ROFLOL !! =tom

I dunno.. i didn't think it was THAT bad of a picture of dirt.

I have done allright selling solid background pictures of things like snow, old walls, and different types of textures.

Likewise....  Not on IS so much, but elsewhere, background shots like  "dirt"  sell for me.  I do a lot of wood, planking and such.  I took one shot of  wood siding, tinted it green and billed it as  "pressure treated wood" .. it sells. LOL  I upload them in categories such as texture, background, abstract...  they seem to sell.  In fact,  my second highest selling picture is a close-up shot of a red brick sidewalk.  It's been selling by the dozen(s)  every week now for a year and a half.  Close up of bricks. .. go figure.

MIZ pic....  the best!!!   However, dude, I know you're a top notch photog, light years ahead of me... but, I have to tell you, the shot could be confusing!!   I first  thought it  was a black bear eating licorice in a closet...   .. make sure your keywords are specific, bro!!

Likewise on the comment of shooting people at laptops, holding pencils to their mouth and sticking phones in their ears.  If that's what it takes, I'll never get rich in this business. I don't do that.
   On the other hand, I'm not in it as my prime source of income.... so I'll continue to shoot the stuff I like to shoot, landscape and  nature.  And contrary to what many profess,   landscape does sell, .........just ask my accountant.   =tom

of course we are all competitors of each other, and we are also co-workers, in that we can help each other.  I help you, you help me.. we both win.

Addionally there are forum areas for the different member groups (determined by the amount of posts made, or paid membership) so that more sensitive info, or more strategy type talk can be discussed in private from those who just read the forums but never participate.

the  EXACT reason that attracted me to MSG and the reason it is the ONLY forum I participate in ...or even read for that matter.  =tom

Leaf,  I don't use paypal,  I still collect by check......  I suppose that it is inevitable that I must get a paypal account up and running and as soon as I do, I will gladly kick in $25.

MSG has been invaluable to me in my entrance into the microstock world.  This is the ONLY forum that I belong to. It is the only one I've ever found worthwhile.

Thanks for your efforts, sir!!   And thanks to all of you that have helped me!! =tom

Still counting??    Small one here, but growing weekly...

 169

new total      18721        =tom

my sales suck there... i'll try this fav thing...  if it works for me, it should work for  everyone...  I'll let you know how it goes.... =tom

Quote from: sharply_done on January 24, 2008, 14:15

IS seems to prefer images with a "natural" feel - you may want to change your post processing a bit to use less contrast and saturation.

Not disagreeing with sharply_done for the regular contributor, but it's a curious remark when you notice the type of image that is featured in their main page. I guess the overprocessed unnatural images are accepted if coming from an exclusive?

Regards,
Adelaide

blows my mind...... yeah, good question.   Mine get kicked back every time.... I stay away from anything  'artsy' now....      who knows...    =tom

I uploaded and got my pictures reviewed the next day.
I just had a payout there as well. Sales are slow but regular, and I like getting paid in Euro.

geez... must be me.... everyone else seems to be happy... hey, i'll try a small batch and see what happens... maybe it was because it was my initial submission?      =tom

Had 4 Large  DL's  on IS in the last 2 days.... all over $2.   I sell  "L's" on a pretty regular basis.  They are mostly landscape shots.  Although 2 of these 4 were a modern livingroom shot.  =tom

IS up a little  ... SS up only due to EL's,  DT, BigStock running flat, the rest LO,StockXpert, 123, ScanStck, NLS, Alamy, FT, FP, down or zip. (in fairness, still small folio at 4 of them, poor sales more due to me, I can't expect to sell what isn't there)    =tom

Dreamstime works in depth. Unlike SS, I never sell recent photos there, only older ones (at least 2-3 months online). Your sales won't plummet on DT when you don't upload for 2 months. DT is a hell of a long-term investment.

Ditto:  Older Pix.  Even longer. I've had pix on DT for  6 months to a year before they started to sell...       I also get that on BigStock.  =tom

...... concur with above comments in this..   I'm going for a 5D to get the full sensor, more quality in the image fewer tech problems ... and the opportunity to be able to crop and still have a picture left...   
    plus... micro/macro isn't the end of the universe for many...  I sell privately and want the ability to blow the things up the size of a living room or... a lobby wall.