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I feel really frustrated sometimes seeing several insignificant (IMO) topics in a row on this forum and wrote all that above at this time.

I hope you will find this more interesting:

http://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/guide-of-five-most-common-stock-photography-rejections-and-how-to-fix-them/

Sorry there's a few typos as I put it together late last night

Brasilnut

Which leads you to a link, which leads you to Brasilnut's portfolio page on which I cannot find any article?

it needs to not only be complete, but to follow the iStock required format regarding the placement of the date and the place in the caption.  I don't remember the format because I stopped uploading editorial there for other reasons, but if you look at the examples and follow those, it's not too hard.  Deep Meta also helps because it includes an example as you submit.

Just do it now, before Trump becomes president and before he implements an "extreme vetting" on so called "tourists" like you. Before he cracks down on these cohorts of illegal foreign photographers stealing jobs from us, decent, hard working American microstockers.
Enough is enough!

He will not only make American grapes again, he will also make, single handed, American microstock great again!

 

We need those grapes for all the wine I'll have to drink if he is elected!

Quote from: bafan4u on September 15, 2016, 03:54

 Not to mention every exclusivity is a sort of a deal you cannot control except you just quit it. It's OK while it's working but some day new management comes and ruin all your exclusive sales with new search algorithm or some other "exciting" idea.

I think we've all learned to dread those "exciting news" emails.   Shudder!

It's not so much as an agency being fussy or anything, it is simply the format of captioning which is commonly used, and has been so for many years, by professional news publishers and press photographers around the world. The first few characters of the caption quickly enable a busy news editor to identify the Where and When of an image. The rest of the caption will answer the questions What, Who, Why and How. They can then decide if the image is appropriate to their needs. The agencies which demand properly structured captions are not being petty, they are being professional.

It's good for sales too.   I am pleased with the performance of my editorial images on shutterstock much more than elsewhere and try to use their captioning on other sites, too.

Honestly, this is not about any company in particular...

that's the nature of self-employment or contracted work.

Contractors can make excellent money if they are in the right field with a high demand skill and good marketing.  Driving and stock photography may not be the right fields, that's all    Think plumbers, roofers, business consultants, high end photographers, and yes, I'm told some make good money in stock although I am not one of them.   I made more doing two assignments this month than in my whole YTD stock work.  And that was at a "friends and family" rate with possible additional revenue pending from print and dl sales.

My editorial do best with SS, then DT.   Twenty20 (20twenty?) has also sold a few.  Not as many, but the return seems to be always be $2 per sale, which bits the less than a $ return on DT and SS subs. 

I apparently have had a sale since I deactivated my last image.  Which doubled my all time istock income to $.56  It has not been a great market for me and I am sure that my tiny port will not be missed by them.   I never had any big beef with them; it just isn't the right market for my work. 

I'm sure Hillary and Donald will come up with a solution 

I had to clamp down or  I would have spit my coffee out on this one!

There is an overwhelming supply of the standard stock images as the equipment gets more advanced and every one thinks they can do everything.  Many part-timers are very happy to see even  $.20 sale because it means somebody is using their image.  Many people are uploading images for FREE to news sites, which then turn around and offer them for sale.  A union can't fight over-supply on this scale due to the number of willing "union busters" out there. 

Photographers will have to somehow need to found a "niche" that everyone can't (or won't) cover due to the effort or skill involved or accept that micro is a low-return market and headed lower.  May be time to sharpen our skills and move on.   

I guess it would depend on exactly what she donated.  It's not as clear with intangible rights as it is with $1 million-which I would love to see and would not "donate" entirely away.

Anyway, I am removing all my images but one from iStock before August 20th - whilst I can.
I don't have any more positive expectations from them. Nothing good for contributors will happen this September on Getty in that I am sure. 

Curious why you are leaving one?  If we deactivate them all do we need to retest?  I may want to upload some things there in the future, but they will not be as many as I would before.