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Messages - a.k.a.-tom
Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12 13 14 15 ... 44
226
« on: July 29, 2009, 18:59 »
What the.....  It seems the more I turn around the more I'm finding my stuff all over the place on agencies I've never heard of that turn out to be 'affliated' and 'not affiliated' , partnered, good buddied, knows a guy at such and such a agency...
We need a complete & comprehensive listing by these larger agencies of exactly who they are affliated and where we can expect our pix to show up and how & what we are going to get paid for the stinken things. I came across three outfits last night with my pix on, two look like they lead back to FT. Am I over reacting? How do we know where its all going?  =tom
227
« on: July 29, 2009, 18:51 »
okay, I read the whole thing..... I never submitted to these clowns, how'd my pix wind up there? Gravitate from FT....?? I've got to start reading fine print everywhere now.. thank the powers that I decided to take my FT 'folio down to 2 pix a long time ago...due to my credits being ripped off. I think I'm just going to delete the 2 and cut my losses with FT. Or am I wrong? =tom
228
« on: July 29, 2009, 18:35 »
Up late, surfing the web as I do occassionaly to see what pops up under my name or company... and I come across this. Photo Club RF stock photo. Has my pix for sale. At the bottom of the page there is this; this product uses the Fotolia API, but it is not certified, endorsed or sponsored by Fotolia and Photo Clubs is not affiliated or related to Fotolia.http://photo-clubs.net/getMediaData.php?id=3488891And at the top there is a shortcut to Fotolia. What gives? What am I missing? How do I know I'm getting paid? Hope I haven't missed a thread on this somewhere... =tom
229
« on: July 26, 2009, 14:55 »
Yeah... I couldn't get on for days... finally support sent me the above email.... one problem with that.. I dont use IE, I use Firefox... now what.. They didn't know. They changed me to a temp password. Once I used the new password, it logged on just fine. So who/where was the problem? It's working just fine for me now. =tom
230
« on: July 26, 2009, 14:45 »
For some reason my On Demand sales have spiked to over half of my sub sales this month. Anybody have the same "problem"?
Maybe new marketing there? Or just a bump in the road? I hope it keeps up.
Yes sir!! Not quite half, but certainly up significantly. Also a nice bump in EL's. Nice to see a $28 sale instead of pennies.. =tom
231
« on: July 26, 2009, 14:32 »
madelaide... figure it has to happen. Afterall, who is and how is the same picture you sell hundreds/thousands of times being used? It's gotta happen like above... What I find interesting/hilarious is how the girl is just a girl in the Check & Go, but in the other she is ' the real' Briana, a membership consultant.. LOL LOL Things are never what they seem or are said to be... When I first got into magazines, I was shooting for an article about a specific area of Pennsylvania, Bucks County. The editor told me, the pic doesn't necessarily have to be Bucks, it just has to 'look like Bucks'. When I asked, what if someone calls you out on one and it's not Bucks. He says, the standard reply is, the photographer didn't provide specific details.. LOL LOL =tom
232
« on: July 26, 2009, 14:26 »
Agreed with cascoly - there are no hard and fast rules. Generally, I do go in and clean up any obvious logos, coke trucks, newspaper machines, etc. But the majority of my cityscapes are all long shots, so there isn't that much to the post edit. The subject is the skyline, the breadth of the city. But, they do sell. Recently, Forbes used one of our shots in an article about the best cities to live in the U.S. - that was cool! So keep shooting and sub'ng them, they'll sell one way or the other! =tom
233
« on: July 26, 2009, 14:01 »
I've never had a 100% rejection... however, if I did, I'd just do what I've been doing since I got into this biz with rejected images..... If I felt the shot was up to par technically and I think the reviewer is full of it, I just wait a few weeks and resub it again... and heavy, heavy 90-some percent of the time... it's accepted on the next sub, rarely is it rejected the 2nd time. However... I do take a humble look at every rejection... because sometimes, it should have been and I missed something in the image or in the tech aspects of it. Melast.... If they meet the mark technicallly, wait a couple weeks, resub a few of them and see what happens. I've always had a problem with the rejection, " not suitable for stock"... " says who?" I ALWAYS resub them, especially if other sites have picked it up. Generally, the next reviewer wont think so. I can honestly say that some of our best sellers are those that had originally been ' not suitable' LOL LOL. One in particular is a closeup shot of a brick sidewalk my wife took...it will reach 2,000 times sold later this year... LOL LOL not suitable.. =tom
234
« on: July 26, 2009, 13:51 »
I opted in when it came around ...when, last sept?? and my sales have stayed steady/normal... in fact, i'm still getting JIU and Photo sub sales this past week.. I dont know how its all going to go down... I AM on IS, been there just about the same amount of time as on StockXpert and the 'folios are almost identical... so what's to do?? I suppose I'll just be collecting those 'outsider' sales from IS that I used to collect at StockXpert ?? Also I have enough to get a payout, but ... the JIU and Photo deal may take up to 90 days to complete per the email I got.... I'd hate to take the payout now, and then not achieve payout level in the next 90 (less now) while stilll making the JIU/Photo sub sales.... so I'm debating hitting that payout button... I am amazed reading this thread how many are not with IS already, I kinda assumed that most were.. IS has been my #1 or #2 in dollar sales (battles with SS). I don't know why Getty wouldn't keep StockXpert active and viable... it's not competition anymore, it's add on sales... what's the difference where the customer is buying as long as all the bucks ultimately go in the same wallet? However on the other hand... I am hesitant about continuing to upload there... I think I'll just sit tight until the dust settles.... =tom
235
« on: July 12, 2009, 16:11 »
Dont donate anything to the sites... However.... as a company, I will print and donate images to the likes of Ronald McDonald House Children's Charities and similar organizations for auction and have received great free publicity and future business. But give IS or any of the others a freebie? Yeah, .....when they start given back to me. =tom
236
« on: July 11, 2009, 17:33 »
I'm really sorry to hear about your daughter and your cancer,I'll pray for your situation. On the Stock expert thing,all I herd is they are suppose to close down some time this year.
Tom, I'm really sorry to hear about your problems. Surely a year you want to see over soon. All the best, Adelaide ****************************************************** Thanks.... for sure a year I'll never want to relive... but... who on this planet isn't having the same or similar sorrows in their lives... really. Welcome to planet earth. With all my woes.... I personally know people I wouldn't change places with...cause they have it worse than me..... But thanks again for your comments... they are deeply appreciated. Meanwhile.......back in the biz... I'm starting to feel like SS is the only joint I can count on for stability..... =tom
237
« on: July 10, 2009, 16:07 »
Man, my head is spinning... I've been out of the loop too long.... 2009 has been a bad year.... my daughter died, then I broke my flippin leg, and while on the mend for the leg I find out I've got stage one lymphoma (and letting you folks all know I'm not saying this looking for sympathy...yeah, it all sux,in time I'll get over it all and the cancer is a shoe-in cure..... that's life, so while I know many of you and you know me, there's no need to comment.. If you thought about it, that makes me happy.. thank you very much.. ).. .. but now while I'm sitting out disability for the next 10 weeks doing the chemo thing.. I figure, FINALLY, I have some time to sit on my backside, work on the couple thousand pix sitting on the hard drive and get back into my stocks.... only to find this insanity? I still don't understand exactly whats going on... 50% of my sales on StockXpert were coming thru JIU and P........ now what? Is the thinking still that StockXpert will go belly up? I've got a sizable folio with IS.... obviously, I'm not exclusive there... At this point in my life this year my brain is about the equivalent of oatmeal.. I sure would appreciate it if you of you kind folks would put this all in simple english that a 3 year old can understand.. =tom
238
« on: July 02, 2009, 16:53 »
The bulk of my EL are with SS.. As to the what and why? I've seen no rhyme or reason. Who knows why people buy what they do. I dont know how many times I've sat and wondered about some of my stuff... "What in the world will someone use that pic for?" In fact, I'm often surprised that they even get accepted... but, they do and... they sell. who knows? =tom
239
« on: July 02, 2009, 16:37 »
I wrote a spreadsheet in Excel to track all my sales by each agency and in total...contained the file name, size, my storage data on the hard drives, blah blah blah.... and.. worked great in the begining... but once you get up near 1,000 images or more.... it is a real pain in the hiney.... it STILL does the job, but is way too cumbersome now.... I have a need for speed. I'm still waiting to find a good solid simple piece of software to do it. A lot of folks dont bother.... but my experience has been that trusting some agencies is not .....an option. You have to keep track yourself. =tom
240
« on: July 02, 2009, 16:28 »
People cant have it both ways.... If someone here finds their intellectual property ripped off and being used by someone else............. they usually go ballistic!!! As well they should!!!! On the other hand....... some of those same folks feel it perfectly fine to do the same with someone elses intellectual property. I use Photoshop 7, and 2 versions of Elements.... I also use an old version of Micrografx which has some tools I find superior to Photoshop ...and all ... legally. =tom
241
« on: July 02, 2009, 16:14 »
I voted happy over 3 years............... but......... there's always a but (and sometimes a butt) that you have to contend with in the biz. For me, depends on the agency.. some I am thrilled with, others, I'd like to walk into the CEO's office and give him/her a piece of my mind and a sample of my shoe size. It's like any other biz... not altogether unlike my 'day job'. Sometimes it's great, other times it sux. Let me say this, I'm happy in that the sales I generate as a parttime contributor enables me to buy lots of better toys... New latest and greatest computer, more software, lenses...pays for my websites, pays the accountant..... this year it already paid for my 5D Mk II... it also pays for one or two vacations a year which the camera and my accountant magically turns into 'work'.... so..... to me, it's like free money. I'd like to be able to support myself on micro and my free lance and quit the day job... retire early and feed my body and habits with photography... but unhappily.. i'm not there .........yet. Maybe someday.... =tom
242
« on: July 02, 2009, 16:03 »
SS, IS, StockXpert, DT, BigStock, FT, FP AND ALAMY..... Best results for me. SS by volume of sales IS by size vs $ StockXpert.... much of it is thru Jupiter subs BigStock and DT... slow but regular FT, FP, ALAMY.... small portfolios...so i can't complain about low sales. I have not actively uploaded in over a year now.... maybe a dozen or so pix...and I bailed out of several sites... most recently 123rf in May... I was as high as ... I believe 15 agencies... but the tracking work wasn't worth the return... so I 86'd them all. Of course two of them LO and NLS went belly up.... although NLS restructured and is now back up. Last time I talked with Darrell (a while ago), he was looking for images to be exclusive to NLS, you didn't have to be, but the image did. to each his own.... it all depends on how much time you want to put into it and if you have a port that sells. =tom
243
« on: June 09, 2009, 18:55 »
Hi - take Corbis and Getty out of the equation for a moment - law to themselves.
I live in the UK, the umbrella organistion of picture libraries and agencies is www.bapla.org. Have a look at their site, and search for an agency by category, E.G - Travel, North American. This returns 23 results. Of these names like Pictures Color Library, AA, Travel Library, Travel Ink all stand out. You would have to look at the web sites of all these agencies, which will give you info on how to submit a test selection of images, and what there stance is on exclusivity.
Next step, head over the CEPIC.org, and look at other individual countries using the same method.
Another idea, there is a link somehere on Alamy that lists all the agencies they deal with in different countries - some may be good for you.
Choosing a good selling agency is key, a bad one will be like submitting to a ninth rate micro, a good one like hitting gold at Istock. Sorry I can't come up with specific name's - too many people read this site!
Rgds Oldhand
Thanks Oldhand... and to all others... It would seem that the old paradigm that Getty, Jupiter and Corbis being the center of the universe has quickly and significantly faded in the last few years.... it would appear that I should spend some investigational time taking 'look-see' and your many suggestions. thanks to all .. =tom
244
« on: June 09, 2009, 18:41 »
I think it's best to consider both sides of the fence. The ones who tout only one part of the equation generally lose out. Nothing is exact but to say micro only or macro only is kinda dumb.
That's a significant point and a must have for me. I certainly don't want to give up my istock or SS portfolios due to a necessity of being exclusive with a macro. I make a decent buck in my micro sales.... I really haven't looked into who requires exclusitivity and/or to any particular degree. But for sure, I'd not be so snobish to give up micro just because some macro is selling my work. I've never been like that. Just the opposite... I couldn't stand and still don't the (particularly old school macro) photogs that belittled micro. thanks for the observation, Zeus. =tom
245
« on: June 08, 2009, 15:23 »
Simple Question (or maybe not). I've been around for awhile now and have been relatively successful in the micros, being with as many as 9 at one time ( now down to 6). I've been published magazines, books, and have been doing well marketing and selling direct. Early on in my micro 'career' I sent materials to Jupiter and Getty.. I was basically told by them both... they liked the work, but of course, it was too small, come back when I was shooting larger files. I've been shooting with my 5D Mk II for a while now and feel comfortable with the results and am now considering the macro market. Simple question for my photog brothers and sisters that are with macro agencies... your opinions, observations, pro/cons.... etc Getty, Jupiter, Corbis... who are you with, would you change if you started over? I am for the most part landscape, nature. Any thoughts & advice would be appreciated. =tom
246
« on: April 17, 2009, 13:16 »
Canon exclusive for 30-some years.... currently using my 'original' Rebel and 5D mk II. - tom
247
« on: February 26, 2009, 18:53 »
Using my 'original' Rebel for the micro... 5D mark II for macro using both for my free lance work. =tom
248
« on: February 03, 2009, 14:33 »
looks fine where i'm sitting.... =tom
249
« on: January 31, 2009, 16:35 »
Just about average in spite of the fact that I haven't uploaded in a couple months. I did have an increase in 'on demand' and 'extended' sales. That was nice to see. =tom
250
« on: December 03, 2008, 17:39 »
I bought my Rebel when they first came out... got a lot of high and brutal mileage on the thing and it still serves me well. I've used the thing in snowstorms at temps below zero, I've used it out on the Arizona desert in temps well over one hundred. In some of the dirtiest conditions too. Like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps on going. I'm only going 5D for the larger image for macros and....the cropping ability it will allow me in my freelance work. I swear by Canon. Been the workhorse of my camera stable since 1972. I have a Canon ftbn that still shoots a fantastic image after over 30 years of use!! That thing's been dropped off cliffs and took a swim in the Delaware River... If I could get my hands on another new one, I'd buy it. No, I dont work for Canon... but I'd do a testimony commercial for them any day. LOL =tom
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