Quote from: rjmiz on June 15, 2008, 02:34

If I'm eating out, and I know what I want to eat, I want the waiter to bring it to my table.
I'd rather not go through the self serve line picking out this and that, not that.

And if my steak is not to my specifications when it arrives, I simply reject it 

Granted some of the sites are a little tough, but if you as a site owner are paying for bandwidth, do you want crap on your server? And can you be called experienced because everything you ever sent to FeaturePics and Albumo got accepted? That's a pretty good joke right there.

It's their train set, they just let us play with it. If you don't like things with a particular site you can always move on.

I think this one cost about $11,000 to shoot with the cost f food these days...

http://www.gogoimages.com/index.cfm?/imageDetails_EN&imgid=5357061&extIntCode=0

Fotosearch is more of an industry portal as opposed to what stockers think of as an "agency". They don't take submissions etc, but rather form partnerships with established outlets. They are more tuned to the RM world rather than microstock. On a recent SEO project I did for a client, they rank in just about the top three across the board for searches relating to stock photography and stock video footage.

The fact that they have contacted you for linking means that they perceive your site as high value with regards to your positioning in the web world. They will likely not link back to you, but there is value for you in placing an outbound link to them, because FS is kind of a premium value site when it comes to web ranking. A glorified link farm of sorts that also provides value for photo clients. Only the Jupiter Images network is bigger. You may see a traffic bump up plus an increase in page ranks by linking.

They are a division of Publitek Inc. which is listed on MacRae's Blue Book, a premium general industry portal.

http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=737362

Good for you on your strategy. Very smart thinking.

I ran across an old little PR article or posting from Albumo a little while back. They said "we are committed and in it for the long haul." or something to that effect. But who will they have left??

For those who have been getting "no response" in delete port requests, it only shows gross ignoranace on the part of Albumo.

Quote from: helix7 on June 11, 2008, 04:35

Quote from: Adeptris on June 10, 2008, 21:22...The challange is to see who can until midnight your local time Sunday, not post a derogatory answer or a unqualified comment towards another site or photographer...

They tend to be hung up on the whole microstock killing the industry thing, so most of the stones seem to come from their direction. And I think that's how it will stay for a long time. 

I tend to agree with you here. I ran across this on the internet quite awhile ago - can't rememeber where:

The parasitic sense of entitlement is a real problem for many industries. Fear of competition and excellence weakens all of us.
The wrong behaviour is to become a beggar claiming jurisdiction on the basis of some imagined right. This is the traits which has weakened many western industries and made them vulnerable to more hungry and harder working folk with more ambition and talent.

I found this the day after I was slammed by a local pro for considering putting stuff up on micro. It made me smile because it's the truth. To me it was a profound statement so I clipped and saved it. Failure of those stuck in the mud to understand new business models is a great detriment. I still shoot for macro, and I still shoot client commercial, but my fun little illlustrations have found a nice home on micro and now produce a nice little revenue stream. So while some on the trad side are whining and complaining, I'm making a little extra cash, having some fun, and learnng new skills all at the same time. I've learned to turn a deaf ear to the whiners. It's just wasted energy to keep bitching about it.

Still an insult. Agreed that a sale is a sale.

No matter how many "rules" or guidelines you try to impose, there will always be those that are there just to muck things up. The snipers will still attack because they have little else to do with their time. Best just to dispose with it.

It's just like the keyword spam guidelines - thera are those who will just do it anyway.

Haven't noticed any difference. Upload 20 last nite, nothing special, and all 20 in accpted pile today. Sorry you had some bad luck here.

Quote from: sjlocke on June 04, 2008, 22:54

Quote from: snurder on June 04, 2008, 22:26
You are incorrect in making this statement. See cphoto's post above. Once it is released in RF world, it cannot go RM.

No, actually, I'm not incorrect.

You had better read this then istead of making up your own rules

http://www.thephotographybiz.com/photography-business/understanding-licensing-types-rights-managed-image-licences/

Quote from: sjlocke on June 04, 2008, 22:11
I wouldn't upload anything currently RF as RM at the same time.  However, if you pulled stuff from RF, you could list it RM, you just couldn't offer the buyer any history or exclusivity guarantee.

You are incorrect in making this statement. See cphoto's post above. Once it is released in RF world, it cannot go RM.

I am not so hot on FT anyway, but will join the list with my 90 or so images. I just hate the upload tere.

Don't know how brave you guys are, but I have taken the referral link of my blog and have apologized to those who have clicked it to join (3 referrals since March)

No big deal for me to remove it. After all 0% of 0 cents is just $0.

Quote from: photohome on June 04, 2008, 03:12
Has anyone else had images vanish from their cutcaster studio?

I uploaded a handful several weeks back before they added their new upload system. they were approved and listed there, now my 'studio' is empty. they are not listed in the rejected images either. Apart from my profile details and avatar there is no sign that I ever uploaded anything!?

They are migrating data to new servers. Check you stuff on Friday. I have a number of images missing as well, but I am told they shoukd reappear when the server work is done by week's end.

Yaymicro wins hands down for me. Everything they designed works, and works pretty fast. Even the Java uploader works for me, and I always seem to have problems with anything Java.

My surprising #2 as far as being fast and painless is ImageCatalog. Nothing sells at IC, but the upload is good. I just sent IC a "what's Up?" letter asking what's up with lackluster views and sales there.

The worst for me - 123RF and Fotolia. On 123 it is slow for me, and I get semi frequent browser shutdowns. Fotolia - last I looked I could not edit keywords there one the image is accepted, and that sucks. To me it is an extended part of the upload, maybe wanting to insert a missed keyword at a later date.

Quote from: lisafx on May 31, 2008, 20:11
Oh, this is BS.  I was upset when I thought I was getting .30 at emerald level.  .29?!!!  Nice that they bumped the bottom end, but they are leaving the top end - IE their main producers - feeling hosed. 

As Ross Perot once said "I hear that giant * sound...". My port on FT is only 150, but I feel your pain and have much empathy. A giant hose job for sure.

Quote from: Bateleur on May 31, 2008, 19:10
My one worry is the same as Trebuchet's - their very easy-going acceptance policy.

Of course, all my submitted images have been accepted without question. Not a single rejection - which is exactly as it should be. 

But, seriously, some of the images they have are a wee bit iffy. I'd be happier if they were somewhat more selective.

(Weird, isn't it? We complain when we get rejected,  but we get worried if we're not.)

They did reject one of mine (out of about 300). It was a creative blur shot. I wouldn't have submitted if I myself did not think the image had merit. They just didn't want it is all.

You're right about the reject rate being too low, but in my limited browing there did not see too much of the "crap" factor. The majority of what I looked at was pretty good to useful, and of course a lot of nice higher end looking images as well.

I would hold onto them for now. After you get a feel for what is accepted and what is not, phase them in after careful review of each image. They may just have not marked them because you failed the first 4 in the queue and they just went no further. If they are unflagged without a reason, many assume that they would pass, but this is not necessarily always true.

Good luck - you will have fun there.

Quote from: Vonkara on May 30, 2008, 17:37
I say where's the delete button, because I asked them how to delete and they answer me "We are sorry to hear that, can we do something...".

LOL Yes you can do something, just make my files appearing when somebody search whit one of my keywords and then I will be happy. Even if it's on page 120! LOL

Really. Their search results are definitely unique in the industry. 
Fotolia is sort of a "don't care" for me. I upload when I remember. What really ticks me off there is the inability to edit descriptions/keywords. At least this is the way it was last time I looked. Sometimes you just forget stuff.

Overall the subscription model does not matter much to me. I do not do really well on FO. It may help the lower earning people a bit, but may have a very detrimental effect on those who are now doing well there.

Quote from: fotografer on May 31, 2008, 07:51
It's allowed at SS.  Scott Maxwell (I think that's his name), the gold figures guy has two accounts one for his gold figures and one for another colour. It was talked about openly in the SS forums so I guess that it is OK.

Yes I believe he does. Also keep in mind though he has something like 10,000 plus images. So accommodations were made for him, even though it may not be standard practice.

I had an unusually high number in the last batch as well. Maybe a new overzealous reviewer. Similar "not interested" reason, and again, a variety of subjects.

Memorial Day is traditionally the start of summer season here. Lots of picnics, barbeque cookouts etc. Hot dogs a picnic and backyard celebration staple. Also prolific at summer fairs and ball games etc.

Some in USA have lost sight of what the holiday actually stands for, and that is remembrance of war dead.

Quote from: jsnover on May 27, 2008, 05:00
If you are a low volume buyer, you probably won't purchase a subscription. If you were trying to play games with per image purchases (say to boost someone's best match position) you'd buy XS sizes only and new images primarily - I'd expect that pattern wouldn't hold for legitimate purchases (range of sizes, old and new images).

I could be wrong, but I can't see anyone getting caught by this new rule who is legitimately buying the images for the use of them (versus trying make some money for him/herself or others).

And if I recall, I think there was a thread here that mentioned a little "buying club" of sorts on IS. So to add to the pattern, the person you bought from would then be buying your images in return. Once the little buying ring gets going, it's not too hard to figure out what is going on because patterns would evolve quickly and woukd be very apparent.

If you were building a website and bought 6 images of the same flavor from one designer because you liked them, and then even went back a few more times and bought a few more, I doubt there would be any problem at all. But keep the same habits up for a month or longer and I coukd see where it could be construed as a little suspicious.

On the first Photobucket appearance I would write the user, or the Photobucket site if the small one concerns you..

The second one is definitely a commercial site. They have a vehicle for reporting copyright infringement. Go to ths link for details

http://www.pyzam.com/pages/tos

You can also try a restaurant supply house. They usually have white paper rolls for covering long dining tables for events.

I myself just buy seamless from Adorama though.

That craft foam will work for very small objects.

Great post Zeus!

I try and get most of the noise out in raw processing using the Detail tab in PS CS2. I will adjust further in post processing if needed. Usually I don't have to.

The D200 can be a bit problematic with noise if your exposures are not spot on to begin with. It's just the nature of the sensor in the camera.

If noise if the reason, then you need to look at the quality of your files and your workflow. Not knowing what camera you have and also not knowing if you shoot raw or jpegs, had to advise. If they stated noise, in 99% of cases they are right. So you must learn how to better analyze your files for technical flaws. No amount of picks of your pics by someone else will help that.

If no reason was given, it is "possible" that it would have been accepted. If they marked off the first 4 of the batch for noise though, they might have just grown tired of looking at it. Not trying to be disrespectful here. My brother was rejected by SS many times, along with a friend of his, and from a little analysis, thats what we concluded.

Shooting Raw files helps your subnission chances, because much of the noise factor can be eliminated in the raw processing stage.