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Author Topic: Which ONE company would you contribute to as a newbie?  (Read 27142 times)

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LSD72

  • My Bologna has a first name...
« Reply #25 on: January 15, 2010, 12:11 »
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Just my personal opinion... I would hold off on Shutterstock until you had about 100 good images that are reviewed and accepted on another site. That way when you pass the initial review... you can take advantage of the "Honeymoon" period there. That Newbie Exposure is great while you have it.


donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #26 on: January 15, 2010, 12:19 »
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Just my personal opinion... I would hold off on Shutterstock until you had about 100 good images that are reviewed and accepted on another site. That way when you pass the initial review... you can take advantage of the "Honeymoon" period there. That Newbie Exposure is great while you have it.
Oh yeah I remember that wonderful feeling....lol. Actually I got on iStock before Shutterstock. It was quite frustrating and hard to understand, but heh when it happened I was in hog heaven!!!

« Reply #27 on: January 15, 2010, 12:34 »
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I started with IS two years ago. It took me 2 or 3 iterations to get accepted, but it was the best approach in a long term concerning learning and building a portfolio.


« Reply #28 on: January 15, 2010, 12:59 »
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Quote
Your portfolio will almost certainly earn more at Istock than any other two agencies combined too.

That is a very subjective statement. Dreamstime, iStock and Fotolia are within a few dollars of each other every month for me. It all depends on what you produce. Some types of images sell better on different sites.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2010, 13:11 by elvinstar »

gbcimages

« Reply #29 on: January 15, 2010, 13:05 »
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just upload and have fun like all the rest of us. :)

RT


« Reply #30 on: January 15, 2010, 13:09 »
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Shutterstock has very good forums with great photographers willing to help sell you their book or photo course........

I've adjusted microstockphoto.co's statement above, this is the best forum for advice, and generally the folk here won't try and sell you anything.

As for which site to join, if you only want one and are doing this part time go with iStock. But I repeat what some others have said, ignore the hype you've probably read and do your own research.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2010, 13:48 by RT »

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #31 on: January 15, 2010, 13:11 »
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I earn on all the sites.....outside of Fotolia...but iStock is the biggest earner by far even though my uploads have been very far and few between at the present time, what is on there keep selling.

« Reply #32 on: January 15, 2010, 13:13 »
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Dreamstime. Upload 3 at a time at most, and wait for the result. Read the rejections carefully. Don't upload in a rush because you will ruin your acceptance ratio.

Only join Shutterstock when you have no less than 100 salable images ready. You will get a high exposure on SS as a new uploader and it makes no sense to waste that on a portfolio of just 20 pictures (LSD72's argument).

When you feel confident enough and your acceptance ratio both at SS and DT is > 70%, apply at iStockphoto.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2010, 13:17 by FD-amateur »

« Reply #33 on: January 15, 2010, 15:39 »
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Dreamstime. Upload 3 at a time at most, and wait for the result. Read the rejections carefully. Don't upload in a rush because you will ruin your acceptance ratio.

Only join Shutterstock when you have no less than 100 salable images ready. You will get a high exposure on SS as a new uploader and it makes no sense to waste that on a portfolio of just 20 pictures (LSD72's argument).

When you feel confident enough and your acceptance ratio both at SS and DT is > 70%, apply at iStockphoto.

Very well thought-out! Sounds like the winning strategy to me.

« Reply #34 on: January 15, 2010, 16:07 »
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I think of microstock as the Photography School of Hard Knocks - you'll definitely become a better photographer from the expert critique of your images and whether they appeal to buyers. It also challenges you to expand into genres you might not have tried yet (such as shooting professional models in studio). I suggest you forget money for a while, join istock (you'll learn heaps just trying to get accepted) and concentrate on learning how to produce acceptable commercial imagery. Then, if you're still interested and have what it takes it might become an income earner for you. Whatever, you'll learn a lot about photography.

ETA: I strongly recommend that you calibrate your monitor with a hardware calibrator such as the Spyder. Many amateurs don't know about this, but you need to be sure that you see what the inspectors see.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2010, 16:13 by averil »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #35 on: January 15, 2010, 16:15 »
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Bear in mind that your friends and family will need to sign a model release which says that their image can be used to promote any product or service (e.g. Viagra, a political party or religion, a product they may not agree with), may have their image distorted or cropped, added to another photo etc., and although there are restrictions, the agency might be 'looser' about these as you might like. Even so, if an image is used outwith the agreement, there's not much you can do once the horse has bolted, e.g. the British National Party (the UK equivalent of the KKK) used micro photos in leaflets it distributed over an area of England. This was against the rules, as the people were depicted and quoted as supporting the BNP (ironically, one of the families used was Italian). But we never heard what, if anything, the agency did about it, and even at that, the leaflets were already distributed.
Probably you've got a greater chance of being run over crossing the road tomorrow, but you and they need to be fully aware of all that.
With that caveat, I third jsnover's advice.

« Reply #36 on: January 15, 2010, 17:10 »
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Funny, we do like to talk about stock...
HappySnappy hasn't even replied yet.

If you have to pick one only, go for Dreamstime.
Given your circumstances Dreamstime is the best choice by far.

Forget about IStock for the moment.
There are manuals, keywords rejections, controlled vocabulary, chromatic aberrations, over processing, upload limits, a test that is not really all that it looks like, and although the forums are said to be great, unless accepted you can't post a thing over there.
IStock isn't going anywhere. Give yourself a bit of time before applying.

Start with Dreamstime and remember what FD-Amateur said - initially no more than 3-4 images in a batch.
You'll have fun, make new friends and pretty soon you'll be uploading to Shutterstock and IStock, confident and a  HappySnappy :)
Best of luck,

helix7

« Reply #37 on: January 15, 2010, 17:53 »
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I am also quite new and with a few agencies now. I'd recommend Dreamstime. There is no entry exam, and you learn a lot. Fotolia doesn't have an exam either but the feedback and all other things there are not so explicative.

I'd agree. DT is pretty solid for starting out.


lisafx

« Reply #38 on: January 15, 2010, 17:56 »
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For me it would definitely be Istock.  If I could manage to get in these days...!

« Reply #39 on: January 15, 2010, 18:29 »
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I started with Dreamstime and Bigstock.  Photos that were accepted by both became my audition shots for the tougher agencies.  If I had to do it over... I would still start with those two. 

Richard

« Reply #40 on: January 15, 2010, 18:41 »
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I would try Shutterstock. You will need a bit of coaching first before you submit your initial 10, so be sure to post asking for advice. Really the nice thing about Shutterstock is the instant gratification. As a noobie, you will get downloads almost immediately after your files are accepted. On Dreamstime it's much more likely that you won't get any downloads for the first month. And that could discourage you from doing anything more with Microstock.

« Reply #41 on: January 15, 2010, 19:19 »
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Wow, I put this post up and called it a night, and then I wake up to all these responses! What a nice surprise! Thanks!

I appreciate everyone's advice. Even though I feel slightly more confused.  ;)

I read my post before and I realize it might have given the impression I'm doing this for money. If I don't make a cent on my photos during this little adventure, that's ok with me. The thought of complete strangers looking at and buying my photos sounds thrilling, so I want to try it.

I also want to learn and grow as a photographer, and take even better pictures. This method seems like a good way to do it, since it really seems flexible time wise.

A couple days ago, I signed up with istock (before discovering this site). I uploaded the three photos... but then I read on the site the review process takes a long time. How long should I expect to wait? A week? A month? And I didn't realize but maybe I was supposed to put a  model release form included with my images? Since it's a test, I thought it wouldn't be necessary? Hmm...

Maybe I'll try and just wait for istock. It seems they give the best feedback (?). And that's what I really want.

And putting up a picture to be reviewed by you guys sounds like a great idea!!!! Maybe I'll try that. :)


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #42 on: January 15, 2010, 19:23 »
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I don't think you need an MR for your sample shots, though I did hear mention of it once. Bear in mind that even if you get your sample shots all accepted for entry into iStock, they may not get into the collection (even with an MR). That's a shock for some people, but it happens to lots of us.

« Reply #43 on: January 15, 2010, 19:36 »
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Ok, thanks for the advice!

I posted a photo critique... if your curious:

http://www.microstockgroup.com/photo-critique/please-critique-my-photo!-would-istock-accept-me-%29/

« Reply #44 on: January 15, 2010, 20:07 »
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I would start with iStock. I was at all the main agencies and a year ago I went exclusive. In retrospect I think it was a good decision, they made the deal very good for exclusives and pretty bad for everybody else.

The problem is that it might be pretty tough to get into iStock these days. If you can get it, I would stay with them and then go exclusive. If you are not good enough (or don't have enough time for them) I would just enjoy photography and stay away from microstock. Like Sean said, not everybody who has a DSLR can/should be a stock contributor. We all have computers but very few of us are programmers.

Good luck!

« Reply #45 on: January 15, 2010, 22:18 »
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If I don't make a cent on my photos during this little adventure, that's ok with me. The thought of complete strangers looking at and buying my photos sounds thrilling, so I want to try it.

I also want to learn and grow as a photographer, and take even better pictures. This method seems like a good way to do it, since it really seems flexible time wise.

Then you should join flickr, or another website when people comment on each other's images.  Licensing stock imagery is a business that should be taken seriously, even more nowadays then a few years ago. 

RacePhoto

« Reply #46 on: January 15, 2010, 22:29 »
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Quote
So any good advice on what one company I should invest my time on?

iStock

If you can get photos accepted there, you will make sales and you will know you are doing well.

Getting accepted on a site that sells nothing, is a waste of time. Getting accepted on a site that will take four years before you can collect $100 is a waste of effort. You don't have the numbers of photos for ShutterStock, which leaves only one site that answers your one company question.

I wouldn't hang my laundry on Flickr, let alone any good photos.  :o
« Last Edit: January 16, 2010, 10:13 by RacePhoto »

« Reply #47 on: January 15, 2010, 22:54 »
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If I don't make a cent on my photos during this little adventure, that's ok with me. The thought of complete strangers looking at and buying my photos sounds thrilling, so I want to try it.

I also want to learn and grow as a photographer, and take even better pictures. This method seems like a good way to do it, since it really seems flexible time wise.

Then you should join flickr, or another website when people comment on each other's images.  Licensing stock imagery is a business that should be taken seriously, even more nowadays then a few years ago. 

once more, wise old Mr Locke has hit the nail on the head...
yes, flickr is where you should start .
« Last Edit: January 15, 2010, 23:06 by PERSEUS »

« Reply #48 on: January 15, 2010, 23:07 »
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I was inpired by this interview with hidesy. Is it still relevant today?

« Reply #49 on: January 15, 2010, 23:42 »
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Hi Snappy,
I think I misunderstood you.
You don't want to start with one agency and grow from there; what you want to do is to start with one agency and remain exclusive to them.
In that case you've made the right choice already, Istock is the best way to go.
They've got a great Exclusive deal, lots of perks and oportunities and I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.
Best of luck,


 

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