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Messages - Jo Ann Snover
Pages: 1 ... 64 65 66 67 68 [69] 70 71 72 73 74 ... 291
1701
« on: October 04, 2017, 15:57 »
...But I don't like the C1 system of sessions and the files management...
If only it could be a way to easily integrate LR catalog in C1
You don't have to use sessions at all if you don't find them useful (I don't use them). You can use C1 catalogs (the equivalent of the LR database) which works similarly, although you can have several catalogs open at once with C1 Pro which is nice (and which LR could certainly do if Adobe wanted to invest in it). You might want to look at their blogs or videos specifically for users migrating from Lightroom to see if the current release is any more to your liking - not sure when you last looked at C1 Pro's catalog features. It certainly is a big speed bump to have to switch software. A few years ago I switched to Lightroom after spending a long time using ACR in Photoshop; that was painful and then I grew to love Lightroom (mostly; it has quirks that tick me off). In the more distant past I have used DXO Optics Pro and even further ago Capture One (back before ACR started to be credible) I don't switch on a whim. There's always some problem - lack of support for something, for example - that leads to me investing the time in switching. If things are working well for you where you are, you'd be nuts to switch to new software 
1702
« on: October 04, 2017, 15:47 »
...I do travel photography ...
Your portfolio is gorgeous!
1704
« on: October 04, 2017, 11:08 »
1706
« on: October 03, 2017, 16:50 »
Thanks - that was a fat-fingered typo, not editorializing I've fixed it.
1707
« on: October 03, 2017, 14:50 »
Nearly a year ago I wrote a blog post about my experiences with Capture One Pro as I was so frustrated with Lightroom's sluggish performance. I've done an update as not only are there new versions of both pieces of software, but I have switched to a Fuji XT-2 (from a Canon 5D Mk II) and needed to assess handling of the new RAF files. In case it is relevant to anyone else, here's a link to the blog (there's a link in the post to the original comparison if anyone wants to look at that too) http://www.digitalbristles.com/revisiting-capture-one-pro-vs-lightroom/
1708
« on: October 02, 2017, 19:33 »
Your keywords need serious attention - nothing will ever be found if you're missing important keywords. Examples: this man taking a selfie has only 9 keywords, none of which is "man"; this "career female" only has 7, not including girl or woman. As an aside, this is not office attire and the look is more party-time than work - probably should target the keywords that way. This group of three girls doesn't have "girl" or anything indicating it's a group.
1709
« on: September 29, 2017, 09:27 »
I'm guessing - but it would certainly be better if Shutterstock would communicate with its contributors about things like this so we didn't have to guess - that this will show up as another mystery amount in the SOD (Single & Other Downloads) column that nets us 30% (or whatever your percentage tier is) of the amount SS licenses the content for.
I have never been happy that SS has refused to disclose the licenses and prices for the custom deals to contributors, but at least there were only two other parties to each transaction - buyer and agency. I consider distribution deals to be really bad for contributors 99% of the time - some third party siphons off a little more of the license price so we get less - so if this deal is a distribution deal versus the API integration deals we've seen elsewhere, this is another anti-contributor move on SS's part
1710
« on: September 28, 2017, 15:37 »
I haven't used microstocks yet. Now I try to earn a little money (say 500/month), as soon as possible.
Pick one site and go exclusive or submit to a few sites? which is a better stratage?
Mainly micro photos and some illustrations.
I think you've put the cart before the horse - have you applied to any agencies yet? How big is your portfolio of images ready to upload? Have you become familiar with submission guidelines (particularly model and property releases) so you know how many of your images could be used for RF stock? If you want to keep your options open, just submit to those agencies that permit you to (a) delete your own images and (b) do not have a minimum length of time you must leave the images online Shutterstock and Adobe Stock would both qualify and are the top two earners for many. If you use those two to learn enough about the business, you'll probably then know what you want to do next. Good luck
1711
« on: September 28, 2017, 15:14 »
1712
« on: September 27, 2017, 19:55 »
The issue is the points not terms for a set of images.
You seem to think it's worth working on these underpaid assignments to rack up points to get the big assignments. Suppose you do this and either they double the number of points required at a later time, or scrap the points system entirely in favor of flat fees. You will have been counting points as part of your compensation only to have the value of them cut or eliminated.
You cannot count on the future value of the points - and if that doesn't matter to you, then go ahead, but unless I misunderstood your earlier post, I thought you suggested getting assignments now to get points for more lucrative assignments down the road.
1713
« on: September 27, 2017, 18:29 »
Yeah, the "there will be bigger jobs in the future" line seems to never pan out whenever I've heard it.
That's because it only happens to one in a thousand, the optimistic, glass half full hard workers who get off their arses and collect points.
I'm guessing that somewhere in the contributor agreement it will say that any terms and conditions can be changed at any time without notice. You're more than an optimist if you expect that the terms they promote now to entice you to participate will remain the same over time. We have many, many examples from stock agencies of reneging on favorable terms once it suited them. If you don't mind working for what you're being paid now, then go ahead. But hoping for future returns (without any sort of binding contracts) is just flying in the face of the last decade of stock agency track records.
1714
« on: September 25, 2017, 17:01 »
The title on your post is not descriptive and has a really nasty tone to it. Do you really want to mix complaining about excessive rules with your views on how they came about?
You can always photograph women who do not need Photoshop to look rail-thin, so you can easily find your way around the rules you don't like if you want to make the effort.
1715
« on: September 23, 2017, 19:55 »
Are we taking this particularly badly because he's a photographer.
Bracket that out, and is it any different from e.g. a restaurant using stock photos or any number of actually misleading commercial uses of stock imagery...
I think it is different in that photography is the product when a photographer claims a stock photo is his/her own. The comparable situation would not be a business using stock photos of a project (e.g. remodeling) they didn't work on in their ads but sending a prospective customer to visit a house they claimed to have remodeled but had not. The Myanmar/China "oops" suggests they don't even set any store in taking you to the locations they show you pictures of (you perhaps were so taken with that image you wanted to go there in your workshop, only to find you're not even in the right country). Not to mention the lack of attention to detail doesn't speak well for the details of the workshop itself being attended to, IMO. This isn't a business just starting out. Bryan Peterson has been around for decades. The blurb for the Myanmar workshop talks up the prior visit (in other words this isn't his first workshop to this location) and says how many photos you'll take every day - but he can't include any of his own or even get the right country? "This is a repeat of the sold out 2017 Myanmar workshop and I am offering it twice in 2018.... Myanmar is a true photographic feast with images to be taken at most every turn in the road;; hundreds of temples, people from all walks of life, the colorful markets, mountains, rice fields, brightly dressed monks, and smiles are everywhere. ...Over the course of these ten amazing days, all four of the students will easily shoot 30 to 40 GBs of images every day." If it was a first time workshop, it'd be fine to explicitly say that these photos show the area but were not taken by the workshop leader. I've never been to one of his workshops (though I did buy his books ages ago and loved them) but I've read lots of positive reviews. I honestly can't fathom why someone with his background and experience wouldn't stick to using his own work or his student's work (with permission) to promote his workshops.
1716
« on: September 23, 2017, 11:39 »
I would suggest that you think more about the styling and content of an image - variations on the "who would use this" and "what story or setting is the image showing" questions. There are also a couple of food items with white balance that's off and it makes the food look really unpleasant - food images should make you want to reach out and start eating the food. This bread is an example As examples of odd styling - an odd mish-mash of costume jewelry and a safety pin will limit who can use it - fewer items and a better setting would work for more buyers; why are Cheerios being poured out of a water glass?; if the story is saving egg shells (to use in the garden), perhaps a setting that suggests what they'll be used for?; these wrapped boxes look industrial, not like gift boxes, not really sure what a buyer could do with this, especially as it has a background (versus isolated) Also watch your keywords - on the jewelry tray image you have girl, woman, wedding, pirate, dream, wooden - none of these are in the image; the yellow slice of bread has toast, bakery, diet - it's not showing a bakery and the bread isn't toasted. Good luck
1717
« on: September 22, 2017, 14:56 »
I was thinking that we shouldn't rule out that the stock photos were shot by someone on a prior workshop - when it might be fine to use (having purchased a license). But then I thought I'd do a search of Myanmar on SS (I was gobsmacked at how many images that produced). I added terrace to the search, which cut things down a little, but still there was a ton of stuff. That's partly because the photo in question is badly keyworded - terrible spam, includes Vietnam, Japan, Malasia, Thailand, Saigon, Burma, and other places it wasn't - and was actually shot in Guilin China...  So this is lazy and misleading. I guess the workshop business is growing and it's just an assembly line process to do package tours to famous photography spots.
1718
« on: September 22, 2017, 10:07 »
Well, I've just signed up and they're reviewing my application.
At least they're trying to stay competitive by innovating...
This idea - assignment work on the cheap - is not new. The first time I remember seeing it was iStock's BuyRequest, but there have been a number of smaller companies that have tried this and it hasn't worked (as far as I know) yet. I'm assuming it wasn't working for Flashstock either or they wouldn't have been willing to be acquired. No idea if SS will be able to make this fly, but it isn't innovating. As I think their audience is the Wall Street watchers - the people they have been trying to sell a story to about how they're going to keep growth rates up by becoming a platform (you can read more of the buzzy drivel in their earnings conference calls) - they don't have to actually innovate. They just have to have a story that people who don't know much about the business will like the sound of.
1721
« on: September 17, 2017, 18:42 »
I just went to check (I typically use Fotolia to check stats so don't look at the AdobeStock interface for that) and I see dates all the way down the first page.
I assume the downloads you refer to are sales of your own files, not purchases of licenses you made as a buyer?
I'm using Chrome on a Mac - could this be browser dependent?
1724
« on: September 09, 2017, 15:51 »
1725
« on: September 04, 2017, 18:35 »
... why not just enjoy it and be a bit more tolerant to whatever this strange market brings ?!
I've been licensing images through various microstock agencies since 2004. Some have been participating longer than that. Perhaps you can grasp that being told how we should feel by someone who is a relative newcomer is annoying. You also seem to suggest that contributors are just passive objects in a business we can't influence - it's more true now than it used to be, but the more people just accept the situation as something we cannot influence, the more true that becomes. Given that you don't know anything about what's been going on as this business has evolved, you won't realize that the agencies that are now enriching themselves and their investors became successful because of a lot of hard work, mostly on the part of contributors to the agency. The agencies built the marketplaces/shopfronts and the good/savvy ones prospered. They absolutely deserve to make money from their efforts, but they've forgotten who brought them to the party and are now desperately trying to prop up their profits by squeezing contributors (among other things). I'll spare you the long form of the story of how we got here, but lots of people have tried lots of adaptations to try and keep their income from their work going/growing and sometimes venting with other people who are in the same boat is a safety valve. If you look back at earlier posts you'll see many contributor led efforts which did result in improvements for contributors, but the power balance has shifted as the agency collections have grown and the widely dispersed contributor population means it's hard to get mass action. It's fine that you have the optimism that largely comes from the lack of scar tissue, but please stay away from asking other people to ignore their own scars.
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