Bigstock is generally slow for me - slow enough that I had been forgetting to check my sales there for months now. (I confess my port is tiny there, as it is everywhere else, for that matter.) I saw this thread and thought 'Oh, that's right! I forgot all about Bigstock!', and logged in to check my earnings. Lo and behold, I got an EL in June! Could've knocked me over with a feather.  I should add that it was my only sale in June, though...lol.

As far as I know, with a standard account, you can only sell prints at a standard super-low price (for which you get no profit), but in order to set your own print prices (and make profits), you will need a pro account. (Although I have sold prints at my own set prices through privately emailed requests, and I have a mid-level account there.)

I haven't checked in there lately. Have they started the stock photo thing yet, or something?

Quote from: Calamity_John on April 20, 2008, 16:38

Quote from: rjmiz on April 20, 2008, 16:24

and improving the "Download-ability" of my images. I have not recieved an answer yet. I don't think he knows
what "Download-ability" means.

The MIZ

You need to disambiguate your prayers.

Bwah!    Good one, John! 

I've got $7.20 in my piggy bank at LO. It might be a stretch to get it to the $25.00 payout amount, but here's my portfolio link, just in case anyone finds something they can use:

http://www.luckyoliver.com/portfolio/Monilu

And I hope they fix the purchasing problem soon. It's only right that people be able to use the tokens they've already paid for.

StockXpert is one of the best for uploading, as far as active sites go, but I voted for yaymicro, even though they aren't open for buyers yet. I love their ftp (seamless and fairly quick, considering I using dial-up for now), and once they are uploaded, the final step is lightning-fast, even for me. Super-fast review time, too.

Thank goodness for that. 

Thanks for the confirmation, CPhoto...
(And I hoped they haven't been hacked! We have precious cargo on there! )

I hope they fix it soon, because I actually have a new submission ready to upload, and I'd like to get it approved before next weekend.

So I should (shoot and) work in adobe RGB color space, and then convert after post-processing, just before saving to jpeg?  Another question.. which settings are best to use when converting to sRGB ( i.e. perceptual, relative colorimetric,  black point compensation, etc)?

This color space issue has had me a bit confused for the past several weeks (especially after noticing how drab some of my food photography thumbnails looked upon being accepted at some sites) and I'd love to get a definitive answer!

Thanks!

Maybe it's just me, but I haven't been able to connect to Stockxpert for the past hour or so. In IE6 I get the 'page cannot be displayed' message each time I try. I have also tried firefox, but get the 'connection has timed out. The server at stockxpert.com is taking too long to respond' message.

Anyone else having similar connection issues tonight with StockXpert?

I think you will really like smugmug. They've got great features, and the site looks polished and professional. They also provide excellent support, and have a very active forum.

I've been there for over 4 years myself. Started with a standard account and then upgraded to the mid-grade account. I can customize the layout, etc, but I can't set my own prices. I don't allow anyone to order prints there for that reason.  I have sold from there through private emailed requests, though.

I shot my sister's wedding last year, and I've also put her wedding images there in a private gallery, as you have done. They loved being able to easily access their photos and print them at will. (I included unlimited free access as part of the deal, she being my sister and all )

I hadn't heard about the possible stock thing until now.. sounds intriguiging! Be sure to let us know if/when they decide to do it. I, for one, would definitely be interested.

I just added you too. 

They were down for maintenance as of a few minutes ago, but I was able to upload a bit between the maintenance and the hold on uploading over the weekend. The good news is that I got a few downloads there in the past couple of days. (Which is a good sign, since my portfolio there is pretty small.)

I emailed them over a week ago regarding log-in issues (my email address had changed since I registered, and the passwords I tried didn't work, but I couldn't get a password reminder email because of the changed email addy), and they still haven't gotten back to me.

Ghostvillage? I am starting to wonder if that's the case...  and I haven't even submitted anything yet!

no problem.. this is one question that I actually knew the answer to! 

I don't think that's possible in dreamstime. Most microstock sites don't let you know who dl'ed your file. They prefer to let their customers have their privacy. The only one who does give the buyer's name is fotolia, to my knowledge, anyway..

I've had 8 sales there totalling $7.20 (75 images and 2308 views) since I joined a year ago. I haven't sold anything there since mid-December. I haven't uploaded anything there in several months, because sales were just tooo sloooow. If things pick up there, I might submit more.. I'm just going to wait and see.

Anymore, it's not even worth logging in to see if I've had a sale, let alone upload more with my super-slow connection. 

I think it's got alot to do with luck. I have had one each on shutterstock and dreamstime, but none so far anywhere else. I sure wish I knew what the secret to selling EL's is, but all I can guess is that the larger the portfolio, the better the odds.

(Alot of help I am.. )

Some amazing numbers here, and well-deserved, I might add!

My best-seller is currently at 9.9 dl's per month. Was a little higher, but didn't get any dl's for a week or so recently, so the number went down a bit.

Who would've thought a photo of Tulsa would sell so well? 

For what it's worth to you, I'd be glad to rate your images  (honestly and fairly.. and I am not a 'blaster'..more of a 'high-rater'. In fact, I rarely waste time rating anything unless the thumbnail grabs my attention) to help even it out. It's no trouble, I like casting random votes most days I am logged in, and am always looking for interesting ports to send some votes to. I myself have yet to be slammed by a low-voter, but it would tick me off too.. I am sorry to hear you've had such poor experiences there.

So far, I am really having fun over at MP, myself. I have only been there less than a week, and with a measly 30 images up so far, no sales yet, but I am willing to keep uploading my (rather small) portfolio in hopes of eventually getting a few 25 euro sales.

I'd like to see you stick around, and not be put off by a few idiots who have nothing better to do than to slam galleries...

So what's your MP name? I'll make sure to go through your port with honest, fair votes... I swear! ( and no, I don't work for them!) Or PM me with your MP name. That will work just as well..

Monica ( username 'monilu' on MP and most other stocks, if you want to check my record to be sure )

Hmmmm....

Personally, I would love to have a mind-controlled shutter release! Cheaper than a remote release, right? ( Although, on second thought, with my particular mind operating it, it might not improve the focus all that much.  )

Maybe what he is trying to say is that there is an entire world of beauty out there, free of charge, for us to capture as only we can interpret it. (That doesn't mean I am excluding the poster's possible use of mind altering substances, mind you...  )

Ianhlnd, could you please explain?

I agree with Freezingpictures... Sure, iPods are fantastic prizes, but I wouldn't use an iPod as much as I would a new lens or some lighting equipment! (In fact, I'd have to make sure that one of my daughters (ages 23 and 17) didn't sneak off with the iPod! )

I don't shoot with a Canon nor a Nikon, myself. I am actually a Pentax person (unless I win the annual StockXpert contest, then I may just have to switch! ). I think a gift certificate to B&H, Adorama, or some other reputable online photography supply shop would be a great alternative prize for us photographers!

Btw, Steve-oh, I just joined StockXpert about a month ago, I am so glad I did! My sales there have been really encouraging so far (much better than any of the other non-subscription sites to which I contribute), uploading is easy, and the review times are the fastest I've seen anywhere! Great job you all are doing there!

They seem to be back online now. Good!

Same thing here. Just checked my account there a few minutes ago, and my earnings, messages, images, everything...are all gone. Certainly it's just a glitch, but I hope they fix it soon!

ETA: Just checked it again, and everything's back to normal now. You might try checking your again, if you haven't already.

I just joined StockXpert this month. I guess I got lucky or otherwise played my cards right, because I got accepted on my first try. I just sent them my best work..images that had been accepted unanimously by all the other microstock sites I am working with, then narrowing those down to ones that were most popular with buyers. I also made sure my initial images were as diverse as possible. I tried to be thorough in describing what my interests and goals are as a stock photographer, as well as describing the equipment I use.  Not sure if that's what helped me, but I thought I'd pass it along, anyways..

I wish you all the best of luck..it sounds like you might have a good chance of successfully appealing their decisions!

Tom, a couple of weeks ago, I got several rejections in a row for images being too soft, or not in focus where they should have been (and the bouncer was probably right . But overall, my acceptance rate has been pretty decent. I think it depends somewhat on who the bouncer is...some are just a little bit 'tougher' than others!