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Messages - Mantis
Pages: 1 ... 17 18 19 20 21 [22] 23 24 25 26 27 ... 219
526
« on: March 21, 2018, 19:35 »
Yes. I just uploaded a few videos and they took over night to process.
527
« on: March 20, 2018, 08:09 »
I'm getting about 4-6 DL a month averaging a total of $150 before my cut. Nothing special and I usually have Alamy and 123 on my 'll upload when I have time for a 6-pak and it's raining out:)
528
« on: March 20, 2018, 08:06 »
Yep, no 1099 for me.
I didn't want to wait anymore and I went ahead, filing my taxes, yesterday.
Short of 1099, I used the PayPal total received from them, in 2017.
Right. That's the slippery slope though. Some agencies 1099 you on what you earned (sales) for that calendar year and others like Pond5 1099 you on what you withdraw in a calendar year. Really, the smart bet is to take whichever is greatest. Such an incompetent company. 123 is likely next on my list of agencies to close. Sales are so sparse that it is going to take three months to hit $50 for a payout. I have about 4500 assets there (mix of video and stills). Something has drastically happened there. This was not a slow death. It happened pretty quickly for me anyway. And with the year over year 1099 debacle they keep having it tells me a lot about their infrastructure....chaotic and unorganized.
529
« on: March 20, 2018, 08:02 »
Flat. $3 difference than last month. I'll take it. Honestly, I really don't expect growth in this industry anymore. I try to sustain as much as possible and focus on other revenue drivers outside of micro stock.
530
« on: March 19, 2018, 08:22 »
Well, back to the subject if anyone is interested, the behavior of my sales there are definitely changing. Subs keep going down but I have been getting $100 plus single sales. Video is struggling now for some reason. So while I still make my "average" it's coming in in different ways. One cylinder goes up, two go down. Last week I had two days in the middle of the week where I only made $4-$5 for the day - 12 sub sales. Seeing this A LOT more. Then on another day, BAM I get a big image sale. Maybe pepper in a video sale now and then but video has softened while big single sales have risen.
531
« on: March 18, 2018, 09:06 »
The reasoning for using Aperture Priority is the depth of field doesn't change over time, when the light source changes. Shooting manual, you would still need to keep the Aperture the same and change either ISO or shutter speed. In a situation where the light is fairly consistent, that's not necessary, but for a Sunrise/Sunset or changing light conditions, you don't want the background or foreground to be changing, in and out of focus.
I like the ND idea and I'll try that. Slower shutter should make the motion blur more interesting. Frame blending also would help.
But after all, it depends one what the subject is, close or wide, lighting control.
Most time lapses are shot on manual with a fixed aperture, so the DOF also does not change over time. If you are needing to ramp then yes you need either a ramping unit that changes exposure over time, mostly ISO and shutter speed or to do it yourself. If you're going to ramp yourself you can use DQSLR Dashboard. There are automated features but you still need to monitor it and make some tweaks here and there. Or if you have the patience you can do it all yourself. But I use aperture priority for exposure, not for changing DOF. All my stuff is set to manual (focus, aperture, sometimes ISO). Nothing changes over time except for what I tell the camera to change.
532
« on: March 17, 2018, 16:19 »
Sure, you can get beautiful results with LRTimelapse, and in theory, retain more of the original quality since you're editing/grading at RAW level. But in practice, it's not that convenient and too slow for me. Not to mention the inconvenience of going back to change something...
I like to make a high quality movie file that is more like what comes out of a professional film camera, and grade it like you grade film. That way I can color grade and change colors very quickly a year later, or make different versions for different situations.
It would be way too time consuming to have to go back and do it at the RAW image level every time.
Truth. I find myself going to Final Cut pro later to do any color grading I can get away with because it is a pain to reconnect LR and LRT and go through that entire process. Most of the changes I make are minimal enough that FCPX does fine. But your point about the workflow is spot on. I still like LRT especially when I drop in XMP files from the VIEW or Ramper on day to night holy grail. Brighonti, I use aperture priority in sunsets with a simple method to capture good daylight and then get a little longer shooting into the night that you cannot get with manual exposure. Set camera to 800 ISO (can get tricky if daytime is too bright, sometimes 400 does very well when you have city lights...depends on what you are shooting really), 2.8 aperture with camera on aperture priority. You will be surprised at how smooth these are in post. I also sometimes use aperture priority when the light changes a lot, like with variable clouds. But to your point I do shoot manual in 75% of the cases. With holy grail I shoot exclusively manual. Also, in LRT you cannot use the holy grail tools with aperture files.
533
« on: March 17, 2018, 09:55 »
DT and 123 are in the same death spiral. This will be the third consecutive month I did not make payout on 123, when just about a year ago I was making around $200 a month there. DT is at about the same rate now. Just under $50 a month, very lack luster. I'm glad I landed some juicy commissioned work.
I'm being paid monthly by DT, since more than 2 years, no exception. The amounts are rather stable.
123 is better than DT, but on a declining path, indeed.
My overall MS income is surprisingly stable, (+/- 10% on a monthly basis) for the past 2 years.
This means that all this is just a shift from one bucket to another.
If this holds true, that is better than a tumbling customer base.
534
« on: March 17, 2018, 08:39 »
DT and 123 are in the same death spiral. This will be the third consecutive month I did not make payout on 123, when just about a year ago I was making around $200 a month there. DT is at about the same rate now. Just under $50 a month, very lack luster. I'm glad I landed some juicy commissioned work.
535
« on: March 15, 2018, 07:37 »
I have never had a refund there. You are safe.
You probably have, but they just don't show it to you. 
I do prefer it that way though.
Totally possible, but that probably happens before they post the money to your account. So she is very likely safe on the $90. But you bring up a good point. Would be interesting to know who many sales are refunded that are blind to us. My gut tells me if they do refund it is likely on similar patterns as the other agencies who refund.
536
« on: March 14, 2018, 21:19 »
I have never had a refund there. You are safe.
537
« on: March 13, 2018, 07:43 »
Exciting new: yesterday I have made a sale for $0.08!
123EF, the New iStock with 10 times less sales but with the same low commissions
Congrats. Very well done! 
538
« on: March 10, 2018, 09:31 »
No sales reported for me, either. However, I did recently get skunked for the first time in 10 years on SS....last month I think on a SAT. So it wouldn't surprise me if this is a trend and we are seeing the early stages of "normality".
539
« on: March 08, 2018, 21:00 »
I already filed my taxes. So sick of the incompetence at 123. I ran my own numbers and hope they are the same or that theirs is less than mine.
540
« on: March 07, 2018, 20:36 »
fivedollarphotos.com
541
« on: March 02, 2018, 19:58 »
I've submitted vertical footage and it gets accepted on Pond 5 but always rejected on all other sites. I think there might be automated size checks on SS, 123. I don't recall specifically if Storyblocks accepted them or not. For what its worth they have never sold.
542
« on: February 26, 2018, 15:05 »
Hope thompson sees this not worrying about his hide since money doesnt make him happy.
543
« on: February 22, 2018, 09:01 »
Sorry, no time to post, I am off to looting stores.
Pick me up a Nikon D850 and D5, a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod, and a Nikon 400 prime please. Oh, and a few XQD cards:)
544
« on: February 22, 2018, 08:39 »
Just 1 response despite 147 views??
Percentages don't mean anything. 10% could mean you made 10 cents more than in 2016 if you made $1. That means for this thread to bring any insights, if at all, people wold have to post dollars and I doubt you will find any takers. For whatever it's worth my income was up 7% over 2016.
I had an impression that your sales have been decreasing every year because you constantly are complaining about how things are bad in this business. LOL. Good to know your sales actually went up.
They are, except Story Blocks and some other non-micro outlets. Your topic said nothing about micro only.
545
« on: February 22, 2018, 08:38 »
Best to rely on the official source: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/
YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO (VNUM #325010)
4425'48" N 11040'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN
Although, of course, the fake news brigade will insist the scientists are lying as part of a conspiracy.
Incidentally, the hoax warning dates back to last July, which just goes to show that old hoaxes never die, they scarcely even fade away.
There was some news 6-8 months ago that there was some kind of seismic activity there. Then, the story came out about the geological make up of Yellowstone (i.e. big volcano). Everyone ran with that and it has festered into doom and gloom ever since, when in fact it's same ol same ol. So you are correct.
546
« on: February 21, 2018, 17:15 »
I requested a payout from BigStock two weeks ago and according to their payment terms I should have been paid by now. Nobody at BigStock is returning my emails. I've had to contact SS to seek assistance. Has anyone had issues getting them to pay? I hate it when they go silent on contributors, especially around money. They only own me about $500 but that will go a long way to paying my taxes this year:)
547
« on: February 21, 2018, 09:10 »
Just 1 response despite 147 views??
Percentages don't mean anything. 10% could mean you made 10 cents more than in 2016 if you made $1. That means for this thread to bring any insights, if at all, people wold have to post dollars and I doubt you will find any takers. For whatever it's worth my income was up 7% over 2016.
548
« on: February 21, 2018, 09:07 »
I have this lens and I also have the 300 2.8 prime. No comparison when it comes to image quality. But the 200-500 isn't bad for an inexpensive tele. lens. You will get some noise but the trick is to make sure your exposure is accurate, maybe even slightly over. As you adjust the image in post, the noise is kept at a minimum and when you drag your sliders to a darker exposure some of your noise gets "hidden" while keeping the details. I shot a bunch of images at 3200 to 6400 ISO and while I had to downsize a bit they were keepers and passed micro inspection.
I would not get rid of my 200-500 because, like Increasingly says, it's a tradeoff between cost and quality. My 300 2.8 images are so sharp it amazes me, but I would not consider a 400 or 600 prime due to cost and weight. So the 200-500 is my middle ground go-to. I will say that bumping up your aperture significantly improves sharpness, so shooting at ISO 1000 is not uncommon when hand holding. Still, it's a heavy enough lens that I shoot it mostly on a tripod, but not always.
549
« on: February 16, 2018, 15:49 »
Junk.
550
« on: February 16, 2018, 09:04 »
With each new release the layout and workflow changes. Is there any documentation on how to go from batch creation through submission? I had an awful time trying to create a batch then find it after I created it.
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