Looks like BS is doing some upgrading today, (wasnt' like this this AM).  Wish they could make it real time though, they moved the 4 pending note over and they were approved a few days ago

OMG, I am such an idiot.  I have been watching tons of videos for Lightroom and finally bought a copy but I can't figure out the simplest thing!!!! How do I save a raw photo as a jpeg after I have edited it?  Of course there isn't a spec of info in the box, every time I try for Lightroom Help I I am driven to a Photoshop page or a forum.  Most manuals on Amazon are in "preorder". 

There is no "file - save as" and "export" doesn't seem to do this either.   I don't want to save in batches, because I need to put the kids name on each file in their team folder.  I shot 1500 photos this week and I refuse to open up Capture!  I did that last month and I need to learn it - it's wickedly awesome after sticking with clunky Nikon for so long.

I have to say this folders and catalogues business is new to me, but I'm sure it will make a lot of sense eventually. 

Thanks in advance!!! 

Is anyone one of the 3600 people who got the email(s) this morning about credit adjustments?   A whole $1.41 is added to May 18 (today) as a "commission calculation correction"  but my balance is exactly the same as yesterday (and a the day before that   ).  Shouldn't my balance be $1.41 higher?  

Edited to add:  Nice to hear that they are being honest. 


You may have received a previous email this morning from Bigstock with an incorrect name and account credit. We'd like to apologize for sending two emails, but also to reassure you that we have credited the correct amount to your account. Please disregard the previous email.

Feel free to contact us by email, by live chat via bigstock.com, or by phone at 1-800-631-9809 with any questions. We're happy to help.

During a regular audit of our royalty payments, we discovered that a recent change on our website earlier this year had the unintended consequence of impacting a number of royalty payments to our contributors. Your Bigstock contributor account was among those affected. We're writing to you to explain the discrepancy and to let you know that an adjustment of $1.41 has been made to your account to correct for the miscalculation. You can see this adjustment in your Bigstock contributor account by clicking here https://www.bigstockphoto.com/account/commissions/downloads/.

We're also writing to apologize for our mistake. While in almost all cases the amount of the discrepancy was less than five dollars per contributor, we know than any discrepancy at all is unacceptable. Please know that we have taken steps to correct this issue so that your Bigstock royalties will be calculated and paid out fairly and accurately.

Here's a bit more information about this issue:

What happened? A number of royalty payments for images licensed by customers who paid using our Paygo pricing option were calculated incorrectly. The miscalculation affected some foreign currency transactions and promotionally discounted transactions between January and April of this year.

Who was affected? In total 3,656 contributors were affected.

When will the adjustment to my account be made? We have already entered an adjustment in your Bigstock contributor account on May 18, 2012 for $1.41.

What if I have more questions? We always welcome questions and comments from our contributors and invite you to reach out to our service team by phone, email or chat.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments. We appreciate your understanding.

Cheers,
The Bigstock Team
http://www.bigstockphoto.com

I am basically just talking out loud here.  Just plugged in some numbers side by side and feeling a little humiliated.... like "am I stupid or what???"  While everyone talks of how well they do at certain agencies, I sometimes don't get it!  And I really admire those that have pulled their ports from the unfairest, I've been a coward and kindof coasted, deleting some and uploading few.  When I put the last 20 sales side by side it is pretty shocking.  Why the heck do I continue to support Fotolia and 123?  Not to mention 123 will pay a considerable amount less than this January.   Even the worst sales on DT are higher than the typical sale on FT!  Now, I'm also only a Silver at FT so that has something to do with it - but still!  So, when everyone raves about FT and 123 I just don't get it - is their volume spectacular or am I stuck on "show to subscription buyers only"?

DT is best by miles.  BS is good but sales are very slow/  123 and FT are a joke.  Too small a sample to include SS.

One last 20-sale of $10.25 at 123 really skews the numbers - it is the only time I've earned more than about $3 on a sale here so keep that in mind.  A typical last-20 sales tally would be about $11.  I know they all dole out refunds, but FT is the best at that one at that and it is the only agency that has refunded in the past 20 sales.  

I've always kindof argued that once you put up your port just collect the earnings but the real numbers are a little humiliating.  Makes it a little more satisfying to quit 123 in December when they reduce their already pathetic payments.   I thought I would just coast at FT, but is 34 cents per sale and their attitude worth it?   I know, I know this is basically an RPD exercise, but the last 20 sales are pretty similar to my average over the last several weeks - except 123 was skewed by one larger sale.  

Wondering how do people report such fabulous earnings at FT and 123 - do they sell such a staggering volume that it makes up for the low $ (like SS)?

DT   FT   123   BS
1.05   0.25   0.36   2
0.35   0.75   0.45   1
0.35   0.29   10.25   1.5
2.88   0.29   1.17   1
6.66   0.29   0.36   0.5
0.7   0.29   0.325   0.5
1.05   0.25   0.325   0.5
0.35   0.29   0.325   0.9
6.67   0.75   0.325   0.5
5.85   0.29   0.36   0.5
4.07   -1.25   0.36   2.7
0.7   0.25   0.45   3
1.05   0.25   0.36   1
0.35   0.29   0.5   3
0.7   0.25   1.88   1
3.24   0.29   0.36   0.5
0.35   0.29   1.305   0.5
8.54   1.75   0.36   2.7
0.35   0.25   0.36   1
0.35   0.75   0.72   0.69
45.61   6.86   20.905   24.99

Does anyone have a funny balance at Canstock?  How do they report refunds?  Yesterday I had 2 sales but my balance DROPPED then today another sale - I should have $18.60 but I now have $17.85.  And my spreadsheet says that yesterday I had $18.30 before today's impressive 30 cent sale and for the second day in a row with sales I am lower than the previous day.   I sell next to nothing here and going back to Jan 1 I was at $0 so it is easy to tally to see if I made an error in my spreadsheet. 

No, I'm not getting worked up over what amounts to a few subs, but if they are "Charging Back" they need to let me know about it, if not, just wondering if anyone else has anything buggy.  I'm sure there's people who actually have healthy sales there and if their sales went down by a small percent it would add up to quite a bit for them.

Anyone else?

I have a shoot coming up in mid April with about 60 minor models.

Can I send the forms home to be signed with the correct date of the shoot and have the parents/witness date them whenever signed or do the agencies need it all to be signed on the same day?  I am guessing that this will work for all the agencies but Istock?  Istock will protest the different dates won't they?  The parents basically drop the kids off at the front door of the school with a suitcase full of costumes and I never see them. 

Last year the studio took care of this but the forms were a total mess, so I want to be the one in control of it this year. 

Suggestions?  Thanks

I'm always so happy when one of our "friends" is featured at one of the sites, and it has happened again.  Congrats Hugo for being featured photographer this week on DT.  Dreamstime always does such a nice job selecting diverse artists, and your talent speaks for itself but you are also very helpful to the whole community (I've benefitied myself from your help many times!).  I love how you will tell Achilles how it is, but you are also one of their most vocal supporters.  I'm so excited that you have been recognised!  This calls for a Whoo-hoo!

Anyone watch that show Life after Humans?  

I think these have been featured elsewhere (i.e Time) so you may have seen already -  just sharing some photos from decaying Detroit.  

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/07/captured-the-ruins-of-detroit/

Member since August, 27 dls, port seems to be entirely red carpet.  I like how DT really does feature all kinds of contributors and doesn't just focus on the superstars!   

I have a strange problem with PocketWizard II / Nikon SB800 setup, wondering if anyone can advise a next step in troubleshooting.

Fresh batteries - YES
Cables inserted correctly - YES
Same Channel - YES
Physical Obstruction - NO (although steel beams in the structure about 3 stories above)
Radio Interference - Unknown - but I've successfully used this setup in this location no less than 50 times.

PW1 in camera hotshoe
PW2 in flash #1 firing okay
PW3 in flash #2 not firing

PW3 flash #2 flashes when I do a test pop with the unit attached (it seems this would eliminate connection problems?).
flash #2 does not flash when I take a photo - but the other flash (# 1) flashes exactly as expected.

No, not new PW's, have been using this setup for a long time. 
Troubleshooting guides say to update firmware in camera.  Um... likely do need an update, but I've taken several thousand photos with this body and setup.
Batteries were charged fresh - although I guess this could be the first symptom of reaching end-date.
Cables have no outward sign of wear or tear.

Anyone have a suggestion on what to check next? 
Could this be a problem of the flash and not the pocketwizard?  Not the camera is it when it works with one flash and not the other?

Don't know if anyone here contributed to Brandstack, but this is posted on their front page today.  More credit card fraud.


Thank you for the great memories...
Dear Brandstack Customers and Designers,


Over 3 years ago, Brandstack (then known as IncSpring) came onto the scene and created a new way to buy and sell logos from designers around the world. In that time, we've seen some exciting new brands adopted from unused concepts from talented designers in over 150 countries. Unfortunately, Brandstack's run has come to an end.


Recently, we were hit with significant fraud. If you're not familiar with this kind of situation, here a simplified summary of what happens: 1. Criminal uses stolen credit cards to purchase legitimate goods (designs); 2. retailer (Brandstack) pays out vendors (designers) for their work; 3. bank sees the fraudulent transactions and takes the money from the retailer; 4. retailer loses the funds paid to vendors, any profits associated with the purchase, and resources used to fight and process the transactions; 5. If the fraud is significant enough, the retailer loses access to accept credit cards. Even shorter summary: the retailer takes all of the liability. Talk to any successfully entrepreneur about the impact of fraud online and you'll hear some interesting stories. I have been fighting the impact of this fraud for months. Unfortunately, it's ripple effects have caused serious waves� I did not have the flexibility or capital to withstand it.


Although I wasn't able to fulfill my dream of turning Brandstack into a success that drives change in the design community, it has still been an amazing journey. Several competitors have come to life over the past two years, validating the idea of buying and selling logos in this manner. Designers now have several options to sell their unused designs, finally providing real ways for designers to make passive income. It has been amazing meeting so many talented designers who drove Brandstack to the success it had, as well as, seeing the incredible work contributed to Brandstack's marketplace. I want to thank everyone, including designers, customers, investors, advisors, and friends for the passion, dedication, and inspiration you've provided. It would have never made it this far without you.


As many of you know, there is some unfinished business that won't be taken care of. Many designers put their faith in Brandstack and were left short. I sincerely apologize for the issues this has caused. I wish it would have turned out differently.


If you are already a member of Brandstack. you will be able to log into Brandstack and Brandstack Custom until December 1, 2011. Please download any files needed before that time.


If you have any domains registered through Brandstack, you will now be able a mange them through ResellerClub.com. To transfer your domains to another registrar, you will need to email them directly at [email protected] using the email address shown in the WHOIS records.



My time working with so many wonderful people has been amazing and I am going to miss it. I wish all of you the best of luck in the future.



Sincerely,
Wes Wilson
Founder & CEO



You can log in to download your designs by December 1st 2011.

This is a follow up to my "locked out of SS" thread of Saturday.  This is just a headsup for anyone who doesn't change their passwords, or uses the same password at multiple agencies, or uses the same password in Paypal etc. 

Thursday I had a password reset notice from Fotolia, and then on the weekend I couldn't login to Shutterstock.  I sent a ticket, and then tried to reset the password myself - which worked.    They replied to my ticket yesterday, and today sent another note (below) which copied an email (that I never did receive) explaining that my account had been compromised.  Their cut and paste did not include the original date, but I could not get in Saturday evening.

IT appears that nothing has changed in my SS account.  One thing that is troubling though, is that releases can be viewed by an intruder and model's personal information is vulnerable.  This makes me more than a little sick because most of my models are minors.

I recommend you regularly change your password.  Don't use the same password, and especially not at Paypal.  Cashout when you can.  A strong password has a combination of uppercase, lowercase letters and numbers.  SAN25diego36.  Don't use your birthdate, your name, your agency abbreviation.  Shutterstock's note suggests to include symbols, but whenever I have tried to use one I haven't been able to. 

Hello,

Thank you for the reply. I was also informed that we sent the following email
to you last week. In case you didn't see it, here it is again:


Dear Valued Shutterstock Account Holder:

We recently discovered that a limited number of Shutterstock accounts were
subject to unauthorized entry. As a result, your account information may have
been accessed by an unauthorized party.
In addition to other actions, we have changed your password as a precautionary
measure.
Please reset your password at your earliest opportunity by clicking on �Forgot
your password?� in the user login process, and create a new password for your
account. You may also click on a following link to do so:

For Customers:
http://www.shutterstock.com/forgot.mhtml

For Contributors:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forgot.mhtml


We recommend that you use strong password logic, typically with a combination
of numbers, letters and symbols. Avoid using common words and abbreviations
as passwords.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. Don�t
hesitate to contact us with any questions.


Regards,


Shutterstock Images LLC