I only have 131 images there, but have found that there definitely seems to be more xsmall images this month, having said that I am on target for bme in downloads and earnings (although I've most probably jinxed myself by saying that)

IS                45%
SS               25%
DT               12%
123RF         8%
BigStock             5%
CS               3% BME
FT               1% WME,  less than 50% of previous worst month
StockXpert            1% WME

I don't know what they did to my files when they changed the search engine. Must have thrown them in the bin!

I am on target to achieve 11% of my monthly average for 2008 in June, and almost certainly achieve my worst month ever.  Thankfully this isn't mirrored in the other sites that I upload to.

I think the response  about shutterstock may have been directed at me Nemo, as I did mention that images had been rejected at 123Rf had been accepted at shutterstock   (as well as several others). I was just surprised that  a site that I had an acceptance rate of well in excess of 95% suddenly rejected 5 out of 6 shots, that were subsequently accepted at other sites. I thought that it may have been relevant to your rejection, especially as it appeared to be a one off.

Good for 123RF if they're  looking to improve their standards, I like the site and have seen a regular improvement on my sales there this year, albeit with a small portfolio.

Had 44 downloads in May (small fry for some, a bme for me), and 25 so far this month, so on target to achieve about the same. Having said that most of those sales have come from 3 images. I just need to get some more that  can achieve the same or better.

I was rather surprised that I had a batch of 6 last week, 5 of which were refused. So far I've found them to be one of the easiest sites to get images accepted at.  The same files were subsequently accepted at Shutterstock, Istock, Stockxpert & Dreamstime. 

I don't know if 123RF are tightening up their act, or one of their reviewers had a wonky monitor. However a further 5 I submitted yesterday and all were  accepted.

Ha ha, I've just seen another more comprehensive post on this same subject here http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php/topic,4908.0.html

hence the edit

For me , out of the 7 sites I upload to StockXpert is 7th best just about every month. I find it a bit like LO was, lots of views, but no downloads.

I clicked on a few of the links in the story, this one really made me laugh

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=71473815&blogID=394235689

Quote from: Lizard on June 04, 2008, 22:02
http://www.stockphototalk.com/phototalk/2007/12/fotolia-infin-1.html

Hilarious , especially last two sentences

That is an amazing turnaround, so in December 2007

"for example, a micro subscription model that pulls down prices to 25 cents an image, decreases the overall business and only provides short term sales benefits."

Yet now in June 2008, the very same person has decided that its a good idea after all. I presume Fotolia are scared of losing their piece of the pie.

I already am paranoid about even lifting my camera to my eye in public places where there are children around. Now tourist attractions are taboo too. Looks like I'll have to practice my tabletop photography.

All the time cctv footage is photographing us all the time in this country. I'm really beginning to think Mr Orwell got it right, he was just a few years out with the date.

I'd say the time for revolution is near, but no doubt these forums are being watched, and I'd be arrested for "incitement to riot".

Over a year in, and only half way to the $500 mark.  Looks like I'm gonna have to try harder.

Quote from: Beckyabell on January 17, 2008, 23:31

Quote from: techno on January 15, 2008, 23:13




7.Stop upload photos from  family , girlfriends , neighbourhoods and colleagues .

There goes @ 90% of my portfolio....... I don't get this one.

Then again.... I have hot friends and a beautiful family.

Can I borrow some of your friends and family. My only family is my 76 year old dad who lives over 300 miles away. I'm still working on trying to get some hot friends 

Congratulations, I have been at SS for over a year, and am still waiting for my first EL , I've had a few elsewhere, but never there.

Slightly weird month, I didn't upload any photo's at all, but still had second best month ever. Mainly down to Istock which accounted for almost 50%.

IS             49% bme
SS            13%
123RF      12% bme
FT            10%
DT            8% worst month for ages
BigStock          5% ditto
StockXpert          3%

Last year SS was my best earner, but this year IS has improved about 50% for me while SS has gone downhill. Most probably because I'm not a prolific shooter, so am not constantly uploading to Shutterstock, which seems the best way to keep up a regular income there.

In fact so far this month I have had more downloads (not income) at IS than SS for the first time ever.

I thought they has disappeared already, have not been able to log on at all for well over a week.

My first BME since last April,  I increased my portfolio by 4% this month and $ increased by 74% .  my first ever el at DT helped, and Istock was great , and has started well on May already too.

IS        32%  bme
DT       30%  bme
SS       14%
BS        9%  bme
FT         5%
SX        5%
123rf    4%  bme
crest     1%

I didn't get a little smiley today when I got a rejection stating "improve isolation", it made me laugh though, as it wasn't an isolation in the first place.

I ask this as my previous best ever month was April last year. I had only been uploading for a couple of months, and have uploaded less in the last 12 months than some people seem to manage in a week.

Last month I almost managed to beat my previous best, but uploaded for me a reasonable increase in  images, some sites I now have over 200 images! However now 12 months on from my previous best, and without uploading a single file I have managed to beat my figure from last April and with nearly 2 weeks to spare.

Do most people find that this is the best time of year too?

Quote from: dbvirago on April 11, 2008, 18:19
But if they keep blocking uploading, maybe those pesky photographers will just go away and they won't need more reviewers. Otherwise, instead of 10 a day for the next 4 days, I'll upload 40 on Monday and it won't make a  bit of difference to their que.

Maybe that is their plan, for me it just means I'll upload on a weekday evening instead, quite how that helps to reduce the queue beats me.

I didn't upload any files for a couple of months at shutterstock, and sales plummeted, last month I started uploading again, and found that my sales in March were almost 3 times what they were in February, even though I only added an extra 20 files, which equated to 10% of my existing portfolio.

I've uploaded several times to LO in the last month and all have been reviewed within a week. I would definitely suggest you contact support.

With regards to sales, mine are few and far between.

For the first 2 weeks in march I was really excited that i was going to shatter my bme. Over the course of the month I grew the size of my (small) portfolio by 8%, and saw a 22% increase in earnings compared to last month. Mainly from SS which appears to be far more influenced by regular uploads.

In the end I fell short of my best ever month (April 2007) by less than $1.

IS         29%
SS        28%
DT        19%
FT         11%
BS          8%
123RF    4%


the remaining 1% was shared between LO & StockXpert

As a small time contributor, 116 images on Istock and just over 200 on the less fussy sites, I have found since I started a year ago Istock has consistently  been in the top 2 earners every month, whilst other sites have yo-yo'd  up and down.

What i have found this year though is that my average amount per download at IS has increased from 56c in 2007 to 90c so far this year.

Obviously I am more liable to fluctuations due to the small size of my portfolio.

Quote from: madelaide on March 31, 2008, 22:52

Quote from: Lizard on March 31, 2008, 16:33
Every single one strait from the camera 

I dream of finding places in the planet with skies and green fields like that! 

Regards,
Adelaide

Ah Blue skies, I remember them. An Australian friend of mine tells me that we never have "proper" blue skies here in the UK. However I know different, I took a photo of one last year   

Green are pretty saturated here too, generally saturated up to about the ankle.