Someone expressed earlier in a different topic dealing with DT that the
agency may have dropped in sales but the individual sales are often
large "credit" purchases and bring in far more money per sale.

That's been my experience as well. Two sales all this week but
generated $28.00 because they were both credit sales....I have about
2200 images with DT and although I'm disappointed in the number
of sales per month, at least the earnings per image are much higher
than with other images.

You spent a lot of time building your portfolio with DT. I would either
continue uploading or stop uploading and simply cash in each time
you reach the $100 mark.....

Pricing is really far more tricky than people think. Over the past few years I would
say SS and P5 are very close in video sales but that's only because I own extremely
rare historical footage that absolutely no one on this planet has ever seen before....
Those clips are priced in the $100's and only offered on P5. Many times now P5 generates as much money per month as SS because of a handful of clip sales.

When I price I always factor in the uniqueness of the subject/clip. I know what I'll earn through SS so I never try to earn more with P5. And I only work with 2 agencies
because other agencies simply don't offer me enough incentive to upload. AND I never
upload a substandard clip. My bg is a professional videographer for 35 years. I wish those who are new/learning had the capacity to recognize that their clip is crap. Agencies filled with professional, skilled, well shot clips and nothing else would make the industry far more attractive to editors/videographers who need a
clip to enhance/complete their project.

Typical DT blip (for me at least). A week of robust, healthy buying and then
next to nothing for the next month. Same old, same old.

Condra, I almost think you might be "over-thinking" the microstock business.
I have yet to truly figure it out and I've spent a number of years at it.....The one
thing I do which has helped, is come up with a photo shoot idea and look at
SS's, IS's, DT's first page that matches my subject. And then ask myself: Can I do something
as good as or better than what they currently offer? That first page is my benchmark.
Of course, you're going to have to contend with personal bias but often times
I've found it a helpful way of submitting good, solid stock. Keywords phrases, the market,
supply and demand, trends and opportunities are all secondary IMO.

Shoot a stunningly original image and they will come.

Quote from: JPSDK on October 17, 2015, 14:30
I have not seen them. But then again I do not follow things closely.

That's a given. Shutterstock rep Vincent responded immediately to "Has Shutterstock Been Hacked" yet they've ignored months of contributors questioning Shutterstock's reviewers.

What do you suggest JPSDK? That we upload a 18mb image so you get a true sense of their error "out of focus"? IMO these posts are not filled with "whiners".  How about Shutterstock come to the forum and reply to hundreds of consistent complaints? Maybe then, finally, it'll quiet us "whiners".

Quote from: JPSDK on October 17, 2015, 13:19

In my ears its a clean example of the greenhouse effect and a swollen head.
Can we see som pictures or will you stop whining, Please.

IMO "out of focus" is the SS's way of saying: "We don't think your image
will be commercially successful - a statement Deposit Photo uses and I
highly respect. They don't think it'll be commercially successful? Fine. I
can live with that....but to throw in some erroneous statement like: Your image
is out of focus - or your image is poorly composed is totally disrespectful to
professional photographers around the world.

My two cents.

Quote from: Shelma1 on October 05, 2015, 20:39
Yeah, I got one of those last weekend. Ridiculous. So I resubmitted Monday, it got approved no problem, then I avoided submitting Friday and Saturday this week. I think this reviewer is a person who agreed to be available on weekends but would rather party, so just rejects everything on Saturday and Sunday to get it over with.

Exact same thing happened to me last weekend. "Poor lighting"....resubmitted same two images taken seconds before/after the first submission and they were accepted on Monday.  Avoid weekends I guess...but like someone else added: 37 pages of complaints and nothing's changed. Very frustrating.

I'll be curious to see how DT responds to those same 30
images. Reviewing, of course, is a lot slower than DP and
123RF and they tend to be almost as critical as SS. Will they
too reject 95% of my batch because of focus issues? Stayed
tuned!

We agree to disagree....regardless. SS rejected 90%
of my batch because of "poor focus" issues. That same
batch had a 100% acceptence from DP and 123RF.

Are DP and 123rf standards really that much lower?

I too, am trying to figure SS reviewers out.

A recent batch of 30 images and 25 were rejected, almost exclusively because of "poor focus or focus not where we feel it should be". Those same 30 images were all accepted by DP and 123RF (I'm waiting for DT's reaction).

Disappointing because I just bought a Sigma 18-250mm zoom lens and, in my opinion, its sharp as a tack replacing my 55-250mm Canon lens which is slightly soft when you're zoomed in all the way.

I don't bother resubmitting. I've adopted a "take it or leave it" attitude with SS. Hoop jumping isn't worth that $0.30 commission.

Haven't had a sale with DT for 5 days. DP is
out-selling DT 30 to 1 in September. Yes, DT
is in a slump.

Anyone purchase a Canon or Sigma 1.5x/2,0x extender for a Sigma 18-250 used on a Canon T2i/T3i/T4i/T5i?

Any advice would be apreciated.

I got mine a week ago and found that the zoom is a bit sticky if you apply manual zoom while shooting video (I don't)....very sharp zoomed in all the way (unlike the Canon 55-250. Compact and light-weight....happy with mine and on sale for $400 cdn.

And it's all because of me.

Unbelievable comments, EM. It's still all your fault because you didn't include "has anyone else experienced this exact same problem?" EM. I'm only with 4 agencies and no, I've  never had a problem with DP.Cheers and  good luck!

Tab32. I was born in 1956. I was a professional cameraman since 1978 working as a studio cameraman etc. and ending full-time in 1994 and freelanced ever since. I stopped freelancing
a few years ago (won't get into details) but started microstocking 2 years ago. Shooting video and  taking a single image are two completely different disciplines. Creating a masterpiece day in and day out under any conditions will take me many years to achieve. "Shady Sue", etc. contribute their email address with each comment. I didn't notice that. I don' need more information. I just wish anyone new who wants to comment need to first provide a link to their portfolio. I'll contact MSG and see if I can move mountains. I make, on average, $500 a month. I'll provide a direct link to my portfolio as soon as I'm out of hospital. All the best........

Quote from: tab62 on August 05, 2013, 22:17
There are so many variables to this question- How to define good or bad? Let's use my average portfolio (thus another variable to consider) of 1,300 images on Shutter. Last month I made $281 is that good or bad? I really don't know? Did I make more money in June that last year's June- yes but I only had about 500 images back then.

Great comment Tab32 because you gave us  a brief summery of where you are in the microstock world. The per-usual "I,m doing good", "I'm doing poorly", "My BME", "My WME", is totally meaningless    because I-We know absolutely nothing about those who comment.There are contributers who comment on a very regular basis. I have no idea  where they stand in the microstock world. Many thanks, Tab32. I started two years ago. I belong to SS,DT,123RF and DP.                                                                                                                                                       

Ron. You're absolutely right. This topic has prompted me to self-examine my skills.  Am I a "professional photographer" or a "photographer"? I have been a professional videographer for many years. Many will think ..........well, he's a pro video shooter, it'll be easy to adapt to photography...................the two skills have no comparison except composition. A photo is one single frame. Many of you can take a very difficult subject and because of your skill level and knowledge create a masterpiece. It was not one "lucky shot" but a difficult subject that you ALWAYS adapt to. I am just beginning. I'm with SS and DT and others. The learning curve is huge. It's what I love about this discipline. There is so much to learn. I know I will never stop learning......thanks again Ron for a simple response to my comment that provided complete personal clarification.

Rimglow...thanks for the suggestion!
It DOES bring me to live view.I can take some shots but turn off the camera and it returns to you're current settings not Live View. Rimglow...thanks again. 

One quick addition to my previous response.
If you contribute to ALL top tier agencies you
are a professional photographer. Both SS and
Istock have very standards to become one of
their contributers. In my opinion, if your agencies
comprise of bottom, middle and perhaps DT,
you are a "photographer". 

Who do you contribute to? If its bottom tier or middle tier....I would say: no. If you contribute to ALL of the top tier, I would judge you as a professional photographer.

Elvinstar. Just tried it and I always get the following: freespace,color space, WB shift: BKT,Live View shoot: enable. I went to the menu and went to Live View shoot and disabled it. Turned my camera off, flipped open the screen and once again, same thing. Basic report of current settings. Many thanks Elvinstar.

I have had a Cannon T3i for two years. Wonderful camera and no problems. I was without my camera for 26 days. When I finally got it back in my hands, turned it on and flipped open the screen I see a very basic summery of my settings. I do not see my "live view" screen as you would. I've tried everything to correct it but failed. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? Any advice that anyone can give?

     I've had my Cannon T3i for two years. No issues. A wonderful camera to work with.  However, I was without my camera for 26 days. When I got it back in my hands, I turned it on, flipped open the screen, and instead of seeing the   image (live view) I get a very basic summery of my settings. I've tried everything to correct this but have failed.
     Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas to correct this? Many thanks for your input.