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Topics - dragonblade
1
« on: April 21, 2025, 18:49 »
It is possible to find out what resolution our videos are being sold at (from the individual sales)? Unfortunately, these days, I usually get around $4 or $5 for my 4k videos. So I'm curious if they're being sold at HD or 4k resolution. This may influence my decision as to whether I should continue to upload 4k videos to AS.
I know it's still possible to get good earnings from 4k video sales on AS these days but those instances are super rare and it's never happened to me.
It's also a pain and a massive hassle for me to upload 4k videos to AS. By contrast, I can usually upload 4k videos to P5 without too much trouble.
Going forward, it's a possibility that I may be uploading HD videos to AS instead of 4k.
2
« on: April 20, 2025, 18:34 »
The 2025 East Art Exhibition has recently opened on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. This is the largest art event on the island. I won First Prize ($1000) in the Photography category. For my one and only entry, I did things the old fashioned way by shooting on medium format film with a twin lens reflex camera that was designed in the 1950s.
By coincidence, my photograph that won Second Prize in the 2008 East Art Exhibition was also shot on medium format film as well (but with a different camera.) Both prints are fairly large (close to 60cm on the long side for the 2008 exhibition and 60 x 60cm for the current exhibition.) I also managed to receive a Highly Commended for a 3D anaglyph image (shot on 35mm film) at the 2010 East Art Exhibition.
3
« on: March 07, 2025, 19:20 »
I wonder if Alamy are accepting video again. I'm currently about to sign in on their site and I see some video footage being displayed (something Ive never seen before on their start up page.) And there is some text that says: "License your photos, illustrations and videos to the world's leading brands."
4
« on: February 25, 2025, 19:38 »
I'm trying to add another keyword to one of my approved videos on P5 and for some reason, I can't save changes. After adding the extra keyword, I click on the yellow Save Changes button at the bottom and the page suddenly jumps back up to where the keywords are. Exactly the same thing happens each time I try and save. If I exit out of the metadata edit page and return to it, I see that the new keyword has not been added. I don't suppose anyone knows how to rectify this?
5
« on: January 27, 2025, 19:24 »
Quite an alarming thing occurred on P5 recently. I submitted a news related video which features large numbers of people and a marine vessel as editorial. I then asked P5 Support to transfer the video from my non exclusive account to my exclusive account. When I checked, I saw that the transfer was complete but I also noticed that the video had also been changed from editorial to commercial for some strange reason. This is really puzzling considering the number of recognisable people in the footage. And the design of the vessel may be protected by copyright as well. There are also flags on the vessel as well featuring graphic elements (which could present potential issues.)
I contacted P5 and asked them to change the video back to editorial.
Has this occurred to anyone else - P5 changing an editorial video to commercial without your consent or knowledge?
6
« on: January 05, 2025, 16:38 »
Edited.
7
« on: November 04, 2024, 18:32 »
I'm wondering if there are any stock agencies that accept physical media posted to them in this day and age? Like submitting your content on a CD or Data DVD. I admit that I'm almost at my wit's end when it comes to submitting video. Submitting video has been a big struggle for a vey long time. Photo files are fine - not many problems there.
Firstly, the web uploaders on the agencies websites (where you drag and drop files) are fine for photo files but extremely problematic for video files. I could try many times with different clips and I would get a failed upload with every single attempt. The only exception that would work would be a video with a very small file size (like a short duration clip.) That did work for me once.
Of course another option is FTP. A number of years ago, I used to use Filezilla but found it very hit and miss. Some video files would go through and some wouldn't. More recently, I tried Filezilla again and I had no success with it this time around.
Some time in the past, I discovered StockSubmitter and that was a life saver for submitting video files. Finally, I found something that was reliable and efficient the majority of the time. I could submit multiple video files at once with hardly any issues at all.
Though these days, I'm having mixed success with StockSubmitter. It still works well some of the time. But there are some occasions where I could try submitting a small number of video files (say 3 - 5) with multiple attempts over a few days and they won't go through. And currently, P5 is not an option with StockSubmitter because of some change that was made to the P5 website. StockSubmitter are working on an update to address that issue but Ive no idea how long that will take.
Ive heard of another popular FTP client called Cyber Duck. I will give that one a go and see how it performs.
If all the online options fail, I may have to consider posting a physical disc containing my video files. That may sound drastic but desperate times call for desperate measures.
8
« on: October 28, 2024, 20:58 »
I'm planning on getting a flip book printed and self-published. I'm referring to those super small sized books that feature a sequence of images and you need to flip the pages to recreate the appearance of motion. They often feature animation and various types of footage.
For my flip book, I will include the text '"flip book" on the front cover so that people will realise that it's not just a normal kind of book. Though even then, people may not realise that you need to flip the pages. The term 'flip book' can be used to describe a few different types of books which are completely different to each other.
I would like to have something like "Moving Picture Flip Book" on the front cover as an indication that the pages need to be flipped to recreate the appearance of motion. However, there are a number of old Disney flip books which feature exactly those same words on the cover. I don't suppose there would be any issues if I used those same words on my own book? That line might be associated with the Disney flip books (particularly the vintage ones.)
Alternatively, I suppose I could have text that reads: "Motion Picture Flip Book." Though I already have the word "motion" in my title so I would prefer not to repeat it.
9
« on: October 19, 2024, 07:57 »
I don't believe what's happened to my port on DT. I only submit photos and DT has now labelled me as an AI contributor. I do not have any AI content in my port. Ive viewed a whole bunch of my photos in edit mode and the categories have been changed (without my consent or knowledge.) With all the photos Ive viewed, the top category has been changed to Illustrations & Clipart. And the sub-category reads "Generative AI." And that is complete nonsense. Above the categories, it says "AI Contributor" and "Generative AI category is selected by default."
Has this happened to anyone else on DT?
I'm going to contact Support and tell them to fix this mess.
10
« on: April 12, 2024, 21:55 »
This morning, I discovered that my P5 port has been reduced to one video. I have no idea what has happened to all of my other videos. I have logged into my account on two different computers (not at the same time) and tried different browsers. The results are the same - only one video remaining. I have contacted support.
11
« on: April 12, 2024, 00:10 »
Recently, Ive been submitting some videos to DT with Stocksubmitter. And I just happened to click on one of those videos that had been accepted into my port. That video, and all of my other commercial videos, are marked with "Sell the rights." I quickly disabled that option from all the files that I submitted with Stocksubmitter.
When you upload content normally to DT (via their web uploader) I note that files are marked with "Sell the rights" as default which is ridiculous. I'm sure that the majority of contributors have no intention of selling the rights to most of their images. I should have realised that the same thing would happen with files that were submitted with Stocksubmitter. It was only by chance that I decided to click on one of these uploaded video files in my port and I made the unfortunate discovery.
And then I remembered that I had also uploaded videos with Stocksubmitter last year and for all that time, they had been marked with "Sell the rights" and I never realised until now.
12
« on: April 10, 2024, 19:37 »
Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this issue on P5. At first, I tried to make some changes to my keywords for one of my videos on P5 on the laptop. But nothing happens when I click Save. I tried a few times but no luck.
I then tried to do the same thing on my pc and that did work. Then I tried to add some more keywords to another video (on my pc) and I'm having no success. No matter how many times I click Save, nothing happens. Seems like I can't make changes to the metadata anymore on P5.
I cleared my browsing data in google chrome but that makes no difference.
13
« on: February 16, 2024, 22:35 »
It's been a while since Ive used Stocksubmitter. I recall there are two editorial checkboxes (one up high and one down below.) When submitting editorial files, should you select the higher checkbox or the lower one? It's been so long that I can't remember which one to select.
14
« on: February 16, 2024, 20:48 »
https://auth.services.adobe.com/en_US/index.html?callback=https%3A%2F%2Fims-na1.adobelogin.com%2Fims%2Fadobeid%2FAdobeStockContributor1%2FAdobeID%2Fcode%3Fredirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcontributor.stock.adobe.com%26code_challenge_method%3Dplain%26use_ms_for_expiry%3Dtrue&client_id=AdobeStockContributor1&scope=AdobeID%2Copenid%2Ccreative_cloud%2Ccreative_sdk%2Ccc_private%2Cgnav%2Csao.stock%2Cadditional_info.address.mail_to%2Cread_organizations%2Cread_pc.stock%2Csao.cce_private%2Cpps.read%2Cportfolio.sdk.import&relay=0786684e-f783-4ae4-842b-ae105748ec22&locale=en_US&flow_type=code&ctx_id=contributor_login&idp_flow_type=login&s_p=facebook%2Cgoogle&response_type=code&code_challenge_method=plain&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fcontributor.stock.adobe.com&use_ms_for_expiry=true#/progressive-profile/terms-of-use/I thought this was interesting: "You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, fully-paid, and royalty-free license to use, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform, distribute, index, translate, and modify the Work....." In particular the words "fully paid." I'm hoping that doesn't mean we have to now pay Adobe when submitting stock content! Or perhaps it's referring to the commissions they receive from sales of our work. And this bit is interesting too. "For Work designated "editorial use only," you represent and warrant that: (1) the Work truthfully depicts the subject; (2) all corresponding keywords, descriptions, credits, and captions are accurate and are neither deceptive nor misleading; and (3) the Work has not been modified in a way that alters its editorial context or integrity.You agree that we may apply the designation of a Work as "editorial use only" where deemed appropriate by us." I guess this means we can't clone out people (and perhaps other objects too) in illustrative editorial images. I thought this was a little odd: "By continuing to submit or upload Works or by NOT removing Works, you are agreeing to any new Pricing and Payment Details as revised from time to time." Though what if you do remove works? Would that indicate that you're not agreeing to new Pricing and Payment Details?
15
« on: January 21, 2024, 18:54 »
When I first joined DT years ago and was reading through all the info, I thought I had a fair idea of how their levels system worked. If I recall correctly, each time a photo sells, it reaches a higher level and you end up being paid higher commissions (or higher amounts) each time. But that doesn't work in reality. My latest sale was for a photo that has sold at least four times before. And this photo usually earns me exactly the same amount each time - $0.33c (including this latest sale.) Obviously subscription sales. One time, this image did earn me $1.90 for one of the earlier sales (which surprisingly was also a subscription sale.)
So I'm wondering what is the point of this levels system at DT? No matter how many times a photo sells and what level it is, you usually don't get an increase in earnings. It will usually be the same or similar amount each time.
16
« on: December 12, 2023, 01:17 »
Ive just stumbled across a stock agency that I'm not familiar with - Agefotostock. I wonder what kind of reputation they have. It looks like they sell both commercial and editorial photos. And videos as well. They say they are based in Spain and have offices in New York and Paris.
17
« on: December 07, 2023, 04:35 »
I requested payout on AS several days ago. But my PayPal account balance is still blank / completely empty. If I recall correctly, I think I may have requested payment around the end of November. I'm trying to remember if it's normal for there to be a delay between payout and the payment appearing in the PayPal account.
18
« on: November 26, 2023, 21:51 »
I know that AS has a very strict policy on similars. I seem to recall that a change of angle is usually not acceptable when submitting more than one photo of the same subject. Though what if I changed the distance? For example, with a small subject, I stood further back for the first photo and then moved 1 - 3 feet closer for a second photo. Would this be acceptable?
19
« on: November 07, 2023, 23:02 »
I think Ive been getting a better idea overall of what gets accepted as illustrative editorial. In fact, the majority of my IE images do get accepted at AS. However, there have been a few surprises in recent times. For example, I have a photograph of an electronics store with the brand name clearly visible on the building. Additionally, there are no people in the image. I thought that this would be ideal as an IE image. But it was rejected by AS for not meeting the IE guidelines. A few weeks later, I submitted the same image again with a modified description and it was rejected again for the same reason. I also have a photo of an accountancy firm with the name of the business visible on the building. Once again, there are no people in the photo. And this one was also rejected for not meeting the IE guidelines. I admit I'm really puzzled by these particular rejections for these images. Mat, can you offer any insight?
20
« on: October 22, 2023, 23:17 »
I'm considering joining DepositPhotos for a little extra cash. So far, Ive mainly contributed to the big agencies like SS, IS and AS. I'm not expecting huge sales from DP (seeing as they're a small agency) but a few extra dollars would be nice.
Out curiosity, is it straight forward to remove or disable individual photos from your port at any time? And would those same images then be removed from the partner sites?
Also, is editing metadata after submission straight forward as well?
21
« on: October 20, 2023, 21:15 »
Just wondering if there's any free software out there that does a good job of reducing noise in video and still preserves detail?
I did hear good things about Neat Video but that's paid software and is quite expensive.
22
« on: October 16, 2023, 07:46 »
Just now, I did a search for one of my photos on iStock. The image happens to be a landscape photograph that is dominated by a large tree. I then checked the keywords and I was really surprised to find the word 'animal' there. A word that I did not add. And it is totally irrelevant. There are no animals in the photo. Ridiculous.
How often does this happen at iStock? It would be a huge hassle going through most or all of your photos to see if this issue is widespread. And extremely time consuming because you would have to search for each photo like a buyer in order to see the keywords. When I view my port (as a single collection) the keywords are not visible.
I recall reading that as contributors, we can get punished with the use of irrelevant keywords. Something about photos appearing in lower search positions when they're passed over by frustrated buyers. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that.
At iStock, it looks like you can get punished through no fault of your own if they decide to add silly keywords to your photos. And you may not even notice.
23
« on: October 08, 2023, 09:55 »
Is anyone else finding that the selection of categories for photos is a bit limited on AS? Two extra categories that I could think of right now (that could be very useful) are Health and Products.
24
« on: October 07, 2023, 22:33 »
Is anyone else having trouble with Deepmeta at the moment? It can't look up certain keywords because of a server issue so I can't add them to the metadata of the submitted images. I'm trying to upload 17 photos in this current batch. I started the upload process last night and it's still running this morning. Says there are still 17 photos in the queue. Looks like it's making no progress at all.
25
« on: September 24, 2023, 19:37 »
I believe in the recent past, iStock accepted both sRGB and Adobe RGB files but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore. I did a search online but couldn't find any info on that. If they still do accept Adobe RGB files, do they display them online correctly so that the colours don't appear flat or dull?
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