.

I subscribed a few years ago and found it to educational in that it

became quite obvious that I was not able to provide the kinds of

images that were in great demand - the extreme, the exotic and the

specialized. If you are interested in finding out what kinds of

images you should be doing to satisfy these demands or if you have

far out-of-the-ordinary images, it is a worthwhile investment.

 

<p>

 

Frank

I've sold enough through it to pay for my subscription, that's about

it. It is educational, as Frank mentioned.

 

<p>

 

I've developed a slightly different spin than Frank has on what the

newsletter shows, though. Rather than "the stuff that sells, the

exotic etc." what shows up there seems to be what editors can't get

from their normal menagerie of shooters. The photo editors of two

national magazines I've published in e-mail me (and others) regularly

with upcoming wants, for instance, and I don't see these requests in

the Guilfoyle Report - they're filled right away by shooters the

editor already knows and has confidence in. A lot of mundane stuff

gets sold, you just need to be in position to sell it, and the GR

won't help much there.

 

<p>

 

So ... most of the time you see really weird, specialized stuff. Also

, at least have of the requests are for travel, not nature,

photography. What I've learned from this is that when I'm at a marina

shooting wintering loons or grebes, my chances of having something

available to sell to someone increases if I remember to take a few

shots of the marina itself!

 

<p>

 

The newsletter does do a good job of tracking personal changes at

major magazines, agencies, etc and has frequent editorial pieces on

the state of the marketplace, trends, etc.

 

<p>

 

My current plan is to subscribe one more year, in order to help me

continue to learn more about what's going on. Reading it's an

independent study course as much as anything :)

Would you please describe what the Guilfoyle Report is? It sounds somewhat interesting and I have never heard of it. Thanks!

Go to their <a href="http://www.agpix.com">home page</a> for

information on the report and other publications and services offered

by the same folks.

I subscribed to the Guilfoyle Report from 1982 till 1997. I believe

it was around $40 and didn't get out of hand until recent years. Back

then it was one of the few sources for the type of information now

available from sources such as this forum. Reviews on equipment

catering to nature and wildlife photographers as well as articles on

submission guidelines were excellent. Also good were the interviews

with editors of many of the premier magazines. I did find that the

"wants" were for the most so specific that it was almost comical at

times; things that they could not find from their regulars on their

want lists or stock agencies. As others stated befor it did give you

an idea of what is weak at the agencies etc. I do feel that I learned

a lot from my time with them and that it is a good publication but

also that the subscription price has gotten a bit out of hand. Too

bad.

I have subscribed to the Guilfoyle Report for a number of years. It is

expensive ($275) now, but where else can you get that kind of

information? You do need to have a fair amount of stock to make it pay

for itself. But it only takes 1 to 2 sale per year to do that. I have

more than payed for it each year. It has given me access to markets

that I may not have found otherwise. It does have a number of specific

requests but if you have what they are looking for your chances for a

sale are quite good. It has also helped me learn what the markets are

looking for. I would definately recommend it.

I also was one to recently let my subscription to GR lapse. I believe I'd been subscribing since the early to mid 80's. I originally subscribed to get some insight on what people were looking for, avenues for sales, other related info etc....

 

I couldn't justify the last increase even though I was one of the original group of e-mail subscribers (and appreciated that format). I've only worked in nature photography on the side and am primarily a landscapist. The higher price of staying on line bumped me, and as others have eluded to, this was certainly part of the intent.

 

I will miss certain features...always enjoyed John Shaw's equipment column.

 

Good forum, just found it.