https://www.shutterstock.com/discover/10-free-stock-images

Question. If I go into store buy something, or paying my bills should I please only trial version of bread, milk, wont paying bills, social security, medicare etc.,maybe next month we will do the business side?

Wow, then you are very talented guy, congrats. I have also well earners from 2018, but the trend is decreasing (for me).

I have portfolio over 8000+ images, many years of hard work, days and nights, good and bad times. I never ever had 40% of monthly decrese - this month is horrible.
I am selling new content from 2018 only 3-5%   So I decide won't supply them longer

Quote from: .shock on May 16, 2018, 04:19
Hi, 

I have situation with one of my photo-models. Model is complain to agency and agency want me to remove photos. Model is regularly payed for several shootings but is sign only one model release for firs shoot. That is not problem on most of the agencies.

Is model have right to ask me or agency to delete photos if I have valid model release and regularly pay for model fee.

Thanks,
BA

Hello, I am working lot of professional models. I shoot stock works only with experienced freelancers.
I never shoot stock with following type of people
-  inhouse models or agencies (they wanna build up their young models for international fashion market (mostly...)).
-  cheap freelancer models without experience who are started blaming you for everything due to releases on market, on wanna % from your earnings.

Theoreticaly you have right don't delete the pictures - In your case I recommend delete them if those pictures arent your very best from your portfolio (avoiding litigation with agencies and model).
But if you wanna keep photos, then i recommed validate model release with witness and model at official notary at YOUR contry, official translation if required, and invoice/recipt from model for model job (what is not so easy..)...

Is today also horrible or just technical issue?... (i see just 1 sold at Earnings summary), the Unpaid Earnings are growing, the map is empty.

Expected sales for saturday:  10-30
Total sales today:  0

Model releases window is terrible and painful for me - with huge amount of releases. The font size is big, the default option is not A-Z, but newest.  Submitting is very slow for me

Is any Discord server for microstock community ?

- Try smaller portfolio, more quality less quantity
- Do a business plan (short, mid, long) and find a good accountant.
- Focus on story telling, hard to copy own style, forecasting future trends - so dont shoot "stop-motion" style
- Take care on small amount of precise keywords
- Avoid low earner agencies (mostly under 3% of total earning)
- Stock photography is NOT art of selling (don't listen the "successful" people who telleing its just about selling, or selling zillion pictures, its just LIE and PSYCHOLOGY. The high earners are always hidden and quiet, and LOVE what they do) - so do it with passion, as every good thing in your life.
- Be prepare working hard on yourself  (learn, shoot, sell, feedback)
- Photography is not dead, as painting, or sclupting... dont listen naysayers

Try this to avoid any reCAPTCHA:

1., Login into your Google account in Chrome (aviod incognito mode, VPN, proxy etc.)
2., Login to any site, just check box "I am not robot"
3., the green tick will appear without any test.

Quote from: Pauws99 on March 19, 2017, 17:32

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 19, 2017, 17:25
Provide a link.

Well I've just learn't something you can search SS using image Id :-). I don't know what the problem is with the image? Too many similars or copied?

Same images in various crops, then filtered versions. Filtering, cropping, stop motion moving means variability when the conception is the same ??

I've got an interesting feedback one of my customer, that she is hardly find suitable conceptions at stock agencies, due to tons of overhelming same conceptions, or same images in various crops, filters etc.
For example on Shutterstock ID: 433880728, 436619266, 437470180, 447365770, etc. 

Second thing is worst. From this style (examples above) are tons of photographers (or maybe stawmans?) with different countries of upload, who copy this style - sometimes with international faces - on local professional market I dont know personaly anyone of them, but those models acting professionaly, not just first shooters - the pictures are hardly filtered, fake flared etc. as at main uploaders.

Why agencies allowing this ?

Hello, is anywhere possible find detailed statistics for my uploaded files on new 123rf interface (downloads, earnings, age etc.) ?

Just one question.

I am now starting using ESP with deepmeta 3.  Is any possible way DELETE uploaded/submitted  files from ESP  ?? 

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on January 17, 2017, 23:59
If I was on Tinder then I'd take the worst photo in the 'portfolio' into consideration, but there's a good reason for that. The worst photo in a photographers portfolio isn't of interest to me, unless I'm hiring them for custom work and want a realistic picture of what I'm going to get. Otherwise, why would something I have no interest in buying, influence something I do have an interest in buying?

I appreciate what your client says, but I think he's probably in the minority. I'm sure there are buyers out there that take into account the photographer's country, religion, the football team they support and their star sign... but none of them affect the quality of the image.

I've been many years in fashion industry, them matters quality almost all. In microstock is other, 90% you have true what you say.

Quote from: MxR on January 18, 2017, 08:19
Sometimes is best not upload too similar images (example Still life at 50mm and them zoom at 70mm pic)

too similar images stolen one to other the sales and lost relevance in searches. Sometimes i see portfolios like stop and motion movie. This dont work.

Dont delete crappy images, sometimes a designer needs this crappy image

I was't clear. I have variable portfolio, but now I am seeing the future in small niche portfolios, or in very large. In my opinion I need in my portfolio the very best pics, the other 68-95% (statisticaly 1-2 standard deviation interval, sellings probably copying normal distribution - delete them. In every minute I am losing many USD with care with my database, uploads, feedbacks, statistics, kw, etc.).

Quote from: Dumc on January 18, 2017, 17:30
Deleting images is just stupid thing to do. I had 60$ SOD  for a file, that was never sold before. I had EL sale on bigstock, that was never sold before, etc...You just never know

I am losing much more money waiting with SODs, and Jesus come from Heaven, caring with statistics, kw, etc, then focusing on new hard to copy content... but this is only my opinion.

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on January 17, 2017, 14:38

Quote from: chess1master on January 17, 2017, 11:37
In my portfolio are 6000 pics in SS, Fotolia. I plan reduce the size to best earner 1000 pics, others, unsoldable, low earners, delete. Is it good idea?

Nobody shopping those sites cares about your "portfolio".  They're only looking for the image they need.

As my viewpoint is not true. I know some of my buyers, one of them said the following:  Everytime I look after photographers porfolio, and its judgement (buy or not) depends on the WORST image in portfolio.

Quote from: qunamax on January 17, 2017, 14:36
I'm not sure why would you do that? Is there any harm that those photos are doing?

1., Smaller database for statistics better keywording - I plan reduce keywords maximum 35-38.
2., better variablity in portfolio
3., up to date and trends for 2017 (green)

In my portfolio are 6000 pics in SS, Fotolia. I plan reduce the size to best earner 1000 pics, others, unsoldable, low earners, delete. Is it good idea?

Quote from: steheap on January 17, 2017, 01:18
I did a review of Microstock Analytics recently:

http://www.backyardsilver.com/2016/12/microstock-analytics-deep-dive-sales/

Steve

I'll read it, thank you.

Now I make statistics, trends, kw, etc in excel sheet, and just realized are many third-party tools for feedback and analysis of this.
Does anybody have experience with tools like Microstock Analytics or Stock Performer? Are those tools worth price? And what about data security ? - For example - I pay lot of money to XY for my statistics, so I expect 100% privacy for it, and not landing my statistics for "big contributors" as starting point for their future focus.
I am sorry, but bit mistrustful...

Dreamstime KW and categorization has been the WORST compared with other agencies, now reduced the limit to 30.
If they can loose the contributors this is the best way, what they done.
Sometimes 30 kw is not enough. Mostly I attach in Adobe Bridge 40 kws. Now i have to remove them maually when I uploaded huge amount of pics.
Fortunly compared with other agencies dreamstime is only 4-5% of my total earnings, so probalbly I will remove there my portfolio and focusing to SS, and Fotolia.

Interesting. Could you explain?

I've noticed some of contributors in top tier agencies has only 500-1000 best pics in their portfolio, but they are selling lot.
Is it good big portfolio with lot of unsoldable pic, or smaller portfolio with the best soldable works ?? Will you find anybody easier with large amount of pic ??

Thank you

I am uploading daily 5-10 files to top tiers, but I've heard lot of people uploading batch 300+ files weekly, monthly etc. (sometimes in poor quality).
Am I doing well, or not ?