I posted a question about this at fotolias leagal board.

The answer I got was that yes, fotolia know and has approved this business.

They argued that since the photo ordered from a private person they don't have to pay an EL license and there is no option to opt out from this.

For Me thats unacceptable. My photos are not free to use for a company to market a service that i have not given approval to. My posting of photos at fotolia would newer have happened if i knew this in advance.

I have no problem with one private person enlarging one of my photos. But i DO have a problem if a business makes profit from marketing pictures for free. They don't take any risk and get their business to profit from products they never intend to pay for.

Unethical is the least i can call it.

So i seriously consider deleting my portfolio.

Quote from: sharpshot on August 27, 2008, 19:19
I can't see what is so bad about this.  I put my photos on a site that sold prints and I only sold 1, so there doesn't seem to be a great demand for them.  Anyone can buy my photos from the sites and get a print made, what makes this different?

A company is using my property for free, to earn money.

Thats A BIG thing.

If a private person (even steals one of my photos) thats no big deal. But if a company is using my portfolio to make business out of, i have to make a stand.

If the service that the company in it self offers is not good enough to make them profitable, should they then be able to use copyrighted property for free just to make the business more profitable?

My answer in no. If you add something to businessprocess that adds value to you, you should pay.

If fotolia is going to make this to increase their sales, they will have to pay Me for using my photos as a marketing tool.

Otherwise i will quit with them. They are currently my 4th earner, i wouldn't hesitate to cancel my account if this is the new standard.

I have posted a thread at the leagal forum at fotolia and i am waiting to get an answer.

Wow!

The database has over 4000000 pics!

I found over 50 of my photos, some that i never sold anywhere!

Fotolia has its name  on them.

This requires action, has fotolia given rights to a third party company to do this?

If not, how can we stop them?

I Sverige är företag tvugna att lämna uppgift till skattemyndigheten om de betalat ut över 1000 kr till någon.

Du kan i Sverige tjäna upp till 30 000 kr år på hobbyverksamhet utan att du behöver skatta för det.

Däremot får du inte dra av kostnader/moms om du inte registrerat firma.

Vissa företag väljer att dra skatt+sociala avgifter för alla utbetalningar om du inte kan visa upp registrerad firma. Vilket gör att du får netto ca 50% av intjänat belopp. Så det lönar sig ganska snabbt att registrera firma.

Mer info finns på www.skatteverket.se

Fame does not interest me at all.

I want to get recognition for god work by other photographers, a word from MIZ is more worth to ME than any TV time in the world.

Thats why i like this forum, i get a laugh now and then and some serious talk about art/photo one of my true passions in life.

So please MIZ never stop learning us what is really true

My lifetime goal is to create a real portfolio with my architectural photos so i can apply/get approved for one of the real big stockagencies.

Like Getty and Corbis.

If i along the way make enough money to pay for the experience, thats OK.

Yes! I agree 100%, they are talking about selling "websize" photos for 3€ each. I hope they start with that soon.

I really like the way they are evolving, they are also going to start a more active marketing soon.

I think its all good news!

Just had my 3rd sale

It has sold very well on SS, and i am glad it sold at Mp as well!

Total month = BME!

First 2 weeks at SS = 54 % BME!
DT = 17 % BME!
FT = 13% BME!
IS = 8 % BME!
ScanStockPhoto = 8 %!
Mostphotos = 0%

Total 57 $

I am pleased if this is a summer month with slower sales than usual. I have now been in stock for 3 month and think its ok, regarding the fact i have no photos of models or people. 

Congrats!

To Spain and all football lovers!

It was your tournament and you have entertained with a lovely game.

Torres what a player, it is not anybody who makes a final goal like that. Thanks for the show and i guess the party is still going on

Ill keep uploading until Christmas!

If then no sales ill stop uploading and delete after next summer if there is still no action.

Dagen efter

Grattis ryssland, well done och gl mot nederländerna! Men jag hoppas van basten och grabbarna tar det.

Nu får man rikta in sig på sillen och lite jordgubbar med champange och fira midsommar istället.

Glad midsommar till er alla!!

Hälsningar från windmill i Vallentuna, (20 km norr om Stockholm)

Sweden

We don't win it all, but this is the fifth championship in a row where Sweden qualified to the competition.

And the goal Zlatan Ibrahimovic did against former champions Greece, is enough for keeping me happy until next WC 2010 in south Africa. If Sweden gets to the quarterfinals i am more than pleased.

I think its finally Spains tournament. Torres, will be a true hero.

Congrats!

Thats the way to go!

May = BME!

MP 90% BME
DT  5 % BME
FT   5%

IS     0%
BS    0%
123  0%
FP     0%

Yay opens today!
SS  will submit 3rd application soon

Grand total = 41,5 dollar!
Earnings up by x10 compared to april, hope i can report that next month too 

That photo is excellent!

I get hungry and want to eat. Don´t mind i spent the weekend in Vienna, and probably dint need more calories for at last a month.

I am truly sorry if i affected your photos in a negative way. I will not ever rate a bad photo again at mp.

I will also begin talking for that sales does have to count as 1000 mp points for every photo. I agree that the system is annoying and its ridiculous that unexperienced people could have that power.

But i do still think, everybody should have a possibility to vote on the artistic vote, but no on the commercial.

That one should only bee open to buyers and photographers that actually have sold pictures there.

Hey all!

Thanks for the attention! I am impressed by all the energy you all spend in analyzing my behavior on MP.

About me i am a 37 year old man, living in Sweden outside Stockholm. I got my first camera at 5, took lessons and read at lot about art and photo. I have a bachelor of art from the time i studied art an culture at the University of Uppsala.

I've been working with art and photo for over 15 years. I did hear about stock for like 3-4 years ago but decided to give it a try my self in march 2008.

So to you that don't like my rating, it was a part of my own learningprocess to study many "stock" photos at mp, is, ss, ft and dt. I am sorry if i hurt somebody in that process.

My aim was not to pinpoint or lower some individuals mp index.  I do take your oppinion in count and i followed some tips in this thread from earlier, as an example i don't rate "bad" things anylonger, i just zap over them to hopefully be amazed by next photo.

Stock is somewhat different from art, but there are some rules that are genereal to all, that is:

1 composition
2 light
3 colour

If you make a "photo" and post it as a commercial object, you have to stand the feedback.

I remember some posts of quiet simple 3D objects, which where signs for +- and dollar sign, made in gold with bad lightning, no depth of colour and all centered. Maybe thats god stock? I would have skipped to rate these objects today, because i am not longer too sure about if they are so bad as stock as i did first.

To all of you thanks for your interest in my "stockphoto" career and take care. 
 

Jeg skönner alt du skriver, er svensk men har bodd i Norge og syns det er kjempleflott, både natur og språk.

Med venlig hilsen

windmill

Mine is a selfportrait at the northsea. At the shore of Denmark, i put the selftimer and walked against the sea.

Yes!

It was worth waiting for, got my two first sales at MP yesterday.

Its nice with €uros, 2 x 12,5 kind of nice starting score. 

For 900dollar you got a Nikon40x with kitzoom 18-55, for about six months ago. This is in Sweden, (yes icecold north Europe)

I prefeer the Nikons for how they captures sky and landscape, if you are into lot of portraits you might consider a Canon. They are better on skintones and the lenses in the standardkit are usually better than compareble Nikon.

I would recommend everyone to get a camera house with at least 10mpx. Entry or not, is up to your budget. But if you find that you get hooked, spend the rest of the money on a better lens.

I would like to have a new 16-85 VR and 70-300 VR, but things are so that here these lenses cost about 1200 + 800 dollar each, just the lens!

So ill stick to my old 50mm 1,8 and old telezoom (at least for a while), ok its manual, but the quality is ok.

The customer is always right.
The customer is always right.
The customer is always right....

I have been familiar with the "subject" since 2005.

And i was sure i would never ever sell my pics for that kind of money.

In middle Feb this year i got some extra freetime and started uploading to MP, there i read a couple of threads about this site and now i can't stop.

I do believe the market has to consolidate itself and mature, but i don't think its going to dissapear. It's a fact that many talented people now have a new arena to start at and thats great. Maybee not for all the big ones who now find themselves to slow and not adopting. I was close to bee there myself

1.) I use Nikon!
2.) I use median filter in photoshop
3.) I use Neat Image plug in to photoshop

I love blue sky and have a lot of them, sometimes if nothing of this does not work.

If i have a customer in a hurry i have a ethical NONO, (I let my client know and decide if to do it, and i never post such pics for STOCK) copy one of my standard Skye's i have in my "sky" library.

First month with sales!
Cant wait to get approved at SS ;-)

FT/ 3,6= 76%
IS/ 1,1= 24%
DT/ 0
123/ 0
Big/ 0
Fp/ 0
Ds.de/0
SSP/0
MP/0
Yay/ na

Grand total 4,7 !