I'm new to having more than one agency, (previously I had just one, so it was easy ; )  but here's what I've set up for the time being.

I have a folder for each agency, and one additional folder called "to submit". In the "to submit" I keep my master high res edited file, along with a low res thumbnail copy. After I submit, I copy the thumbnail version to the folder of the agency I've submitted to. After it's accepted, I move the thumbnail into that agency's "accepted" subfolder.

So far so good, although I realize that the thumbnails take up more memory than file numbers on a spreadsheet would. I've used spreadsheets in the past and honestly I find them too tedious to maintain long term (my bad, but I have to figure out what works for me). I love the visual aspect of a thumbnail. I'm anticipating that I will set a size limit to the "accepted" folders and archive to disks.  We'll see...

Quote from: nancypics on March 28, 2010, 08:33

(For me it's Shutterstock - 8 out of 10 of my initial submission was rejected - ouch!! 

One thing I can comment on based on the photos you posted -- SS absolutely hates shallow focus. I've had very, very few images accepted there with shallow DOF. They want every part of the subject to be sharp. I definitely wouldn't submit any of the 3 you posted as part of your initial submission.

Thank you for that tip  - that solves some mystery for me.

Of the 8 that were rejected by SS, only 2 were for technical reasons - the other 6 were "lack of commercial value". That could be shallow DOF for sure. Fyi, of the three images I posted above, I had only submitted one to SS: the red pepper, which has been accepted everywhere else (6 other agencies).

I'm learning that different agencies are looking for different things, and while an image may be rejected by one, it doesn't mean it's not suitable for stock elsewhere. On the one hand you can learn a lot about technical quality and commercial value and be more selective about what you submit, but on the other hand, sometimes you just don't know until you submit.

Still... I want to add SS to my list of agencies, so I'm not giving up!! For my second set of 10 I'll definitely pay more attention to DOF. Thanks

I've tried 4 times to get accepted by iStock.  I'm definitely new to stock photography but have managed to get accepted and to have a few sales on other sites.

I have a friend in the same boat - accepted to other sites no problem but had so many rejections with iStock that she almost gave up. She finally has been accepted, so keep trying

(For me it's Shutterstock - 8 out of 10 of my initial submission was rejected - ouch!!  Meanwhile I've been accepted to iStock, Dreamstime, Fotolia, BigStock, Deposit Photos, and CanStock, so I'm definitely not giving up on Shuttestock

Anyway, I posted these on another thread, but I'll post them again in case it helps... these are the three pics that got me accepted into iStock. Good luck, and don't give up!