I wonder if there was an opinion on whether to upload Christmas, for instance, now, when most of the pictures have been bought or wait until August/September when advertisers are starring to make Christmas plans. I know I have worked summers on Christmas shots for consumer product companies catalog. I guess the question is does 'newness' count in searches and should I be uploading Valentines day? (And in addition I thank you all who comment regularly, I benefit from your knowledge and experience.) 

Christmas images are difficult to sell these days. Years worth of images and competition. You can submit any time of the year. Doesn't matter these days at a stock site. But you're really going to have to think things though, do your research and be creative. Bot to mention be wise on how much work you wanna put in an image. Whether photo or illustration. 

I meant to say "Not to mention"  not " Bot to mention" but the darn edit is broken again. 

AI, algorithms and similar have destroyed our mind and thoughts! Speaking stock and rankimg, Bots do worth mentioning!

On topic, as a newbie i still am behind trends or even seasonal stuff. @JimmyC if this helps, i was shooting the whole summer and submitted at fall. Although a person from the other hemisphere might need a clip of sunny beach, a lifegueard tower and peoppe swimming, i believe that until next spring those clips will produce no views or income. But i think that in the meantime they will get a rank and position in marketplace library. Last years few valentine clips hope to be ranked for this year. Etc.etc. TLDR: submit them and give time. And as k_t_g said, check what's currently saturated and try to be creative. For me this is the part i struggle the most. Fresh and creative ideas and concepts.

adobe completely dead this week....by the way....alredy holiday_

i upload when i get images meta'd - most recently uploaded fall images & had several sales right away - trying to outguess buyers is a fool's game

I also upload when I have something, I don't try to play the system, just upload and send them off into the wild. 

Christmas theme images sold, one July, September and October. Then starting November - 5, so far December - 9. I didn't go back farther.

Newest holiday uploads for this year, last couple weeks, no sales. All of the above were uploaded last year when I was motivated for a few days. Keeping my attention is a moving target. I do something, get bored, change, go forward, get new ideas and every now and then, I go back to something I liked doing. I may not be rich on stock and I'm not boring either. 

Last year I uploaded a pic of my Christmas tree to several sites.  Adobe was the only one to reject it.  They wanted a property release.  I could've done one, but didn't feel like my lowly tree would get any action, so wasn't worth the time to fill out a form.

Then one day I was watching The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  He was doing his usual Friday Thank You Notes bit.  And he was thanking Christmas trees for the 10,000 needles he'll be finding in his carpet until August.  As the picture of a Christmas tree was fading into the screen, I thought, "Oh, I have that same Christmas tree skirt!"  As the picture came in fully, I went into shock...it was MY Christmas tree photo!  Mind you, this was not a set-up stock scene.  This was just a quick shot in my living room of my own personal decoration.

Of course, all my friends and family whom I told about it wanted to know how much I made from my photo being featured on a major television show.  And that's where I would look to the ground and not want to answer....because I probably only got 10 cents. lol

I have sold the photo several more times on that site, and on other sites as well.  I still wonder why anyone would buy my plain-Jane tree photo when there are so many better shots.  But it just goes to show you that you never know what is going to sell and what is not.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with the original question about when to submit Christmas photos, but thought the story was worth a share anyway.

Quote from: Hoodie Ninja on December 12, 2019, 15:38

..because I probably only got 10 cents. lol

Do not upload to sites that pay you 10 cents. shame on you 

That's your takeaway from the whole story?  Jeesh. smh

That site is 27% of my income.  Don't tell me what to do.  You worry about yourself.

Quote from: Hoodie Ninja on December 12, 2019, 15:38

I still wonder why anyone would buy my plain-Jane tree photo when there are so many better shots.  But it just goes to show you that you never know what is going to sell and what is not.

Sometimes the buyer deliberately want shots that are not 'better'
I had two photos appear Saturday Night Live in the last 12 months. Both were boring photos of people. Neither of them would be considered super attractive. Just average looking. Thus they clearly wanted show average looking people photos in their skit.

Perhaps not the case. Hoodie Ninja as most artists developed the sense of framing and composition and this reflects outside photography to everyday life, from making a tost to decorating a tree or a room. No matter the style or the 10cent reward. A tree deco is a personal perspective and view assuming the millions of combinations and colors available.

Ontopic, i only rushed once to upload when i saw a "void" in all agencies on a specific subject that went newsviral. Well, too late, until accepted clips were old news, didn't sell anything and since, i upload to my will whenever i have some time available plus the mood to deal with my por English vocabulary and missspells   For a new small port like mine everything documented in real time therefor everything is late. This is why i think that there is no rush and they will rank for next year

Quote from: charged on December 12, 2019, 19:29

Quote from: Hoodie Ninja on December 12, 2019, 15:38

I still wonder why anyone would buy my plain-Jane tree photo when there are so many better shots.  But it just goes to show you that you never know what is going to sell and what is not.

Sometimes the buyer deliberately want shots that are not 'better'
I had two photos appear Saturday Night Live in the last 12 months. Both were boring photos of people. Neither of them would be considered super attractive. Just average looking. Thus they clearly wanted show average looking people photos in their skit.

Perhaps not the case. Hoodie Ninja as most artists developed the sense of framing and composition and this reflects outside photography to everyday life, from making a tost to decorating a tree or a room. No matter the style or the 10cent reward. A tree deco is a personal perspective and view assuming the millions of combinations and colors available.

Well, in all fairness, I did call it a plain-Jane shot.  There's no presents or other decorations to really speak of.  But maybe the plain-ness is what they wanted.  Just a tree.  Not much else.