Well said Helix,

 We all have the choice where our work is sold. The seller has the right to set the price. End of story, as much as we don't like it. If you don't like a contract it is up to you not to sign it, that is business. I signed the new Getty contract, don't like it but they make me a lot of money. Once again this world is full of stock agencies to choose from pick the ones you like the most and try to enjoy your life. If the stock industry does not make a strong enough income for you then try something different.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 Everything stayed right on track with the exception of Istock. They plummeted for me to the lowest month I have had there since last July. Even adding new content every week and this is the only agency to show a drop. A drop from March $1398 to this April at $943 and I have more images on their site than I did last month. Shutterstock, Fotolia, Dreamstime all stayed strong as well as the smaller guys on the list. Hopefully it was just a bad month on the search order for me.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi Reddove,

 You just made my day even better

Cheers,
Jonathan
An Arsenal Fan

 Hi Pixart,

That is such an incredible story, a short novel in the making. Thank you so much for sharing that is the best thing I have ever read on any forum.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi visceralimage,

 I believe it was a woman

Cheers,
J

Hi All,

 This is my kind of post positive stuff gotta love it. The inspiration that we can all share to help keep our chins high on those sour days. I am loving my work more than I ever have. Passive income is strong I have had a huge learning curve starting a new stock agency that is now poised to really produce income. I got to sit with one of my biggest inspirations in photography Phil Borges at his house and look at his newest book on Tibet even before it hit the presses, I was in awe. It is moments like that where I step back and say " is this job real or just some wonderful dream ".
 There have been some moments of struggle but it is those moments that make the victories even sweeter. Every one of my days as a photographer even the worst, beats any day driving a fork lift or climbing telephone poles ( both past professions of mine ) Here is to the camera, my best friend just like a good dog always there for you and just wants to go out and play

Cheers,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 BME for me at Istock even with the loss of 2%. Gotta like that.

Best,
Jonathan

CGI ?

Best,
Jonathan

Good post Gostwyck,

 I agree with you completely on your perspective of this conversation. I am also surprised people keep spending their time or money which to me are the same thing , by putting him down. I am not going to say his prices are wrong that is his choice. If he get's work then more power to him. The product he offers is only going to survive if people that spend that kind of money feel they got the result they were hoping for. A very good analogy about the Pro golfers. Intellectual property is becoming just about all America is producing these days.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi SNP,

 Thank you for the insight. I will contact them soon and follow up on this issue. It seems funny to not accept such an image as the tag really adds a sense of reality to the shots. I'll let you know what they say.

 Hi michaeldb,

Also very helpful information. I have seen big growth there in the past two months and was wondering why the spike in sales. Your reply is a big help.

Best,
Jonathan

Hi Caveman,

 I am making about 6K a month with 10 agencies. About 5K of that comes from Shutterstock, Istock, Fotolia and Dreamstime. The rest from the balance of the smaller agencies. I still have about 2,000 images to upload to Istock but that will take a bit of time at 30 a week. They have the toughest accept rate but the issues are mostly technical mistakes on my part so we will reload the rejects once we are done with all the originals first.
 About 25% get rejected at Istock but they are watching closely and the errors are either their misunderstanding or my missing a logo. I have had a lot of images rejected at Istock because we made up name tags for our doctors and business people and the editors are not aware that they are false so they push them back. Istock has been very friendly about the issue and just told me to re upload with an explanation. Eventually when we run out of new work we will retouch and upload the rejects.

Cheers,
Jonathan

Hi bobkeenan,

 I think people are correct about the content but I can say that with the exception of Istock ( because of their upload limits ) I haven't uploaded to Micro in a couple of years and I am having my biggest month ever right now at Fotolia. My Shutterstock has stayed consistent with the exception of my first three months uploads which were big then they settled and have stayed the same for two years now. Same at Dreamstime the shelf life in Microstock seems to have much longer legs than I ever gave it credit for.

best,
Jonathan

Hi All,

 I kind of see it as if Wall Mart were robed one night and all their product were stolen they would not be able to go back to the companies products they represent and tell them sorry but we are not paying you for the last shipment you sent us because our store was robbed and we are not responsible for that theft so we are passing the cost on to you. Not an exact analogy but still similar.

Best,
Jonathan