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Messages - epantha

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26
General Stock Discussion / Re: April 2011 Stats
« on: May 04, 2011, 18:09 »
2nd BME with a 63% increase in sales over April 2010.

SS  36%
IS  25%
DT 16%
FT 7%
123Rf 5%
CanStockPhoto 4%
Veer 4%
BS 3%

27
General Stock Discussion / Re: Say something Positive Thread
« on: April 14, 2011, 19:13 »
My new favorite thing to do is watch Eagle cams  ;D

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
(This pair has three eaglets)

I'm very happy that despite the cuts at IS . . . SS, DS and FT have picked up the slack, and my earnings are still increasing after three years. I'm also glad that I have a good full time job so I don't have to worry about how much I make on the photos. I LOVE spring so much watching the leaves come out on the trees and new flowers coming up every week. I never get over how beautiful nature is.  :)

28
BME with a 36% increase compared to March 2010.

SS - 35% (BME)
IS - 27%
DT - 15%  (BME)
Veer - 7%
FT - 7%  (BME)
BS - 4%  (BME)
123RF - 3%
CanStockPhoto - 1%

29
iStockPhoto.com / Re: BME! NOT!!
« on: April 01, 2011, 15:05 »
Looks like IS is losing traffic according to Google Trends  :-\

30
General - Top Sites / Re: March - Nice
« on: April 01, 2011, 05:57 »
With 3 years in microstock photography, BME overall by far with BMEs at Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia, and BigStock. There was an especially big jump in sales at Shutterstock. :)

31
I've noticed an increase in downloads this week with quite a few 1st time downloads. SS has been ahead of IS the last few months for me, but this month they are both doing better than normal and are about even. Last year IS was #1 in sales.

32
General Stock Discussion / Re: Alamy Rocks!
« on: January 29, 2011, 17:47 »
Congratulations! And more big sales to all.

Since all the shenanigans started over at IS I've been focusing on uploading more to Alamy and have one sale in Jan. and a lot more zooms than I used to. Also just bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 that will be with me all the time and is on Alamy's recommended camera list.

33
Digital Prepress Specialist at a printer
Previously a Graphic Artist at an ad agency

34
Dreamstime.com / Re: Seeing a big increase in sales too?
« on: January 09, 2011, 17:01 »
December 2010 was my BME at DT and overall 2010 was BYE with about 800 photos and graphics online.

I also notice the downloads switch back and forth betweens lots of subs and then top sellers.

35
General Stock Discussion / Re: How was your 2010?
« on: January 01, 2011, 09:23 »
With 33 months uploading part time, there was a 47% increase from 2009.

36
Off Topic / Re: Happy Holidays
« on: December 21, 2010, 20:50 »
***Happy Holidays***

37
I like the color but there is motion blur in the neck and head feathers.

38
General Stock Discussion / Re: Outsourcing Creation
« on: December 12, 2010, 16:48 »
That's asking a bit much, in my opinion. If you can produce 100 quality illustrations, why not upload them yourself?

39
Veer / Re: Does VEER actually sell for any of you?
« on: November 24, 2010, 19:34 »
I'm waiting for my 5th payout so they're doing well for me. :) I joined in July 2009 and have nearly 800 images online.

40
123RF / Re: Min. Image Size Upgrade
« on: November 24, 2010, 06:38 »
Dear Contributors,

Kindly take note that 123RF will no longer accept images below 8 MP as of today.

Thank you very much.

Alex
for 123RF.com

Why?

41
Off Topic / Re: Help identify an insect
« on: November 21, 2010, 16:49 »
The bug experts I've talked to say to put the bug in the fridge for about 30 minutes, enough time to really cool them down, although some bugs cool down better than others. Maybe next time? :-\ Or you can click away using a fast shutter speed as they crawl around.

42
Off Topic / Re: Help identify an insect
« on: November 20, 2010, 13:25 »
It may be in the family Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)
Did you post this in the SS forum? There are some people there who are really good at identifying insects.

43
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 14, 2010, 08:15 »
I use the words "isolated" and "white background" when there is a subtle shadow, but I think there are various opinions about which keywords are correct. To me "cut out" means there is no shadow.

44
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 13, 2010, 21:44 »
Some very nice work in your portfolios fxegs. Welcome!  :)

45
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 13, 2010, 14:51 »
Thanks for the compliments on my peony photo.  :) I agree with Warren about using spot metering, I also use pure white board and a tripod. Bright cloudy days outside are best and you can adjust the highlight levels in Photoshop to get rid of light grey background. Only takes a few minutes!

46
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 13, 2010, 06:40 »
when one mention natural light, does it mean outdoor light?

Yes, that's what I use. It's free! :)

47
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 12, 2010, 19:53 »
This photo was accepted recently, uploaded late October.



Most of my white background photos have subtle shadows but I also do complete isolations with clipping paths if the subject lends itself to that type of treatment (hard edges like the bottle above). Four of the eight of my most popular files on IS are isolated on white, two with clipping paths, two with natural shadows.

48
General Stock Discussion / Re: Isolations and more isolations!
« on: November 12, 2010, 18:35 »
Virtually all of my isolations are accepted at all agencies and I don't even use studio lighting. I like the subtle shadows produced by using natural light.


49
My BME was August. This month was my 2nd BME with Veer, CanStockPhoto and Alamy performing especially well.

IS  27%
SS  26%
DT 11%
Alamy  11%
Veer  8%
CanStockPhoto  6%
FT  5%
BS  3%
123RF 3%

I start my new job Nov. 15. I feel really good about the company and I'm glad not to have to live with the anxiety of wondering if microstock will be there for me in the future. What IS is doing to its contributors just breaks my heart. I will continue to upload photos to my portfolios, maybe a little less than the last few months, but now it can go back to being a fun hobby instead of feeling like burdensome work. It's taken me a long time to build up my portfolio in the last 2 1/2 years because I upload a wide variety of images with few similars. I now have about 850 photos on SS and about 740 on IS, over 1000 on some of the lesser agencies. The total income now pays my mortgage (I have a cheap house). Hopefully things will improve for us all in the upcoming months and years.

50
I've been uploading photos for about 2 1/2 years and have been happy with the supplemental income. When the ad agency I worked for shut down 8 months ago I thought I could try and combine stock photography and freelance graphic design work for my income. Then IS announced their horrendous changes for non-exclusive contributors and I completely lost trust in the company and saw how volatile and unstable the field is a whole. When a local printer called me recently and offered me a full time job as a Digital Prepress Specialist, I took it. I will still work on increasing my portfolios and focus more on Alamy, but will probably never rely solely on MS income because it is too unreliable. It's possible I could change my mind in a few years but I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

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