Author Topic: iStock accepted- but still a bit unsure.Critique me please ! (Read 3981 times)

PikkieChick · « **on:** October 28, 2013, 03:08 »

Hi there - I have just been accepted at iStock, but still a little unsure of my abilities & whether other stock agencies might be good to pursue. Photos included have not been heavily edited at all, as I'm still a little unsure of the boundaries there, so would love your valued feed back !

This 1st one was virtually straight out of the camera, so not too sure how far I should go with it. White balance setting issue & didnt shoot it in RAW unfortunately !
1. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Borobador%2C%20Indonesia.jpg [nonactive]
2. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Etoshia%20National%20Park%2C%20Lion.JPG [nonactive]
3. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Dead%20Vlei%2C%20Namibia.jpg [nonactive]
4. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Snow%20down%20to%20sea%20level%2C%20Chch%20NZ.jpg [nonactive]
5. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Beach%20in%20Goa%2C%20India.jpg [nonactive]
6. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Sth%20America%2C%20playground.jpg [nonactive]
7. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Kruger%20National%20Park%2C%20Lioness.jpg [nonactive]
8. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Sth%20America%2C%20Election%20Banners.jpg [nonactive]
9. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Taj%20Mahal%2C%20India.jpg [nonactive]
10. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Church%20in%20Chch%20NZ%20following%20Feb%2022%20Earthquake.jpg [nonactive]

This one might have a bit too much noise :
11. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Council%20Building%20in%20Chch%20NZ%20following%20Feb%2022%20Earthquake.jpg [nonactive]

A bit of barrel distortion with this, so not sure of I can fix that :
12. newbielink:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32628455/Beach%20in%20Kerala%2C%20India.jpg [nonactive]

Thanks for anyone that has time to look. Also recommendations for other agencies would be appreciated as I know my pics probably don't hold a lot of commercial value for some of the stock agencies !

Also if someone can tell me how to insert a direct link (or hyperlink??) to my photos in dropbox that would be appreciated.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2013, 09:58 »

The place that will do best for you financially is Shutterstock (at the moment; in the past I'd have said iStock) but I think they'd reject many of your first 10 on the basis of low commercial value (for example the steps in the snow), lighting (most of them) or composition (the lion behind a mile marker) or focus (the misty shot from indonesia). You need to have 7 of 10 accepted to become a contributor. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but there's a lot of competition and the agencies can afford to be picky.

Number 11 would have to be editorial with the council name and coat of arms; number 12 just isn't useful stock (dull light, dirty beach, blown highlights) unless that's some very famous place that people who know that area would know in an instant -the barrel distortion isn't really the primary issue.

Agencies like CanStock are more accepting, but they don't have great sales, so you might not want to spend the time.

You will be able to make links once you've made a few more posts - not sure how many.

PikkieChick · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2013, 21:12 »

Thankyou Jo Ann for your comments & understand exactly what you are saying. Getting most of my photos when I travel, I can see why they have less commercial value for sure.

I hadn't done a great deal of post editing either, so once I start recognising the right shots & work on my composition etc, do you think a bit of post editing could assist me ?

Looking at some others images in stock agencies, they seem to be quite heavily edited/saturated & I am unclear as to whether they like that or not ? On one hand they say no (eps with the application photos in istock), but then they still seemed to get submitted. Can you give me your guidance on that ?

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2013, 23:43 »

Quote from: PikkieChick on October 28, 2013, 21:12

Looking at some others images in stock agencies, they seem to be quite heavily edited/saturated & I am unclear as to whether they like that or not ? On one hand they say no (eps with the application photos in istock), but then they still seemed to get submitted. Can you give me your guidance on that ?

It's always (a) a tricky balance and (b) an answer that varies by agency. If you wanted to submit to Stocksy or Photocase, you shouldn't do heavy post processing as both are going for a more natural look. For Shutterstock, bright, colorful and no dramatic shadows will help - some people might find the vivid colors over the top, but SS generally accepts them. iStock used to be very, very down on heavy processing, and focused most on technical perfection, accepting even very boring but technically flawless shots. Lately they really seemed to have changed the acceptance criteria and accept a wide range of things they'd have rejected a year ago. Other agencies fall somewhere in the middle.

You do have to be careful not to introduce noise or color banding as you post process images, and if the shot isn't in focus or is heavily over/under exposed, don't waste any time on it. You want to improve good shots rather than rescuing bad ones.

As far as travel shots, they can sell very well, but they need to be of recognizable places (tourism or business travel) or have some general "message" - the man conquering the high mountain or happy families enjoying a day out. If it's a recognizable place, make sure you include the location information in your keywords.

Hope this helps

Ariene · « **Reply #4 on:** November 02, 2013, 02:30 »

Why not to try with Alamy? They like/ love that images...
First image is absolutely great, I love it! It's good for book cover for example...

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Author Topic: iStock accepted- but still a bit unsure.Critique me please ! (Read 3981 times)

PikkieChick

Jo Ann Snover

PikkieChick

Jo Ann Snover

Ariene

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