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1351
Bigstock.com / Re: Bigstock questions
« on: March 31, 2009, 17:54 »

1. Click on the "Commissions" tab, then "Download/view stats".


Doesn't this process only work for those images you actually have Downloads for?  I haven't been able to get just "view stats" on all my images in this fashion.  Am I doing something incorrectly? ???
Huh. Yep, I didn't realize that, but you're right. I never actually look at views, just sales. Good thing, apparently, otherwise I'd be frustrated by the apparent lack of ability to do so.  :)

1352
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Exclusively everywhere but IStock
« on: March 31, 2009, 16:03 »
Particular newest photo of tourist taxi boats

Notice for File #XXXXXXXX: tourist taxi boats‏

The following keywords used for this file do not appear to be fully relevant to the subject. {[ Beach, excursion, Island, Oasis, Sand, sun, Taxi, tourism, Tourist]}
Funny rejection reason with TOURIST TAXI BOATS NOT TO BE KEYWORDED AS TAXI OR TOURIST..
Zeljko, I took a look at the image in question. I have to agree with the inspector on most of those.

Beach - No beach in sight, only water.
Excursion - Seems ok to me.
Island - No land in sight, only water.
Oasis - An oasis from our hectic life? Maybe; I don't know if you'd get many hits because of it, and it certainly isn't the typical meaning of the word.
Sand - No sand in sight, only water.
Sun - I prefer to use the keyword "day" or "daytime" for images that were taken in the daytime, and reserve the word "sun" for when it actually appears in the frame.
Taxi - Implies an automotive taxi, IMO. Use "water taxi" instead. But I do see there are a dozen or two images which have been accepted with the terms "boat" and "taxi". There's that inconsistency you mentioned.
Tourism - Seems ok to me.
Tourist - I don't see anybody, so how could "tourist" be applicable? Use "tourist boat" instead (and DA to tourboat, not ferry!). And don't forget "nobody"!

I hope that helps.

1353
Bigstock.com / Re: Bigstock questions
« on: March 31, 2009, 13:30 »
Gebbie, sorry I wasn't clear.

I meant I don't think I've ever tried to correct and re-submit an image other than at iStock.

The process I follow most of the time (not always) is to UL to IS first. My AR is about 75% - 80% there. If it's rejected with a resubmit and I believe I can fix it, I absolutely do. That covers over 90% of my images. Then I submit to other agencies. The few images that I can't get iStock to accept definitely are still submitted to other agencies, and are generally accepted (though usually not by all of them).

So my point was that if an image is "ok'd" by IS and rejected elsewhere for technical reasons, I figure it's just an inexperienced reviewer or a site-specific oddity. Perhaps I might be able to make changes to please them, but it just doesn't seem worth it. (And it doesn't happen often enough to worry about on 123, BigStock, SS, or StockXpert -- and don't get me started on DT and FT!)

1354
Bigstock.com / Re: Bigstock questions
« on: March 31, 2009, 12:36 »
Hi, Dirk,

1. Click on the "Commissions" tab, then "Download/view stats".

2. I'm not aware of any resubmission process. I don't think I've ever tried correcting and resubmitting. I usually upload to BigStock and others after IS acceptance, and I figure if IS accepts an image, it's ok.   :D  I still get rejections from others, but I just assume they aren't interested in those particular images.

1355
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Exclusively everywhere but IStock
« on: March 31, 2009, 10:40 »
Nope, we get it.  If a contributor uploads 60 images a week from their work, it is likely to be a variety of their best. 

You've been exclusive too long, Sean!  :P

The weekly upload limit for a black diamond is only 35/week. Mere mortal golds can upload only 25/week.

1356
Bigstock.com / Re: New keyword rejection from BigStock
« on: March 30, 2009, 21:07 »
Absolutely make contact.  I very seldom question a rejection but have done so at BS.  And, the rejection was immediately reversed.  I think reviewers do make mistakes.
You mean, they're human, too?  ;)

In this case, though, I don't see how it could be a mistake. More likely, it's an inexperienced reviewer, or (less likely) some new policy. I'll write them asap.

1357
Bigstock.com / Re: New keyword rejection from BigStock
« on: March 30, 2009, 19:42 »
Thanks, Larry. I guess I will have to write them, since I really have no idea what keywords they don't like, and which ones they want removed.

I'm generally fairly conservative (I think!) when it comes to keywording, which is why I've never had any such rejections before except once or maybe twice from IS. Oh, well.  :D

1358
Bigstock.com / New keyword rejection from BigStock
« on: March 30, 2009, 18:36 »
I've been submitting to BigStock for over 2 years now. They have accepted more of my images than any other agency. And they've always been one of my favorites. I know a lot of people don't seem to do well there, but they usually are ahead of 123 for me.

I just received the status back on a batch of 28 images I submitted, and 21 were rejected for keywording!.

what?  :o Everyone one of those 21 were accepted at iStock, which (up until now!) was the only agency I'd ever received a keywording rejection from, ever. And that happened only once or twice. These were also all accepted at 123, StockXpert, and (of those I've submitted) SS.

Has anyone else ever gotten a keywording rejection from BigStock?

PS - I just noticed that one of those was actually rejected for the wrong category, not keywords!  ::)  :P

ETA - They kindly do allow changing the keywords without re-uploading. But honestly, I have no idea what keywords they don't like, so I can't possibly attempt to fix all these.

1359
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Over 50 keywords and reset?!?
« on: March 29, 2009, 21:06 »
It's interesting how different people have such different experiences and opinions.

Some of my positive feelings towards iStock are probably due to the fact that they have always been my #1 earner. But I also enjoy the online community there (well, most of it), and I actually believe their reviews are among the most consistent of any of the Big 6. That doesn't mean I don't get rejections I disagree with; I most certainly do. But far fewer than the two currently in my doghouse, Fotolia & Dreamstime.

As for the uploading process, I love it.  ::) But maybe that's because I've been using DeepMeta for over a year. Man, what a wonderful program. Anyone who doesn't like iStock's uploading process (which would be about everyone, I'd think) should be using DeepMeta, IMO.

1360
iStockPhoto.com / Re: how to be non-exclusive...for dummies
« on: March 29, 2009, 14:59 »
Personally I don't pay much attention to "new users" that have no portfolio links at all and start to voice very strong opinions. If they go on, I mostly ignore them.

Personally I don't mind being ignored.  ;D If I had portfolio links, you might ignore me anyway.  :D

But I want to feel free to express my opinions, both positive and negative. If I include portfolio links, I lose my anonymity. And we all know that Fotolia, for example, has publicly stated that if they feel your opinions are a detriment to their business, they will close your account, even if you post them on a 3rd-party forum such as this. So I intend to remain unknown and safe from such retribution, no matter what site it might be.

1361
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime acceptance rates going up?
« on: March 27, 2009, 16:36 »
One final comment on this "overabundant / too specific" issue, and then I think it's time for me to move on!  ;D

Try this: Do a search for: cheeseburger fries and sort by most recent (upload date - descending).

Of the first 80, look how many images are so similar as to be almost indistinguishable from one another.

The worst offender (more than 40 of the 80!) isn't even a cheeseburger, and many of them don't even have a single french fry! (I realize this last part is a keywording issue, and not related to the overabundant / too specific problem.)

1362
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime acceptance rates going up?
« on: March 27, 2009, 13:42 »
It has been said here many times that DT has very consistent reviews. The only issue seemed to be the "we don't need this image" of an image technically OK. It's certainly subjective, since noise and bad lighting are easy to see, but salability is always a more or less educated guess, based on the reviewer's experience of his own port and that might be biased to some degree.

I agree.

It seems to me that a solution might be to give the benefit of the doubt, and add a time limit into the system. If an image doesn't sell at least once in a given period of time (one year? six months?), then give it the boot. I know we've all read stories of someone who had an image that sat for 2 years without a sale and then out of the blue got an EL. But in most cases, if an image doesn't sell at least once in a year, it probably isn't worth keep around.

I'd rather have the marketplace determine that than a reviewer, who may or may not be right.

1363
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime acceptance rates going up?
« on: March 27, 2009, 10:16 »
But whenever you feel your image was good and you have a statement supporting that, send a reply and it will be analyzed. The email reaches a senior editor who gives a second review. He may approve your image (and you get the approval email).

Well, for your info, i did wrote an email..... no reply.

Patrick H.

I've tried this about 6-10 times over the years. Sometimes I never get a response, a few times I have had some success. But the last few times I tried, the same reviewer just replied back, reinforcing their original decision. Of course the same reviewer is not going to change their mind all of a sudden!

As others have mentioned, I'm also taking a DT uploading hiatus. Tired of all the "too specific" or "well covered" rejections. I'll wait until server space becomes more available.  ;D

1364
General Stock Discussion / Re: 5Dmk2 out of stock again?
« on: March 25, 2009, 23:21 »
I ordered one yesterday from Adorama, but it said it was out of stock, and there was no time estimate given.

Today I got an email saying it shipped.  :)

1365
General - Top Sites / Re: The most unsatisfying site?
« on: March 23, 2009, 15:47 »
also, when Fotolia rejects an image , they give very specific reasons, you know when you correct that reason your next uploads will be accepted.

Fotolia does not always give very specific reasons for rejections, look at this one:

The image contains one or more technical problems:

Blurry or out of focus
Over/Under exposure
Framing problem
Over or under saturated colors
Problems with contrast
Noise or Pixelation
Quality of routing
Interpolation problem

Hey, what's your problem with that? There's eight very specific reasons all in one!  ;D  ;)  ;D

1366
General - Top Sites / Re: The most unsatisfying site?
« on: March 21, 2009, 17:25 »
also, when Fotolia rejects an image , they give very specific reasons, you know when you correct that reason your next uploads will be accepted.

Hmmm. There must be 2 Fotolia's out there!  ;D

1367
I can understand for the second maybe, but the first one is a panorama of Mostar, a famous tourist place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The image is 9000 pixels wide.

I can't understand rejecting either one. They'd both sell, IMO. Try again in a few weeks, or you could email support.

1368
I UL'd 50 yesterday afternoon, and I see all but 2 were reviewed. Hmmm.

Then I realized that those two had missing MRs.

How about that? A site that tells you you forgot to attach MRs without rejecting the images and making you re-upload them!

I hate all the subs, but I sure love everything else about StockXpert!  8)

1369
General - Top Sites / Re: The most unsatisfying site?
« on: March 21, 2009, 16:12 »
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that there's a Big 6 site missing from the list. Maybe it was felt that absolutely no one would select StockXpert is their most unsatisfying site?  ;D

I strongly agree with the site that's "leading" the poll, but just as strongly disagree with #2.

Actually, there isn't anyone close to #1 in my opinion, but I selected DT for my second choice, because I'm so fed up with their "too specific or well-covered" or "Not quite what we're looking for" rejections. But they remain my #3 earner, so that still makes them pretty satisfying.  ;)

1370
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime acceptance rates going up?
« on: March 19, 2009, 23:30 »
Sometimes I think it is the luck of the draw with the reviewers.  I have had over 80% acceptance overall but this month I am getting lots of rejections.
I appealed and actually got a personal reply from the reviewer.
We have changed our policy because this subject is not very salable on Dreamstime.

It has been my experience that appealing is a waste of time if the original reviewer is the one who responds (which seems to usually be the case at DT). They will always defend their initial review (and honestly, why wouldn't they?). It's too bad their isn't a Scout-like appeals process at DT and FT (though at FT I'd probably need a limit of 30 a month instead of 3!).  ::)

1371
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime - Is it time to leave
« on: March 13, 2009, 09:58 »
I'm approaching my 3rd anniversary with Dreamstime, and they'd always been one of my favorite agencies. They continue to perform well for me, a constant #3 in sales behind iStock and Shutterstock.

But I am oh so tired of the "well-covered or too specific" rejections. I had stopped uploading to them for a month, to give them a rest, and see if things change. But they haven't; just got that same rejection this morning on my trial balloon (no, it isn't one that was previously rejected).

As for this thread's title, I'm not about to leave me #3 performer. But I have to decide how to balance my desire to add new images with my fear of harming my acceptance ratio (and thus my search ranking). For now, I guess I'll go back to wait mode, and continue to monitor the situation.

1372
Shutterstock standard license:
Except as expressly provided herein, you may not directly or indirectly use, copy or reproduce any Image (in whole or in part) more than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) times.
http://www.shutterstock.com/licensing.mhtml

So, it depends on whether they reproduced more than 250,000 or not (unlikely).

1373
General Stock Discussion / Re: Taxes
« on: March 03, 2009, 18:04 »
But the way it normally works in real-life is that you generally report income that the IRS knows about.  This is why people work "off the books" (to avoid having to pay taxes on the income).
This is so true.
[soapbox]
Is it any wonder that so many of our politicians have recently been caught "forgetting" to pay taxes?

I bet if everyone paid the taxes they are supposed to pay, we would have a budget surplus. Ok, maybe that's going too far! But it is a shame that the sense of right and wrong has become so twisted and frankly lost in so many, that "everyone" tries to get away with it, hoping they won't get caught.

(And, yes, I declare every penny I make, even $1 for taking an online survey. Not only because it isn't worth it if I get caught not doing so, but because it is the right thing to do.)
[/soapbox]

ETA: This was not directed at anyone in this thread; just a general rant.

1374
General Stock Discussion / Re: Feb 2009 Earnings breakdown
« on: March 01, 2009, 18:04 »
Feb % of monthly revenue (% change from last month's $ revenue)

IS 32% (-30% from Jan's BME)
SS 24% (+16%; BME)
DT 16% (+8%; BME)
StockXpert 11% (+27%; BME)
FT 10% (+18%; BME)
BigStock 4% (-28%)
123 3% (-59%)
SV 0% (-100%)

Comments:
January was my BME in microstock, so I wasn't expecting much in February. But if not for iStock's relatively poor showing, Feb would have surpassed it. So, I'm happy enough.

I still have a relatively small portfolio (250 - 500). My portfolio size increased about 10% at all agencies except FT (where I have stopped UL'ing) and DT (where I have paused UL'ing, for now).

My last comment has to do with StockXpert. Sub sales have increased there from  around 60% when they began to 76% last month. However, since I am with SS, I don't see that I have a right to complain. Sure, the $/DL is smaller for a sub.  But as long as my bottom line RPD* at StockXpert is > SS, how can I complain? Last month, I earned $0.39 RPD at SS and $0.62 RPD at StockXpert.

*RPD = Rev / DL

1375
Shutterstock.com / Re: initial submission/first uploads
« on: March 01, 2009, 00:35 »
hey, thank you very much. actually, I have made the decision to stay exclusive at iStock for now. but I appreciate the kind words. exclusivity is something I have worked really hard for. it was a huge ego boost to be accepted at other sites, and those accounts are still there should anything change in future. but after crunching numbers and talking things over with some very kind, established colleagues...I`m going to stay at IS.

Thank goodness!  ;)

(I don't mean to make light of what I know was a very difficult decision for you. But I suspect there are at least a few people out there who are a bit relieved that your high quality portfolio won't be spread across all the sites. I do hope you do well under BM2 and will be happy with your decision. If not, well, you know you won't have any trouble at all getting on any other site you wish, whenever you wish. Good luck, Stacey.)

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