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Author Topic: Moving on from IS exclusive  (Read 48193 times)

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« Reply #150 on: February 04, 2012, 15:24 »
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I have given up on SS and going to concentrate on my main earner which is IS (and that's still low). SS might be great for most people here but for me it has proved no returns on the time invested. I can't see it being any different from what it is now in the future. For me SS is the "Emperor's New Clothes" of microstock. With 1 or 2 sales a day of around 25 cents I can't understand how this can be sustainable.

I went back to page 1 of this topic when you first posted, which was the end of November. So if I am correct, you have only had images up on SS for a couple of months? If that is correct, I don't think that you are being entirely fair to SS. I started with these sites in 2005, and even back then, when things were going great, I never started seeing good returns until after I had about 500 images up, and that includes on IS too.

It is, of course, your decision as far as being non-exclusive or exclusive, but I don't understand your expectations. Of course you aren't going to see great returns with that few of images in that short amount of time. It sounds like you were expecting almost instanteous returns and microstock, really, is all about quantity and a slow build.

I totally agree with Shady Sue:

Quote
IMHO, having jumped ship and started uploading to SS you should give it a few more months and submit equally and consider submitting to a wider range of agenices. You need to give independence a fair try to see if it's a better match for you over time.

You should at least give it a year. And increasing your uploads and as others have stated, maybe branching out into other subjects.


Noodles

« Reply #151 on: February 04, 2012, 16:27 »
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As much as I hate photos being modified for impact, I fear in your case it may be the only solution to see some results. SS is quite lenient in this area so experiment Herg, experiment!

For example (and these are quick and rough)

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #152 on: February 04, 2012, 16:42 »
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Maybe someone who knows how keywording works on SS will chip in on this specific:
You've got a photo of a Herring Gull, keyworded inter alia Seagull, gull, herring.
Herring can't possibly be correct, as there isn't a herring in the photo.
I don't know if SS has keyword phrases, so if you put , Herring Gull, does that make a keyword search term? Or do you need to put "Herring Gull"? Or ... ?
Also you should put the scientific binomial, in case people whose first language isn't English are looking for a photo of that species. (though IME, most people seem to search on 'seagull'  ::)  )

Similarly, you've got a photo of a marsh marigold, which is tagged marigold and marsh. You do have the scientific binomial, but it's split, as each individual word seems to be in alphabetical order - is that how SS works? Other bizarre keywords you've got for that flower are mother, direction, sun, water and Easter (detail and detailed are debatable, but I wouldn't have put them on that photo).
« Last Edit: February 04, 2012, 17:06 by ShadySue »

« Reply #153 on: February 04, 2012, 17:15 »
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Shady Sue (and others) bring up an excellent point. Keywording for IS is WAY different than keywording for SS. You will definitely need to go through and edit those. For IS, at one time, they suggested adding all the superfluous words like isolated, horizontal, vertical, from above, etc. ad nauseum. You might as well remove those words for SS.

Since I have uploaded to several sites all along, typically what I did was keyword for all the other sites, then duplicated my image and saved for IS, then added all those DA words they liked to have.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #154 on: February 04, 2012, 17:17 »
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It doesn't take much to work out I should be getting as good, if not better sales at SS (going by what people report here and the stats to the right of the forum lists)
Like I said before, it seems you didn't look at the portfolios of those who said they were doing well at SS to see what sells well there.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #155 on: February 04, 2012, 17:19 »
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Shady Sue (and others) bring up an excellent point. Keywording for IS is WAY different than keywording for SS. You will definitely need to go through and edit those.
The way he's keyworded these two particular files definitely wouldn't work at iStock. Both 'Herring Gull' and 'Marsh Marigold' are in the CV. What I don't know is whether SS has keyword phrases like that, or not, like Alamy (  >:( )

« Reply #156 on: February 04, 2012, 20:41 »
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What improvement would this software give from my Raw images other than using Raw shooter. Colour, saturation  ?

First off all you must have calibrated monitor. Without that any software RAW converter will not be accurate...
Dont be so trustworthy this days/months at acceptance ratio at IS because they desperate needs any files for feeding ThingStok, so in my case I have nearly acceptance ratio on both sites which isnt be same few years ago.

« Reply #157 on: February 04, 2012, 20:56 »
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OK, I do not shoot in raw.
UNLESS it is unimportant pictures for the news, like burning houses at night. Then is nice to have a raw file that you can step up or down.

Else not.
For micro exposure HAS to be correct.

So I shoot jpg for microstock
I use photoshop elements to trim the photos. (CS5 is better)
I use Dusegard to keyword.

http://dusegard.se/PhotoKeywording.aspx

the whole point in microstock is to shoot keywords, not attach keywords to your photo.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #158 on: February 04, 2012, 21:16 »
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Some good points I will take on board. Thanks.

« Reply #159 on: February 04, 2012, 21:22 »
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As much as I hate photos being modified for impact, I fear in your case it may be the only solution to see some results. SS is quite lenient in this area so experiment Herg, experiment!

For example (and these are quick and rough)

nice job :) think you deserve these words once Herg havent congratulate u or even a simple thanks!

w7lwi

  • Those that don't stand up to evil enable evil.
« Reply #160 on: February 04, 2012, 21:47 »
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Shady Sue (and others) bring up an excellent point. Keywording for IS is WAY different than keywording for SS. You will definitely need to go through and edit those.
The way he's keyworded these two particular files definitely wouldn't work at iStock. Both 'Herring Gull' and 'Marsh Marigold' are in the CV. What I don't know is whether SS has keyword phrases like that, or not, like Alamy (  >:( )

Since SS doesn't have a CV, you can enter most anything that's relevant.  It's up to the reviewer to catch spam and such.  The trick is to enter it the way SS wants it to be entered.  If you enter "Herring Gull", with the quotation marks, in your IPTC, when uploaded, the SS system will break that into two words (dumb, but that's what it does).  When you are in the preparation window, selecting categories and such, you can type in the two or more word phrase, put the quotation marks back in and the system will accept the phrase.  It's often advisable to leave the two words split up, even though there may not be a herring in the image, as designers will often enter each word by itself (gull, herring).  As for scientific names, you don't want those split up.  Re-enter those with the quotation marks and delete the individual words.  Some other wording may be a judgement call as to how to enter, but at least you can go back in after the image has been accepted and add/delete keywords.  They used to review the image again when this was done, but I believe that is no longer the practice today.  Leaves open the danger of spamming the daylights out of an image, but whether or not that is actually happening I can't say.  Honor system ... what are your ethical standards?   ;D

« Reply #161 on: February 04, 2012, 22:04 »
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Since SS doesn't have a CV, you can enter most anything that's relevant.  It's up to the reviewer to catch spam and such.  The trick is to enter it the way SS wants it to be entered.  If you enter "Herring Gull", with the quotation marks, in your IPTC, when uploaded, the SS system will break that into two words (dumb, but that's what it does).  When you are in the preparation window, selecting categories and such, you can type in the two or more word phrase, put the quotation marks back in and the system will accept the phrase.  It's often advisable to leave the two words split up, even though there may not be a herring in the image, as designers will often enter each word by itself (gull, herring).  As for scientific names, you don't want those split up.  Re-enter those with the quotation marks and delete the individual words.  Some other wording may be a judgement call as to how to enter, but at least you can go back in after the image has been accepted and add/delete keywords.  They used to review the image again when this was done, but I believe that is no longer the practice today.  Leaves open the danger of spamming the daylights out of an image, but whether or not that is actually happening I can't say.  Honor system ... what are your ethical standards?   ;D

Just an FYI, I uploaded some new photos to SS last week. I had entered some two word phrases so I just went back to check them and fix them, per your instructions above. It appears as though the new uploading software doesn't split up multi-word phrases, as it did before. And I did not put those phrases in quotes. I keyword in PS file info with commas between words or phrases and then upload. Maybe they have finally changed that?

w7lwi

  • Those that don't stand up to evil enable evil.
« Reply #162 on: February 04, 2012, 22:16 »
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Lord that would be wonderful if they did.  We've only been asking for that for what seems like forever.  If I remember correctly, it used to be that if you submitted an image and it came back for spelling, the quotation marks were dropped again and you had to go in and put them back.  PITA   >:(  I haven't had occasion to enter a two word phrase in some time.  Maybe I'll put a couple of test words together on my next upload just to see what happens.  I can always pull them apart before submitting.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #163 on: February 05, 2012, 05:32 »
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As much as I hate photos being modified for impact, I fear in your case it may be the only solution to see some results. SS is quite lenient in this area so experiment Herg, experiment!

For example (and these are quick and rough)

nice job :) think you deserve these words once Herg havent congratulate u or even a simple thanks!

Or perhaps if the grammar was a bit easier to understand  ;) If you read my post above you will see the word "Thanks"  ::)
« Last Edit: February 06, 2012, 03:02 by Herg »

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #164 on: February 07, 2012, 14:24 »
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As much as I hate photos being modified for impact, I fear in your case it may be the only solution to see some results. SS is quite lenient in this area so experiment Herg, experiment!

For example (and these are quick and rough)

Not quite sure why you think my images need such drastic filtering. The smoke image in itself has enough impact. SS will def fail images overfiltered like this anyway as they don't even like it if the WB is out.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #165 on: February 07, 2012, 14:27 »
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lets be real here.. you have 354 pictures, looking at my own portfolio which I think it is better than yours (talking about subjects) but still below average of a good portfolio, take a look at my stats, number of pictures and earnings from Mar 09 until Set 11

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONoItwr6ZOo/TqvrvfFYPoI/AAAAAAAAAzI/W2BL7X62QGU/s1600/sep%2Bearns%2B4.png


Nothing like blowing one's own trumpet. As a reference, I would be interested to see a link to your work so I know what I am aiming for.

Noodles

« Reply #166 on: February 07, 2012, 17:51 »
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As much as I hate photos being modified for impact, I fear in your case it may be the only solution to see some results. SS is quite lenient in this area so experiment Herg, experiment!

For example (and these are quick and rough)

Not quite sure why you think my images need such drastic filtering. The smoke image in itself has enough impact. SS will def fail images overfiltered like this anyway as they don't even like it if the WB is out.

Well the theory is that vibrant, over saturated images are more eyecatching at thumbnail size and thus more likely to be selected and bought. All I'm suggesting is you experiment with this theory and think about ways your images can stand out from the crowd.


Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #167 on: February 08, 2012, 01:59 »
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I see where you are coming from now. Cheers.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #168 on: February 12, 2012, 04:46 »
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Things seem to be picking up a bit so there is some light.  :)

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #169 on: March 01, 2012, 11:04 »
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To review after 2 months at SS I have made a grand total of $44. I can't get excited about that. 1-4 sales a day at a mere 33 cents is hardly anything. Meanwhile, IS earned me $216 this month alone and I am no longer exclusive. To me the top tier is def IS. No contest.

helix7

« Reply #170 on: March 01, 2012, 11:26 »
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To review after 2 months at SS I have made a grand total of $44. I can't get excited about that. 1-4 sales a day at a mere 33 cents is hardly anything. Meanwhile, IS earned me $216 this month alone and I am no longer exclusive. To me the top tier is def IS. No contest.

Stick with it. I think this will pay off in the long run. Just as a single example of what you might hope to get out of this... My istock earnings for February were 9% of my SS earnings. Imagine if you get to a similar point. If you're earning $200 at istock and if that only represented 9% of your SS earnings, your SS take would be over $2200.

Granted using my percentages against your earnings may illustrate a bit of an extreme case. Not many people see their SS earnings outpace istock by that much. But even if you fall somewhere in the middle of that. You get the point. The potential at SS is significant, and while it may take some time for things to pick up speed, I think you will come out of this better off.

One last bit of info: February was my BME at SS by $900 over my previous BME (January). A lot of people are seeing huge growth and back-to-back BMEs. Just my opinion based on my personal experience, but I think you're making the right move by getting into SS.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #171 on: March 01, 2012, 11:45 »
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To review after 2 months at SS I have made a grand total of $44. I can't get excited about that. 1-4 sales a day at a mere 33 cents is hardly anything. Meanwhile, IS earned me $216 this month alone and I am no longer exclusive. To me the top tier is def IS. No contest.

Stick with it. I think this will pay off in the long run. Just as a single example of what you might hope to get out of this... My istock earnings for February were 9% of my SS earnings. Imagine if you get to a similar point. If you're earning $200 at istock and if that only represented 9% of your SS earnings, your SS take would be over $2200.

Granted using my percentages against your earnings may illustrate a bit of an extreme case. Not many people see their SS earnings outpace istock by that much. But even if you fall somewhere in the middle of that. You get the point. The potential at SS is significant, and while it may take some time for things to pick up speed, I think you will come out of this better off.


One last bit of info: February was my BME at SS by $900 over my previous BME (January). A lot of people are seeing huge growth and back-to-back BMEs. Just my opinion based on my personal experience, but I think you're making the right move by getting into SS.


I would be very happy if SS even matched my IS earnings but if things pick up as you say you never know. I am only going on my experience so far which I think has evened to an equilibrium.

KB

« Reply #172 on: March 01, 2012, 11:51 »
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To review after 2 months at SS I have made a grand total of $44. I can't get excited about that. 1-4 sales a day at a mere 33 cents is hardly anything.
Did SS raise their minimum rate? I thought it used to be a quarter per sale until you reached a certain sales threshold ($500?). Or were you independent and with SS before? Anyway, I hope things pick up for you there. How much of your IS portfolio is on SS now?

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #173 on: March 01, 2012, 12:09 »
0
OK, I do not shoot in raw.
UNLESS it is unimportant pictures for the news, like burning houses at night. Then is nice to have a raw file that you can step up or down.

Else not.
For micro exposure HAS to be correct.

So I shoot jpg for microstock
I use photoshop elements to trim the photos. (CS5 is better)
I use Dusegard to keyword.

http://dusegard.se/PhotoKeywording.aspx

the whole point in microstock is to shoot keywords, not attach keywords to your photo.


I wouldn't follow this advice personally. I think it is imperative to shoot in RAW. why wouldn't you if you can? only in specific live feed situations do I shoot jpegs for editorial stuff. RAW files allow you to correct and modify without compression and to have a baseline from which to start again if you screw up while processing.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2012, 15:56 by SNP »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #174 on: March 01, 2012, 12:30 »
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One last bit of info: February was my BME at SS by $900 over my previous BME (January). A lot of people are seeing huge growth and back-to-back BMEs. Just my opinion based on my personal experience, but I think you're making the right move by getting into SS.
But aren't you an illustrator?
I'm noticing that there are certain ports in SS which are doing well, and some which aren't. It seems that SS buyers are looking for a narrower range of images than iStock's. Or maybe nowadays they are accepting a narrower range of images.

I'm not saying Herg has made a bad move, necessarily - I guess he'll know after another four months; but SS isn't wonderful for everyone - even more than iStock it seems to depend on your port.


 

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