Is anyone using this service?  Is it worth it?

Hi guys,

If you were marketing your best images (not your whole library) as exclusive to any one site, what would that site be.  Several offer extra pay for exclusivity on single images.  Which pays best for you?

I am confused. Will my stockxpert images and income be added to my istock account? will I have 2 accounts on istock? Should I purge images I have here and at I stock so they don't appear in the collection twice?

Ok guys, I don't laugh out loud this hard very often.  I got a site mail on flickr for this new Micro:

http://www.kachoozie.com/

The spelling on the site itself, and the fact that it's a ktools build makes me laugh.  Best on the Planet!   

Here was the pitch:
(Yes, it was formatted like this.)

We are looking for users to sign up and
test our site, we will pay you 25.00 per
100 images accepted ( once accepted the
images will be available for resale,so you
can profit from them as well).
We do require you sign up for our email
list and provide us feedback on the
usability of the site.
Please note- getting paid for this is
contingent upon the upload,image
acceptance, feedback(signup for the
feedback site will be sent and there are forums there for feedback), and sign up
for the newsletter. The program is limited to a finite amount of users, so sign up
soon for consideration of the feedback program.
Please note, you can sign up and upload images, however; if you are accepted
into the program, you will be notified via email, once accepted you must send us
confirmation that you want to participate, and follow the guidelines.
Not everyone will be accepted into the program. We also reserve the right to limit
the numbers of images WE pay the photographer for, so in other words this is not
an income stream that the feedback participants will be paid for indefinitely,
photographers will still receive any commission on images that are sold via our
site.
To be considered please sign up and create a profile on the site, and sign up for
the newsletter at the site, as folks that do not participate in the feedback
program, we will cancel their invitation and send out new ones. Again, you can
still sign up and upload images if you do not wish to participate in the program.
KachOOzie.Com was formed in 2007. Our goal is to provide the best quality stockphotos at a reasonable price, for our customers, and at the same time provide a
decent commission structure to our photographers.
Background
The Founder of the company is a professional photographer, and has been for 25
years, which means the Kachoozie Network will provide the highest commissions
of all the stock sites out there!
We have a unique business plan that will allow greater sales for our
photographers. This means photographers wont have to spend hours submitting
photos for very little return
Customers By offering a very wide selection of not only stock images, but many
others aspects of graphic design, we have made it easier for customers to
purchase pre-made designs, for use in their projects.
Designers Not only do we offer a complete range of stock photography, but we
have also created an area where designers ( Photoshop experts) can sell their
designs.
What makes this different from the other sites? There are a few sites that offer
designers the ability to sell their designs, but we have taken this one step further
to establish relationships with other companies that can use the designs on their
products, this creates a very high conversion rate for the designers sales(and
stock photographers for that matter).
Finally by offering our services on a Business to Business platform, along with an
aggressive marketing program, we drive sales for our photographers, as opposed
to just leaving the traffic up to the search engines.

Quote from: astrocady on April 25, 2009, 15:30

Quote from: Tom on April 24, 2009, 19:48
And how about this one:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-9463408-olympus-digital-camera.html

I was looking at Cora Reed's website yesterday and I noticed a lot of her pictures had Olympus Digital Camera as titles (showed on mouseover with firefox), so maybe it's something weird that Olympus does.

Edit:  I posted this before I saw holgs message 

Yeah, I am trying to correct that issue in lightroom with presets.  It's annoying.

I love cushy stock.  (www.cushystock.com)  When images are accepted I put the image number in the description field and I know where everything is, and where to find it.

Quote from: Clivia on April 23, 2009, 07:54
Hi Cora,
I think we may have talked about you many times, we just didn't know your name!
Welcome. 

Yes....but maybe not in a good way. LOL

Quote from: RT on April 22, 2009, 23:30

Quote from: corareed on April 22, 2009, 22:12
Cora, the red haired lady of mystery.

Cora, the red haired lady of mystery "what do you mean it's all on Google". 

Shoosh you.

Empty your cashe.

I had to have [really big surgery] when I left [really big stock site], and spent a year recovering from that.  Now I am back at Art School, learning a few new tricks.  I have always been a less traditional stock photographer, as evidenced from my meager portfolios, and when I worked full time, had little time to focus on STOCK.  I don't think I will ever be traditional really, and my first loves are fine art and creative portraiture, but I have time now, so who knows.  

I was fiercely loyal to that site, and still am in some ways, but I won't disclose.  Sorry.

Cora, the red haired lady of mystery.

Holy crap I miss you guys!  You don't know me, but I know you. I was once the creative lead at [really big micro], and I saw your pictures every week.  Saw how you grew and evolved.  Read all your posts, and quietly cheered you on.  I don't know why I am de-lurking now, but this community is so wonderful, I cheer you still.  I left [really big micro] about a year and a half ago, but I still follow many of you.



Cora, who got all misty eyed for a second.

Food (well keyworded) always sells well.
Food images uploaded during a "food holiday" sell even better.¹




1.  Thanksgiving, xmass, easter, rahmadan, etc

To answer your questions more directly:
1 - Figure out what a "stock image" is and am I even eligible to buy it.  Isn't stock images just for use by businesses?

Anyone may purchase a stock image, as long as the use conforms to the site's license.


2 - Search through the enormous number of images on a computer many of which are loosely keyworded so I find everything but what I am looking for.

You are best served by searching for clear, simple words that describe images that fit your needs.  If you should find a photographer's style that you like, you might want to look more deeply at that photographer's portfolio.


3 - Find one I might want to buy but there is a watermark on it.  Will this be on the image I buy?  Time to get lost in the help pages.

Watermarks are never included on purchased images.

4 - OK I am ready to buy but wait, there are many different sizes measured in pixels?  I also need to open an account, and pay with tokens or purchase an expensive subscription plan?

You will need to register an account with any site you work with.  Purchasing an image (and it's rights) is a contract, for which the site needs your information.  Sites will generally ask you for credit card or other payment when you have made your selections.


5 - Read through the pages of legal fine print just to figure out what I am getting and what I can do with it

Or, you could ask on the site's forum.  For instance:  I wish to purchase this image to hang on my wall; at work; for advertising on a dating site; etc.  You will get a flood of (probably) correct answers.  Or you can email support at any site and ask your question directly.

-Cora, who remembers what it was like to be a newbie

www.corareedphoto.com

Largely fed by Flikr.com

Might I suggest a small dot or other marker under each image that directs the viewer to the download page of each image.

I found two of my accupuncture pictures this week here:

http://www.maria-acupuncture.com/all_about_acupuncture.php

Contributing, among other things for 3 years.

This year, I quit my day job to go full time with stock.