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Messages - 4seasons
101
« on: June 17, 2008, 03:47 »
FP for me is not a worst. I have over 1000 images and had 4 payouts, fifth is going to finish. They are a bit different and I like them. Just thought that I will upload my next couple thousands and then can expect a payout every month.
102
« on: June 16, 2008, 00:51 »
You forgot "business handshake".
... and other meaningful "business team", "success", "girl", "customer" etc.... 
103
« on: June 13, 2008, 08:02 »
funny to read these comments.... I have almost come to a stop uploading to ALL my micros... In over a month, I've only sent 3 pix to SS (all rejected, didn't like the way I cropped them...pix of a hydroelectric dam) and 2 of the same pix to StockXpert (not reviewed since 5/24 & will probably be rejected there too).
I am not totally ready to give up on SS & IS.... but all others INCLUDING FT (which I gave up on well over a year ago).... I stopped.
I'm prepping all my work for Alamy now. Unless you have a folio the size of the Congressional Library... the ROI is becoming less and less attractive in the bulk of the micros. ....at least for me.
 =tom
Almost the same here.. I almost stopped to upload on microsites because of the main reason: I'm creating and preparing my works to Alamy. It's kind of building a new portfolio with a new images as I'm not uploading my microsites' images... Don't have sales there yet but the ROI must be high enough in the future to reason my work and time today.
104
« on: June 05, 2008, 14:51 »
Must be option to check several buttons.
105
« on: June 05, 2008, 11:06 »
Those who are distributing to Alamy are you using Distributing net? If yes, what territories you would suggest to select? And what not?
I red in forums that in some countries sells well, in other countries there are a lot of copy-pastes of images because of Alamy watermark policy. Some authors are complaining about Czech Respublic and Russia.
What is your practice?
thank you
106
« on: June 05, 2008, 10:16 »
Yeech. Yeah nice tearsheet but the excitement would wear off quickly seeing the earnings.
This is one reason why my people shots and other stuff that is unique or difficult to capture will be going to RM.
right.
107
« on: June 05, 2008, 10:15 »
.......Am I the only one who see a dark side here? You get to the front cover of TIME, you are not credited and you're paid $28............
No big reaction of the other phogs, but a lot of "hurray, microstock rocks..."
There are other threads here and in other forums about "undervalue your work" - and I think this example fits well.
I began to upload to alamy last month so maybe this changed my point of view compared to what I thought when I started doing microstock in March 2007.......
Same thoughts here...
108
« on: June 05, 2008, 10:10 »
I'm in >10000. And really pity there is no more high tiers..
109
« on: June 05, 2008, 00:00 »
oh poor I am....
I earned the whole SEVEN dollars in all my career on LO. I dreamed to spent it very reasonably: to buy some naked girls from Dolgachiov portfolio and a few bottles of beer to designer of LO website. But they didn't pay me... It's a very big damage for all industry and for me personally as well...
:-)
110
« on: June 04, 2008, 19:15 »
- the lowest comissions in the industry for subs - no affiliate payments - subs sales do not count towards the ranking - no option to opt out from the sub - search system perverted - blocking, deleting and baning from forum for free speach it's Fotolia today. I personally feel fooled and cheated and my works are stolen by Fotolia: when I registered and begin upload a few years ago, they promised and agreed to pay one price per image, but today they pay me cents and I can't opt out subscription model. There are two ways- to stay (with or without new uploads) and enjoy some pennies, or quit and delete account. I have almost 3000 images there and likely will not upload my new images. I will not act sharply but if things will go like that and FT will keep fooling us I'll enjoy all these photogs who are striking against this crap. Maybe there are not so many who are rising the voice but in unity is power. Of course, even tens or hundreds portfolios who could be deleted, FT will not feel a big difference as there are hundreds and thousands new authors who don't care about payments. All these "Helo, I'm new here and this is my hobby" will upload thousands new images for pennies. But nevertheless, if old wolfs, top distributors will leave microstock (not FT only, but microstock in general), I think agencies will see some tumble. Anyway, I'm concentrating on macro. Today must upload my new batch to Alamy... 
111
« on: June 03, 2008, 21:13 »
Sold 1 so far but only 100 images uploaded and I made over $70 commission.
It is 280 subscription sales on micro..  Sharpshot, are you selling on Alamy a different content than on micro? Or the same images only in biggest sizes? I began a few weeks ago, have about 50 images on Alamy. 140 views, one zoom and no sales yet. Looking ahead, building portfolio..
112
« on: June 03, 2008, 19:48 »
1. go exclusive at istockphoto.com
This is the #1 thing NOT to do. To go exclusive to IS you must be Lisa Gagne.
113
« on: June 03, 2008, 10:02 »
What are we - 3years old?
NO.
But what are those who're playing these games?..
Less crying and complaining "we need more photos!", more working and optimizing website for real stock agency, not playground for amateurs. Then photographers will come.
Are you living on this? For that reason I can understand.
Yes, I'm living on my earnings, so my only purpose is to sell.
114
« on: June 03, 2008, 09:19 »
yeah.. I can see more and more old wolfs of microstock going to macrostock because of devaluation of our images. What a time came? Sell a photo or illustration for a poor pennies? I'm not speaking already about vectors. I'm doing some vectors also and I know how much work and time it costs, and sell it for 25 cents!?
Agencies are in a big multimillions war and there are only a few winners: the same agencies and a few successful authors. Others are only a meat of war.
A couple of months ago I also begin concentrate on macro and already begin to build portfolio at Alamy. Without reference to each other more and more microstockers are going this way. I predict that on microstock agencies in a few years will remain some old portfolios of old microstockers and a lot of new portfolios of new authors, especially from East countries: post soviet, Korea, China etc. They will be glad with a pennies for a time, till grow up and will begin to look around on macrostock as well. These young distributors will do wholesale uploads with a big batches of hundreds and thousands images. As control of copyright will be or already are lost in agencies there will be a lot of copy-pastes, dummies and fakes, even stolen works. I'm not talking about ideas, I'm talking about images. We can see these happening already: reviewers already can't control thousands or even tens of thousands of everyday's images. Everyone is in rush: contributors and agencies.
Crackbrained competition perverted all microstock market and all photo market as well. Microstock industry already is no more a nice place to sell and to buy like was a year or two years ago. It became maniacal race. There are no place anymore for those who are working nicety and doing one or two vectors a day. Today you must upload tens and hundreds of images every day in case to stay at the same earnings. But how to make tens of original vectors a day? It's impossible.
Today you can download hundred thousands vectors for free or buy it for pennies. So today you must have a minimum 10 thousand photos in your portfolio in case to see some tangible payments. So tomorrow will win users with portfolios of 10-50 thousands of images. It means there will be no more place for alone author. A futures' winners will be teams or conglomerates: a few or tens of authors, photographers, designers, editors etc... We already can see that.
Of course I'm not talking about those who are glad with 100-500 dollars/month. I'm talking about those who are trying to earn real money in this industry.
These my poor 25 cents... I wish I was wrong about that. I think I'm not looking pessimistic at everything, just reality is like it is. If you're thinking different, please comfort me.
sorry my English..
115
« on: May 28, 2008, 02:14 »
A few years ago IS was my No1 earner, now in the last year he is on 6-7 place with ~20% of previous downloads. It's all because of rejections who began some time ago and I can't build my portfolio any more. All these idiotic "we don't think it's stock image..." about bestsellers, "overfiltered..." about vector jpgs, "please submit original photo..." about illustrations... etc. I can't believe what kind of blondie reviewer must be to write this. I begin to think there are just some programs who randomly select 5% from nonexclusives' uploads and randomly assign rejection reason to remaining images.
Better they would write "Sorry, we don't like nonexclusives and especially you, so your photo has been rejected..." and I'll feel much better.
As I red in forums, there are a lot of really successful nonexclusives on IS and a lot of complains about rejections as well. For me uploads to IS become kind of lottery: you'll never know what image will be accepted and what rejected. I'm speaking about my bestsellers on SS, DT or FT where they already have been downloaded tens or even hundreds times.
116
« on: May 26, 2008, 13:27 »
What are we - 3years old?
NO. But what are those who're playing these games?.. Less crying and complaining "we need more photos!", more working and optimizing website for real stock agency, not playground for amateurs. Then photographers will come.
117
« on: May 26, 2008, 03:00 »
I already posted in other thread the same.
Got a few 1's to my bestsellers from some jackass (sorry for word...) with several crap in their "portfolios". Then rated their few photos with 1's too and blocked them.
Really I don't understand the meaning of this website. If authors want to sell, then they must remove this idiotic rating system and begin to work seriously, including some kind of reviews. If they need just a community with a stage for traffic for advertisement then they must remove selling option. Fine- create a community where everyone can rate each others cats 10's, write apotheosis in comments and do other crap but all these things have nothing with stock business while rating system is perverted.
According buyers rating: it's not objective also. While quality is good (and everyone can check it 100% before buying) then all ratings are unnecessary also. If content, idea and concept of photo is fitting the project then I don't need any rating or comment. The best rating for me is money. If content doesn't fit the project then why to buy and low rate after?
To leave all things for community's consciousness is a nonsense because always there will be idiots around on the net who will destroy good intentions.
In the light of MostPhotos I can understand iStockphoto police behaviour. To keep an order on the website with a big community there must be a really strong but intelligent admins. Otherwise will be two extremities: police state with a Big Brother or anarchy.
Speaking about biggest I think that DT, SS and FT managed to trim between these extremities.
118
« on: May 20, 2008, 15:24 »
My sales go very interesting in a last few days:
1 download
2 downloads next day...
14 dwnlds...
16 dwnlds...
1 dwnld...
1 dwnld...
14 dwnlds...
12 dwnlds...
It seams like search engine is two days working, then two days off, then again 2 days working... :-)
Maybe some changes are in process... I'm hoping that some bright brains on FT team will not allow to damage search engine finally and there will not be some kind of favoritism or interested promotion.
119
« on: May 19, 2008, 13:31 »
4seasons, I hope this 20-photo-newbie wasn't rating your photos 1 by mistake thinking that 1 is best. Worth sending a note to him, can he change his vote?
I don't think he rated by mistake. Maybe envy? Maybe anger? Maybe just he's spending time for fun? I don't know. Anyway. One more sandy box for kids... Authors of MP wanted to create a "community spirit" for purpose to keep photogs and visitors on website. They lumped together social and commercial websites. I think it (ratings..) works for novices only. Serious authors have no time to play. If needed, there are a lot of serious forums even some kind of games on TOP5 agencies' forums. Let it be. One thing only, if ratings have influence on images' appearing order when searched, than it's bad...
120
« on: May 19, 2008, 13:09 »
I uploaded a few hundreds photos. A few days ago some idiot with this "portfolio" of 20 snapshots and crap rated my istock bestsellers 1.
At this point Mostphotos is a good place for various low self esteemed and inferiority complexed people who know nothing about stock photos but can rate other's bestsellers 1.
If this was the prime purpose of creating of MP, than it's all right.
Awesome! So many complain about this feature, but MP appears determined to keep it no matter how many people are irritated. Oh well, I'm glad I'm out of there. If others want to play kids games trashing each others photos, they can. I'm only interested in selling images.
Exactly!
121
« on: May 17, 2008, 09:15 »
Nothing new and nothing original that buyers want to see more photos. But it's a circle: sales-uploads-sales-uploads. More sales, more uploads etc... I personally have no time to run across the web and upload my portfolio to every new agency just to check are there sales or not. Scandinavia is a small market. They must go wide to USA, Canada etc.
And btw, a big part of these 220k photos are crap.
Another thing- kindergarten with these rating system, where some friends rate each other cat's photos. It has nothing with stock business and I think that serious authors will not upload on such "family snapshots album".
I uploaded a few hundreds photos. A few days ago some idiot with this "portfolio" of 20 snapshots and crap rated my istock bestsellers 1.
At this point Mostphotos is a good place for various low self esteemed and inferiority complexed people who know nothing about stock photos but can rate other's bestsellers 1.
If this was the prime purpose of creating of MP, than it's all right.
122
« on: May 17, 2008, 05:43 »
My sells are coming back little by little but I'm afraid a new search system is created to promote some photographs. It can be understood if in first pages appears images of well ranked photographers but if in first page appears non related to search keyword photos from a very small portfolio of ~70 images than there is only one thought: this photographer is promoted by FT administration.
It is rumored about that on FT forums.
Otherwise a new search system is an absolute nonsense...
123
« on: May 13, 2008, 08:08 »
As I can read in forums, almost on every biggest agency there is a drop in earnings: at least on FT, SS, IS. Only DT is more or less stable.
Maybe it is a sign of universal Microcalypse?..
Or it is on Earth planet only?..
New world order...
Big Brother...
Animal Farm...
No conversations in elevators...
124
« on: May 13, 2008, 06:57 »
leaf, it was more symbolical than mathematical. But thank you for correction as some could really understood it directly. More rightly is IS earnings: $72 millions in revenue last year, that means ~$140/minute. And J.K. Rowling earns $230 per minute...
125
« on: May 13, 2008, 06:29 »
They said that new earnings will take in to effect AFTER the announcement will be made. And knowing SS, I bet 99% that the announcement will be made 1 minute before midnight (I wish I was wrong..) ...
Every minute with old prices for contributors means additional thousand to SS account.
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