MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: malamus on May 18, 2012, 10:57

Title: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: malamus on May 18, 2012, 10:57
Hi All.

Ive been away from the stock game for a while (first child, another on the way, new house and all that important stuff!) and I didn't do to badly for my self. Ive been out for just over a year to 18 months I guess and have a question you guys might be able to answer.

Istock standards, have they rased the bar by much in the last 18 months.

I remember starting with a d80 and kit lens and boy it was hard to get an image accepted, then I upgraded to a few primes and a d90, as a result acceptance rate was flying. That camera is long in the tooth now (as tech gets better) so should i expect a hard time again or should I reinvest in some more up-to-date gear (d800- d600?)

Cheers
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: ShadySue on May 18, 2012, 11:01
Hi All.

Ive been away from the stock game for a while (first child, another on the way, new house and all that important stuff!) and I didn't do to badly for my self. Ive been out for just over a year to 18 months I guess and have a question you guys might be able to answer.

Istock standards, have they rased the bar by much in the last 18 months.

I remember starting with a d80 and kit lens and boy it was hard to get an image accepted, then I upgraded to a few primes and a d90, as a result acceptance rate was flying. That camera is long in the tooth now (as tech gets better) so should i expect a hard time again or should I reinvest in some more up-to-date gear (d800- d600?)

Cheers


Hard to say. Why not upload and see what happens, and take it from there.
Meanwhile you might like to check out the monthly sales threads on iStock to catch up on what's been happening.
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=343273&page=1 (http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=343273&page=1) will get you started.
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: luissantos84 on May 18, 2012, 11:02
hell no, you donīt need more than a D90, its more than enough
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on May 18, 2012, 11:43
Some of the rules for property and model releases have been tightened up. I don't remember when IS made the rule that you had to have a release per shoot, versus one per model regardless of date, but that might be new for you.

As far as technical standards, I don't see much change. Editorial rules have changed a bit recently but they put a manual on the site (check the editorial forum).

I've been uploading this week and last for the first time in almost a year and things seemed pretty much as before.
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: malamus on May 18, 2012, 12:18
Hi jsnover, it's good to hear from you again. Nice to hear you think not much has changed,but your standards are high anyway!  the poster above has it right, submit and see how it goes

Yes, editorial looks like a nice trick to get in to, seems to be a little slow with the buyers tho.
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: gostwyck on May 18, 2012, 12:24
It's really not the camera (provided it is a DSLR), it's the photographer. Standards have probably inched up a bit but not so you'd notice other than that fewer 'borderline' images may be accepted.

The hard bit nowadays is getting new images noticed and selling.
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: malamus on May 21, 2012, 05:50
Thats good to know, I've just invested in some elinchroms of my own over the weekend rather than a new camera, so lets see what damage I can do

Thanks
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: Perry on May 21, 2012, 08:38
18 months ago at iStock... I remember those times. Things were good then. Those were the days...  :'(
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: malamus on May 21, 2012, 08:46
LOL,

Yeah, a lot of things started happening about that time so I'm going back into it like its a brand new company and get a feel for it (thats why I asked about standards, incase of any changes i'd missed)
Title: Re: been away for awhile and looking to start back up
Post by: lisafx on May 21, 2012, 08:47

Yeah, a lot of things started happening about that time so I'm going back into it like its a brand new company and get a feel for it (thats why I asked about standards, incase of any changes i'd missed)

Well, their image standards haven't changed much in that time.  Just their ethical standards.   :P