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Messages - Zero Talent
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2026
« on: December 15, 2015, 13:22 »
When I get the multiple downloads of the same file on iStock, Microstockr only shows the last download of the sequence.
A, A, B, A, A, C, A, D is shown as A, B, C, D missing those multiple A downloads, with only the last A download being shown.
FYI and maybe it helps: LiveStock app is able to properly show all multiple downloads of the same file.
2027
« on: December 15, 2015, 11:33 »
If you run windows, why not using the free antivirus that comes with it: Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender (for W10)?
2028
« on: December 14, 2015, 11:18 »
This is a cost cutting maneuver pure and simple. Years ago they had to have human reviewers, that needed to be paid, to inspect each image for technical (and aesthetic) quality so they use the application test as a pre-screener to ensure that the submissions were at a certain standard.
By removing that test they know just as we all do that the flood gates will open for millions more images. They can't cut costs by hiring thousands of new reviewers but as has been stated, by me and many others in several threads, the technology exists, and is feasible, to pre-screen for the most common errors: focus, exposure, noise, white balance etc. using software. Software doesn't need to go on the payroll nor does it burn out from looking at crap all day.
Great cost cutting measure and great for people who own cameras and think they can make easy money. However as the old saying goes "you have to know the rules before you can break them" anyone trying to do anything other than the Yuri style of bright, generic stocky style of images may be in trouble.
Want to try some selective focus?
Bot: [less than 41.42356% of image in acceptable focus: reject]
How about playing with the white balance for effect?
Bot: [white balance is not at optimal: reject]
Maybe try to shoot something dark and moody?
Bot: [histogram falls outside acceptable parameters: reject]
Time will tell but allowing so many images to be submitted by people who can't get more than 1 out of 10 past a human reviewer in the application will cost them a fortune in staffing unless they use pre-screening software which has no eye for aesthetics. Course I could be wrong 
Valid points. Nevertheless, it is hard to believe in a "flood" coming from people only able to pass 1/10 photos. I said it before, this is an endurance competition and many will give-up pretty soon, unable to cope with frustrations and low sales. The "flood" is coming those "certified contributors" who uploaded 1 million tomato shots, 50.000 marijuana shots, 400.000 cloudscapes, 1.000.000 coffee shots, etc But it is easier to blame others, to look down on beginners and call them "wannabes", than to acknowledge your own flaws.
2029
« on: December 14, 2015, 10:00 »
Anyway, I have a different proposal. Let's go with what you want, and ask SS to re-instate that 7/10 admission criteria.
I don't 'want' anything. I have no personal interest in SS.
I am puzzled by their inconsistent reviews, and bemused by the possibility of them lowering their standards to iStock's. That's all.
Maybe I misread your statement and assumed that when you said " should have an entrance exam", it meant that you " want" an entrance exam. My bad, if you don't " want" an entrance exam. They should have the entrance exam at the same standard or slightly higher, than the normal acceptance standard. If they know what that is.
2030
« on: December 13, 2015, 16:22 »
We don't have uber here, but I see a lot of problems reported due to their GPS, and I can understand that because our GPS systems often let us down. A driver who has done the knowledge might have a breakdown or get stuck in traffic, but they won't have problems with GPS. And certified drivers (here) are police checked and incidents with them (here) are very rare. I've read of attacks by uber drivers, e.g. http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents
Also of interest: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/uber-drivers-reveal-what-its-really-like-to-work-for-the-low-cost-taxi-company-a6769071.html
One more thing: you are relying on biased information from a website sponsored by TLPA. We are an initiative of the Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA)They don't like Uber's competition, and they spend lots of money lobbying against it. Anyway, I have a different proposal. Let's go with what you want, and ask SS to re-instate that 7/10 admission criteria. In the name of fairness, it should be identically applied to ALL uploads, including to those from previously "certified" SS contributors. So, if, by all actual standards, any "certified" contributor fails to get 7 out of the last 10 uploads accepted, a 3 weeks uploading ban should be automatically applied. I can guarantee you that all "certified contributors" will think twice before trying their luck with borderline quality. It will have a positive impact on the collection quality, addressing the main concern raised by this topic. How does it sound? Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2031
« on: December 13, 2015, 14:01 »
This is the attitude I see from classic taxi drivers, asking governments to ban Uber, because their drivers are not certified, when every Uber customer systematically certifies every driver. And they do it much better than any government inspector.
We don't have uber here, but I see a lot of problems reported due to their GPS, and I can understand that because our GPS systems often let us down. A driver who has done the knowledge might have a breakdown or get stuck in traffic, but they won't have problems with GPS. And certified drivers (here) are police checked and incidents with them (here) are very rare. I've read of attacks by uber drivers, e.g. http://www.whosdrivingyou.org/rideshare-incidents
Also of interest: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/uber-drivers-reveal-what-its-really-like-to-work-for-the-low-cost-taxi-company-a6769071.html
When you'll get Uber, you will notice the difference, both in costs and quality. What you don't read about or remember are the smelly cars and fully certified, but rude classic taxi drivers. Somehow even those rude taxi drivers feel entitled to something, because they passed years ago, some certification. I can understand they want job protection, but their job protection goes against consumers interrests. Real competition drives quality up and costs down, not certifications. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2032
« on: December 13, 2015, 13:36 »
Somehow, you believe that a flawed review system becomes fair only when applied to "wannabes".
Where did I say that?
The review system apparently is flawed. That should be fixed and the entrance exam should match their standards.
It's no skin off my nose; I just keep an eye on what's going on elsewhere.
I'm all for predictable, consistent and even tougher reviews for all uploads. But again, this makes the initial "certification" obsolete. This is the attitude I see from classic taxi drivers, asking governments to ban Uber, because their drivers are not certified, when every Uber customer systematically certifies every driver. And they do it much better than any government inspector. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2033
« on: December 13, 2015, 12:54 »
It is obvious that a certain % of contributors, proud of their "SS contributor badge", might not pass a 7/10 exam, now (see those complaints about whole batches being rejected), especially since I believe that the entry exam implied at least two green lights from different reviewers.
I also see, from here and elsewhere, people having whole batches rejected, the accepted again when resubmitted without changes.
That would drive me to drink.
Sure, but someone who got the very first batch of 10 rejected, had to wait for 3 weeks, before trying again. Why would that be fair? Why do you want this injustice for a "wannabe" who had submitted perfectly acceptable photos?
They should have the entrance exam at the same standard or slightly higher, than the normal acceptance standard. If they know what that is.
There is no need for an entry exam, as long as every subsequent upload is an exam. Somehow, you believe that a flawed review system becomes fair only when applied to "wannabes". No it doesn't. It is the same. Same reviewers review "wannabe" uploads, as well as "SS badge of honor" uploads. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2034
« on: December 13, 2015, 12:42 »
It is obvious that a certain % of contributors, proud of their "SS contributor badge", might not pass a 7/10 exam, now (see those complaints about whole batches being rejected), especially since I believe that the entry exam implied at least two green lights from different reviewers.
I also see, from here and elsewhere, people having whole batches rejected, the accepted again when resubmitted without changes.
That would drive me to drink.
Sure, but someone who got the very first batch of 10 rejected, had to wait for 3 weeks, before trying again. Why would that be fair? Why do you want this injustice for a "wannabe" who had submitted perfectly acceptable photos? Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2035
« on: December 13, 2015, 11:37 »
Hmm, one opinion that SS review standards haven't changed and one opinion that the review standards are now tougher, when what I'm reading consistently for months now is that inspections are inconsistent and unpredictable.
Whatever, what benefit is it to either SS or contributors to have wannabes who can only get one out of ten images up to an arbitrary standard submitting their backlibrary? Either they'll be lowering their standards to match those of iStock, which would be a very poor move, or the substandard images will clog up the inspection process -expensive if humans are involved - and holding up acceptances for everyone. Lose all round.
I do see the value in them having lots of accepted files from new contributors who earn less. I wonder if the post above that SS want to sell training to the substandard newbies is really the reason behind this. Would it be worthwhile? I haven't a clue.
SS standards are tougher since quite a while now. Note the endless stream of complaints in this forum. You can also call them inconsistent, if you want, because there are rejection errors, no doubt about it. I had my fair share of those. The fact of the matter is that SS rejection rate is significantly higher than what it used to be, let's say, 1 year ago. So no, the standards have not changed when the entry exam has been abolished, because tougher standards were already in place. I believe it was a deliberate decision made by SS, aiming to improve the collection quality. It might work or not, but that policy change really happened some time ago (when they removed the "note to the reviewer", maybe?) The side effect of that decision was a much tougher entry exam (call it unpredictable or inconsistent, if you like) than the one YOU had, when you got accepted. And that killed the flow of new contributors in the system. It is obvious that a certain % of contributors, proud of their "SS contributor badge", might not pass a 7/10 exam, now (see those complaints about whole batches being rejected), especially since I believe that the entry exam implied at least two green lights from different reviewers. If the rejection standards are kept high or further toughened, in SS eyes, there is no risk of extra quality dilution, even with the entry exam abolished. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2036
« on: December 12, 2015, 22:33 »
This business is always good for the agencies and will gradually be bad for contributors. But there will come a day that it will blow up for everyone, agencies included. They know it and they will squeeze it all to the last drop.
- A couple years ago, allegedly, SS changed the search engine and search results so that images from newer contributors would show first than those from the older contributors already in the last .38 payment tier. As a result, me and many of us started to see that our new images uploaded were not being found and sold. Like this, SS would pay more commissions to the first tier than they would to the las tier. Less money paid, equally satisfied costumers.
- Many new contributors, happy with their sales, are motivated and keep uploading. Many last tier contributors, with good or great work, feel it's not worth to keep uploading because their new images don't sell. Many new contributors will reach the last tier one day too and will feel the same. SS doesn't give a s*it. There are always new contributors signing in every day.
-With this new 1/10 examination (LOL), hundreds or even thousands of no less than cellphone snapshooters will be able to build a portfolio of ...say... 10 images in one month. They will have one or two sales during the same time. Eventually they will give up because 0.50$ a month is not woth it to bother. These sales times hundreds or thousands of contributors that will not ever reach a payout, is always 100% profit for SS.
-One day, the quality of work will be so low that there will be no buyers interested and the business will collapse.
How am I doing as a profet? 
If review standards haven't changed, who gets to submit their rejected photos doesn't matter. The only changes I can tell is everybody can try to get their photos accepted/rejected, instead of wasting time passing a flawed and irrelevant 7 of 10 exam to get rejected. End of the broken exam to get in.
Fully agree. This is a logical move. Tougher review standards make the entry exam obsolete. But what do you do with all these offended egos, who realized their SS contributor "badge of honor" means nothing ?
2037
« on: December 12, 2015, 18:29 »
I don't submit there anymore - or to any microstocks.
Just curious then why you're here?
Where do you license your work?
Mostly here for the entertainment value, but I still have photos on SS, DT, GL and Alamy. I sell prints on FAA once in a while and would really like to see more discussion of PODS. I don't take any photos for 'stock' anymore, just for print sales.
FAA is only 1-2% of my total. There is a shipping cost problem there. Charging >$300 for shipping, when the product itself costs $400 is too much for most customers. I lost potential buyers because of this.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Yes the shipping is often a deal breaker. But I don't have any marketing of my own, the only sales I get are via keyword search. So for me, FAA is the only game in town. I never sold a thing on RedBubble. FAA is at least trying to reduce shipping costs by lining up international fulfilment partners, so prints aren't all shipped from the U.S.
The case I'm talking about involves shipping within US, not international. Here is a message from a lost customer: I work in the Bronx and live in Westchester NY. I am interested in this awesome piece in 84''x23'' (approx.) canvas wrapped mirrored. My issue is paying $312.00 for shipping. It is listed for $475.00, with shipping comes to almost $790.00. I love the piece, but don't want to pay that for shipping
2038
« on: December 12, 2015, 14:52 »
I don't submit there anymore - or to any microstocks.
Just curious then why you're here?
Where do you license your work?
Mostly here for the entertainment value, but I still have photos on SS, DT, GL and Alamy. I sell prints on FAA once in a while and would really like to see more discussion of PODS. I don't take any photos for 'stock' anymore, just for print sales.
FAA is only 1-2% of my total. There is a shipping cost problem there. Charging >$300 for shipping, when the product itself costs $400 is too much for most customers. I lost potential buyers because of this. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2039
« on: December 12, 2015, 10:00 »
This business is always good for the agencies and will gradually be bad for contributors. But there will come a day that it will blow up for everyone, agencies included. They know it and they will squeeze it all to the last drop.
- A couple years ago, allegedly, SS changed the search engine and search results so that images from newer contributors would show first than those from the older contributors already in the last .38 payment tier. As a result, me and many of us started to see that our new images uploaded were not being found and sold. Like this, SS would pay more commissions to the first tier than they would to the las tier. Less money paid, equally satisfied costumers.
- Many new contributors, happy with their sales, are motivated and keep uploading. Many last tier contributors, with good or great work, feel it's not worth to keep uploading because their new images don't sell. Many new contributors will reach the last tier one day too and will feel the same. SS doesn't give a s*it. There are always new contributors signing in every day.
-With this new 1/10 examination (LOL), hundreds or even thousands of no less than cellphone snapshooters will be able to build a portfolio of ...say... 10 images in one month. They will have one or two sales during the same time. Eventually they will give up because 0.50$ a month is not woth it to bother. These sales times hundreds or thousands of contributors that will not ever reach a payout, is always 100% profit for SS.
-One day, the quality of work will be so low that there will be no buyers interested and the business will collapse.
How am I doing as a profet?
The free market "invisible hand" will always find ways connect offer and demand. For example, if searching becomes an issue, professional searchers will appear as middle man between agencies and customers. Or, if SS collapses, as long as there is demand for good photos, somebody else will emerge to occupy the vacuum. The only question you should ask yourself is if you are willing or able to compete in a free market, crowdsourced business. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2040
« on: December 11, 2015, 17:19 »
I usually wait for a week between the HD and the 4k versions. However, it is rather hard to belive that customers don't know about the possibility to get the HD version of a 4k clip.
It might still be about quality, some could prefer an original PhotoJPEG/ProRes HD to a downsized H.264, originating from a 4k clip.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2041
« on: December 10, 2015, 13:54 »
@Zero: your port is doing relatively well there, considering it's so small.
Thanks!
It seems to me that photogs based in Europe (or have large Euro content) seem to do much better than those with i ages based in North America
Just my observation
I'm US based with mainly US content, if that matters.
You are an anomoly
I would keep uploading there if i were you, you obviously have the images that are wanted
I keep uploading, but I tend to procrastinate my keywording. Such a cumbersome system! A lot of work for 2-3% of the revenue.
2042
« on: December 10, 2015, 13:44 »
@Zero: your port is doing relatively well there, considering it's so small.
Thanks! It seems to me that photogs based in Europe (or have large Euro content) seem to do much better than those with i ages based in North America
Just my observation
I'm US based with mainly US content, if that matters.
2043
« on: December 10, 2015, 12:01 »
3 sales this month, 22 in 2015 (~570 photos for sale).
Low earner in general, almost not worth the keywording effort.
2044
« on: December 09, 2015, 15:16 »
Not long ago I was confronted with one of my images on a billboard. Looking into it further, I found it was on multiple billboards in several cities and on the sides of buses! Even stranger, the picture was a pretty old one from a D100, which is what? Six mp? And it had been cropped!
So much for the "lots of megapixels theory".
Una hirundo non facit ver. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2045
« on: December 07, 2015, 08:09 »
"Shutterstock will now accept new contributors with 1/10 passing review." and now reject almost every my new photos!?
I do not understand.
Very very nice job SS!
This proves that the lousy 7/10 exam is obsolete.
You must be able to continously produce quality, not only during your first submission.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Less than 2k port on SS. Little less 1k earnings/month.
I produce, I think, quality not quantity.
Still, your "quality" must be accepted by SS. Will you be able to pass an 1/10 exam, now, if SS rejects almost everything you produce? Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2046
« on: December 07, 2015, 07:48 »
"Shutterstock will now accept new contributors with 1/10 passing review." and now reject almost every my new photos!?
I do not understand.
Very very nice job SS!
This proves that the lousy 7/10 exam is obsolete. You must be able to continously produce quality, not only during your first submission. Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2047
« on: December 05, 2015, 14:41 »
Allowing basic processing before downloading the photo looks like a small response to Adobe.
Short of Photoshop, SS makes a little step in the right direction!
Competition means progress! Great!
2048
« on: December 05, 2015, 05:55 »
I guess I just had my first video sale through Adobe, since my commission is $28 for an HD clip, instead of the usual $25.
35% x $79.99 ~ $28
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
2050
« on: December 04, 2015, 14:34 »
Guys, the fact that we all passed a lousy 7 out 10 exam, doesn't give us a special status nor does it certify us as artists. This is really only an easy, tiny milestone in your career as photographer.
It shouldn't give anyone a sense of entitlement and reasons to discriminate between us, the "certified contributors", who only produce high quality stuff, vs them, the newbies, who will bring SS quality down.
Even is the entry exam is tougher, it doesn't guarantee quality on subsequent submissions. As we can see, SS is flooded with crap produced by well established contributors.
If most of people posting here are concerned with the quality of the SS collection,
then we should fight for tougher review standards and a better curation, instead of fighting the initial access into the system.
Better curation, tougher standards applied systematically, a higher rejection rate makes the initial exam obsolete and will be the only way to improve the overall collection quality.
Be fair and ask SS to be tougher on you, not only on beginners.
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