I live in Europe... i am paid in Euro ( on Fotolia).... so my credits percentage from every sale is in euro.... considering that 1 euro = $1.22 that means the commission is higher than others contributors from US or US dollars dominant regions ??

Must admit,, i pay 10% tax for the images bought from US.. the US source sales are rare in my case.

1. Don't panic
2. Do not use that hard drive anymore!
3. Turn off the computer that contains the hard drive
4. Disconnect the hard drive and connect it to another computer that runs file recovery software such as R-Studio.

There are many programs out there. Some work on some files some do better with restoring other files.

The most important part is that you do NOT use that hard drive at all anymore until it is plugged into another computer as a secondary drive!!!

do what click_click said... I personally have the whole portfolio on the current hard drive, on the backup hard drive and on 32GB memory stick's. so... in 3 places. I really hope you manage to recover your files; and this must be a lesson for the future.

Who has done being Exclusive from iStock, then switch being Exclusive at Shutter?

How's the earning?

SS vs IS  ... many of the most successful indies (on IS) are reporting 2X earnings on SS compared with IS... the answer is: Yes, is that good.

I have a question regarding RF sales:

how are your RF sales on Alamy??

Hello,

I have published on my blog a small tool that lets you estimate you long it will take you to reach the next ranking level at Fotolia.

Check out my free Fotolia Ranking Calculator here:
http://www.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de/free-downloads/fotolia-ranking-calculator/

You can switch the interface language too, if you prefer German or French.

How long will it take you to reach the next level?

Best regards, Robert

cool, 0.85 months to next lvl.. thanks.

anyone else have concerns on this matter? CNN had a good article this morning and it appears that companies are putting the breaks on spending to include marketing as well...

I believe this mean that the companies are looking in other markets regarding microstock photos... like SS instead of IS (because of the prices) and micro instead Macro or midstock. To put a brake on marketing or advertising those days means certain bankruptcy for many companies.

....and that especially in US where marketing and advertising is everything.

But you're an IStock exclusive, am I missing something?

Maybe he wants to get accepted and upload the portfolio on SS without going online.... until the IS exclusivity terminates.

I couldn't care less about istockphoto..

despite making 1/6 of what I used to make on istock with less files, my micro income went up so they can go to hell with their commissions..

+ 1

And f**k the 18/week upload limit. It will take 2.5 years to upload my port on IS ( and that without producing any new images).

Is normal.... don't worry...

2012 was the year where the income from stock reached around 65% of my total revenue ( including my regular job)....

For 2013 my goals are:

1. finish my studio
2. change the photo gear manufacturer ( switch from Canon to Nikon)
3. Become a full timer
4. Increase my port. on stock agencies and RM sites with at least 60%

Relative slow this month on SS... after 3 BME's in a row   

But FT is beyond any expectations  and manage to recover a very big chunk of SS loses.

I believe the microstock industry will become increasingly inaccessible to amateurs ... it's only a matter of time. Too many images are added every day on the agencies collections.... something must be done in the future and this is the only way...

Quote from: nicku on November 20, 2012, 01:22

I have a question regarding RM sales:

Is OK to upload on RM sites files that are in sale on RF agencies?

No. You cannot upload an image as both RM and RF. it's either or.

It worth creating images only for RM???