I get my payout by Payoneer at iStock. Today I tried to submit a payout request and the Payoneer option is not shown on my payment request page. Did IS terminate that arrangement. Did I miss the memo?

Well I am ready to jump into stock video and plan to start with Pond5 initially.

I have a 5DMII CANON but plan to buy Canon XA20 Professional HD Camcorder after reading some reviews and debates of DSLR vs Camcorder. For software I am thinking Final Cut Pro X for my Mac.

http://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/963139-REG/canon_8453b002_xa20_hd_professional_camcorder.html

But before I click BUY NOW buttons I thought I would run this by the MSG brain trust. You folks are the best,


Thanks
Bill

I just read my exclusive contract with iStock and could not find any mention (or restrictions) about selling "similar" images at other sites.

Let's say you shoot a wine glass from a variety of angles and lighting and submit some to your exclusive IS account and submit OTHER variations to Shutterstock..etc. Any problem with this?

http://designtaxi.com/news/364284/Photographer-Makes-US-15-000-In-Just-One-Day-By-Selling-Prints-On-Instagram/

Interesting article. I wonder how true it is. And did he have model releases?

A real estate agent is offering to pay me $200 and cover food, lodging and air travel (San Diego to Napa Valley by San Francisco) to shoot a five million dollar home with models (she pays models and arranges). IF the property sells, she will pay a $1000 bonus to me.

This will be a one day shoot, many with strobes and most with available light bracketed for HDR to capture window data so they don't get blown out. Guessing about 20 to 30 processed shots -- post will be HDR, color corrections, clean up and wide angle distortion correction.

Architectural photography is new to me and still sorting out my chops but my first shoot blew her away (she paid $200 which I accepted since I was learning). I thought I would add it to my offering but read on other forums that real estate shooters make about $100 to $350 per house! Just not enough for me.

Would you take a contingent assignment like this? Are RE photographers really shooting for such low fees?

Thanks for your thoughts

Bill

Submitting video: Is it worth it?

I was thinking about shooting video with my 5D Mark II and was wondering if it was worth the time and effort.

Is there really much demand? I hear approvals times are very long. Is the ROI satisfactory? Any advice? Where to submit?

Thanks for your comments.

I have a bunch of exclusive  images at iStock waiting in Pending Executive Review for a month now. Even wrote Support about it and heard nothing. Odd how normal reviews take about one day. 

Are your experiences similar?

When I would set up my lights for portrait shoots I needed someone in the chair in order to balance the main and fill lights. Most times the model was not there yet, so one day I put Buster on the chair and he was perfect. He actually liked it and KNEW he was helping me in some way. He even would want to sit on the model's laps during shoots. I miss Buster SO much... best dog in the world!

Just got this email.

What is changing?

Due to an increase in claims from homeowners, and to provide a better experience to our customers who license content from us, images/clips shot of private residences without property releases from the owners will no longer be accepted as creative content.

In the coming months, existing files without property releases will be deactivated from iStock and will no longer be offered from iStock or its partner sites.

What is not acceptable and what is?

If a single unreleased private home is the subject of a photo or video, it will be deactivated and will not be eligible for future submission without a property release.  Previously, we have accepted photos and videos of private homes that were shot from public locations. That will no longer be the case.  The new guidelines set out here will apply regardless of where the photo or video was shot.

Street scenes and vistas depicting three or more homes shot from a public place without a release are still acceptable.

This is gonna get ugly. 

I really like iStock's new loupe rollovers. Simple and fast. And rolloffs work well. And the site seems blazing fast for me now. It was horribly slow this morning.

When you import into Lightroom, how much personal metadata do you include?

I have been adding my name for copyright, my city and state, my photo web address, and my gmail email.

It this too much? Your thoughts?

There are some ideas that I would like to create but they are not possible to photograph because they do not exist so I am considering outsourcing them overseas to 3D rendering artists.

Also, I have looked into learning 3D modeling -- no thanks

For the right price, it might provide a good ROI.

Anyone else consider this?

Can anyone recommend a Rotating Camera Bracket for a Canon 5D MarkII using the Manfrotto quick release system. This will be for studio work on my tripod.

This looks good but may be more than I need.
Just Rite Camera Brackets

Thanks

The current IS Fuel newsletter about collaboration states:

A huge concept for 2014 and beyond is COLLABORATION. Both in terms of the subject matter that is visualized and how the subject is visualized. Our customers are already asking for collaboration in addition to the classic concepts of teamwork and togetherness.

however....

Stock Search Results (168624 images) "collaborate"

They don't have enough? Seriously??

Geeezzz... just got a call from Getty (to voicemail) from a guy pushing THINKSTOCK and various subscription plans and he sends me an email as well with a big pdf promo with all the sub plans and other features of THINKSTOCK...

As a buyer...I guess he did not know I was also an  exclusive contributor with iSTock/Getty and NOT part of THINKSTOCK and hate sub plans.

Interesting that Getty is NOW calling all the istock buyers, pushing THINKSTOCK. Thanks GETTY for making us exclusives feel so f~ing special. 

The new interface at IS states "Only From Istock" for exclusive files. Is the purpose to inform buyers that you don't need to shop around to find this image cheaper elsewhere? Has that been a real problem?

My fear is that it will eventually mean to buyers that these images are gonna cost you a whole lot more.

I have often wondered how important it is to buyers that a certain image can only be found here at iStockphoto. As a buyer myself, it does not mean much.

iStock has sort by options that include : Contributor, size and title. what? I get alot of surveys from them and always tell them to delete those. Really who would use those and for what?

http://awkwardstockphotos.com/

So anyone can become a stock photographer 

How to really annoy electricians installing ceiling lights and fan -- Set up your lights and blast away. LOL

Actually, they were really cool and I got a bunch of great shots and tipped them $50 buck for a great install job and putting up with me and my camera. :

Go to Google Image Search and type in

Atari Breakout

And hit ENTER -- use arrow keys to navigate

CSA_Images must have cut a deal with Getty/iStock for its illustrations (but considered photos?) and now fills up the first 36 pages of Vetta New Files. Check it out. This may be signs of the image factories reaction to the the unlimited uploads.

If I was a buyer and wanted to check out some new Vetta, this would make me nuts. I mean, sure they are good illustrations but 36 pages of retro archive "PHOTOS" just seems nuts.

The 5-pin, Mini-B digital terminal on my Canon 5D Mark II died in the middle of a shoot last week. Tested with new cord and different computers and tested all elements with my other Canon Rebel. All indications point to the camera's digital terminal on my camera. Not surprising as it gets jerked around in there alot. I just bought a JERK STOPPER.

Anyway, before I send it back to Canon (ugh) for repair. Has anyone had their Mini-B, digital terminal stop connecting when shooting tethered? Any home fixes? Costs for repair?

Thanks

Instead of dragging my 5DM2 around with me all the time I thought I would snag a quality point-and-shoot for getting those interesting walk-around shots. After  much research, I got the new Canon G15 and have been testing it and feel that this just might not work. (Still in Que. at IS). When you enlarge these files in PS... well, it is what it is and it just isn't pretty after living in the L-Glass, full frame sensor world.

I've had images accepted with my iPhone4 but many get rejected for image quality.

Do any of you find much success (quality images and acceptance) with "upper end" point-and-shoots? Is it worth going down this  road or should I just keep the 5D in the front seat and not mess with these wanna-be, consumer toys?

Thanks

My GF took this last week of me at work. Post some of you in action.

OX
...smile 

http://youtu.be/vQhqikWnQCU

A wonderful woman has come into my life recently bringing a passion for photography. Her current experience is primarily point-and-shoot of landscapes.

I am enjoying teaching her what I know about photography and professional equipment and she has fully embraced the experience.

She mentioned that she was a ballerina in her teens and still had her cherished ballet slippers. I suggested shooting them. Her eyes lit up.

After a few days of lessons about histograms, high-light alerts, DOF, lens, strobe lights and just getting comfortable with my 5DM2 I let her go solo in the studio.

The other morning at 6:00 a.m. (before coffee or breakfast) I discovered her taking photos of her beloved ballet slippers. I snapped an iPhone candid of the moment and wanted to share it with you to remind us of what we do.

Sure, we all get charged up by the unfair treatment by the agencies and for many, that is overwhelming. But let's not forget that we are artists creating memorable images that tell a story. It is what we do and who we are.

I saw that in Beverly that morning as she reconnected with  and paid homage to a very special time in her life through my camera. As she sat down and viewed her work all of the strobes, stands, laptops, and software faded away -- and she cried warm tears of joy.

OX
...keeping it real

I broke up with my girlfriend last summer. Even though it was my doing and necessary it hit me really hard and I have not felt like shooting much. The stress had left me kinda hollow.  Feeling much better now and starting to shoot again. Even have awesome (and much better) girlfriend.

The projects I HAVE shot have felt forced and somewhat on auto-pilot. And not from the zen-zone or heart.

How do you deal with staying motivated to shoot when there is stress in your life?

OX
...zen shooter

My niece has a pretty good eye for photography and has shot some very good images. I was speaking to her about purchasing the rights to some of the photos and submitting them to my iStock account. I guess this might be similar to Yuri hiring shooters for his various portfolios. She has no interest in becoming a regular microstock shooter.

Does anyone know how submitting other shooter's images would fly at iStock or elsewhere? I guess I would need to get a "All Rights Ownership" contract signed by the photographer. 

Thanks for your input.

OX

Does anyone have any experience dealing with a property settlement from a divorce which involves a stock photo portfolio?

I was wondering how one would divide up an asset like a portfolio generating an income stream if there was a divorce.

Anyone been down that road? 

After reading this thread at IS, I am kinda shocked with the massive SUDDEN downward shift in sales and income for 99% of the iStock community. And since IS is one of the major players, this trend must be industry wide.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=347763&page=1

SO what is going on? Is it IS's site issues or something else? It does  not feel like a gradual trend since September is usually the bounce-back month. Hopefully it is related to the zoom and add-to-library issues (that should be fixed) but that seems odd that those simple features would slam the sales activity.

Have any of you veterans seen anything like this? Any ideas?

I was kinda expecting September sales to be impressive with summer over but I am way down from my forecast here at mid-September.
It looks like IS is jerking around the search algorithms like a monkey on crack.

How is your September going so far?

OX
...not sure if monkeys really do crack

http://www.cracked.com/blog/14-bizarre-scenarios-that-are-way-too-common-in-stock-photos/

My son just sent me this.

Leaf - page two has the f bomb but it is for editorial style

What is that background image behind the Microstock Group header banner or perhaps logo.

Mebbe we should have a contest to redesign that. At least show a camera ? 

OX
...going OCD again

Well, since IS opened the door to mobile phone photos and I just bought a new iPhone 4s, I thought I would give it a go. My first shoot was actually some test shots at a local music store where I was planning a full on 5D-with-strobes shoot. The iPhone shots came out pretty good for an iPhone using Camera+ app and some light post in LR and PS. All were accepted but one. Surprising.

Yesterday I was at Oceanside Pier and snagged a bunch of nice photos and just ULed them. I got some, IMO, nice shots with good compositions and subject matter. BUT while doing post, I kept thinking, why . didn't I just bring my 5D and not have to deal with all this noise, color distortion, jpeg format, and other issues inherent in a freaking iPhone sensor.

I guess my point is, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

I am looking at beautiful captures that have a 50/50 chance of acceptance depending upon an inspector's tolerance of all this iphone stuff. With a FF sensor and speed light fill, that goes up to 85%+ chance of acceptance.

Anyway, that is my morning ramble and first experience with mobile phone shooting.

What you got?

Mobile Photography
Social media defines the trends in imagery right now. People want images that look and feel like those streaming past second-by-second online. We think the best way to deliver that is to encourage mobile photography submissions from our contributors.

Dunno if this is a good thing...or not. But expect the floodgate opening from everybody with a mobile camera. And  then there will be the blog posts "YOU CAN MAKE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AT ISTOCKPHOTO WITH YOUR IPHONE CAMERA!"

I can't figure out what the Vetta inspectors think is Vetta quality. Apparently - since I've never got anything accepted. Go take a look at recent files. Really? Sure some of it is awesome and fits the criteria below but there are many others images that make ya wonder what the inspectors saw that allowed it to pass through the Vetta golden gates.

Here is how iStock describes Vetta:
Content in the Vetta® collection, Italian for peak, has seized its own artistic destiny and created a whole new caliber of art.
Vetta content is handpicked by a team of top-rate iStockphoto editors for:
-Exquisite art direction
-Intelligently executed concepts
-Rarity

Consider the state of microstock sites' inventory. It is mostly massive quantities of about 80% weak images (crap) and growing. Searching for quality images is difficult and will become more so.

That is the nature of amateur crowd sourcing business models (even though I feel the same about RM).

So, here comes Yuri and peopleimages.com. It changes the game with 90%+ cherries. Searches are significantly more productive using his Model Properties and Search Options. It blows away RM in regards to pricing. He has built a massive, prolific photo factory churning out 5,000 quality images a week!.

Currently, peopleimages.com is in its infancy much like iStockphoto was in 2000. They were a game-changer. Once the years roll by and PI gets traction, loyalty, word-of-mouth, a strong organic Google placement and Adwords presence, it may also become a game-changer for people/lifestyle photos and perhaps dominate people stock photography worldwide.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/photography/2012/07/bad_olympic_photos_how_terrible_shots_of_olympians_went_viral_.single.html

Check out these photos that Getty pushed through of the Olympic athletes. Sure, the photographer was over his head and now has a ruined career. But, Getty? What were you thinking?

Some folks gripe on and on about everything microstock (and probably this poll).  

Others enjoy the whole thing with good results.

Here is a simple blind poll to get to the bottom of how you folks are doing in regards to your microstock experience and return-on-investment. Now you silent success stories can discreetly  cast your vote  

Using the back button to Auto Focus

I just started using this technique and it's awesome.  Takes a little while to get used to it's but worth it.

Anyone else do this?

OX

Just did a quick scan of the newest 500 images in the Agency Collection with the oldest of that set ULed 9/17/2010.

Of 500 images at the higher pricing Agency Collection, only FOUR have sold.

I wonder if Getty will get the message buyers are sending?

I am exclusive at IS and was thinking about opting-in to the Partner Program to move some "dead wood" files over to those sites to see if they will sell at that lower price point.

For those in the IS Partner Program, how is it going for you? Do those sites (Photos.com and Thinkstock.com) get much traffic and sales? Is it worth moving some images over to those sites?

Thanks
OX

LOL... this has to be a new IS approval record. I just uploaded an image from a group of test shots...  and exactly 13 minutes later I got the Acceptance email. Cool 

Of the various fields of commercial photography, do you feel micro-stock has the most stringent technical standards?

Macro-stock appears to me to be less technically demanding according to the images I have purchased over the past 20 years. Weddings, corporate work, PR, newspapers etc... all have non-technical buyers, for the most part so noise, artifact, CA and such is not as critical as in micro-stock.

Perhaps, photo book publishers, national magazines and advertising art directors set the bar up high... but are the micro-stock inspectors consistently the toughest?
Your thoughts?

OX

When shooting on public land like state parks and beaches, do you purchase usage permits and the required insurance? And let's say you have a model on location and he/she gets injured. Are you liable? Do  you do anything to waive your liability?

Thanks
OX

Well, 2011 is about over and now would be a good time to make some predictions about iStockPhoto for the next year - 2012.

Here are mine:

- IS will become Exclusives ONLY. Independents will no longer be allowed to upload.
- Most low selling Independent's files will be moved to Getty's middle Tier sites
- 20% commission for everyone (everyone meaning all the exclusives remaining)
- Discontinue tiered commissions based on credits sold
- Many low selling Exclusive files will be moved to Getty's middle tier sites
- Prices may rise a little to test the reaction
- Getty will try to position IS as (what I call) a "tweener" site with higher quality images at a higher price point. Images that you cannot find elsewhere (hence exclusive only).
- The techno bug issues will force Getty to build a completely new site causing significant migration issues, and a nightmare of lost commissions and file status. There may be class action law suits as well.
- By second quarter 2012 the site will be healthy and working well. A new programming maintenance team (hopefully from the banking industry) will be hired to ensure smooth running.
- Anger among contributors will reach a boiling point and Getty will attempt to appease them with unsuccessful PR promotions.

Does anyone know if IS assigns value ratings to individual contributors other than what comes with Exclusive status (which may just be an image rating).

For instance, if someone is selling many images and maxing out their uploads, will the system assign that contributor preferential algorithms in regards to file placement, faster inspections, foot massage etc?

Or are all contributors treated the same according to status?

http://istockcharts.multimedia.de/

Who is number two? I know who three is.

IS is no longer accepting any Apple products. Guess Jobs and Company made a phone call...
The images submitted did not contain any logos.

__________

We regret to inform you that we cannot accept your submission, entitled Computer keyboard testimonial  for addition to the iStockphoto library for the following reasons:

++ We do no longer accept product shots of Apple Macintosh.

This file includes content that may be subject to copyright or trademark protection. Certain use of this file creates risk of copyright/trademark infringement and we regret that it cannot be accepted, unless this content is removed from the file.

ElenaVizerskaya is a cutting edge photographer with a unique style unlike most at iStockPhoto.

http://www.istockphoto.com/search/portfolio/5767540/?facets={%2230%22%3A%22100%22}#617a488

Share your thoughts on this artist.