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Topics - Carl
1
« on: February 27, 2016, 07:28 »
I received several automated email messages yesterday from DP indicating photo sales, one of which was an EL which netted me $28.32. I clicked on the image, which is supposed to take me to the page on which the image is for sale, and I get an error message along with a log-in for "DPH Developers only." So I went to my dashboard and discovered that only one of the sales is listed (34 cents), and it shows my balance as $10.78. Is anyone else showing such discrepancies on the DP site?
2
« on: July 06, 2015, 03:51 »
I'm trying to check my stats on DP, but it takes me to their Russian site, and I can't seem to get to the English site. Anyone else having this problem?
UPDATE: I found the English link on the site, and everything seems to be back to normal, except for the fact that I just got an EL sale that netted me over 35 bucks. That's definitely not normal! Woohoo!
3
« on: March 29, 2015, 14:54 »
I recently uploaded video files to 123RF for the first time, but in the process of moving from the FTP server to the site server, they just disappeared. As in "not there." Not even in the history. Gone. Vanished. Anyone else have this experience? I'm wondering if I should try again or if it's an exercise in futility.
4
« on: December 12, 2014, 07:51 »
I'm looking for a low-cost, high-quality source for fine-art exhibit prints. Probably 20 x 24, maybe larger. Can anyone recommend one?
5
« on: September 01, 2014, 05:05 »
SS has always been the highest performer for me, and it continues to be so, but for the first time in the several years I've been a contributor there, I failed to make payout for two consecutive months (July and August). I've had a few months here and there that I was just a bit short of the required minimum for payout, but never for two months in a row... until now. I'm wondering if it's just a fluke, or is it the beginning of a trend? 
6
« on: March 26, 2014, 06:56 »
I got a message yesterday from CS telling me that they rejected photo and video files that I submitted to them in 2010! Better late than never, I suppose. The reason was the same for all files: "File contains high levels of compression artifacts (halos, blocky, or fringed pixels)." None of the inspectors on the other sites are seeing compression artifacts in the video files. Makes me wonder what these inspectors are smokin'!  It also explains why CS is a low earner for me.
7
« on: March 13, 2014, 12:18 »
I've never had anything even close to a S&OD sale that netted me $82.92, on SS or any other site, until today. It's a shot of my small, experimental pallet vegetable garden: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=146876147 . I hope it's not gonna turn out to be a mistake or a refund situation.
8
« on: December 01, 2013, 17:15 »
I'd like to overlay 12-month calendars on some of my images. Anyone know how to create such an overlay in Office or Photoshop? Or where I can find such an overlay that I can sell after putting it on my images?
9
« on: June 29, 2013, 10:35 »
I have some photos of a model, for whom I have a signed release, at a tourist attraction, for which I do not have a property release, so the photos will be uploaded as editorial. I'm wondering if I should include the model release.
10
« on: June 17, 2013, 06:12 »
I downloaded the PSM update, and I'm unable to use it because it now requires lightroom registration, which I'm not interested in. Is there another viable keywording/IPTC editing program that's free?
11
« on: June 14, 2013, 07:27 »
I uploaded files recently to DP, and the "Unfinished Files" indicator correctly indicates the number of files waiting to be "finished," but when I click on it, I get a blank area where the files should be, so I'm unable to "finish" them. Anyone else having this problem?
12
« on: February 26, 2013, 05:38 »
I saw a sale listed at 123RF yesterday, and it disappeared a couple of hours later. Still no notice of a cancellation or refund. Is anyone having a problem with disappearing sales?
13
« on: December 11, 2012, 09:29 »
I can log in with my FTP software program, but when it tries to upload, I get an error message from the server that says, "Forbidden command argument."
14
« on: November 12, 2012, 05:41 »
Until recently, sales on DP were occasional at best. A few weeks ago, it went to multiple daily sales. Anyone else experiencing the same?
15
« on: October 02, 2012, 10:34 »
Is anyone else having problems with the bins on P5? My bins aren't displaying all of the files I've put in them. For example, one bin indicated that there were a total of 87 files in it, but it only displayed 25 of them. Another bin indicates that it has 69 files, and it displays zero. As in, "none" - not one of them. I've tried it in I.E., Google Chrome, and Firefox, all with the same results.
16
« on: September 20, 2012, 06:30 »
I just had a RF image sell on Alamy for $250+, which is my biggest sale to date. Of course, with the Alamy payout system, it will be some time next year before I actually get it, but it's money in the bank. 
17
« on: September 08, 2012, 05:22 »
I just had my first photo sale on Pond5 (been selling video there for years), and I gotta tell ya, it felt * good to get $7.50 instead of 27 cents! 
18
« on: June 19, 2012, 22:25 »
Since there's no functionality on CS allowing a bulk assignment of categories, I'm wondering if it's worth the time and effort to assign up to three categories for each photo after it's approved. Does anyone have any data indicating how much buyers use the category function to locate and purchase images? I myself just do keyword searches when I'm looking for a particular type of image. Am I unique in that regard?
Sales for me at CS are only occasional, so I can't justify spending a lot of time on the site.
19
« on: April 30, 2012, 09:50 »
It's the case of the mysterious disappearing sale. It was there earlier this morning; now it's not. Add to this the conflicting information I received about resubmitting ( http://www.microstockgroup.com/123royaltyfree-com/resubmitting/), and one has to wonder what else might be askew that we don't see. Then, of course, there's the log-in fiasco. The first screen is the revised agreement, below which are agree and disagree buttons, which are about as useful as screen doors on a submarine because this is prior to logging in. After logging in (having to type in the insipid captcha-type code), the same screen appears, but without the agree and disagree buttons. It leads me to believe that the site is falling apart.
20
« on: April 11, 2012, 15:48 »
So I somehow neglected to attach model releases to some photos, which were rejected because of it. (I think it must have been a system error.) I attached the releases to the rejected photos. My question is whether or not the rejected photos will be placed back in the que, or must I reupload them?
22
« on: February 19, 2012, 06:06 »
I just got 19 cents for a photo on DP. It's a personal record for the least amount I've been paid for one. The race to the bottom heats up! 
23
« on: January 24, 2012, 06:16 »
Hi, all. I just uploaded a batch of about 30 photos to Alamy, and I've decided to go exclusive with those images. I've been with Alamy for about a year, uploading nonexclusive RF images, and have one sale. With this latest batch (a beautiful blonde model with various facial expressions, varied wardrobe, etc.), I decided to do a test and make them exclusive to the site. If you were in my position, would you go RF or RM?
24
« on: January 20, 2012, 07:40 »
I've come to the conclusion that low-earning sites are also sites on which the contributor uploading mechanism is ill-conceived, bulky, troublesome, and (most important) time-consuming. The reason is because they use the same design rationale for the buyers that they use for the contributors, so if the uploading mechanism is burdensome, the purchase mechanism will be likewise. Therefore, the buyers will tend to do business at other sites with better (more user-friendly and streamlined) designs. For example, the FT upload mechanism allows only one file to be edited at a time, including the assignment of model or property releases, and it can take a long time to wade through all of those stinkin' categories. Contrast that with SS where I can assign a model release to multiple files, edit multiple files on one page, and submit multiple files with one click. Example: I've been a contributor to FT since March of 2009, and I have 1445 files in my portfolio. I might average a half dozen sales per month. I've been a contributor to SS since April of 2005. I started with video and was accepted as a still photographer in September of 2010. I currently have 1570 files in my portfolio, and I experience consistent daily sales. In summary, it seems that there's a connection between the upload mechanism and the profitability of a site because the same design rationale is used for the contributor and the buyer. My conclusion is that I get a better return on the investment of my time uploading to those sites with the most efficient upload mechanism. One exception, however, is CanStockPhoto. Very efficient upload mechanism, but sales (and even views) have dropped to zero. I'd be interested in knowing whether or not other contibutors have the same observation and conclusion. My top seller at SS, downloaded 87 times thus far:  My second-best seller, downloaded 57 times thus far: 
25
« on: January 16, 2012, 19:34 »
I'm curious to know what the general workflow volume is for other stock photographers. I shoot primarily with models, and I'm doing good to get 30 viable photos per week. For instance, I just finished retouching the shots from Wednesday of last week (it's Monday evening as I write). There are a total of 28 retouched out of a raw count of 73. Some of the 28 finished photos will get rejected, of course, and that number will vary significantly from site to site. Having finished keywording, I'm uploading to the first of a handful of sites, after which I'll have to further process them on the sites in order to submit. Some sites, as you probably know, are a breeze (i.e. SS only takes a minute or two). Others are very tedious and time-consuming, like Fotolia where we can only edit one file at a time. And forget IS! I don't upload there at all any more. But it easily will be a full week from shoot to submit for this batch. So with 28 viable files, averaging roughly - what - 20 files being accepted? (God forbid that we should submit too many of a good thing!) That's 20 files per week in a game where we need 20,000 files to make an income that even approaches something decent. It will take 1000 weeks to do that... 20 years! (19.23 years if you want to get technical.) And that's working a full 52 weeks per year! Are we all that desperate?? 
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