I usually fill the IPTC fields on Lightroom in batches and then refine in CS3 or the same LR any more specific thing that needs to be done.  After that no more writing.  If you do things in advance you will not have to work on those issues later.

Do you take into account your time spent as costs assigning a value to it?

If I dont include time spent on this I did break even a lot of time ago... When I take the time spent into the equation using my usual "hourly rate" then things are not so great 
Time is money!

EOS Utility does the trick, for me is enoug, since I use Lightroom and CS3 I dont use CaptureOne.  The beauty is the ability to see the pic full size and check that everything is OK, very useful on a studio setting, more if you shoot macro.

It is the quantity of peppers that make the pic so good.  it is not the classic pepper on white, this is a great pic.  Sales will go down after a while, but it will keep on selling for a long time.  Just keep uploading.

I wouldn't bother with editorial micro.  Sales usually are low and not worth the effort.  If you consider editorial images you should try any traditional agency, the relatively low number of sales per pic (if any) will pay up more, way more.

I consider this to be more marketing than a real issue "dealing" with a "problem" on the industry.

Wow, Germans do really know how to race fast to the very rock bottom, $0.13 doesn't even pay the time needed to type "$0.13"... what is this!

Quote from: cardmaverick on September 14, 2009, 03:52
its a huge ocean of people who only shoot as a side job and they can afford to charge below market rates because of their daytime job.

As that song goes... "sad but true"... My photography is a side business, I couldn't live from photography the way I do from my main job, no matter how hard I tried.  My main business pays for equipment, many times I get things that are not necessarily important, but that I want (as a full time pro some would not make any sense at all).  Sometimes I did work for below market prices (not for kicks, but to learn and try new things) but I found that it is hard work most of the time and the last job I got I decided to charge almost market rates (and got paid), next time I will charge market rates, even if I don´t get the job.  Free is not in my vocabulary anymore.

If you do a Google search you will see they have been around for several years, they are not full micro, but host a "budget" section.  Their collection is edited (tightly, from what I read).  If you have a RM collection (or a non-micro RF collection) it can be worth to give it a try.  I'm not sure about the submission of micro images that are on other sites.

It is absurd to compare micros with Alamy, two totally different markets, different business models and different customer targets.  As I've said before, micros have their place in today's market, but to pretend that the whole market is (or has to be) micros is like covering your eyes and refusing to see that there is more in the world than micros.  If you go to Alamy forums you will find people that sell one or more images per day, do the math.  As always, you have to shoot what is in demand and what is underrepresented in the library.  A micro-like portfolio won't take you anywhere at Alamy.

It is old, but in this case it is pretty valid, since they approve images almost instantly and allow single image sales, so protection kicks in right away, for those that would not consider a direct sale.

On your "Images sold" page they show up all together...

Lovely camera but i can't afford that marriage...

He is soooo right... I just covered two events at very exclusive and almost impossible to access areas in my country, got paid very good money (more than 3 months of micro money) for a day and a half worth of shooting and a hard afternoon of editing and even got almost 500 images for RM that are scarce in the agencies I deal with. 

The recipe seems simple, it boils down to good eye catching images+good keywording. 

I got flagged... Silly thing...

Average sale price at Alamy has come down to 87 dollars (I dont remember where did i read this, but 3 yrs ago was about 120 dollars, I think it was a survey on some forum)  Sales are about the same since i joined about 3 yrs ago, so returns have come somewhat down.

The resizing is no problem, even from a G7... I have resized with CS3 and Genuine Fractals, the former is quicker and haven't had a rejection since 18 months ago.  It shouldn't be a problem if you know your thing.  Even "noisy" pics get in and sell (of course, noise is expected under some situations).

it was StockXpert...

Primera venta en 3dStudio hoy... $4.80... nada nada mal, más que el mes entero en CanStock y BStock...

por algo navego con otro nombre y quité las referencias de mi portafolios de la parte de abajo... estos tipos son vengativos...

i get Wildingo's point in that some people don't put a money tag on their time and don't consider some very real expenses that come from doing microstock.  The two previous analysis are nice, but don't forget that there are people buying props, lights, doing research to find niches, etc.  All those things have a price.  Also you assume that everybody is constant in uploading and that all images keep on selling without variations (both wrong assumptions).  Also many people tend to go for more expensive gear than they would if they weren't doing microstock, so it puts an extra cost on the table.  Costs are real and they add up pretty fast without your realizing it.

I also concurr that many people invoke the Yuri/Andresr/Iophoto et al card, ignoring they are the exception and not the rule.  But that is human nature and we usually seek inspiration on some role models in every activity, it is not wrong but the contrary.

I disagree with him on other points but I enjoy his posts as a reminder that micros are just a part of photographic business.

To find an underserved niche can be very tricky... Technically sound good images from even well served areas can sell very well, there are tons of bad images out there, if yours shine then you will sell.  For those very rare images of rare things or events I would still go for RM, if buyers really want/need them they will pay the price.

For me is even more extreme... 10% US VS 90% non-US...

Anonymous, I agree with what you say because, apart of sounding knowledgable in these issues they make perfect sense.  I always wondered why I sell what I sell at Alamy and this is just the answer. 

In my country, Panama, US$2000 a month used to be good money... Today you'll be lower middle class with that and struggle to meet months end... So, yes, it is relative, in place and time...