Hi FiledImage

I am a newbie too. Much greener than you though. I am constantly humbled by the beautiful work I see through this forum and the kind and honest sharing of info.

Your portfolio is beautiful and I look forward to remembering to check back and see how you develop.

You asked for progress reports from other newbies. Here is mine:

- about three months for me - just casually seeing where things may go.  Lots of breaks and just fiddling around between family demands.
- only really uploaded to Shutterstock so far but a few on Dreamstime (but only a few downloads of my Ss best seller)
- I currently have 120 images on Shutterstock and about 200 downloads there. A princely grand total $100 (one EL).
- most of my uploads are from my existing library which, like you, I have built up over some years. I can't use most of it because of the lack of model releases and I have lots of images of kids. Wish I had shot more raw though but in the old days megabytes where expensive and CF cards hard to buy in  parts of the world I once lived in
- about a 5050 acceptance success rate but need to go back and get rid of trademarks etc of the failed ones. Assessors are tough but I accept that
- mostly outdoor stuff for me as I am not good at working the light and I am blessed to live in a good climate
- am discovering editorials may be a way to go as I have a large library of that sort of stuff. Def the editorials are accepted way easier than the commercial in terms of lighting!

I found immediate failure with IStock so gave up. I need to maybe revisit and look at others like alamy.

My portfolio is here:

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_id=1450556

I will keep on plugging away. I think I am happy with where I am in terms of what I have learnt so far.  I like how an image stands on its own merits in this industry and one doesn't need to sell oneself with it. Yes, agree, it is lots of work initially but I am getting more efficient and should move away from single uploads.

Sounds like I should read the book you mention. Love this forum too and need to learn more about the way of the stock world. Thanks for your feedback and good luck.

Eka