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Messages - wordplanet

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1
Adobe Stock / Re: Mission... impossible?
« on: July 03, 2025, 14:21 »
My thoughts about it are the same as those above - right down to is this the first email I noticed or my first invite? - not sure - but it seems like a lot of time for $20 and I tend to be too much of a perfectionist even when it's unnecessary so I'm sure it'd take me more than an hour to shoot and process 20 photo pairs. But if it leads to more lucrative "missions" I'd give it a shot (or 20  8) )

Anyone here done one of their missions and what was your take? Thanks for sharing your experience.

2
Selling Stock Direct / Re: Great Prints Sales
« on: May 30, 2025, 18:04 »
Charline, thanks for sharing your results here. Your work is beautiful - I especially love the black and white images.
I never thought of using YouTube to promote my fine art work (and TBH, I don't plan to start a YouTube channel) but it's interesting to see what types of promotion work to sell fine art. Thanks for sharing your success here.

We are all photographers here and, while it's not stock, sharing ideas for making money from our work outside of stock is always interesting.

I noticed stoker2014 was trolling you here, criticizing your time spent doing video because it wasn't "needed" if you make $$$$ a month from the rest of your work - if you live where I do, in a NYC suburb, you need several $$$$ a month to live comfortably, and if Charline (Orchidpoet) is in Toronto, she does too - so questioning her earnings because she is looking for more ways to earn makes no sense. Her bio says she is a writer as well as a photographer, and as she pointed out, she made $560 on a single print.   There is nothing that says her top price is $250 - maybe google translate isn't working well for you.

How much you make is a very private matter for most people and how much you need to live on depends on where you live.

I see people selling their work via FAA for drastically different prices (often way too little IMHO) and it's good to see someone who places a value on their work. Thanks for sharing the link to your site. Again, beautiful work!

3
Stuff I uploaded last week - including some AI Christmas stuff I figured I had better add now or it wouldn't be available until Christmas 2026 - was all reviewed yesterday and most were accepted. I was shocked but something has definitely improved!

I upload small batches - I think the most I've ever added in an entire month is about 35 images, so the new upload limits are welcome and whatever they are set at, I know I won't hit the limit - I just hope that they keep the spammers at bay and mean we start to see normal review times again.

I'd felt discouraged from uploading because my content was sitting for weeks on end with part of a batch being approved and the rest never getting seen. I've been really sick and unable to get out most days but I happened to take a few iPhone images a couple of weeks ago when I was well enough to get out to see some friends and they were accepted right away - (they were mostly illustrative editorial - always a faster review). Anyway, one of them was licensed the day after it was online, so I figured I'd add some more. I guess my timing was fortuitous.

I think Jasmin's suggestion that our welcome screen tell us how many uploads we have available is a great idea. For those of you with big portfolios who are super productive, it would only seem fair. I've been playing with AI since I rarely get out to shoot these days and kudos to Jasmin's suggestions - I researched Christmas trends for the year, couldn't face rooting around in my very hot attic to find props - so I made some AI "photos" instead. I spent ages fixing their flaws, so was happy that most were accepted. Now I'll see how good my research was.

4
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime Website dead?
« on: May 17, 2025, 14:45 »
I uploaded a bunch without incident yesterday afternoon, however, when they cleared, I tried editing and the page would keep disappearing mid-edit. Even when I hit save part way through nothing was saved.

I've heard other people saying even ftp was troublesome. So it seems to be hit or miss.

Sales chug along slowly for me there. So, I add stuff when I have a chance.

5
Adobe Stock / Re: Update on Similar Refusals
« on: May 17, 2025, 14:42 »
Upload limits would certainly make things more manageable for reviewers and cut down on spam. It seems pretty obvious that would be a start. And far less time consuming than combing through the current millions of images to find dupes.

It would also give producers who thoughtfully compose their images a fighting chance to get them reviewed - though my stuff has gone through & been accepted quickly lately so I can't complain - but I've also waited months for reviews earlier this year.

6
Photography Equipment / Re: Stuck Polarizer Ring
« on: May 10, 2025, 18:45 »
They make plastic filter wrenches in different sizes. Using one doesn't bend your filter ring and gives you just enough purchase to get a stuck filter off. Many years ago I shot a bunch of night images with a polarizing filter on because it was stuck, went to my local camera shop (when those were still around) and got one since then I always keep one in my camera bag.

I've got a large & small plastic one that have lasted many years, but the rubber coated metal ones look even better:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/accessories/Filter-Wrenches-for-Formatt_BF_48_5_CLRSU/616434-REG-99075

7
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobestock Review Time
« on: April 29, 2025, 16:56 »
I added a mix of illustrative editorial and commercial yesterday and all were online this morning. Maybe things are starting to improve.

8
Shutterstock.com / Re: Anyone else having submission issues?
« on: April 29, 2025, 11:47 »
Just an FYI - the photo that was getting the needs attention message that I submitted anyway went through and was accepted along with the rest of the batches I uploaded in the past two days. So at least the system can be overridden when it is acting up.

9
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobestock Review Time
« on: April 28, 2025, 19:08 »
Glad it was accepted.

Illustrative editorial surely goes through faster. Looks like a beautiful trip! Spanish architecture is wonderful.

10
Shutterstock.com / Re: Anyone else having submission issues?
« on: April 28, 2025, 15:49 »
I uploaded today and had one minor issue - along with a group of illustrative editorial, I had one commercial image and it kept showing needs attention although the keywords were fine - no spelling or other issues showing - & the caption was short enough.

After saving and refreshing the page, it was still showing needs attention. I think it wanted a release, maybe because I had the word suburban in the image, but it wasn't necessary, so I just ignored it and hit submit and all were submitted. In pending images, it doesn't show any problem with the photo now.

It was fine saving my caption changes and keyword additions.

11
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobestock Review Time
« on: April 28, 2025, 11:09 »
It's interesting, I mentioned earlier that I had a batch accepted quickly where one languished for over two months, and I removed it as it was not longer timely (tax day concept).

Yesterday afternoon (Sunday US time), I uploaded two iPhone illustrative editorial images and they were online before noon today (Monday). So, illustrative editorial seem to be in another queue.

I get some frustrating quality rejections too and agree it would be helpful if they gave a more specific reason, so you could fix it and resubmit. I hate to be critical of anyone's work and I think those window and housefront images are charming, but since you've asked here, I find them to be a little off white balance-wise - a tad too blue, and despite the dark shadows, I think they could pop more and have a bit more vibrant color, given that the bright hues are a big part of the images' charm.

It looks like they were taken close to mid-day - which makes it harder - so I'd start with using your camera's neutral/ muted color profile in RAW.  In the housefront image, I'd try shifting the white balance toward the warmer side, a tad toward the yellow, and also move the tint toward pink. I'd also lift the shadows (if this adds noise, the AI noise reduction works well - and it doesn't tag your image as AI - though watch your keywords - it might add two keywords - denoise and something else - there's something you can uncheck in preferences to avoid this). Then I'd experiment with lowering the contrast slightly while adding a little sharpening, clarity and vibrance, maybe a little saturation, to make it "pop." I use the Nik filters a lot for this but LR/RAW work too.

Good luck. Those colorful houses can sell well.

12
Adobe Stock / Re: Sudden downfall in downloads
« on: April 27, 2025, 12:26 »
I agree with limits on AI uploads - it would also help make the insane review times better.

I uploaded around 130 AI images early on - not a lot but a little more than 10% of my small portfolio - and they were selling really well at first but after Adobe switched to letting customers remove AI from their searches, dls of those AI images dropped significantly - nearly all my dls are now photographs. And earnings this year to date are up 18% from 2024, so no loss.

I know I have a small portfolio at Adobe - 1,049 images - but I've been tracking my dls carefully for years - and I think this actually bodes well for real photographs. My earnings are up over 35% at Alamy & ss too - so I'm less worried about AI than I was. I've also stopped experimenting with it. It was fun and fast but I'd rather take real photographs.

I'm hopeful that the initial interest is more a fad. I also shoot a lot of work that ends up in publications and they are less likely to use AI than commercial users.

I had a significant drop in dls & earnings in the first two weeks of the month at Adobe - but those are spring break weeks in the US - now it's back to normal. No drop elsewhere, though, wo maybe not the reason why - but hopeful whatever the cause, it was a two week blip.


13
Off Topic / Re: I had some success at an art exhibition
« on: April 25, 2025, 11:31 »
Congrats Patrick! Beautiful image!

14
Adobe Stock / Re: How are your Adobe sales going?
« on: April 22, 2025, 12:08 »
Adobe sales for me are now ahead of ss but with 44% more dls on Adobe than ss, Adobe is only 24% ahead in terms of earnings, due to a combination of factors - lower earning dls on Adobe than usual and higher earning SOLs on ss. ss is only slightly above average for me this month and Adobe is still way down from average despite pulling ahead of ss. Meanwhile, Alamy has earned over $300 so far this month. So, it's been an unusual month all around for me.

I had Easter content ready to go, but didn't upload it early enough on Adobe, so held it for next year since reviews are taking so long and I wanted it to be online long enough to get some traction. I had some tax themed stuff that got licensed so that was helpful - but while some was accepted right away on Adobe the rest sat in review for over 2 months so I deleted it in early April figuring I'd re-upload next year rather than have it accepted after tax day.

15
Shutterstock.com / Re: New Unlimited Download Model
« on: April 17, 2025, 13:03 »
I've seen people offering classes on marketing and letting students use their ss images in their own marketing - not what this model envisions but what it will be used for in addition to the many other kinds of image theft and misuse. Looking for that opt-out button now.

16
General Stock Discussion / Re: Photography and education
« on: April 17, 2025, 12:57 »
Good luck Angelacat - hope it's a good course. When you're done, come back & let folks know - good or bad. If you get individual feedback, that should be helpful.

17
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobestock Review Time
« on: April 16, 2025, 19:27 »
My approval rating is 85% - and I had bunches of files from the same shoot where all were approved but one which would then sit and wait for a month or so, then be approved, I've got one that's been there for three months. Again, the rest of the set was approved in a few days. It was a commercial image with a tax theme, so I deleted it since it'll be irrelevant for much of the next year. It was late enough three months ago. At least others from the set have licensed, even one today, a day late!

I feel discouraged from uploading when the wait is like this. Maybe I should get my Christmas photos ready now?

18
Adobe Stock / Re: How are your Adobe sales going?
« on: April 16, 2025, 19:17 »
I'm currently making more on shutterstock, which is a complete turn around for me. My ss earnings are nearly double Adobe's this month so far, something that hasn't happened in years. My Adobe earnings normally dwarf what I earn on ss.

This month I've earned only 15% of my average monthly earnings for the first three months of the year. So if I stay at that rate, I'll earn 70% less than average.

I haven't had any images removed from my portfolio, so my best sellers are all still in the mix - and new images just uploaded are getting licensed regularly.

The problem is the drop in prices. The year started out really well with a very strong January. February and March were a bit slower, but the drop this month is unprecedented. My number of downloads is consistent with past months, but the average amount I'm earning per dl keeps dropping.  This month, most are down in the 37-46 range rather than the 99-$1.45 I have been used to seeing regularly - even the 90 ones are 92 or 94 rather than 99

RPD dropped a little in February, then really slumped in late March. My last $1+ dl was $3.30 on March 21, nearly a month ago. Now it's all pennies.

I wonder if they are dropping prices in anticipation of what will happen with the Getty/ss merger? A lot of custom licenses are lower than the subscription prices, and the subscription prices are generally lower than what I was seeing in January, February, and early March.

It could be economic pressures, it could just be a fluke, though following the drop in prices, I'm worried. And I have to pay for Adobe cc this month because I missed the upload target (only uploaded 116 new files) despite having more than twice the needed dls. Oh well.

I can hope it's just a fluke, but seeing prices drop, I think that's a false hope.

19
General Stock Discussion / Re: Photography and education
« on: April 16, 2025, 18:15 »
I don't know where you are located but if you are in the US, I highly recommend the International Center for Photography (ICP) in NYC, and Maine Media, located in the southern part of Maine. Both have top-notch professors and offer different types of classes. I took a weekly class for a couple of semesters at ICP long ago before I actually became a professional photographer. I've also taken classes at Maine Media - they have week-long summer intensive classes and I think they have semester long ones too. In the summer, people travel from all over to take classes there and you not only work with your teacher and fellow students, but you live and eat and hang out with other top photographers who are teaching there, who often offer lectures at night, or who you can just jchat and have a drink with, ads well as students from all over, and you really can improve your photography in a week.

Another thing I did when I first started out was to take some classes at a local community college in the NY suburbs where I live. I took a portrait class, one on Photoshop, one on documentary photography, and even Illustrator -only one class a semester, but being involved in those classes helped me improve a lot. Is there a local university near you that offers classes - maybe one where you can audit classes so it doesn't cost as much?

In the US there is a group called the Professional Photographers of America and they have local chapters. I belonged to one local chapter for a while - the monthly meetings usually had someone who would talk, often time when you could get feedback on photos, and contests once a month where you would get extended comments. They also offered a variety of week-long classes one week every summer with some top photographers. I believe they may have classes online now too (I was a member over 10 years ago).

I'd be a little leary of online classes but if you've done your homework and their reviews are good, it might work out well. I know for me, when I feel like I'm in a rut creatively, I find taking a class can really make a difference. Nikon used to offer classes - I did a weekend class with them - and I believe Sony does too - places like B&H (again in Manhattan) offer different classes too - usually a one- day thing. Is there a camera store near you that has classes? Does your town's high school have continuing education classes with the school's photo teacher? These are other possibilities.

The best way to improve your photography is to get feedback on your work - and if they do that, it might help a lot. I personally prefer in person classes, but having done some portfolio reviews online during covid, that can really help too - though the camaraderie of other students and hearing a professional comment on their work as well as yours, can really aid in the learning process.

Good luck. Hope you find something that works for you. Just be sure they will be reviewing your work and giving you feedback.

20
General Stock Discussion / Re: Managing work from two places
« on: March 31, 2025, 19:55 »
Sandisk and others make some really small (like the size of a stack of credit cards) SSD drives that are incredible fast and portable, which is another option if you're worried about internet speed and connectivity. I have a couple of 1 TB and 2 TB ones where I store a lot of my photos that I'm working on.

Super light and easy to plug into your desktop. If you use Lightroom Classic, your catalog can point to the images on the SSD drive so you know where they are.

Having plenty of room on dropbox or google drive is also a very easy solution and I assume your catalog can point to those too.

21
Shutterstock.com / Re: What is your highest earnings?
« on: March 31, 2025, 19:45 »
I got a $650 sale on an editorial photo of a Covid leaflet. On another day, someone bought 5 images of mine for around $160 each.
That was your royalty or that was what the client paid? Always very confusing here what people state on their sales and what they received.

I thought we were talking about ss - where you only see what you are paid - although I guess you can calculate what the client paid based on your level. Although I'm assuming no one is going to answer with that number?

I'm amazed by the high numbers here because the OP asked about ss. If people are answering with figures from other agencies, the numbers are still nice, but not as surprising.

22
Shutterstock.com / Re: What is your highest earnings?
« on: March 27, 2025, 14:41 »
Encouraging to see that there are still some really good numbers. My best was $80 - quite a long time ago. Last year my best was $46. Definitely need a lot more of those to offset the 10 cent subs and 10 cent SOLs.



23
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobe Stock Contributor Bonus 2025
« on: January 16, 2025, 20:58 »
I agree with Jo Ann's assessment, having qualified since 2018, I think of it as part of my compensation at this point too.

 Yes, it's a bonus and they can change the requirements or even discontinue it, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time since uploads are something we have more control over.

That's all. No "crying," just expressing my disappointment. I'd rather upload 100 good images than 1,000s of junky ones. But adding another few dozen to make the requirement would have been simple enough if I'd known. Come April, I'll buy the one-year plan, since if you pay monthly the price will go up this year.


24
Adobe Stock / Re: Adobe Stock Contributor Bonus 2025
« on: January 15, 2025, 15:41 »
Bummed as I had over 450 downloads, fewer than last year, but enough to qualify for the bonus ... except...

I have a relatively small portfolio with a little over 1,000 assets which I've built up slowly, adding 116 accepted assets this year. Wish I'd known in advance the change from 20 to 150 new assets as I would have concentrated my efforts on increasing my numbers to get another 34 online.

I've appreciated the free plan these past several years and the LR/PS combo is certainly worth paying for, but I'm really disappointed that the goalposts changed so drastically without any warning. Given the overwhelming number of new images on Adobe Stock and the crazy waiting times (I had some that took as much as 3 months to approve, and some that took a couple of days - never know what to expect) the change was really unexpected.
 
Please tell us in advance what we need to qualify for 2026. The bonus is a really nice perk.

25
Print on Demand Forum / Re: Pictorem.....Worthwhile?
« on: August 07, 2024, 22:12 »


That is hugely helpful info, thanks so much!!! I have a storefront for paper prints, canvas, metal and acrylic glass already on my website, built with Wordpress and Woocommerce - so it should be rather extendable to US & Canada customers (currently selling to Europe only).

By any chance, can you also recommend a US/Canada based lab with great acrylic glass print quality?

Thanks in advance!
[/quote]

Sorry. I havent printed on acrylic.

Im selling prints through Fine Art America & one agent and these days it earns me more than stock. I sure hope print sales dont disappear.  I havent added them to my website though Im thinking about it.  I sell some directly but its easier to have someone else do the printing and shipping. I use Millers for those images. Generally framed or on metal. 

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