I'd rephrase this a little bit. I think a good photographer can be made, but a great photographer is born.

I think we can learn basic rules of composition and lighting to get us from mediocre to good, but I think there are some who possess an eye for extreme detail and are very astute observers of the world who do things at an instinctual level that many of us could never learn. Or if we could learn it, it would too much time to actually think everything through and execute, and we'd still probably forget a lot of things.

Every see the movie Amadeus? That what this is about. No matter how hard Salieri tried he could never come close to matching the genius of Mozart. Things that never even occurred to Salieri were instinctual to Mozart.

With that said, I think there is case to be made for salesmanship.  I think a few good artists can become great if they can convince the right people that their work is also great.

But remember, we don't all have to be great to be successful. I think very few people recognize true greatness.

Just my thoughts.

Guys,

We didn't modify the search engine to benefit sub opt-ins. Just the other day some contributors were saying they saw an increase in sales since opt-ing out.

As has always been the case, number of downloads is a factor, but nothing was modified post subscription launch.

Different actions will have different effects on different portfolios.

Thanks!
-Steve

StockXpert - Upload at the same time:

~ JPEG (RGB) rasterized sample file, 800*600 or higher

~ ZIP file containing vector file (Adobe Illustrator 8 EPS)

~ Optional extras: Add extra file formats to the ZIP file if you like (Adobe Illustrator AI, Adobe Illustrator EPS (up to CS2), Corel Draw CDR, Adobe Photoshop PSD (RGB) etc.)

http://www.stockxpert.com/info.phtml?f=help&s=8_4

Hi Ann,

We just revamped our affiliate program last week. I'll get you an answer from our person in charge.

Thanks!
-Steve

I have the singh-ray ND grad with Cokin P. Great filter. After a while I also just started to hold it up to the lens (unless doing long exposures ).

Also, fyi, the one problem with the Cokin P and wide-angle lenses is that below 17mm you see the frame of the filter holder. They may have corrected this since. Not sure.

-Steve

Guys,

At best that user is confused. We're looking into it. His description of subs is not how subs work. Credits and subscriptions are completely separate. There is no such thing as subscription credits.

I think he is saying if he were to buy via credits instead of using a subscription.

Subscription prices are one flat rate depending on length of subscription time. File size has nothing to do with sub pricing.

Hi guys,

Price increase is in effect now. Sorry for the delay. Took longer than expected to create the XS files, and we wanted to launch on a Monday rather than a holiday weekend.

Enjoy!
-Steve

Over what period of time were those damaged goods collected?

Hi jsnover,

We just revamped the vector pricing scheme a few months ago to make it much simpler. We basically made every vector 5 or 10 credits, and this was a huge raise for most of the aritsts.

We made all 1 credit vectors 5 credits and all 5 credit vectors 10 credits. 10 credit vectors stayed the same.

We had very few 20 credit vectors, and  only a very small number of them saw any sales. So those became 10 credits as well.

The change was very well received by the vector artists.

Hi guys,

I've reported this. The menu going behind the image seems to me a Mac problem. Please let me know if you are using Mac or PC and what OS.

Phildate, did you reset your password in the past 24 hours? They fixed the ftp bug so you should reset your password and try again.

Thanks!
-Steve

Hi guys,

I don't have many details yet, but I wanted to let you know that Jupitermedia  just announced the purchase of http://www.estockmusic.com, a microstock music site.

http://www.jupitermedia.com/corporate/releases/08.03.11-JM_eStockMusic.html

Not sure if any of you have dabbled in producing stock music. If so, it's something to look into.

-Steve

Yup. I work at StockXpert.

I go by "skapsinow" over there.

Apparently we are so non-exclusive that we will even accept MRs from other agencies, so yes, we will honor them.

Thanks!
-Steve

Here you go: http://www.stockxpert.com/info.phtml?f=help&s=11_4

Thanks!
-Steve

Hi guys,

I haven't seen all the images that are being appealed, but do you put in the description of the images things like it is "a public building in a state park." Such details might be helpful to the reviewers to determine property release requirements.

Thanks!
-Steve

gborce,

Yes. Use the customer support form. It will get to the reviewers.

Thanks!
-Steve

Adelaide is basically right. We get good traffic and buyer conversions from there. We feature StockXpert images in SXC search results, and last time I checked SXC also had pretty good search engine placement with Google.

SXC also has a feature that allows you to promote your StockXpert portfolio from your SXC portfolio, so you can help leverage the high traffic.

If you guys were so inclined, I'd even suggest creating an account on SXC, uploading 10 or 12 images you wouldn't mind offering for free (low res if you prefer), and enabling the visit my StockXpert portfolio link.

Just an idea.

-Steve

Hi guys,

Just letting you know that next week we will be adjusting the credit values for non-vector images as follows:

XS (new) >> 1 credit
S 1 credit >> 2 credits
M 2 credits >>  3 credits
L 3 credits >> 5 credits
XL 5 credits >> 10 credits
XXL 10 credits >> 15 credits

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!
-Steve

Hi guys,

We've been running numbers, but it's still to early to tell if any definite  trends are forming around this. By the end of April we will have a better idea of knowing whether or not, on a whole, subs are cutting into credit sales.

If credits sales go down and subs go up, StockXpert also loses out, so we definitely are monitoring this closely. Lately we have been running an aggressive credit marketing campaign and look for a couple other changes in the coming weeks that should help boost credit sales.

In the meantime, I will follow up with tech on the unable to opt-out issue some of you are having.

Thanks!
-Steve

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. This is happening with some other contributors too. I've tried it with my account and it works fine, and it seems to work fine for others as well.

I've put in a ticket with tech support about it.

Thanks!
-Steve

Hi guys,

Just want to let you know that the problem is not with Moneybookers. Don't want you to think it is an issue with them.

The delay was with our 3rd-party payment processor. I've been told you should receive moneybookers payments by Tuesday.

Sorry for the delay (again).

-Steve

Are you unchecking the box but the box remains checked after you save?

-Steve

well, if you can't make this one, we'll probably do more of them in different areas of the world. Just need to decide where the next place should be.  Suggestions welcomed.

Hi guys,

We're hosting the first ever Stockxpert contributor conference in Moscow on Saturday April 26, 2008.

Featured speakers are Ron Chapple and Lev Dolgachov.

Full program: http://www.stockxpert.com/events/moscow/en

This is a free one-day event for StockXpert contributors!

We have a few more spots available.

If you would like to attend and will be able to join us, please let me know via StockXpert sitemail. Please also provide your full name and e-mail address.

Thanks!
-Steve