You should be aware that your timing isn't the best - summer is the slowest time of the year.

What industry? Are you asking about photography in general, art or just microstock? ...

Given that this is a stock photography forum, and by the nature of the questions, isn't it obvious that the industry being referred to is the stock photography industry?

Then you'll need to (or at least you should) brush up on sharpening techniques if you plan to use this lens for macro shots. You might also want to play around with the aperture so that you know it's 'sweet spot'. The camera seems up to the task, though.

... good luck!

... Gathering the best images is what matters. 

Yes, and if you 'gather the best images', you will be in the top SS commission tier in short order. As I said before, nobody who's serious about shooting stock has an excuse for earning less than 36c per DL for more than a few months.

So you're unhappy getting 25c/33c/36c. What are you going to do about it? Complaining and whining won't help, uploading marketable images will. The ball is in your court.

Environmental portraiture sells much better than in-studio work. It's also easier and more interesting to do. Take a cue from Yuri, who says that that finding a good location is a top priority - so much so that he even outsources the job!

You should strongly consider ditching the softbox in favour of umbrellas (they're more portable), and get only two 1600 Ws flashes (800 Ws will not be enough in bright locations) with strong battery packs. Get three Pocket Wizards (or clones to save money if synch speed isn't a factor) so that you can be completely flexible in how you shoot. Get three stands, and make two of them booms so that you can place light wherever you want/need it. Use the third non-boom/non-flash stand to hold a (gold, silver, or white) reflector. Technique-wise, learn about shutter drag and key shifting so that you can squeeze as much out of every location as possible.

... good luck!

I get this type of stuff regularly, and charge $100 for high res (17MP) and $20 for small (< 2MP). Nobody has ever balked at the price, and one customer even paid me substantially more. I include the following boilerplate in my initial response:

The licensing terms are as follows:
You may use the image as you see fit in perpetuity in both print and electronic form. You may not claim ownership or copyright of the image, nor may you sell or redistribute it. Attribution as "Stephen Strathdee" or "Copyright 2008, Stephen Strathdee" is optional and at your discretion.

I've been thinking lately that I should charge more, but the requests have so far been simple derivatives of existing work which take me perhaps ten minutes to manufacture, and I'm just not that greedy.

... so from now on it's money up front ...

For smaller clients I use Paypal, and don't deliver the image until I receive payment. I send larger clients a 30-day-payment invoice. Depositing the cheque is about the only time I go to the bank nowadays!

Yeah, .38 is low too.  I would have assumed at least .40 for high end earners.  Will be interesting to read what the big guys have to say about this....

Yes, $10k is far too low for the highest tier.

...
One of the reasons I love being a photographer is the freedom it gives me to direct my own career.  I would never let a customer try to dictate where/how I should sell my work.   

This, I think, is the best aspect of this industry: I can shoot what, how, and when I want. Unless you have a 'name', this amount of freedom isn't possible in the client-driven (i.e. not stock) marketplace.

I'm not tellin'.

...
There certainly seems to be some level of industry-wide contempt for these sites and those of us who have submitted to them.
...

Yep, there is.

I recently received a somewhat terse email from a non-micro site with a 'heavy recommendation we hope you'll heed' to remove my images from iStock. While they didn't come out and directly say it was their policy to exclude micro contributors at their agency, they appear to be holding my uploaded images in limbo until I decide which side of the fence I want to be on.

Whatever ...

Anything less than 40 cents/image would be a joke/insult to us.
...

I think you should prepare to be insulted. Sure, it would be nice to get a 33+% raise, and I'm all for it, but that would be too good to be true. And if it's too good to be true, it just isn't true.

They have a history of increasing commissions by 5c, and I think they'll continue that trend. The difference this year might be some sort of bonus based on monthly sales volume (e.g. 1000 DLs=+5%, 2000DLs=+10%, 4000DLs=+15%, 8000DLs=+20%).

A bonus system would place the onus in the hands of the contributor: you'll have to upload in-demand imagery if you want a better commission.

In terms of making money, it's really a Big Four followed by Small Three. You need to be uploading to DT. With the exception of 123, forget about sites that aren't on the 'Big 6' list.

Here's an attainable monthly income end-of-the-year target for you:

• IS + SS: $550
• DT + FT: $275
• StockXpert + BigStock + 123: $175

... good luck!