Hello All,

For the previous months , I am uploading my photos to many microstock agencies such as : SS , IS , DT , FT , etc.

and I am doing good .

My question is , is it good to upload same photos to 500px ?

I just uploaded 1 photo , but I noticed that the watermark is really small and on the corner.

What is the pros and cons of upload to 500px ?

Thanks in advance

Giant previews with a useless corner water mark is why I do not upload to 500px.

I decided to give them a try in November - in spite of the useless watermark as they were asking here for people to do a survey/interview with them about watermarking as an issue (which I took as a sign they were seriously looking at the issues).

I have uploaded a small portion of my portfolio (235 images) including some that I haven't uploaded to the micros that I thought might sell better at 500px. I was looking for a new agency to try and had some hope that 500px might work for some shots that don't do as well at the microstock agencies.

I haven't had any sales yet, but I stopped uploading the day they announced that KK Thompson (ex of iStock) had joined as head of the Marketplace (the sales arm of 500px). I considered that really terrible news, but it's possible he'll do better for 500px after learning some lessons from his time at iStock. There hasn't been a peep out of him since then - or from 500px - so I will revisit the issue of uploading there once Thompson has made some indication of what he's planning to do with marketplace.

For me, marketplace was the interest. Many of the photos on 500px are spectacular, but I have little time for the online ratings part of the site. At the beginning, I did spend some time with that to try and learn a bit about things there. Fortunately they did away with the two flavors of "love" and now just have a heart button. Having followed a few more involved members, my flow (a stream of new stuff that the people you follow have liked) is filled with gorgeous shots.

They have a different history from other stock sites and operate more or less similarly to MostPhotos. In the beginning they were a place for photographers to network and showcase their work, but that has shifted as of late towards becoming more like a stock agency. Bulk upload is discouraged and only three photos go to "fresh", where members vote and make comments. Pictures that get many votes get more exposure. Pictures become available upon upload and they are eventually reviewed, sometimes months later, and become incorporated into their collection. I have fun there and have been contributing since September, 2015 but no sales so far. Hope that helps.

I've had a few sales there (two). They are nice size when you get them.

I haven't uploaded my "stock" portfolio there. I use the site primarily for putting up some of my better / "arty" stuff.

Mostly I just browse to be wowed.

It really took off in June, 2015, for me. Since then, I had several sales each month, with commissions varying between $24.5 and $175, which made 500px my 4th earner of the year, with better performance than Alamy, 123RF, DT, DP, P5 or FAA.

I have 2 sales in 2016, so far.

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 03:45
It really took off in June, 2015, for me. Since then, I had several sales each month, with commissions varying between $24.5 and $175, which made 500px my 4th earner of the year, with better performance than Alamy, 123RF, DT, DP, P5 or FAA.

I have 2 sales in 2016, so far.

How large is your port?

Thank you very much for your useful replies.

As I understand for now , the 2 main disadvantage of uploading my portfolio on 500px is :

1. The large preview with little watermark.

2. Very few sales

Am I right ?

Quote from: arapix on January 18, 2016, 11:22
Thank you very much for your useful replies.

As I understand for now , the 2 main disadvantage of uploading my portfolio on 500px is :

1. The large preview with little watermark.

2. Very few sales

Am I right ?

No, you´re wrong.

BUT

If you just want to upload microstock(y) images, there is no point of even trying.

Quote from: amabu on January 18, 2016, 11:49
No, you´re wrong.

BUT

If you just want to upload microstock(y) images, there is no point of even trying.

Please tell me why I am wrong ?
I really need to know the right
Thanks

Quote from: anathaya on January 18, 2016, 06:30

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 03:45
It really took off in June, 2015, for me. Since then, I had several sales each month, with commissions varying between $24.5 and $175, which made 500px my 4th earner of the year, with better performance than Alamy, 123RF, DT, DP, P5 or FAA.

I have 2 sales in 2016, so far.

How large is your port?

I have a selection of about 280 photos.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Quote from: arapix on January 18, 2016, 12:08

Quote from: amabu on January 18, 2016, 11:49
No, you´re wrong.

BUT

If you just want to upload microstock(y) images, there is no point of even trying.

Please tell me why I am wrong ?
I really need to know the right
Thanks

It isn't a "typical" stock site so if you are going to submit "typical" stock images there you won't do very well. If someone is thinking they need an image of a young woman on a phone or businessmen shaking hands they won't be going to 500px (likely).

As with most sites, if you do a good job of figuring out what sort of images sell well there and can actually make those images you can probably get a significant income out of the place.

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 14:14

Quote from: anathaya on January 18, 2016, 06:30

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 03:45
It really took off in June, 2015, for me. Since then, I had several sales each month, with commissions varying between $24.5 and $175, which made 500px my 4th earner of the year, with better performance than Alamy, 123RF, DT, DP, P5 or FAA.

I have 2 sales in 2016, so far.

How large is your port?

I have a selection of about 280 photos.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Are all those 280 approved in the "store"?

Quote from: shiyali on January 18, 2016, 23:07

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 14:14

Quote from: anathaya on January 18, 2016, 06:30

Quote from: Zero Talent on January 18, 2016, 03:45
It really took off in June, 2015, for me. Since then, I had several sales each month, with commissions varying between $24.5 and $175, which made 500px my 4th earner of the year, with better performance than Alamy, 123RF, DT, DP, P5 or FAA.

I have 2 sales in 2016, so far.

How large is your port?

I have a selection of about 280 photos.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Are all those 280 approved in the "store"?

Yes, all are available for sale.
51 which are part of the Prime (more expensive) collection have been definitely reviewed, since Prime is a curated collection.
The rest, for sale on the Core collection, are not all reviewed. But when a customer is interested in purchasing one of those, an immediate review takes place.

Edit:
I have 31 photos pending review. These photos are presented on the marketplace with a red message saying "Secure this photo. Be the first to license it. "

Thank you for explaining, how do you know which photos are in Prime, which are in Core and reviewed and which are in Core and not reviewed? When I go the Profile page and click statistics, I can see a number under the Store tab, that's all.

Quote from: shiyali on January 19, 2016, 00:35
Thank you for explaining, how do you know which photos are in Prime, which are in Core and reviewed and which are in Core and not reviewed? When I go the Profile page and click statistics, I can see a number under the Store tab, that's all.

Go to Manage Photos, under your name (top right).
Then select Marketplace (just below, All Photos and Public) from the left side menu.
Order your photos based on "Collection" (you can also do it based on views, upload date, likes, comments or pulse)
If you have photos selected in the "Prime collection", you will see them on top of the page. Scroll down to see your "Core Collection".

Identifying your reviewed photos is a little more complicated:
Go to your profile, and click on Marketplace, next to Statistics.
Then click on the first photo and check if that red message "Secure this photo. Be the first to license it" is written on the upper right side.
If yes, then the photo has not been reviewed yet.
If not, the photo is fully accepted
Click next, and check the next photo until you browsed your entire port.

Thank you, ZT, that's very helpful!

ZT, very interesting, thanks I have several photos there that are still not reviewed for a month, so looks like they are not very fast...

Could you maybe share the links to your photos that are sold, to see what goes there?

Quote from: samards on January 22, 2016, 11:10
ZT, very interesting, thanks I have several photos there that are still not reviewed for a month, so looks like they are not very fast...

Could you maybe share the links to your photos that are sold, to see what goes there?

I'm sorry, I can't do that without losing my anonymity. I hope you'll understand.

Back in November '15, I posted a screenshot of my 1st sales page. Look for reply #74 on this thread: http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/500-px-now-has-distributors-to-sell-images/msg437234/#msg437234

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10 bestsellers on 500px

http://petapixel.com/2016/01/22/the-10-bestselling-photos-on-500px-and-why-theyre-so-popular/

Quote from: trek on January 17, 2016, 20:13
Giant previews with a useless corner water mark is why I do not upload to 500px.

Me too! I wonder how some photographers can sleep at night knowing their images are just screen captured and stolen so easily. It blows my mind.

Quote from: angelawaye on January 22, 2016, 19:47

Quote from: trek on January 17, 2016, 20:13
Giant previews with a useless corner water mark is why I do not upload to 500px.

Me too! I wonder how some photographers can sleep at night knowing their images are just screen captured and stolen so easily. It blows my mind.

It blows my mind how certain stock photographers can´t get their head around the fact that 500px is - first and foremost - a photo SHARING community. 

Yes, you can share your photos and get comments and favs but there is also a marketplace which SELLS the files ...
You don't need a HUGE preview image if you are just looking to share some photos...

Quote from: angelawaye on January 22, 2016, 21:42
Yes, you can share your photos and get comments and favs but there is also a marketplace which SELLS the files ...
You don't need a HUGE preview image if you are just looking to share some photos...

While a better preview management would be something nice to have, it is far from being a deal breaker, when you get 70%, up to $175 comission!

500px is on the rise and they deserve encouragements since they drive the market in the right direction.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Quote from: angelawaye on January 22, 2016, 21:42
Yes, you can share your photos and get comments and favs but there is also a marketplace which SELLS the files ...
You don't need a HUGE preview image if you are just looking to share some photos...

They are NOT previews! They are the images users upload to the community!

The marketplace is just an add on because 500px realized the sales potential of the community images. There is no way to upload to the marketplace directly/only.

So if the community is not for you, 500px is not for you. Simple as that.