An interesting question. Thanks for bringing it up.

It's something to think about.

There's also Alamy in the UK. What about agencies elsewhere in Europe ... in France? Italy? Spain? ... anyone know of any?

vicu,

 ... I don't think anyone was insulting the exclusives here ...

Regards,
Adelaide

Hear hear!

It mystifies me why people who have gone exclusive with iStock feel that they are being insulted personally when someone criticises iStock's exclusivity programme.

Each individual makes their own decision with regard to marketing their work, and no one can criticise that.

The problem is that certain people (myself included) feel that iStock's exclusivity programme is far too restrictive and they are trying to corner the market by slightly questionable methods.

Is that insulting to anyone?

Thanks Adelaide

Here's mine ... close up of a piece of really grungy artificial leather, ready for the dump.

But someone's bought it, once.




Ah well ... 20 cents is better than nothing I suppose.

... My own view is that in the longer term it will be important eventually to align oneself with one of the big agencies, probably on an exclusive arrangement.

I'd strongly disagree about aligning yourself as an exclusive. Very strongly!

Agencies that are doing this are trying to corner the market, which is not in the interests of photographers.

Let me take an example to extremes ...

iStock (who else?) offers exclusivity with additional bonuses for exclusives, but they must not sell their photos anywhere else.

So all the photographers, attracted by the 'generous' offer, sign up as exclusives to IS.

Other agencies go out of business because they can't get any decent photos to sell.

IS gains a monopoly on the market, turns around to the photographers and sets whatever conditions it likes. The photographers have no choice but to accept (or get out) there's nowhere else to sell their product.

Exaggerated?

Maybe not.  Just look what McDonalds and other big fast food chains have done to the beef industry in the US. Small farmers are going bust all over. And potato farmers, too. Did you know that, out of every pound you spend on chips (french fries) in a fast food restaurant, only about 1p goes to the farmer?

McPhoto anyone?

1) It doesn't say that MS customers can use the image as they wish.

Okay ... I'll grant you that. It is a bit more restrictive.

What it says is, "... the MS Office perpetual license which restricts the user to a personal, non-commercial use only ..."

In other words, an exclusive iStocker's image can be included in MS Office, as (for example) clip art or similar, and used by thousands if not millions of people around the world in PowerPoint presentations, office documents, invitations, company newsletters, company websites ... whatever, without the creator getting another cent for it.

Is $37.50 fair value for that?

Since none of use have actually seen the details of the program, I think it is premature to judge the program.

I'm not so much judging the program as iStock's extremely restrictive exclusivity demands and the peanuts they pay for it (though from the tone of their communications you'd think they were tipping out crocks of gold at the photographer's feet).

It seems to me to be fair enough if they want to take certain images as exclusive to them, like Dreamstime do. No problem. Every photographer can make her/his own decision on that.

But IS require total, absolute, unconditional exclusivity from a photographer. No other sales of RF images. Nowhere else. Full stop.

Is that reasonable?

I don't believe it is.

(P.S. I wonder how many IS 'exclusives' actually sell other images elsewhere, under other names? I know at least one person who does.)

...

# guessimate as their website will only show my current balance can't navigate at all.

...
 

Hey Fintastique ... you can check your monthly earnings on BigStock (Bigstock?)

When you have logged in click on 'Commissions' (Second down at the very right hand side, underneath the 'Download cart' and 'Photo Credits').

Once you are on that page, look at the very bottom, left. There is a month by month breakdown of your earnings.

Cheers

I've heard that Fred Miranda's Velvia plugin is great and well worth getting. And I've been thinking of getting it.

Anyone used it?

Congratulations on getting not one ...but two best images. That's great! Well done.

I must admit, if I got a 'best image' it would give my ego a boost too. I live in hope ... and in hope of getting a payout there someday. I guess it will be sometime in 2017 at the rate things are going.

It's not my day ... is it.   

But thanks for moving it to the CRESTOCK forum   

But... why is this message under IS forum?  I thought it would say Judge Ross had moved to IS. 

Ooops ... sorry. my inexperience. I didn't realise that it had to be allocated to a Canstock forum, and I can't see how to do that now.

Most days I look at the 'Best Image' and 'Worst Image' on Crestock. It's often revealing. Some of that guy's 'best images' are great. Others ... well, I can't see what he finds impressive in them. They seem pretty mediocre to me.

But the 'worst image' archive is truly amazing. Do people really submit images that bad?

The latest one, on this weekend, is about the most unbelievable I've seen. It appears to be a shot of a house taken through the window of a moving car. But there are a whole load of trees and assorted other roadside vegetation in the way.

Is someone winding Judge Ross up here?

Sorry if I'm being a bit thick here ... do the percentages refer to your personal photos, or to the total number of photographs available through each agency?

I.e. Do you have most of your photos with SS. Or does SS have just over quarter of the photos available through all 10 agencies?