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Messages - cascoly
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651
« on: February 03, 2023, 19:28 »
looks like they've done it again - released a new interface w/o user input - HUGE fonts, 1 image per row w constant refresh as they add the complete portfolio one at a time
but odder - after no sales last month, i've gotten emails for $20 over last 2 days. but the site says i've only earned $2 in last 2 days!
they are unable to coordinate anything!
652
« on: February 03, 2023, 14:28 »
Thanks for the news, Mat (and to your patience and forbearance despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune {aka forum rants}) , and thanks Adobe for continuing support for artists
653
« on: February 03, 2023, 14:23 »
Never have I been more pleased to owe someone $20.
LOL - thanks for the quick response
655
« on: February 03, 2023, 14:06 »
Has anyone gone for the Premium services on wirestock and if yes, is there any difference in performance/revenue/speed etc.?
I'm increasingly tempted to go for it considering the diminishing returns of microstock in general where every keywording session feels like a soul suck.
if they fixed their buggy interface &didnt keep releasing untested 'updates' into the wild. when i report problems (over 2 yrs) the usual response is 'we cant duplicate it' or it's a known bug & we'll fix it (tho they usually dont) eg, te # of items listed on dashboard is still too low even tho they promised to 'fix it in 2 wks -- my number is off by 1200 (which they confirmed was the actual # meanwhile of $30 last year, i had $12 from extra channels & 0 rom wire direct that's important because they include the requirements of those non-starters in their review standards, even tho rejects would almost all be accepted by SS & AS. i would expect those problems would also apply for premium. finally, i've recently started sending many images which had all meta, so i turned off 'easy submission (which adds meta) but those submission But the next month when it happened again, they fixed the problem by counting ANY submission as part of the 300 limit! why do i keep submitting? it's a lazy way to submit lower tier images & they get alamy &pond sales
656
« on: February 02, 2023, 13:32 »
what a great use of DALL-E to tell your story about the beach! i esp'ly like the prompt that contained "while a short ugly middle aged man stands a few metres away upset
also liked the result of the prompt containing "wide angle, show more of the landscape than the people. I've had problems to get DALL-E cropping out parts of main figure, and this may help. a bit (prompts including "no crop","no light crop" ,etc don't work
Thanks!
Takes a feel prompts and running out of credits but I find the more information the better when it comes to AI, then looking for the best variations. Plus I don't like the photos they have when it come to people as some weird disfigured body parts don't look great (yet). I like the painting type presets, illusionist or impressionist works well. Classical too. Probably worth a blog post soon on my experiences!
yes, i've found DALL-E's photos lacking in quality also - and often get that weird cropping, so i've been concentrating on illustration https://cascoly.photography/search?q=aiartjust started playing with Midjourney & results there seem much better for photorealistic. i try not to use people as i've found those silly results
657
« on: February 01, 2023, 13:04 »
what a great use of DALL-E to tell your story about the beach! i esp'ly like the prompt that contained "while a short ugly middle aged man stands a few metres away upset
also liked the result of the prompt containing "wide angle, show more of the landscape than the people. I've had problems to get DALL-E cropping out parts of main figure, and this may help. a bit (prompts including "no crop","no light crop" ,etc don't work
658
« on: February 01, 2023, 12:51 »
i dont do month over last years since data is too noisy, so i use 4 month running average. eg, Jan was in top 4 months over last 2 years on that basis. but that just shows the problem with monthly comparisons! most of the month's bump was huge jump from Alamy distributions. take that out & jan was worst month in 3 yrs, but slightly ahead of 4 mo avg over last year. (canva report later this month will improve that)
most due to cratering of SS in Jan, and for 1st time AS > SS even tho the AS increase was a moderate rise over avg of last 6 months
as the proverb goes, one bad month doesn't predict much of anything
IRL many other changes since last year high inflation, high gas prices, war in Ukraine,...
659
« on: January 31, 2023, 18:04 »
They could have easily licensed files for training, paid for it and gotten beautiful images without a watermark.
...
It is a solvable problem. they need to license files properly and when they make people pay to create files for commercial use, make sure the remixed pixels only come from licensed files.
if it's so solvable why have none of the critics actually proposed how such a system might work?
- how do you find out who owns the rights to each image?
- how do you contact the owners, if any?
- how do you track owners' responses? ie, how do you create a database of artists? attaching a copyright doesn't usually include contact info, and few images even have that minimal information.
- how much should be paid to artists?
- how are payments calculated? per image at tiny fractions of pennies?
- how is payment made with knowing details such as paypal, bank acct or physical address? will a bank process checks for < a penny?
if you're going to complain and allege criminal liability you need to at least make a minimal effort to present a solution than can actually be discussed otherwise it's just more (redundant) hot air adding nothing to a conversation. and it is th e responsibility of the plaintiff to prove they have a case with hard evidence of wrongdoing
Uhm. The solution is: License images from microstock agencies.
Or are you trolling? Because it's hard to imagine you could not come up with that solution yourself. As a microstock contributor. In a microstock forum.
ROFL! i don't need no stinkin' solutions because i never claimed there was a need for them! i accept the current situation re ML & creation of datasets. it's your cohort that demand payment - yet you haven't shown any way this could be done. it's content free - just 'sound & fury, signifying nothing' i gave a list of serious questions that need to be addressed in order to meet your demands but you ignored all of them & just left insults
660
« on: January 31, 2023, 17:45 »
...
The software that makes collages and uses part of other images, is a different question. Is the new image a derivative, or based on fair use, because it's transformative? A bunch of lawyers are going to get rich on this.
just to be clear, this is not the case for ANY of the AI we're talking about here; and such a use would be violation of both owner's copyright and agency TOS.
661
« on: January 30, 2023, 14:30 »
They could have easily licensed files for training, paid for it and gotten beautiful images without a watermark.
...
It is a solvable problem. they need to license files properly and when they make people pay to create files for commercial use, make sure the remixed pixels only come from licensed files.
if it's so solvable why have none of the critics actually proposed how such a system might work? - how do you find out who owns the rights to each image?
- how do you contact the owners, if any?
- how do you track owners' responses? ie, how do you create a database of artists? attaching a copyright doesn't usually include contact info, and few images even have that minimal information.
- how much should be paid to artists?
- how are payments calculated? per image at tiny fractions of pennies?
- how is payment made with knowing details such as paypal, bank acct or physical address? will a bank process checks for < a penny?
if you're going to complain and allege criminal liability you need to at least make a minimal effort to present a solution than can actually be discussed otherwise it's just more (redundant) hot air adding nothing to a conversation. and it is th e responsibility of the plaintiff to prove they have a case with hard evidence of wrongdoing
662
« on: January 29, 2023, 14:26 »
OK does that make for better division of the target earnings? 
Thanks, that is much better and allows for deeper insights. Now, we can see that 40 % of all people are below 3 USD, which is not great. 60 % of all are below 10 USD and 75 % will fit below 20 USD.
I assume that these number will rise significantly next term as Shutterstock introduced the AI tool in general search.
?? why?? it's not like AI content is going to swamp the millions of images in their collection
663
« on: January 29, 2023, 14:19 »
The training material. Here's where the files came from. https://laion.ai/blog/laion-5b/
Does anyone read or understand?
LOL - how can you possibly expect trolls to RYFM?
664
« on: January 28, 2023, 14:17 »
The customers all have cameras and still buy our content.
That's because, contrarary to popular believe, creating a good photo is more than just pushing a button on a cheap camera. 
Unlike with midjourney, where everyone can enter a sentence.
sure- but how many images have you sold that were created with 1 sentence and no additional work on your part? Glendower: I can call the spirits from the vasty deep.
Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come, when you do call for them?
― William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part 1
665
« on: January 26, 2023, 14:52 »
What would me more telling if we also knew the size of the portfolio of each responder.
says yet another anonymous poster who won't even show their portfolio (if any) i showed my numbers earlier - show me yours before asking for others'
666
« on: January 26, 2023, 14:44 »
@Lina
I doubt mj can restricting usage terms like dont sell on stock agencies if mj just stole it all from the internet. They hold no usage right to the training files, so I doubt they can restrict the sale of the remix.
...
1. you have no evidence they stole anything 2. you have no proof they lack usage rights other than your opinion so your conclusion is illogical, but rather an ill-informed opinion,
667
« on: January 25, 2023, 13:51 »
do we really care to know that some people made $3 and others made $6? this just makes it harder to see trends
668
« on: January 25, 2023, 13:48 »
Next time, it will be better if each range is larger than the previous one and not all of them are using 20USD steps. In such a case, there will be a large number of votes in one "basket" but nothing in the others, especially in the larger ones. 20 and 40 USD is 100% difference but 280 and 300 USD is just 7%. It will be miracle that someone will fit there. 0,01-20USD basket is extremely big and we have not got much information (is everybody near 0,01 or near 20? That is a huge difference). It will be better something like 0-1, 1-2, 2-4, 4-8, 8-16,... or slightly rounded (like 0-1, 0-2, 2-5, 5-10, 10-25, 25-50, 50-100, 100-250,...)
Yes, but no. By specific ranges that are all the same, I won't bias the results with an unknown predetermined group. If I do what you say, many more people could incidentally cluster in one range and we wouldn't know.
Knowing now from what I see, and I couldn't have known, I could have made $10 spreads and further divided the specifics.
As it is, I think we have a close enough idea of what most people got paid? 92% made $60 or less.
Yes, if I knew in advance, that 60% were in that same range, I would have used lower brackets, say $5 for the first $100, then $20 after that. But I don't think the specifics are as important as the general numbers. Most people got $20 or less.
I didn't know. It could have been that everyone clustered at $40 and all the lower and little divisions would have been irrelevant?
the $20-100 range is less than the 'none' so not much info gained by knowing more received $51 than those who got $47 and combine $100-200, 200+ that' the best that can be done with a poll like this. a better approach would be to have the smaller increments, then report with combined numbers - 4 or 5 points on a graph
669
« on: January 25, 2023, 13:41 »
I just hope that the customers could be opt out AI products in the search result 
why would they if AI images meet their needs?
And if it doesn't meet their needs? It is already hard to find something specific on stock sites, now on top of that they have to search through thousands of AI images.
as opposed to the millions they already have to wade thru? why do you assume that AI won'ty supply 'someth ing specific'? and if they don't they are no threat to existing portfolios -- you can't claim AI is replacing traditional and that AI isnt filling a need! (actually, i guess you can claim that, but it doesnt make much sense)
670
« on: January 24, 2023, 13:36 »
I just hope that the customers could be opt out AI products in the search result
why would they if AI images meet their needs?
671
« on: January 24, 2023, 13:33 »
...
There is something almost creepy about the way these people look. Even when the AI doesn't make errors with anatomy, everything is "too perfect", "too smooth" and kind of too flat. The lack of texture in everything makes it look like graphics from a modern computer game. ..
it's actually a well known concept called the uncanny valley https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-is-the-uncanny-valley
672
« on: January 24, 2023, 13:30 »
In my case, it looks like this:
I have 1322 images. Of these, 1198 images have at least 2 downloads. That is 90.6%. On average, each of my images has 59.2 downloads - including the unsold ones.
I had at some point deleted every image without a download that had been online for a while, because I was sure that these images would never achieve a download again, because I assumed that they would no longer be found in searches. Otherwise, I would have at least about 1500 images online - probably a few more. I left a few relatively newly uploaded images without download online. So now I also have 18 images with exactly one download.
Whether this "cleaning" of the portfolio was useful or beneficial for the portfolio ranking, I don't know. That be's only the algorithm of shutterstock.
I know that the lack of uploading hurts my performance, because I know or suspect how it develops for example with Firn or Ralf, namely positively in contrast to me. But for shutterstock I lack the motivation and therefore I accept declining numbers.
However, with all the whining I must also say: For the fact that I no longer feed the beast, I have to be satisfied with my income. As Doug Jensen would have said: Currently, I'm still harvesting from the seeds I sowed years ago. How long that will work without sowing new seeds, I don't know.
What I have written here is wrong!
I have now looked at my "Top performers" again. But they are not sorted by downloads, but by revenue. On the last page, I had seen pictures with 2 downloads and had therefore wrongly assumed that on the penultimate page and the other pages before that, no more pictures with less than 2 downloads would appear. But that was wrong. For example, on the last page there are 2 images with 2 downloads each for a total of $0.20 and on the second to last page there are images with 1 download for $0.38.
The correct way is like this:
Of 1322 images, exactly 1200 have at least one download. And there are exactly 133 images with only one download. So 1067 images have 2 or more downloads.
None of your stats matter, you deleted images.
that's why RPI & RPD are irrelevant - adding or subtracting images changes the stats but actual income remains the same
673
« on: January 23, 2023, 23:08 »
Slaves were abducted, bought and sold, and forced into that position.
They didn't willingly sign up to be slaves?
Anyone who thought they could make money at stock photos and is unhappy with the agencies or the pay, can quit or leave and do something else. Slaves didn't have a choice and escaping was difficult and dangerous.
Comparing Microstock to being a slave is an insult to the people who lived as or are now slaves, and who have suffered that inhumanity.
Modern Slavery act of the UK and the forced statement for businesses, is just how dumb our world has become. Or is the word woke? Corporations have to issue statements that they don't support slavery?
It's not dumb Pete
1. That's why its called modern slavery
2. Old type slavery is rife and is rising particularly thanks to gangs of Eastern Europeans. Worryingly more and more missing people are being found having been trapped in houses for over a decade and forced to clean peoples houses at their masters behest and get given dog food to survive. In fact only today teenagers have been abducted from uk hotels where ... After escaping to the UK these ilegal immigrants... teenagers have been taken in large numbers to run what is called County lines operations.
A teenager will be abducted and given a debt for helping them. The debt will never be paid. Their families are threatened. The teenager will be given clothes matching the area where they will be placed. Once there they find a drug user and force the drug user to house them. From there the drug user is given discounted drugs to.lure all the drug user fiends they know. They in turn lure their friends in. The money all goes back to the teenager. The teenager then transports the money back along county lines to the supplier who then gives them more dugs and so the cycle continues. If they run they go missing. Teenagers are on a different judicial system and expendable.
There are many forms of modern slavery and therefore laws had to be created to provide a legal avenue to prosecute these people when found.
Compare that to Americas laws 🙄. It isnt 'woke' it doesn't even fit in that words context. Woke is virtue signalling against an issue that is misunderstood or doesn't exist. Your statement wad actually woke. How funny lol.
And to anyone who claims that a user accepts the terms and conditions of a company when using them and therefore only has themselves to blame and can leave at any time is not correct. The use of our images has been happening since 2019 where no mention of it was stated for A.I. use. The fact that Getty are bringing a legal case against an A.I. company proves that a legal challenge has been explored by those with more intelligence than ... well others.
to liken anything described here to slavery is disgusting!
674
« on: January 23, 2023, 13:49 »
or use an AI generator that gives you complete ownership w no
need to give credit to the app (after all, we dont need to credit PS when we use their AI filters or other smart tools)
675
« on: January 23, 2023, 13:46 »
Slaves were abducted, bought and sold, and forced into that position.
They didn't willingly sign up to be slaves?
Anyone who thought they could make money at stock photos and is unhappy with the agencies or the pay, can quit or leave and do something else. Slaves didn't have a choice and escaping was difficult and dangerous.
Comparing Microstock to being a slave is an insult to the people who lived as or are now slaves, and who have suffered that inhumanity.
Modern Slavery act of the UK and the forced statement for businesses, is just how dumb our world has become. Or is the word woke? Corporations have to issue statements that they don't support slavery?
absolutely -and all these claims ignore the fact that they AGREED to let SS use their images, but likely they haven't(can't?) read the TOS
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