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Messages - pancaketom
Pages: 1 ... 53 54 55 56 57 [58] 59 60 61 62 63 ... 91
1426
« on: December 15, 2012, 16:35 »
I agree that locations should be correct. It always bothers me when someone keywords 3 or 4 national parks for an image that was clearly from only one of them - same for tropical islands, etc.
I always try to be more specific in the description.
Sometimes I include the nearest big town.
I don't include insect for a spider, but I will check insect as a category if there are no other options.
I try to include UK and USA spellings when I remember.
1427
« on: December 15, 2012, 16:30 »
Well, I had some communication for that thread, but I see the "new communication" is like the "new trust" from Istock and the thread is closed. Needless to say I won't be sending them any of my new images or referring anyone there, in fact whenever I can I suggest buyers avoid IS like the plague.
Not really surprising - I guess the only real info from that whole thread was how much big exclusives sales were down.
1428
« on: December 15, 2012, 16:08 »
Stopped when the RC system was announced. Removed most of my files when they were going to be forced into the Pp system.
1429
« on: December 13, 2012, 13:32 »
Yes, it happens often enough that most or all of a submission is rejected for "focus". These are images similar to many others that are regularly accepted. I usually resize and send them in again, or just shrug and move on.
By what factor do you downsize?
I usually drop them down to about 5 MP.
1430
« on: December 13, 2012, 12:47 »
I uploaded a bunch there in early 2011 to try to offset my Istock losses and I had a few nice early sales with them but then only a sale every few months for the past year.
1431
« on: December 13, 2012, 12:42 »
Yes, it happens often enough that most or all of a submission is rejected for "focus". These are images similar to many others that are regularly accepted. I usually resize and send them in again, or just shrug and move on.
1432
« on: December 05, 2012, 21:46 »
"Sales will double"
"half of your sales will come in the last quarter"
"this change will increase your sales"
yeah, sure, I've got a bridge for sale too.
1433
« on: December 02, 2012, 17:25 »
Well, I have a big change coming in my life, I am getting a place that needs some work, so I plan on making it habitable (and hopefully getting some good stock photos of the process). After living in my truck for many years, this is huge for me, and although exciting, it is also daunting.
In Feb I will be in an adventure race in Patagonia - unfortunately I won't be taking photos during the event - at least not w/ my dslr - in fact we will be lucky to finish. I plan to get the training in before then so that I am not only not the weakest link but so that I can contribute meaningfully to the team's finishing. Hopefully before and after I can get some good photos. In any case it will be an amazing experience. I am excited and terrified.
In the stock front I would like to catch up on some of the backlog of photos I've taken this year. I would also like to explore a few more stocky niches and do a better job of taking people photos during my adventures (and a better job of getting model releases).
My photography goals are mostly to do a better job of documenting the human side of my adventures. I also would like to do a little more with video - especially to tell a story.
1434
« on: December 02, 2012, 17:03 »
A pretty average month for this year, (still up compared to 2011), but down compared to my Oct BME (the Alamy drop pretty much covers the difference)
Here are my earners in order of $. There are more down at the bottom I didn't bother to rank.
SS was down on total DL, but close to a BME.
Alamy was number 2
DT was pretty weak
123RF
Veer
CanStockPhoto
BigStock
FP
Things actually picked up at Stockfresh for me (still very low) and I had my first 2 sales at Pond5.
1435
« on: November 29, 2012, 22:07 »
None of the options on #9 fit, but it wouldn't let me not answer, so I put the most implausible one - I'm exclusive. You can subtract that from the final.
Also the ranking thing should let you put an X for sites you aren't on. - do you want income rank for this year or for all time (for example Stockexpert still beats out some of those sites for me in all time income).
Multiple choice surveys are hard to do - as the answers are often more nuanced or things that aren't listed at all.
1436
« on: November 29, 2012, 18:21 »
It seems like Getty is trying to move the content it thinks it can sell for $$$$$ to Getty and the stuff for $ to PP sites and then the commissions will be 20% or less for it plus no RC - win win for them.
Or maybe their 65-85% is going to vulture capitalists instead of for advertising and keeping the site running.
Either way I don't see it as a particularly good sign for contributors.
1437
« on: November 29, 2012, 16:07 »
Definitely don't send it to DT more than 6 or 7 months out.
1438
« on: November 29, 2012, 16:05 »
I wouldn't be too worried about the relatively rare XS tiny sales at IS hurting for example SS sub sales. Also, remember even though you only get .15 for a sale, the buyer paid a dollar, so they aren't undercutting on the price, just on what you get paid (it is up to you to decide if you want to support that). I would be more worried about the thinkstock and other PP sales cutting into the better paying (unless you are just starting out) SS subs sales. If you just take IS into account without the PP sales I am guessing that almost everyone has a higher RPD at IS than SS. At least for myself with the PP taken into account it is the other way around.
Really unless you have a massive and unique port, your images aren't going to effect the buyers decision of where to shop, it is more a question of if you are happy supporting certain sites and putting up with their #&%$%.
1439
« on: November 28, 2012, 18:34 »
No, you just have to try to shoot saleable stuff, while they do everything they can to stop buyers from buying it. Sort of like a diabolic game.
LOL! So true! 
haha.a. I seriously laughed out loud at that!
I've been absent from the forums for some time so have just started making my way back to see if there's really anything I've missed the last few months. I also don't frequent the iStock forums anymore either. So.. it appears that there isn't much i've missed - pretty much the same issues still going on.
probably all you missed was your sales.
1440
« on: November 28, 2012, 11:22 »
I won't make what I made last year, but that is no surprise. The surprise for me was that if IS actually did sell 1/2 the RC in the last 3rd of the year I might make it - not a chance. Boy am I glad all my eggs aren't oozing out through the bottom of that basket.
1441
« on: November 25, 2012, 02:20 »
I got in first go (barely) 7/10 accepted, but one of the rejects was because they didn't like the model release. This was a while ago when I am sure it was easier (although people back then were complaining about how many tries it took for them).
I think the reason they tell you not to submit accepted pics in re-submissions is because it shows how inconsistent the reviews are - also once they reject 4 images they stop looking at them, so maybe they would have been rejects even if they don't reject them.
I would suggest bright, colorful, 100% in focus (no shallow depth of field), no digital noise, downsized to hide any of these problems, and varied pics. If you are really serious post 15 or more on the SS forum and ask which you should submit - they will be brutal but the ones most people like will probably get accepted.
1442
« on: November 22, 2012, 16:23 »
When I saw the e-mail from Alamy I had a sinking feeling even before I opened it. I am sad to see another commission decrease. I put a lot of time into getting stuff up on Alamy last winter, and it has paid off - it has mostly made up for my almost complete loss if IS income (or maybe it was their opening of the US office that has resulted in my sales? - I am skeptical).
50% is still better than most sites, but Alamy uploading requires a lot more work than most sites too. They are a bit of a different animal.
I somehow suspect that like all the other sites that have dropped commissions along with grand words about increased marketing and more sales etc. etc., all it really means is less money for me.
1443
« on: November 19, 2012, 19:10 »
It seems to me that IS are slowly disintergrating. It's just one thing after another in the ever-reducing functionality of the site. I've never seen anything like it for a business that big. It's not as if they haven't got the resources, it just seems that nobody cares enough any more to do anything about it.
Sigh!.... Cant you find it in your heart to just say one single little positive thing about IS ? youre beginning to sound like a broken record.
Whats next on your hate-list? or do you just hate everybody and everything that doesnt include you.
Just wondering which part of Gostwyck's post you don't agree with because I agree with every single word.
maybe I'd disagree with the word "slowly" otherwise it seems spot on.
1444
« on: November 16, 2012, 19:02 »
Yeah, same problem w/ mine - I am guessing there is more info under the footer. I look forward to when it is fixed.
1445
« on: November 16, 2012, 18:53 »
Maybe the charity should be the starving istock artists getting 15 to 20%
1446
« on: November 16, 2012, 14:44 »
If by aberration you mean digital noise, then yes, higher ISO = more digital noise.
1447
« on: November 16, 2012, 14:34 »
DT seems to be taking longer and longer for images to go "live" and get views now. Combined w/ the level 0 after 6 months from the date of upload and it really is more like 5 months of visibility before level 0 kicks in.
They seem to shuffle artists in their version of best match - so you can have excellent days and days of lots of subs and days of little to no sales. I think if they shuffle you "on" during a weekend and then back off for the week you can have a rather long period of dismal sales. It also seems that they might shuffle the searches for subs buyers differently. Just when you are about to completely write them off there is a nice flurry of sales (usually).
They do seem to have dropped since last June though - when they made some changes that they said were to benefit us but I fear just benefited DT if anyone.
1448
« on: November 14, 2012, 15:46 »
I'm also having one of my BDsE there today thanks to a whole load of SODs. I was looking out to see if anybody else had a lot of them today as it is so unusual.
Exactly the same here. BDE at SS by a wide margin yesterday. Nearly double my previous. Tons of OD sales. Woo Hoo!
Yesterday was maybe my #2 day at SS w/ a mix of all sorts of sales - very nice. In general the month has been ok, and above average if you include yesterday.
1449
« on: November 14, 2012, 15:16 »
Is there any way to change the order of the images within the sets? I'd rather showcase some - at least for the first few lines. An interesting feature, but I don't know if it will actually increase sales.
Still, they didn't seem to break everything else when they implemented it.
1450
« on: November 12, 2012, 22:56 »
I figure I have 5 to 8 years of growth due to the size of my portfolio (just under 800 images) - once I hit near 10k in images the wall will fell on me...
Doesn't actually work like that. If you upload at a steady rate you will hit "the wall" at about 5-6 years, irrespective of quantity. That's the point at which sales from your older images will be dying at about at about the same rate as you can replace them __ and that assumes your own quality is improving at the same pace as the overall library. It's pretty much a mathematical certainty.
If you want to delay "the wall" beyond that timescale then you will need to significantly accelerate both your quantity and quality throughout that period, something which is very difficult to achieve.
or maybe create images that don't get dated and aren't easily duplicated (what these are? - I have no idea, I wish I did)
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