The new site looks great, but I can't follow my submission from a few weeks ago.  Since I can't remember which photos I submitted, I can't upload any more because I might upload duplicates.   Or am I missing something? 

I'm giving some serious consideration to uploading new material only to Alamy.  I've only recently been accepted there and have yet to realize any sales, but I like their model more than any other.  I've uploaded some of my material to the lower-paying sites just to see if they're "hot," but they're not.  Time is such a big factor, as we all know.  If I have to spend 90% of my time uploading, keywording, categorizing, etc., and only 10% shooting, that's not gonna work.  In my experience, IS and Pixmac are the two most laborious sites for contributors.  I'm thinking that if I can upload to Alamy and be done with it (regardless of whether or not they have an exclusive benefit), I can spend my time more productively.  At first, I thought of the old adage, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," but now I'm rethinking my approach.  Spreading those eggs around to various sites is proving to be counterproductive.  It would take more time to delete my current portfolio from various sites, so I'd probably just leave it, and upload new material only to Alamy.  Any other thoughts?  

Does anyone know whether or not 123 offers an image-exclusive option (as opposed to a photographer-exclusive option)?

Still very slow for me.   

I uploaded a few files two or three months ago only to discover that the site was disfunctional.  It wouldn't retain my edits, release attachments, etc.  So I decided to forget about it.  I recently received an email message from them, telling me that they had fixed some problems with the site, but doing so necessitated the removal of my photos, and that I would have to resubmit.  I uploaded 14 photos on Dec 21 to "test the waters."  The site seems to be functioning, and my photos are in the que awaiting review.

I'll soon be submitting my intial ten to SS for the seventh time.  On my last attempt, I submitted only photos that had been approved in previous submissions, all of which are for sale on BS, DT, FT, and others.  You'd think it would be a sure thing, like I did, but we'd both be wrong.  I'll soon be submitting a seventh batch.  Apparently, It's a moving target and you just have to hope the reviewer is in a good mood when he/she looks at your material.  I'm thinking that as long as they don't set a maximum number of times we can submit our initial ten, we'll eventually get on SS if we don't give up.

Quote from: heywoody on December 04, 2010, 11:53

Quote from: donding on December 04, 2010, 11:47

Quote from: csproductions on December 04, 2010, 06:39

I, too, had no problem getting accepted on DT, FT, Alamy (approved on my third attempt), BS, and others, but so far nothing with SS and IS.  (Although with the recent shakeup at IS, I chose not to continue my efforts there.)  Maybe on SS the seventh time will be a charm.

Ummm....I think you have the wrong link for BigStock. And you show in your link to iStock that you have shots on iStock but there are none on Dreamstime. I don't know if the links are messed up or what but you might want to go back and check them out.

Possibly his profile is set to hide address - this causes the profile to be invisible to lookups

That may be true but the big stock portfolio belongs to someone by the name of Andres Rodriguez. I think he may have the wrong link.

We can only enter our user ID information, and the microstock system creates the link.  My BigStock user name is correct, so I have no idea why it's linking to Andres' portfolio.  I had not entered any information for DT, but that's no longer the case.  Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I applied for a contributor (photographer) account this morning; still waiting for that confirmation email this evening.

Thank you so much, Pete (RacePhoto).  I got the impression from reading the Alamy guidelines that they wanted uncompressed jpg files with a minimum file size of 24mb!  I thought it was rather odd, and I thought perhaps they accept only high-end medium- or large-format camera material.  It turns out that my routine work flow matches their requirements precisely, so I'll upload my test shots pronto.  Thanks again to everyone who took the time to read and reply.

A series is a group of photos with a common theme.  For example, I shoot a lot of models, and I create a series for each one.  The series name is usually the model's first name.  (For an example, visit www.canstockphoto.com/series/carol-18313).  That way, if a potential buyer looks at a photo that comes up in a search, the series link will be present as he/she is viewing the photo.  By clicking on the series link, the buyer can view all of the photos of that particular model.  You could do the same with, say, photos of construction, or underwater shots, or whatever.

At the bottom of the "My Portfolio" page, you'll see a "Series Wizard" link, which will take you to the series editor where you'll give your series a name and a brief description, and select photos to add to the series.  You can then add photos to the series whenever you wish.  For example, if I upload a new batch of photos of a particular model, I can add them to the corresponding series.

I see no real advantage of being exclusive, either.  From what I've observed, the higher percentages on the sites don't equal the income from multiple sources.  Furthermore, my experience has been that the inspectors differ quite a bit on the various sites.  For example, the inspectors on DT will see noise and technical problems, just as they will on other sites, but not on the same photos!  It never ceases to amaze me how I can see no noise at all in a group of photos, the inspectors on one site will see noise on some of them while approving the rest of them, and another site will see noise in some of the photos approved by the first site, and see no noise in the others.  If you're exclusive with one of them, you're stuck with whatever they "see."

I've tried in vain a few times to get on as a photo contributor with istock (I do have several video clips there), but when they changed the deal, I stopped trying.  I don't see that it's worth the effort to get approved, to say nothing of the incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming upload / keywording process.  I do upload to Fotolia, Dreamstime, CanStockPhoto, DepositPhotos, FoxHoundPhotos, BigStockPhoto, IsignStock, MostPhotos, Snapixel, and MediaStock.ca.  I have videos on Pond5 and Shutterstock, and I'm still trying to get approved as a photo contributor on Shutterstock.  That's another post altogether!

My acceptance rate on FT varies quite a bit.  Sometimes it's around 50%; other times it can be as high as 100%.  In my experience, it's very subjective - bordering on whimsical.  Sales are certainly nothing to write home about.

I got on board with CC early on with quite a few stock video clips - a significant investment of time uploading, keywording, etc.  No sales, and then a complete redesign, eliminating video from the site.  I uploaded some stills, including material that had sold at other sites, and the high rejection rate with seemingly random reasons led me to the conclusion that it's not a site that is worth my time investment.