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Messages - Anyka
Pages: 1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 13 14 ... 38
201
« on: July 14, 2016, 09:38 »
SS since 2006 - 8000 files, and yes, in the same boat as Rinder. Declining sales since 2012. One difference however : I ALWAYS expect declining sales (even in 2012), simply because I'm a pessimist in nature. So when everybody is talking about diversifying, I do that, but not within microstock, not even within stock photography. When I left my day job end of 2011, I did not have the guts to put all eggs in 1 basket, so I started a portrait business. Right now, I spend 90% of my time photographying belly&baby portraits and I love it. And when I see an opportunity to shoot something fresh/new, I will shoot it and submit to SS and other agencies. So I submit less than the early days, but no typical stock stuff anymore. I'm glad I did, because if the decline in stock (not just SS!!) goes on like this, I'll be so happy I still have those bellies & babies 
202
« on: June 07, 2016, 06:43 »
Started in 2006, so "mature port" in 2012 (top year).
2016 = -43% compared to 2012.
As 10% of that is due to being kicked out of Fotolia, one can say that only 33% is due to "market reasons".
2012 was also the year that I quit my day job and became a fulltime photographer (not fulltime STOCK!).
2016 is the year that my non-stock photography income will exceed my stock income.
203
« on: May 18, 2016, 05:57 »
@ rimglow Feel free to use this code: SHUTTER55. Looking forward to having you on board!
I just received the invitation code, so I could get started. However, can some one explain to me how "photo thieves" are identified? I'm talking microstock here. 99% of my stock photos on the internet are (hopefully) legally bought from one of the agencies. So the only cases where theft is a sure thing are : (1) watermark still on photo, and (2) photo is for sale by a website that is NOT a partner of one of the agencies. I can hardly believe Pixsy is going to check all this, so is it correct to assume that - if I upload 5000 images (or can I send a link to Shutterstock?  ) - I am the one who should alert Pixsy and not the other way round?
204
« on: May 04, 2016, 03:18 »
Is there a way to try this out before making the jump?
205
« on: May 02, 2016, 11:24 »
They also have not reviewed my last 4 batches - that's a backlog of more than a month. They used to be a lot quicker.
206
« on: April 14, 2016, 14:00 »
I would never use Lightroom for keywording, as Lightroom puts them in alphabetical order. At least 2 agencies (Fotolia and Alamy, maybe others too) require keywords in order of importance.
Hi Anyka
Which keywording software do you use?
Kind Regards, TW
I have never found (yet) an easy keywording software package that leaves the keywords in the order as I type them, so I still do it in Photoshop.
207
« on: April 04, 2016, 14:01 »
Something very weird is going on there : every time I click on "upload", I get to see images of other contributors in a completely different lay-out ... 
208
« on: March 21, 2016, 16:39 »
Anyway I've closed my account on 500px and hope that many will follow: https://500px.com/settings (the delete my account forever is down on right)
All the best with your new venture
Thanks, you save me the time to find out how to delete my account. Just did it.
209
« on: March 19, 2016, 16:14 »
I must spend days editing a 1 hour photo shoot and they have no idea. My husband said to show them before and after pictures so they might understand ...
Either way, If I double my price, people will get very upset with me. I'm just going to take time off from it for a while and come back again with a higher price.
Just an idea - it works for me, may be it works for you : Many customers want "ALL" photos, or at least lots of them, not just 10 or 20. Editing all photos is a nightmare, so I beside the fully edited packages (with 8 to 20 images), customers can buy non-edited images at a much lower price. These images are not high resolution, but they are printable. So you could have a price for the photo session alone, and let the customer choose an add-on package with X images edited. Then they can add as many non-edited images as they like (at X dollars a piece). This way they are in control of what they spend, even if you raise your pricing. And one other thing : you should never give a customer "way more" than what's in their package. You can SHOW them that you have more to images (watermarked!), but if they want them (even non-edited), they will have to pay for them. The easiest way to reduce your amount of work is to make the IMAGES more expensive, not the photo session.
210
« on: March 15, 2016, 17:24 »
Oh gosh no! I don't want the liability. I've seen my own work in things it shouldn't be in and can't fight it...
But I meant with the consent of your customers, model releases and stuff.. You feel shy to raise your fee putting so many efforts into the photoshoots and processing, then maybe you could agree with some of your clients for certain images to be used in stock...
I do this occasionally, when a couple is very photogenic, or when they have twins, or a super cute little brother, or when it's my make-up artist who's pregnant ... I let them choose between a regular (paying) session and a stock session. If they choose to sign a model release, I give them a free session, dvd and photo book. But as new stock images don't sell as good as in "the old days", I must say that a paying portrait session usually gives more income.
211
« on: March 15, 2016, 15:57 »
Teddy is absolutely right. I started microstock in 2006 and quit my day job in 2012. That year I added family photography, as I did not want to put all eggs in 1 basket.
This year, my portraiture has grown into being specialised in Belly & Baby photography and my income is 50/50% stock and belly/baby.
I shoot about 100 to 150 images during a session. Clients choose from a watermarked (non-edited) gallery with an average of 45 images, and I only edit the images they buy. My pricing is way higher than yours. I do not show anything on Facebook before full payment.
Clients find me through Google, so I put a lot of effort in my website, SEO and blogging.
If you are afraid to raise your pricing, is it because you think you are not good enough? If so, practice with free sessions, and only put your BEST work on your website. However, if you ARE good enough, raise your pricing and work on marketing, website and SEO.
212
« on: February 26, 2016, 02:19 »
I would never use Lightroom for keywording, as Lightroom puts them in alphabetical order. At least 2 agencies (Fotolia and Alamy, maybe others too) require keywords in order of importance.
213
« on: February 15, 2016, 16:39 »
No Jo Ann, I was with Fotolia for 8 years with 7000 images, and I did not get a warning/notice - not even an explanation.
Geez. That's scary. Really? You never learned what made them cut you out?
ETA: Maybe Mat could stop by and give us a bit of insight?
No need, it was during the DPC start-up, and I was one of the contributors they "let go" during the protest.
214
« on: February 15, 2016, 16:31 »
i have reason from fotolia my account is blocked because "I'm a spammer"
I sent similar photos submit for approval = spammer
Without knowing anything about your portfolio, if you have been with them for a decade and they suspend your account with no notice or warning, that seems really harsh. Doesn't a decade of being a contributor in good standing count for anything?
No Jo Ann, I was with Fotolia for 8 years with 7000 images, and I did not get a warning/notice - not even an explanation.
215
« on: February 15, 2016, 11:23 »
Are your images still for sale at Fotolia?
216
« on: February 06, 2016, 03:52 »
There isn't one EU tax scale, but for comparison, I'm in the EU / UK, and now that I've quit my day job, I'm back on basic level tax, so 20% - minus various allowable tax expenses which I let my accountant deal with.
That's just income tax. The UK also has national insurance, council tax, VAT, capital gains tax, road tax, the highest tax on fuel imaginable, inheritance tax, customs duty, stamp duty when you sell a house and I'm not sure that's all of them.
You forgot car tax ? Water tax ? Waste tax ?
217
« on: February 06, 2016, 01:50 »
Though Belgium is considered a HEAVY taxing country, this does not go for royalties. Royalties are not added up with other income in Belgium, and as a result I pay 15% on my stock income (and a lot more on my other photography income).
218
« on: January 07, 2016, 11:31 »
My advice : if you are a hobby photographer and you go into stock photography, find another hobby. Photography will stop being a hobby.
219
« on: November 21, 2015, 11:57 »
220
« on: November 21, 2015, 02:35 »
I upload all images in bulk(in high resolution) and all is done automatically on the site after that.
How on earth do you manage a bulk upload?? I just tried my first 20 images and I have to (1) first manually remove keywords over 30 (one by one!) (2) manually check the boxes for watermark and marketplace. Is "Marketplace" the same as "Prime"? I can't call that "automatically" .... 
221
« on: November 11, 2015, 03:25 »
I have been thinking of joining for a long time ... 500px is different from the usual microstock agencies, so I don't think "dumping" my whole portfolio would be a good move - or if I did, I don't think it would sell very well?
What kind of selection should I submit? Only artsy stuff? Everything except "isolated on white" ? Any other limitations?
222
« on: August 05, 2015, 03:33 »
Can people upload their own photos to Canva, or should you always use Canva images? In case one can use self-uploaded images, is Canva then free?
If this is the case, could people have an SS subscription (50 million images to choose from) instead of searching Canva (1 million?) ? Then why would Canva systematically delete usable images?
Also : I'm sure it's easy to use a subject on a white background and put text on it (without cutting out the subject). As a result, because of their HUGE backlog in "pending cut-out", Canva has a LOT less isolations than any other agency. Yeah I know, you cannot put a non-cutout image on a different colour backdrop, but still it's better to have an "image on white only" than an "image pending cutout".
I really really don't understand the policy behind all this. Canva is a GREAT idea and concept, but I would LOVE to understand their reasons.
223
« on: August 03, 2015, 10:26 »
Jo Ann, your deleted files were deleted/removed, not moved to the "pending cut-out" section? If so, this has nothing to do with suitability for cutting out or not. They just did not want these images, only will we EVER know why??? Same goes for hundreds of mine - NO idea why they were deleted.
224
« on: August 03, 2015, 00:55 »
And the promised explanation in a contributor newsletter hasn't happened, at least not that I've seen.
It's like being dumped over and over again - you'd think I'd be used to rejections having submitted to microstock since 2004, but I guess my skin's still too thin...
They have been deleting an average of 10 to 20 images per day for many weeks, and then it stopped. So I thought : they finally finished cleaning up my portfolio! Well, I was wrong, because 2 weeks later, the deleting started again, now at about 5 images per day. You're right Jo Ann, we are used to rejections in microstock, but the BIG difference here is that Canva does not give us a reason, while all other agencies do.
225
« on: July 24, 2015, 09:56 »
Congrats to Scott. Just curious. When he was at SS what did he do for contributors that this move to Adobe means good things for us? And I ask this because as a fresh IS non-exclusive I didnt keep track so I really have no idea.
While at Shutterstock (2013-2014), Scott used to respond quite often here on MSG, answering questions concerning his team/department. Responsiveness at MSG has always been appreciated if it's coming from an agency, especially the big ones.
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