Thanks everyone!  I just recently upgraded Firefox, so maybe there's some funky little glitch just for my amusement.  :-)  At least IE works.

Has anyone else been having problems accessing Canstock's site the past week or two?  There's only been a few occasions recently when I've been able to get the page to come up.  Most of the time, it just keeps trying to load.  No error messages or anything.

I'd never even heard of HDR until a few weeks ago, and that's only because I stumbled upon it after installing some other automated programs.     Pretty cool seeing what it does.  Thanks, guys! 

Karimala,

I totally agree with fighting keyword spam, but a large number of keywords is not necessarily spam.  Some keywords help refine searches.  I think they're using a hammer to kill an ant.

Regards,
Adelaide

Exactly.  And often times keywording is driven by the photo itself.  I have a series of Italian food still life shots in my portfolio that include 10 or more different types of food per shot.  A limit of 15 keywords will only hurt the sales potential of this series, and I can't even begin to imagine how I would keyword such complex images with 15 words or less.  There won't be any room to describe the atmosphere, the background and foreground, specifics about the food (green bell pepper instead of pepper or grated mozzarella cheese instead of cheese, for example), etc.



I can always write a lengthy description, but most sites don't recognize them in the search, and some even limit the description size (like SS).  So...I'm with Phil and Nico on this one.  I'll stop contributing to a site before I change my workflow, especially when it's already an under-performer. 

With that said, I might...and that's a big might...change my mind, if those 15 keywords are included with additional words suggested by the keyword helper, so more keywords are available.  If that's the case, then CanStockPhoto could become a part of my overall workflow.  I'd have to try it out first and see if it's worth the time to copy/paste the new keywords into my IPTC data, and then continue uploading to the remaining sites.

What I would love to see instead of limits on contributors is for the sites to develop ways for their reviewers to eliminate spam on the spot (and even add a few suggested keywords).  As a reviewer on one of the sites, I can tell you that all reviewers recognize spam immediately and it's a huge topic of discussion behind the scenes.  A large portion of the problem comes from contributors who have limited English skills, so it would be great if we could assist them and the sites somehow without resorting to outright rejections or limitations.   

Are you sure it isn't a referral sale?

Fotolia seems to be riddled with every glitch known to man lately.  Makes me extremely wary about uploading to them anymore.

For the past year, BigStock has consistently provided 4 - 6% of my monthly income from the Big 6.  What I like most about them is there aren't any big surprises, like substantial drops in income or extreme fluctuations month to month.  I can pretty much count on them for stable earnings that increase as my portfolio grows.

I've heard of cases where people have recognized their backsides in photos used for ads (or thought they recognized themselves), and have complained to the company who purchased the photo, who in turned complained to the photog and IS. 

While it might be an irritant to go back and remove "grab shots" from our portfolios, I think in the long run it's a good policy.  SS hasn't accepted grab shots of women in bikinis on the beach for over a year now, and I think all of the companies should do the same policy reconsideration.  Microstock is evolving quickly from being casual places where people can sell whatever they want into legitimate stock agencies where professionalism rules the day.  Grab shots are far from professional, so I welcome this change with open arms.

Now to start removing the few I have on a couple of other sites from my early days!   

Unbelievable.  That site looks as bad as camera-shot phone photos.

Only a handful of artists have over 100 downloads.  And those artists are probably already onboard.  For example, Karen Lau (aka karimala) is listed as the #50 Top Photographer, but only has 50 downloads.

Um...a little off topic here, but where does it say that I have 50 downloads?  That's not right, so if there is a problem with my stats, I'd like to let LO know about it.  And would you mind not posting my personal stats on public forums please?  Thank you.

Back to the topic...

I'm planning on participating in the program as soon as I hit 100 DLs.  I agree with Leaf 100% when he said

Charging 1 token will keep the sideshow a little more exclusive and make people think about what they stick in there. 

  Consciencious selection is what will make the section stand out from other sites, like 123RF, where contributors can add whatever they want to their "favorites" without much thought, extra compensation, or a real investment of any kind.  The section will become one for serious buyers only, and that's a great thing.

 

Great idea!  I'm just now learning the power of Lab Mode, so the timing of a study group is perfect. 

I don't think there is a conflict of interest, and neither does the company where I am a reviewer.  They also don't have a problem with me speaking up (just as long as I'm not revealing confidential company info!). 

I used to be an editor at a local newspaper, and was also simultaneously a reporter.  There isn't any difference between those roles and my new roles as a photographer and reviewer.  I approach my role as a reviewer the same way I did with my role as an editor. 

My interest is the same as both a photographer and reviewer...developing quality stock archives, whether that is with my photos or someone else's.  I'm also interested in helping people learn to be better photographers, and passing on all the great things I've learned from other photographers who once helped me.  In time, the other sites where I'm a contributor will benefit from the time I've spent helping all of these people through my reviews at the one site, because so many of them contribute to multiple sites. 

I do microstock for a living, so I have eight hours a day to get both jobs done.   

The story is very true!  The author of the original is a friend of mine as well, and I wrote the second one about my first couple of days as a reviewer.    

Reviewing is a great little gig, and I love my job, but there are days when I get batch after batch after batch of crappy photos all day long.  100's of them at a time.  Rooftops, train tracks, stop lights, brick walls, boring boring subjects anyone can shoot.  Today I rejected an entire batch of 100 photos for technical issues: noise, overexposure, clearly out of focus...ugh.  It gets really frustrating sometimes, but then there are those days when I get to see the most amazing photos at 100%, where I can see all the detail and true artistry.  In an instant, one great shot can alleviate the headache caused by hundreds of crappy shots.