So, are you really shooting these subjects with micro stock business in mind, or are you shooting things you like, and then seeing if you can make some cash by uploading them to the micro sites?

Both 

I think that the answer will all depend on who is doing the answering.  People that are into stock photography as a profession, will obviously be shooting things with stock in mind.  Amateurs will probably steer towards taking photos of things they like.  And then there will be a large amount of people that do both (such as myself).

I've had a wodge of images approved at IS these past few days. They show up on my file management page but not in my portfolio. Nor do they appear when I search on their keywords. (And we're well outside the 24hr they allow for the database to be updated.)

I don't know if this affects the numbers, but if this is happening to everybody then thousands of images must be 'missing'

Interesting, I appear to be having the same problem with a few of my images.  I have a few photos that were accepted last week and they are not searchable either.  One was accepted on 02/07 (#2821552) and the other on 02/08 (#2827143).  Neither are findable via the search engine.

Have you reported this to admin?

EDIT: Just found a thread on IS.  Admin is aware of the problem.  Here is the thread in case anyone is interested:

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=47297&page=1

I got the 50mm today I like it

Which one?

leaf/CJPhoto:

I agree about SS being expensive if you only need one photo, but the original poster stated that they were editorial images.  Thus he has a quandary.

Bateleur:

If they are asking about usage of an image and then being sent to SS, they might think that is their only option, thus they don't come back a second time.  I don't think it is a scam.  If it was, why would they contact in the first place?

red_moon_rise:

Why not sell the image directly to them and draw up a simple agreement?

Or submit the image to another stock site that sells editorial images and direct them there.

This is just a suggestion, you can take it or leave it.

For the second image, I would remove the flowers at the bottom.  They don't seem to add anything to the image and they make my eyes wander back and forth between the mop and the flowers.

Just a thought, not a sermon...

The exclusives are not all brainless sheep drinking the istock kool-aid.

Are you sure? 

pixart:

I can see why they are selling.  At first, I thought that they let you take photos during real classes (and I couldn't believe that they would allow that), but then I realized how you did them.  Very smart use of your resources.

How much do they pay for the EB and how do we opt-int/out from it?

The following is from the LO site @ http://www.luckyoliver.com/guide/getting_paid (bold-facing is mine):

"Buy-It-Out Pricing

LuckyOliver also lets you set a buy-it-out price that lets a buyer purchase your image and remove it from the web site, making it unavailable to future buyers. When your photos are accepted, you can set buy-it-out price on any or all of your images. And you guessed it—your buy-it-out price can (and should!) be much higher than your single download price.

And buy-it-out pricing doesn't go away if your photo has already received downloads. A prospective buy-it-out buyer will be able to see how many times the photo has already been downloaded and will make the decision on his/her buy-it-out purchase with that knowledge. Their buy-it-out simply prevents others from downloading your image in the future--it doesn't impact the rights of the folks who've downloaded it prior to them."

Although it states that you can set the price after it is accepted, I can't seem to find how to do it.  For some reason, I remember that you had to do it before it was accepted (when you upload the photo).

Besides, I have no interest in allowing someone to buyout my images.

Quote from: GeoPappas on February 03, 2007, 07:06

Most Exclusive licenses don't allow the resale of the image itself.  The only site that I know that allows you to resell the image is LuckyOliver.  Does Fotolia allow that?

If the license allows it, then there should be no moral issues associated with it.

what? Lucky Oliver doesn't even have a buy out option.

Yes, they do. 

Here are the LO terms for a buy-out (bold-facing added by me):

"When you put a 'buy-it-out' price on your image, you're basically telling a potential buyer how much it will cost them to own the exclusive rights to your image. Exclusive rights mean that the person who purchases the photo will own the rights to your image; you will no longer own those rights.

If a buyer purchases your photo through the buy-it-out option, they can then use the photo however they see fit. They could put it on a billboard, use it as the background for a magazine ad, create and sell a set of greeting cards, create prints and sell them at their local craft fair or even put it on LuckyOliver and earn royalties on it. That's why you'll want to think about your buy-it-out price carefully -- because you're basically handing over the ownership of that image to another person or company."

Here is the web page:

http://www.luckyoliver.com/guide/buyout_price

Is that new?  I don't remember ever seeing that!

There is also an area that displays who has chosen you as one of their favorite DT photographers.

Anyhow, thanks for the tip...

I just checked the Fotolia site and their Exclusive Buyout license does NOT allow the buyer to resell the image.  Here is the quote from Chad:

"You can only resell products with the image on it such as a poster or greeting card if you have the exclusive buyout license of the extended rf license. Reselling the original image is not allowed."

Here is the link:

http://blog.fotolia.com/us/faq/main/buyout.html

Does anyone know of a site (besides LuckyOliver) that allows the resale of an image via an Exclusive Buyout?

Does anyone got some dls of their neglected images? I got one, but I do not know if that was because of the rating or the lightbox.

I was wondering the same thing, but I think it is too early for any conclusions.  I was going to give it at least a month.

I have gotten two total downloads for two photos (one download each), but they don't seem to be out of the norm for those photos.