pancakes

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Author Topic: Another iStockphoto application  (Read 4710 times)

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« on: August 05, 2010, 15:18 »
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Here some pictures I selected for my next try to apply for iStockphoto - many thanks for your critique

The single pictures:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9134818/_MG_2590-Bearbeitet.jpg [nofollow]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9134818/_MG_4610-Bearbeitet.jpg [nofollow]
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9134818/Studio-Fotosession-090-33.jpg [nofollow]

The gallery:
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9134818/1/iPhotoStock?h=f76460 [nofollow]


« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2010, 15:58 »
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I am no longer up on how picky they are for applications but my observations

1st one has banding in the sky, white balance seems to have a little too much green to me, seems something running the edge of istock saying 'overfiltered'
2nd one hopefully doesnt need a property release? (I wouldnt have a clue)
3rd one background isnt quite white (I'd hit the background with magic wand, levels to bring it up the last couple of points, then feather the mask about 5 pixels to make it clean)

good luck!

« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2010, 16:03 »
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I wouldn't be optimistic. They appear to be way over-processed, unoriginal in their subject matter and not stock oriented. You need to understand a lot more about STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY or you will just be wasting your time.

Buy Douglas Freer's book and/or wait for Rob Sylvan's which will be available from Amazon UK on 17/8. I imagine the latter will be well worth the money from a guy who has been at the heart of microstock for 8 years now;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taking-Stock-Microstock-Creating-Photos/dp/0321713079/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281041893&sr=8-3

« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2010, 18:02 »
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Definitely going to check out the book. Thanks (didn't mean to hijack).

« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2010, 12:34 »
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The first 2 are so-so. Not exactly stocky.  I'm going to say poor lighting and and poor isolation on the third (because of the poor lighting, the isolation suffers). You'd be better off with a pic of a well lit well dressed cheeseburger.

Dook

« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2010, 13:20 »
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I think the 1st and the 3rd are stock oriented and are just fine for your application. The 2nd is a snapshot if you ask me. I think you should add one picture with people on it, just for diversity and to show your shooting skills in this important photography area. Be aware that you DON'T need a model release ( or property release) for the application, you just can't upload the picture to your portfolio later, when you get accepted. A little bit of cheating :-X

« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2010, 15:02 »
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Thank you for your feedback so far.

I reworked the pumpkin photo - now it should have really white background, but I agreed that it is not original.

I am wondering if the new landscape I attached to this post was more suitable. It is no HDR but I combined serveral layers for the photo. On one hand side, I am aware of the "over-processed" problem, on the other hand side, the top selling landscape pictures at Fotolia look also quite processed:

http://us.fotolia.com/id/12348626 [nofollow]
http://us.fotolia.com/id/3256956 [nofollow]

By the way, there are also German Stock photography books (for the German speaking guys) - I read this one:
http://www.amazon.de/Stockfotografie-ProfiFoto-verdienen-eigenen-Fotos/dp/3826658868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281124529&sr=8-1 [nofollow]

Basically it says that people photos sell best, but I would like try w/o people shots.

Reworked pumpkin shot:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9134818/Studio-Fotosession-090-33-1.jpg [nofollow]

Another landscape:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9134818/_MG_9972.jpg [nofollow]

Gallery:
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/9134818/1/iPhotoStock2?h=934f16 [nofollow]

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #7 on: August 06, 2010, 15:11 »
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I  like the landscape, but again you run the risk of it getting rejected for over processing. iStock is very picky when it comes to that. I honestly didn't realize the second one was a pumpkin. I thought it was a onion....lol

« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2010, 15:16 »
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Your landscape is beautiful. But I wouldn't risk sending it for the application. I'll tell you why.
Yellow flowers is too yellow and blown out. IS doesn't like too saturated colors.

About overfiltering: As I understand, Istock says that image is overfiltered if processing affects print quality of the image.

« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2010, 15:20 »
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I think you also overuse noise reduction on the bush in the front of a house. I don't see any details there.

« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2010, 15:21 »
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The pumpkin is interesting but the front looks a bit dark. Also, I would clean up the flaws on the gourd with the healing brush and clone tool to make it look perfect.

The landscape is attractive but the focus looks soft. There is also purple fringing on the trees along the horizon.

« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2010, 15:43 »
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Do you open your raw files in photoshop, or you have some canon program for that? I'm asking because I get purple fringing when I open nikon raw files in photoshop, but there is no any fringing if I use CNX, which is nikon software.

« Reply #12 on: August 06, 2010, 15:49 »
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I open my raw files in Lightroom, do there the basic work and then open it (via Lightroom) in Photoshop.

Actually Camera Raw 6 has this lens correction feature which should remove chromatic aberration, but obviously, I did not take care enough of it by myself for the landscape pictures.

I could imagine that your Nikon raw converter has a lens correction feature which removes chromatic aberration and (if you use older version of Camera Raw) Photoshop not.

« Reply #13 on: August 06, 2010, 16:39 »
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Don't worry because you forget to do do some things like correcting chromatic aberration. Soon you will do all these stuff automatically. You won't even think about it.


 

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