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Author Topic: Keeping Track  (Read 11081 times)

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« on: May 08, 2008, 16:42 »
0
I have a question for those of you who upload to multiple sites and have a lot of pictures:

How do you keep track of what you've uploaded to each site? 

I just started doing this 2 months ago and was initially only on Shutterstock.  I have three years of pictures on my hard drive that I am processing and uploading, as well as what I am currently taking.  But some sites only allow so many pictures to be uploaded in a given time period so I can't upload equally to each site. 

As a side note, I find it a bit frustrating that pictures that were accepted on SS are being rejected at other sites...particularly ones that are selling well. 


« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2008, 16:46 »
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well some people keep individual stats for each picture.. if you have more than 100 pictures or get 100's of sales a day that soon gets to be FAR too much work.

I don't keep track of sales per pic... just sales per day per site and then get averages and such from there.  I also don't keep track of what was accepted rejected on each site (although that might of been nice to know)

This is what i do to keep organized.
I edit a batch of 50 or more pictures and put the ready jpgs in a folder called batch 01, or batch 02 etc. 
The tiffs i just stockpile all together in a tiff folder.

Then i have a folder for each stock site, and paste a shortcut to the batch 01, or batch 02 folders in each stock sites folder (if that made sense).. that way i can see which batches need to be uploaded to which site while not having 10 version of the same file on my hard drive.

When i upload a batch to a site (I upload all 50 at a time) i delete the shortcut from that sites folder.

« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2008, 16:55 »
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I make  a seperate folder for  each site and then delete the images out of the folder as I upload them.

« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2008, 16:59 »
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I take a very simple approach.  I have a folder for each site.  In each folder is another folder "Not Uploaded", "Accepted" and "Rejected".  Once I upload I move everything to the "Accepted" folder and move any rejected images to the "Rejected" folder as needed.  I also have a Master Stock folder where I keep copies of everything accepted across the board.  I also add a "E" to the file name for any file that is uploaded "Exclusive" to any site.  I only upload Exclusive images to DT and FT every once in a while.

I'm sure there is a better way but this is how I started so I have stuck with it.  I will admit it uses a lot of hard drive space but for now it works fine.  Once I get to 1000 images I may have to find a better way.

The other thing I would do is stick with the Big 6.  The others aren't worth keeping up with IMO.

As far as images being accepted at one site and not at others....get used to that....each site has things they like and don't like.  Don't worry about it much...it's not you....we all see that every day.  Removing composition, make sure you are noise free at all of them.  SS hates noise.   IS hates over filtering and artifacts.  DT is hard to figure out as well as FT.  I am very selective with IS.  The rest get most everything I shoot.

I'm new at this too so I hope this helps, one noob to another.  The vets here may shed a whole new light on this topic.

« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2008, 17:05 »
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I use program called sitecopy which sync folder on your local drive with remote directory on ftp site. Each site might have a different definition so I am pointing some sites to folder containing 2MPix files and other to 4MPix files. I run a script which uploads to each site sequentially when all sites are processed just move whole batch of files to archive folder. As you see each of my batches might have to sizes of files. I generaly keep both in archive in case of enrolling to new site and then I start uploading from batch 1.

I only keep track of what I uploaded. I cannot tell what was accepted on which site cause it's post-FTP processing.

« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2008, 20:16 »
0
well some people keep individual stats for each picture.. if you have more than 100 pictures or get 100's of sales a day that soon gets to be FAR too much work.

I don't keep track of sales per pic... just sales per day per site and then get averages and such from there.  I also don't keep track of what was accepted rejected on each site (although that might of been nice to know)

This is what i do to keep organized.
I edit a batch of 50 or more pictures and put the ready jpgs in a folder called batch 01, or batch 02 etc. 
The tiffs i just stockpile all together in a tiff folder.

Then i have a folder for each stock site, and paste a shortcut to the batch 01, or batch 02 folders in each stock sites folder (if that made sense).. that way i can see which batches need to be uploaded to which site while not having 10 version of the same file on my hard drive.

When i upload a batch to a site (I upload all 50 at a time) i delete the shortcut from that sites folder.
Originally, when I was just on SS, I had a folder called NEW UPLOADS that I put pictures in that were processed.  Then I would upload the pictures and transfer them to a folder called PENDING.  After the review process, I have folders for each type of rejection and I would move them to the appropriate folder.  But now that I'm on 7 sites, that will be too much to keep up with.
My other problem is that I process and store my pictures on one computer and then put them on a USB drive and use another computer to upload them.  So, it's hard to make shortcuts, etc.

« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2008, 20:19 »
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I take a very simple approach.  I have a folder for each site.  In each folder is another folder "Not Uploaded", "Accepted" and "Rejected".  Once I upload I move everything to the "Accepted" folder and move any rejected images to the "Rejected" folder as needed.  I also have a Master Stock folder where I keep copies of everything accepted across the board.  I also add a "E" to the file name for any file that is uploaded "Exclusive" to any site.  I only upload Exclusive images to DT and FT every once in a while.

I'm sure there is a better way but this is how I started so I have stuck with it.  I will admit it uses a lot of hard drive space but for now it works fine.  Once I get to 1000 images I may have to find a better way.

The other thing I would do is stick with the Big 6.  The others aren't worth keeping up with IMO.

As far as images being accepted at one site and not at others....get used to that....each site has things they like and don't like.  Don't worry about it much...it's not you....we all see that every day.  Removing composition, make sure you are noise free at all of them.  SS hates noise.   IS hates over filtering and artifacts.  DT is hard to figure out as well as FT.  I am very selective with IS.  The rest get most everything I shoot.

I'm new at this too so I hope this helps, one noob to another.  The vets here may shed a whole new light on this topic.
Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.
Another question....pictures that were rejected by SS....should I submit them to the other sites just in case they accept them?

« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2008, 20:21 »
0
I use program called sitecopy which sync folder on your local drive with remote directory on ftp site. Each site might have a different definition so I am pointing some sites to folder containing 2MPix files and other to 4MPix files. I run a script which uploads to each site sequentially when all sites are processed just move whole batch of files to archive folder. As you see each of my batches might have to sizes of files. I generaly keep both in archive in case of enrolling to new site and then I start uploading from batch 1.

I only keep track of what I uploaded. I cannot tell what was accepted on which site cause it's post-FTP processing.
I don't know if that system would work for me because I use one computer to process my pictures and another computer to upload them.  I use a USB drive to transfer in between the two computers. 

« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2008, 20:44 »
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Quote
Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.

I find that a spreadsheet to keep track of uploads is a very good idea. I have one spreadsheet with multiple tables (microstock, midstock, macro, monthly breakdown etc.).
I found thumbnails better than filenames. I insert thumbnails vertically, and agencies horizontally. A green field means the photo has been accepted, yellow- pending, blue - it is earning (with the amount), and orange means it has been rejected at the given site.
This doesn't cost much work, once the formulas are ready, just pasting the thumbnails and updating the stats periodically, and it gives a nice & quick overview of what has been accepted where and what profit it makes.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 21:04 by Tom »

« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2008, 20:56 »
0
Quote
Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.
Another question....pictures that were rejected by SS....should I submit them to the other sites just in case they accept them?

It depends why they were rejected. If both SS and IS reject a pic, it probably isn't a great stock photo. But sometimes SS reject photos that are easily accepted elsewhere. In my case it was some night city shots, SS said "poor lighting or incorrect WB", LOL  ;D, they were accepted everywhere else. Some people will say that SS is particularly sensitive about noise, although I haven't had a noise rejection yet (joined in March).
On the other hand, SS seem to like some photos which IS says are "overfiltered"  :D

« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2008, 21:05 »
0
i've got about 3500 images in my database now -- i use excel.  my main fil lists each image b date, number, desc and keywords

there are columns for each MS site.  for new images i submit everything to all sites but IS.  and mark the column yellow.  if accepted, that goes to green, if rejected for a technuical reason, i noite that otherwise i just note it wasnt accepted [toosimilar, not stock, etc].  so i have an immediate view of what's been accepted where.

the reason for tracking rejects is that over time, as MS come & go, i need to upl to new sites, and often then resubmit to previous sites if it was something correctable or arbitrary.  i then have other wks that do actual tracking of upl, dl, sales by month, and create ongoing charts, so i always have a quick picture of what's happening.

the only thing i dont have is a tracking of sales by indiv image, because there'
s not a simple way to automate that, and on some sites it's really timeconsuming to get the info.


« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2008, 21:27 »
0
I also use the spreadsheet method for tracking. I have columns for file name, description and keywords, and a couple of columns for each agency the file is uploaded to. Coding is as simple as Pending, Active, Rejected and Black (for those that have yet to have anything done to them). I also break-up my images into broad categories to give me some summary info on the type of images that are working.

I've recently modified my sheets to give me some overall totals so I can see where there are more photos still to add (as cascoly when agencies come and go).

I don't file my images in stock specific folders but everything is labelled by date and that date info is stored in my spreadsheets so I can find them.

Currently I'm not tracking my sales figures in any effective way because I'm not selling that much :( Perhaps when the sales come rolling in it will be more worthwhile.

« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2008, 21:42 »
0
Quote
Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.

I find that a spreadsheet to keep track of uploads is a very good idea. I have one spreadsheet with multiple tables (microstock, midstock, macro, monthly breakdown etc.).
I found thumbnails better than filenames. I insert thumbnails vertically, and agencies horizontally. A green field means the photo has been accepted, yellow- pending, blue - it is earning (with the amount), and orange means it has been rejected at the given site.
This doesn't cost much work, once the formulas are ready, just pasting the thumbnails and updating the stats periodically, and it gives a nice & quick overview of what has been accepted where and what profit it makes.
How do you post thumbnails in an Excel Spreadsheet?  Right now I am just putting in the image filename but most sites don't record the filename so I'm constantly flipping back and forth looking them up.

« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2008, 21:47 »
0
Quote
Well, I don't think I'll be offering any exclusive files so I won't have to worry about that.  Perhaps I could keep a spreadsheet with the file name and then list which sites accepted or rejected the shot.
Another question....pictures that were rejected by SS....should I submit them to the other sites just in case they accept them?

It depends why they were rejected. If both SS and IS reject a pic, it probably isn't a great stock photo. But sometimes SS reject photos that are easily accepted elsewhere. In my case it was some night city shots, SS said "poor lighting or incorrect WB", LOL  ;D, they were accepted everywhere else. Some people will say that SS is particularly sensitive about noise, although I haven't had a noise rejection yet (joined in March).
On the other hand, SS seem to like some photos which IS says are "overfiltered"  :D

One of the things I've experienced with SS is rejection for focus when I'm using a shallow DOF.  For instance, I took a picture of a rattlesnake that focused on the head and the parts of the body that were closer or farther away were blurry....but it's a great pic.
I have all my rejects from SS categorized by why they were rejected.  The only thing that I find annoying or frustrating is DT allows you to upload based on your approval rating so it makes me leary to upload stuff that has been rejected by other sites. 

« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2008, 21:49 »
0
i've got about 3500 images in my database now -- i use excel.  my main fil lists each image b date, number, desc and keywords

there are columns for each MS site.  for new images i submit everything to all sites but IS.  and mark the column yellow.  if accepted, that goes to green, if rejected for a technuical reason, i noite that otherwise i just note it wasnt accepted [toosimilar, not stock, etc].  so i have an immediate view of what's been accepted where.

the reason for tracking rejects is that over time, as MS come & go, i need to upl to new sites, and often then resubmit to previous sites if it was something correctable or arbitrary.  i then have other wks that do actual tracking of upl, dl, sales by month, and create ongoing charts, so i always have a quick picture of what's happening.

the only thing i dont have is a tracking of sales by indiv image, because there'
s not a simple way to automate that, and on some sites it's really timeconsuming to get the info.


Key words would be a good thing to keep in my spreadsheet since I'm constantly having to look them up on SS to see what I've used.

« Reply #15 on: May 08, 2008, 21:52 »
0
I also use the spreadsheet method for tracking. I have columns for file name, description and keywords, and a couple of columns for each agency the file is uploaded to. Coding is as simple as Pending, Active, Rejected and Black (for those that have yet to have anything done to them). I also break-up my images into broad categories to give me some summary info on the type of images that are working.

I've recently modified my sheets to give me some overall totals so I can see where there are more photos still to add (as cascoly when agencies come and go).

I don't file my images in stock specific folders but everything is labelled by date and that date info is stored in my spreadsheets so I can find them.

Currently I'm not tracking my sales figures in any effective way because I'm not selling that much :( Perhaps when the sales come rolling in it will be more worthwhile.
Well, after I posted my question, I started working on my spreadsheet.  Right now I'm working from a bank of 179 images that were accepted to SS.  I like the idea of using colors instead of just putting and A for accepted, etc.  That way I can use the space to type file sales if I want to try that...although that seems very time consuming.

« Reply #16 on: May 08, 2008, 22:07 »
0
Quote
Key words would be a good thing to keep in my spreadsheet since I'm constantly having to look them up on SS to see what I've used.

It saves time if you embed keywords/title into the photos. It is called IPTC, most sites can read it from the image, and you don't have to enter them every time ;)

I use my stock spreadsheet only for German keywords for images that I upload to German midstock sites. I don't want to have a mess with two languages in my Bridge keyword tree.


« Reply #17 on: May 08, 2008, 23:09 »
0
Quote
Key words would be a good thing to keep in my spreadsheet since I'm constantly having to look them up on SS to see what I've used.

It saves time if you embed keywords/title into the photos. It is called IPTC, most sites can read it from the image, and you don't have to enter them every time ;)

I use my stock spreadsheet only for German keywords for images that I upload to German midstock sites. I don't want to have a mess with two languages in my Bridge keyword tree.
How do you embed keywords into the photo?

RT


« Reply #18 on: May 09, 2008, 06:31 »
0
How do you embed keywords into the photo?

File > File Info .... and fill in the keyword box seperated by commas.

« Reply #19 on: May 09, 2008, 11:54 »
0
How do you embed keywords into the photo?

File > File Info .... and fill in the keyword box seperated by commas.
THANKS!

« Reply #20 on: May 11, 2008, 10:20 »
0
I use a MS Access database, but Excel would be fine.

With Access, I have a column for file name, and a 3 of columns for each agency - index number, check box for accepted, and notes. 

Once I upload to a site, I put in the index number.  So blank index numbers mean I haven't uploaded to that site (lots in iStock, due to my current 25 upload/week limit). 

If it's accepted, I put a check in the accepted collumn, If it's rejected, I put an "r - noise."  If I feel like correcting it, I'll also blank out the index number, so, so it's once more obvious that it needs to be uploaded/resubmitted.

I don't bother with individual pic sales stats, as it's far too time consuming and not worth it to me.  If I want to see how well a pic is selling, I just use the site tools.


 

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