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Messages - hqimages

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1
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Freedom of speech and a hint of intimidation
« on: February 03, 2011, 02:03 »
And more of what you've agreed to, if you use your own money to legally pursue someone that stole your images, istock want half.. wow this agreement is unbelieveable..

"In the event iStockphoto elects not to proceed against an Infringer, the Supplier shall have the right to proceed against such Infringer for such license violation or infringing action. The Supplier hereby agrees that any monetary recovery it receives as a result of any legal action taken against any such Infringer, to the extent such monies are intended to compensate the Supplier for lost licensing fees or include statutory damages, shall, after deduction of all costs and expenses incurred in gaining such recovery (including, without limitation, reasonable counsel and experts' fees and disbursements on a solicitor and client basis), be divided between the Supplier and iStockphoto pursuant to the provisions of the Compensation section above. "

2
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Freedom of speech and a hint of intimidation
« on: February 03, 2011, 01:56 »
From your suppiers agreement here's all the other stuff they can take money off you for, in their eyes they're being nice only taking for fraud..

"In response to a written request, iStockphoto will endeavor to make payment of fees in respect of purchased downloads of Accepted Content on a monthly basis on or about the 15th day of the month following the purchase of Accepted Content, except when sales reporting from a distribution partner is delayed, in which case payments will be made in the month following the date such sale is reported, provided such fees aggregate a minimum of US$100, failing which fees owing will be retained until they exceed such minimum. In all cases, payment of fees to the Supplier will be net of: (i) applicable taxes or other withholdings required by applicable law; (ii) bad debts or other uncollectible sums; (iii) legal and other reasonable fees incurred in enforcing this Agreement or the agreements contemplated herein; (iv) where purchases or licenses are by other than the credit system, fees payable to financial institutions for the processing of any credit card, debit card, e-cheque or alternative payment method; and (v) any amounts owing by the Supplier to iStockphoto under this Agreement or otherwise. "

3
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Freedom of speech and a hint of intimidation
« on: February 03, 2011, 01:46 »
Exactly.. a democracy means people are voted into power, no-one voted for Lobo or anyone else, it's a company, they want your images, they most certainly do not want your opinion..

The only time they care is if you start to remove your images from the web site, that they understand, but opinions, nope!

4
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I TOTALLY see why this is VETTA
« on: November 14, 2010, 19:09 »
I don't buy from Istock anymore for my company, and this exact problem is one of the reasons why.. it's immoral to take 60 credits for an image, and then sell an almost identical one at 5-10 credits, as a buyer it doesn't make me feel that I can trust the pricing, or trust the supplying web site, and I would abslutely hate to be a customer that bought that image at 60 credits, and then down the line spotted an identical image for much cheaper on the SAME web site.. there's something a bit criminal about it..

Blah blah blah, It's immoral? Give me a break. For this small moment in time I will side on iS. There is nothing immoral about it. GO to a department store and look at the price reduced bin of underwear. Same stuff as is on the shelf just way less money. Besides the Vetta image as posted in the OPs thread is better than the non Vetta image. BTW good luck with your shopping elsewhere.

Good grief, I just noticed I sided with SJlocke above. What next?

Yeah, I will shop elsewhere.. and it's also more commission to the photographer on it!

5
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I TOTALLY see why this is VETTA
« on: November 14, 2010, 08:08 »
I don't buy from Istock anymore for my company, and this exact problem is one of the reasons why.. it's immoral to take 60 credits for an image, and then sell an almost identical one at 5-10 credits, as a buyer it doesn't make me feel that I can trust the pricing, or trust the supplying web site, and I would abslutely hate to be a customer that bought that image at 60 credits, and then down the line spotted an identical image for much cheaper on the SAME web site.. there's something a bit criminal about it..
Happens all the time in department stores. There is only very seldom a good, articulatable reason why this pair of jeans/fleece jacket/plain white T costs five times as much as that one. (OK, some at the very bottom of the market won't be wearable after a few washes, but we'll discount them. But even the FairTrade products (an 'artuculatable reason') are now often price-compatible with the rest.)
Anyway, not Vetta, but here's a contributer's view about Exc+. I have series of similars. Like other series, sometimes one from a series sells much better than others. I've made the better sellers Exc+. The customer has a choice - if they can't see any difference, they can buy a cheaper one; if they prefer the more popular one, they can pay a bit more. i have to find some way of making up the money I'll be losing when I turn Gold in a few weeks, but won't bet getting the expected percentage rise.
Anyway, what do you think a buyer would prefer: I used up my maximum Esc+ slots (at the moment, I've used up about 1/4 of my 'allocation') over series, or that they have a choice?

Even department stores wouldn't price a t-shirt from the same manufacturer, using the same material, that they bought at the same price, from the same person, with maybe.. a zig-zag instead of a straight stich in the arm, at 60 dollars vs 10 dollars, ON THE SAME RACK.. you have to remember this is the same shop..

6
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I TOTALLY see why this is VETTA
« on: November 14, 2010, 04:55 »
And I don't think it's wrong to link to specific images to illustrate this point, I did the exact same thing when Vetta was first released in my shock that they could dare charge a customer 60 credits for an image, when there is another one, by the same photographer/same set/same models at 5-10 credits.. the only difference might be that the models head is angled more slightly in a different direction, how they can take money for the more expensive image from people is just wrong..

7
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I TOTALLY see why this is VETTA
« on: November 14, 2010, 04:50 »
I don't buy from Istock anymore for my company, and this exact problem is one of the reasons why.. it's immoral to take 60 credits for an image, and then sell an almost identical one at 5-10 credits, as a buyer it doesn't make me feel that I can trust the pricing, or trust the supplying web site, and I would abslutely hate to be a customer that bought that image at 60 credits, and then down the line spotted an identical image for much cheaper on the SAME web site.. there's something a bit criminal about it..

8
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Buyers Bailing on Istock
« on: September 15, 2010, 13:28 »
Yup, I'm downloading from Stockfresh now.. it's the only good alternative for me anyway.. but it feels good that there is an alternative with similar quality to istock, and better % for uploaders..

9
StockFresh / Re: StockFresh - from Peter Hamza and Andras Pfaff
« on: September 09, 2010, 14:19 »
BTW, Peter, I would REALLY love to learn that subs are optional in Stockfresh, as they were in StockXpert. That would be a great incentive for me.

From what I saw at the site a few months ago, subs are compulsory on Stockfresh.. also a deal-breaker for me..

10
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Sales slump
« on: August 11, 2010, 17:53 »

When I stated I was a a buyer (a small buyer, but a buyer none-the-less) as well as a contributor, the comment was made to the effect "well yeah, but you are also a contributor. it would be nice to hear from someone who is a buyer only." As if my opinion doesn't matter just because I upload photos too? I am not getting what the difference is, and I was a little perturbed to be dismissed like that.

Lovely.  

There are so few buyers willing to post on these contributor dominated forums.  I hear people talking all the time about how nice it would be to hear from more buyers.  Then we diss them when they actually post?  I don't get it  ???

ETA:  Cathy, you must have been revising as I was posting...

Do you really want to offend anyone who is a buyer or may be a future buyer?


I totally agree.  Slamming buyers when you are selling stock seems a bit counterproductive... ;)

I posted as a buyer a few times giving some suggestions based on images I'm always looking for.. and I was asked by one member 'why don't I go and take the image myself' if I felt there was a gap in the stock library :D Now THAT'S counter-intuitive.. now I just lurk..

I will say this though, Istock is overpriced at the moment compared to other libraries, and we have moved elsewhere to source images at 'old' istock prices.. I'm pay as you go rather than a subs buyer.. dunno if that helps but, that's why I don't buy so many credits anymore on is, they just don't stretch far enough, especially given the economy, is prices have gone up regardless of the recession, meanwhile clients have no stock budget whatsoever, so it has to be price first for now.. a travel client of mine is even just sourcing images from their suppliers, which they have the correct licence for to use commercially etc, but they are provided for free and given the economy, this is what the client is going to use, even if the quality is awful in a lot of the images, they don't seem to care when it's bad quality vs having to pay..

11
Maybe, if guys from ex-StockXpert have email addresses from all buyers, they can contact them, and invite them to stockfresh... It's not impossible.
They could get large amount of buyers in a short time. I would do it in their place.

I'm pretty sure that would be illegal.  A buyer list would be a trade secret of the original company, or something like that.  I'm surprised they don't have a non-compete in place.

They did but it expired.. otherwise I'm pretty sure this site would have been launched at least 12 months ago..

12
No opt out for subscriptions? Nah I'll take a pass.. yet another site jumping on the subs bandwagon, great for them, not for us with small portfolios..

13
General Stock Discussion / Re: Selling Portfolio
« on: May 28, 2010, 06:25 »
Unfortunately the price of things is set by the market, so you will only make what someone is wiling to pay.. I think it would be a hard thing to sell actually..

14
Cameras / Lenses / Re: Anyone shoot medium format FILM
« on: May 25, 2010, 18:05 »
Yup, with an agfa isolette II :)

15
It sounds like the lawyers think they have a case if they try and prove that the Twitter terms and conditions effectively apply to Twitpic due to the integration between both, that even though there are different terms and conditions on Twitpic, by linking it to your Twitter account, you're allowing their terms to take over.. can't see a jury going for that one, a Judge maybe, but if it's a full trial he has to win..

16
General Stock Discussion / Re: Stockphotorights.com
« on: May 18, 2010, 03:43 »
Stockphotorights.com is an effort by Getty Images and others to create an better understanding of copyrights and stock image licensing for image users.

Full press release at http://microstockinfos.blogspot.com/2010/05/shutterstock-supports-launch-of.html


The irony when Getty are being sued for breaching copyright http://www.avvo.com/case/view/ressmeyer--et-al--v--getty-6335

I wouldn't exactly trust their word to be honest, but the web site has a great design.. so well done on that, but I wouldn't be taking copyright lessons from Getty until that case is concluded anyway ;)

17
Featurepics.com / Re: FP selling prints: long awaited news
« on: May 14, 2010, 04:39 »
This is what really bothers me about microstock agents today: "Artist / Source    FeaturePics" Seems like everytime they 'share' the photographers images across to another web site, the photographer suddenly loses their own copyright notice, everything now promotes FeaturePics rather than the photographers name, plus I find it misleading, as if they own the copyright on all the images.. why bother displaying copyright on their own site, and losing it when things are shared.. can't be that hard to have Artist: myname surname Source: FeaturePics, just one of the reasons I gave up on agents!

18
Depends entirely on the end use.. for web, quality doesn't matter as much as using the RIGHT image, that grabs people, even if the white balance is horrible and the focus is off, with some photoshop, you can bring that image up to viewable quality without anyone knowing how it started, the actual content of the image might be perfect for what your advertising, and now you have the plus that you might not see that image saturated all around the net on competitors web sites because the quality might put other people off..

Then again if it's an image that needs to be printed at billboard sizes, quality takes precedence there, no point in having a pixelated advert even if the content of the image is good for your purpose, it gives a bad/unprofessional impression of your company..

19
For example right now he's saying he doesn't watch video, there's no value in it, he's the demographic companies market to etc etc, thereby putting people off shooting video, or at least saying there's no point, yet he has started shooting video himself and is selling it.. so whatever he says and does, it's for self-gain.. and for a community forum, it goes against the whole thing..

Sigh.  You are quite hopeless when it comes to opinions that disagree with yours, and quite frankly, I thought my response to your initial post in this thread was a pretty good answer to your question.   I, personally, find most video (news stories, ads, etc) a waste of my time to skip through to find the information.  That doesn't mean I am not allowed to test the market, see what might sell, etc. or even to comment on whether stock video is the "next big thing" or "just a fad".

"we're all here because we love the same thing".   I'm not sure how you know why everyone is here posting.  I would think that it because we all participate to one extent or another in the business venture known as "microstock", not necessarily because we all "love" whatever you think we do.

I would suggest starting a forum where your secret PM friends can join you for topics of discussion you find wholesome and agreeable.  Otherwise, welcome to the world where everyone is free to state their views.

where everyone is free to state their views. in a respectful and polite way.. which is the code most other people follow except you.. what did happen to Jonathan? Did you have a disagreement with him? How many people have you argued with on these boards, and how many people ignore you? I'm just telling you to your face, why I can't stand most of what you say, not because you don't know what you're talking about, quite the opposite, you do know what you're talking about, the content is possibly good, but I can't tell because of the way you say it, in a nasty aggressive manner. Pardon me for saying what many people are thinking but won't post.. in fact they would rather not post at all than come out with it. Up to you whether you want to take it on board or not.

20
I guarantee you no-one is saying that about you Lisa, i have found you a pleasure, and also I have learned from your opinions on things..

Thanks a lot for the kind words Hilary :) 
I am on several people's ignore lists though, so I've managed to tick some people off.  I guess most of us who express opinions manage to get on somebody's bad side...

Back on topic, if you do a shoot incorporating both I hope you will post how it goes so that others of us who haven't tried video yet can get an idea what we're in for. 

I will, even if it's a disaster.. as much as it will pain me to make 'you know who' right ;) :P It'll be good to let other people know, plus I can do a full-length blog post on it with all the details on lighting, pre-shoot planning/set-up etc.. so I'll post the link here when I give it a go!

21


With anything you say directed to me, keep in mind I know exactly what you are, so don't be surprised if it's not received well, ever. This is why I said I'd prefer you to not even direct any post directly to me.. post away to other people, just not to me directly.. I find you the most negative person on this forum, the most offensive, and the person most likely to put other people off making any kind of effort as a beginner by letting them know how 'hard' everything is, and how all of their ideas are terrible, even if you twist their words completely. I think it's a shame you're here to be honest, being such a downer on almost everything that's posted, I think your presence on the forum makes it less friendly, and less useful than it could be. There are many people that agree with me, that won't even post their agreement because they lurk rather than even bother posting anything and get the typical negative backlash, and it's not just you responsible for this, there are others in this forum that are just nasty. Someone who says 'sure, let other people give away their images for free as long as it benefits ME' is not someone who's opinion I want on my words, which you constantly misconstrue.

So let's just try not even posting on each others comments and that will suit me and everyone else I'm sure just fine.

May I suggest you put Sean on Ignore?  That way you won't have to read his comments.  It's pointless to tell someone not to post, especially when Leaf has provided us with such a useful feature as the Ignore button.

FWIW, not that he needs or wants my opinion, but I find that if you look past his acerbic style, Sean has a lot of useful input.

Well he could take a leaf out of yourself and Jonathans book (who I'm sad to see doesn't post much anymore) on how to be a courteous and helpful professional, there's just no need to treat people with that level of 'acerbic' nastiness.. we're all here because we love the same thing..

On a sidenote I just had a pm from a forum member (that will remain anonymous), including this statement: "Sometimes I feel like I may have something to add, but if he is involved, I am less likely to say anything for fear of being smashed." I guarantee you no-one is saying that about you Lisa, i have found you a pleasure, and also I have learned from your opinions on things.. I feel it's just gone too far now with Sean, and I also fear the people I have really enjoyed reading and learning from in this forum, post less because of the horrible atmosphere when he decides to unleash on various people..

For example right now he's saying he doesn't watch video, there's no value in it, he's the demographic companies market to etc etc, thereby putting people off shooting video, or at least saying there's no point, yet he has started shooting video himself and is selling it.. so whatever he says and does, it's for self-gain.. and for a community forum, it goes against the whole thing..

But I will stop digressing now and try the ignore thing again, it can get confusing though if he replies to someone, or they reply to him but eh.. I'll try again!!

22
Sean is right.  

If you are really professional, if you are really serious about what you do, it's not just a matter of pushing a different button.  It's not that simple.

Photography and video are completely different.  Different equipment, different skills and talents.

Uh-oh.  Don't agree with me, even if we're right.  You'll get on her bad side  ;).  Just for giggles, go back to page to and read my totally sensible answer to her question:
"But yeah, why not shoot video? Technology now allows it on ur dslr, and since you have the studio/model set up anyway, what's the biggie to shoot some video as part of a usual shoot, it's just diversifying ur portfolio, and getting another customer in there that needs video, or offering video to your existing clients that dabble in some web work.."
and immediately, she's on the offensive.

With anything you say directed to me, keep in mind I know exactly what you are, so don't be surprised if it's not received well, ever. This is why I said I'd prefer you to not even direct any post directly to me.. post away to other people, just not to me directly.. I find you the most negative person on this forum, the most offensive, and the person most likely to put other people off making any kind of effort as a beginner by letting them know how 'hard' everything is, and how all of their ideas are terrible, even if you twist their words completely. I think it's a shame you're here to be honest, being such a downer on almost everything that's posted, I think your presence on the forum makes it less friendly, and less useful than it could be. There are many people that agree with me, that won't even post their agreement because they lurk rather than even bother posting anything and get the typical negative backlash, and it's not just you responsible for this, there are others in this forum that are just nasty. Someone who says 'sure, let other people give away their images for free as long as it benefits ME' is not someone who's opinion I want on my words, which you constantly misconstrue.

So let's just try not even posting on each others comments and that will suit me and everyone else I'm sure just fine.

23
Wouldn't you be tempted to do still shots after going to all the trouble of model/styling/make-up etc for a video shoot?

I'm still not sure why you think it is so simple.

I'll elaborate, once again.  You said "a usual shoot".  A usual shoot involves strobe lights, and, for most, shooting handheld, going solo.  A video shoot involves hot lights, numerous pieces of hardware, like a tripod and a glider or a boom, plus, possibly people to do follow focus and audio.  As well as talent who can not only smile and look good for 1/125, but can successfully act to convey a message.  And other things.  

So, you said "since you have the studio/model set up anyway, what's the biggie to shoot some video as part of a usual shoot".  There, I told you "the biggie".  I'm sharing information.  That should make you happy, right?

Sean is right. 

If you are really professional, if you are really serious about what you do, it's not just a matter of pushing a different button.  It's not that simple.

Photography and video are completely different.  Different equipment, different skills and talents.

No-one ever said it was simple actually, literally, no-one has said that.. It's very hard of course, but that won't stop me from trying.. who cares if I'm not professional at video when I start. Were you producing professional quality work the first time you used an slr camera?

The answer is no. Sean got it totally wrong what I was saying, and you have picked up on his incorrect assumptions.. but yes, I will be shooting 'unprofessional' quality video for quite a while until I learn how to get it right.. same as I did for photography..

24


That's cool! And yes, no-body ever said photography is easy, and video is even harder.. however as a photographer I feel like moving to video, although a massive learning curve, I at least have an understanding of how to set up studios, how lighting works, I have some experience with final cut pro etc.. so I'm looking forward to doing some video :) I personally while I'm learning video, will shoot stills too on the same day.. changing a lighting set-up etc isn't a big deal to me, and I feel at least if I've made a mess of the video, I'll have something to show for the day at least, so that's what I want to do at the beginning and see how it works out..

I can't wait to try it anyway!!

Looking forward to hearing your results.  Hope it goes well for you.

Personally, I will still have to stick to one at a time for now.  As I mentioned - my average shoot lasts 5 hours or more and involves 3-4 different concepts (each of which requires its own setup and tear down). 

If I were to change setups to shoot still and video in one session that would eat up all my time and I would probably only be able to fit in one concept.  For now I think my time is better spent fitting multiple concepts into a shooting day than multiple media.

If it works out for others then that's great.  We all have to budget our time how we feel it will yield the best results.

Yeah understandably for you Lisa, I'm much more cavalier really  :) I'll see how it goes, may well decide it was a terrible idea and just keep them separate!

25
Wouldn't you be tempted to do still shots after going to all the trouble of model/styling/make-up etc for a video shoot?

I do video shoots, I don't do photo shoots.  That is... I don't have strobes or most of the other equipment that dedicated "photographers" have for photography.  I bought my Canon T2i specifically to shoot video.  However, I still shoot a lot of stills.

One feature I like about the T2i is that while in Video mode I can still shoot stills.  So "between takes" I'll pop off a few stills when doing my video shoots.  Occasionally, something will actually be useful for stock photography, but I don't worry about it.  I'm sure if I actually cared more about the still side of the business, I'd invest in the proper equipment and probably a second camera that I could keep set up for stills and use both on my shoots.

I agree completely that they are too totally different animals and if you want to be successful at BOTH on the same shoot, you have to work a LOT harder to make sure both are up to quality.

That's cool! And yes, no-body ever said photography is easy, and video is even harder.. however as a photographer I feel like moving to video, although a massive learning curve, I at least have an understanding of how to set up studios, how lighting works, I have some experience with final cut pro etc.. so I'm looking forward to doing some video :) I personally while I'm learning video, will shoot stills too on the same day.. changing a lighting set-up etc isn't a big deal to me, and I feel at least if I've made a mess of the video, I'll have something to show for the day at least, so that's what I want to do at the beginning and see how it works out..

I can't wait to try it anyway!!

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