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Messages - RaFaLe
26
« on: May 11, 2009, 09:54 »
27
« on: May 11, 2009, 09:49 »
^^^ Exactly MJ. All the images look to have been shrunk in size or are severe crops of the originals which would give me (as a reviewer) less confidence in your abilities.
The baby shot is poorly lit and/or incorrect WB (strange greenish hue). It also has a very distracting background making it less useful for stock. There are thousands of baby images and I think that yours would be unlikely to sell in competition with them. From the lighting & composition I would describe it as a snap rather than a professional stock image.
The dragonfly shot is OK but is in a very low demand subject and also the head doesn't look to be in sharp focus.
The camel shot again has a distracting background and is in a relatively low-demand subject. Again it's a 'snap'.
Looking at your DT port those welding shots look to be excellent commercially-oriented images. The tropical beach isn't too bad either but you could have improved the comp considerably by walking 10 paces further forward, making more of the sea/huts and taking out the distracting shadows in the foreground.
Don't forget it will be assumed that what you submit is the very best of your work and it indicates not just your photography skills but also your awareness of what makes for good commercial imagery. Good luck!
Also very valuable information. Thank you very much. You're all right - upon further thought, I've realised that my stuff isn't really stock material. 100% spot on about the camel. And who would really use a dragonfly for stock (certainly 1 in a thousand at best). In retrospect, this all seems very obvious, though, so I feel like I could hit my head against a wall now. I had submitted the factory worker shot and it was also rejected. I have a few more that relate to labour and factory work, so that is something to consider, certainly. The only problem is that the factory I have access to has limited lighting. And I can't very well go an set up lighting while the guys are working - it will distract them and i'll get my @ss kicked straight out of there  Thanks again guys.
28
« on: May 11, 2009, 09:43 »
I'm in the same boat... This is the 3rd time that I was rejected for my illustrations. All I get is a "not what we are interested in at this time" message. So I get to wait 14 more days and hit them again. It is discouraging that this is happening, but the good thing is that shutterstock has accepted nearly every illustration that I have produced.
It just lets me know that my stuff isn't all bad. I plan on hitting iStock again and again until they get tired of hearing from me... 
The problem with this approach is that you may have to wait 2 years. Bear in mind that each time you fail application, you have to wait much longer before you can apply again. I'm only allowed to apply again in 3 months! Good luck nonetheless.
29
« on: May 11, 2009, 09:40 »
I'm simply looking for feedback and ideas on what I could possibly do to appeal the decisions made?
Okay... here's an idea... now you have some time to re-consider your approach to Microstock. How about this: Next week you will walk around and look at all the posters and billboards you see. And you will occasionally scroll through some magazines... no need to read articles, just look at the images. How about spending a few hours surfing the net, looking at "How to" articles and blogs mainly. News aren't interesting as they usually use real images... Concepts and Illustrations of topics.
Then you take a week and put down ideas on images you could shoot that could replace those images you have seen. Make them interesting for a potential reader - they should be eye-catching but not distract from the actual content of the ad or article.
If you come up with five ideas, try to set up the light to make it work. Move the light around the objects, look at the results on the screen and decide which ones look best. Make sure they are technically perfect, focus at the right spot, histogram looking alright, colors and contrasts as you think they should be.
Write a headline for each of those images and ask yourself how many readers would be interested in reading that article/ad after seeing your image and the headline.
Then you come back here and post your new sample images. I am already sure the next three would be much, much closer to what commercial stock is about. Once you got accepted with those "boring commercial stuff" you can still try to upload dragonflies and see if they sell...
(edit: I have started with a quote how you want to appeal the decision... but what I actually wanted to mention is that while those images might be nice I don't think based on those images you appeal looks too promising as it doesn't seem your imagery is a "must have" for commercial stock)
Thank you, that's brilliant feedback and excellent advice. I'll bear that in mind - since I don't have access to studios, it's difficult to get those professional images of people, since that's typically what sells the most I guess. Nonetheless, I'll certainly keep that in mind for my next application.
30
« on: May 11, 2009, 07:43 »
If you put it on this forum, you could at least make an effort to put a link to those pictures. What do you expect? Hugs or shouts like "woohoo Istock"?
I had my pictures up previously and got crit on them (on a different thread). I had posted a few of my selected ones for application and was advised which would do best or which were the best of my selection. I've put them back up again (these are my last rejected photos). http://www.alleaume.co.za/2009/05/attention-microstockgroup-members.htmlI'm simply looking for feedback and ideas on what I could possibly do to appeal the decisions made? Then again, I don't think that's entirely possible. Maybe I just suck that bad
31
« on: May 11, 2009, 07:06 »
Hi all,
I've recently tried for the fifth time to apply at iStock.
Put my pics up for crit and got some feedback.
Submitted those too and declined.
I'm wondering if I need to be the world's greatest photographer to even pass an application to iStock?
I feel somehow I must have offended someone or something. I'm just not sure what to do now.
Should I try write to them? Maybe just give it up as a bad idea?
32
« on: May 11, 2009, 04:21 »
Declined AGAIN! That's 5 times now. What am I supposed to do? I SWEAR someone has something against me? What did I do?    Thank you for taking the time to apply as a contributor with iStockphoto.com. The iStock administrators have asked that you upload new samples based on the feedback provided below. You're welcome to return in 90 days, upload some new samples and we'll re-process your application. Comments from the iStockphoto Administrator: At this time we regret to inform you that we did not feel the overall composition of your photography or subject matter is at the minimum level of standard for iStockphoto. Please take some time to review training materials, resources and articles provided through iStockphoto. The photographs provided in your application should be your best work. Try and impress us, we want to see how you stand out from the crowd. We welcome you to return in the number of days specified and upload 3 fresh samples of your work and we will re-process your application.
33
« on: May 07, 2009, 11:00 »
Ok - all seems fine and normal again.
Thanks again!
34
« on: May 07, 2009, 10:27 »
Thank you  Although, it does seem that the server is down - I'm unable to access any server at zymmetrical.com domain - FTP or WEB. Maybe all of a sudden you guys are being bombarded with traffic I'll be patient and wait - I know these things happen
35
« on: May 07, 2009, 08:08 »
Just joined today. Yup - the site is awesome! I love the AJAX and ow fast it is. Really easy to use as well. Good job guys! Let's work on those sales now
36
« on: May 07, 2009, 08:06 »
Rejection percentages seem to be the way to go.. although people seemed to get grumpy about another agencies stab at this recently.  I personally never wanted to go this route, I always imagined we could overcome these issues through purely technical and not policy means. There comes a point though where you can optimize a business process like photo reviews as much as you want, if it's not making an ROI then you are not in a business but a liability.
There's just no room for hazy grey areas in business these days - the logistical costs of trying to manage submissions, where sometimes the members don't even respond to polite messages like 'hey, your rejection rate is getting up there, maybe slow down a bit, here's how you can improve' etc. is a central issue in scalability. Adding some house rules is the only way to enforce playing fair, it can only be to the benefit of the good crowd.
Indeed. This is true. Thanks for the feedback Chris
37
« on: May 07, 2009, 07:52 »
Yes everyone please leave Crestock.
Just got another whole batch of photos rejected by Crestock. They are certainly the Strictest
38
« on: May 07, 2009, 07:45 »
Thanks for your patience, all I can say is it's a temporary pause, the resume date is not finalized - we are working to implement new methods for keeping things fair for everyone- The message on the site pretty much should say it all - most people are reasonable enough to be selective about their uploads, a minority are not - and those people should not be taking away resources from you folks.
The temporary pause also allows us to take a step back and measure site activity on the technical side - with the 'production line' shut down we can accurately do a checkup on system resources, which is a factor in how much 'juice' one member can be permitted.
Thanks - I'm looking forward to submitting my work so that we can help bring Zymmetrical up. Do you care to share what approach you might take regarding limiting uploads?
39
« on: May 07, 2009, 06:54 »
So I registered today on Zymmetrical, to see what the hype is about...
I saw this notice, below.
I'm just wondering when we will be able to upload??
Notice - May-05-09:
Due to the unworkable volume of uploads from members who are not reading instructions and/or submitting large batches of unedited content, we are unfortunately forced to pause uploads. Uploading is currently disabled for all members (including FTP and the web forms) until we put online a new system with stricter, defined rules and penalties for those who do not 'play fair'.
All files already in the system should be described and submitted to our reviewers as normal.
For the vast majority of members who have been uploading quality content in a practical way- sorry for this inconvenience, however we cannot let a minority of members use up business resources in an unlimited way. Thank you for your patience as we revise the system and the policies.
- Keith Tuomi
CEO Flyerstarter Services Ltd.
40
« on: May 07, 2009, 06:50 »
The very best upsizer is now the 5DmkII: no need to upsize
Love it.
One day, when I'm big, I'll have me a 5D
41
« on: May 07, 2009, 05:13 »
I also just submitted a bunch of images today after a span of rejections.
I'm waiting to see what the outcome of the batch is...
42
« on: May 07, 2009, 05:11 »
Well, I've just submitted another application after a loooong wait, and 4 previous failures I'm hoping and praying that this time my application is favoured (please please PLEASE)... I submitted, the Camel Profile, Thin blue dragonfly and the pic of the baby as per suggestons. Let's wait and see
43
« on: May 06, 2009, 09:40 »
Hey Chris. My approval rating at IS is pretty bad but I have around 800 photos up there.
I would submit the dragonfly, the camel profile, and that last baby pic. I would stay away from submitting "colorized" or sepia toned images. Also im not sure how valuable insect photos are (I could be wrong).
Try to give them a little range like a landscape, a portrait, and maybe an animal photo.
Cool! Thanks! Let's see what else comes in. I have a few hours to wait before I can resubmit...
44
« on: May 06, 2009, 03:27 »
Chris, don't' get me wrong, I think grasshopper is great, I just tend to like the dragonfly more and I'm afraid they would say the subject of images is too similar to submit both of them. I think the baby picture might be a little too shallow depth of field, so parts of baby's head are not sharp enough. The other picture is good, I like the black and white effect. I might be too "afraid" to send it for application because of that though, but that is just me. Let's see what other people say...
Of course - thanks very much for your input, goldenangel. I'll wait to see what others come up with and I'll make my decision from there perhaps. Thanks again
45
« on: May 06, 2009, 02:45 »
Chris, I would pick one of the camels and the dragonfly. However, I would also try to find another picture, with people if possible, not to risk being rejected for subjects of images being too similar, which happened to me.
Thanks, Goldenangel. I've uploaded 2 more images - tell me what you think? I quite fancy the grasshopper. You don't think that would be better than the Camels? Either way, let me know which of the two people pics you think I should use? Please feel free to click the links on each image. You will see the images at full res. Thanks a ton!
46
« on: May 06, 2009, 01:08 »
Hi All Please would you be so kind as to crit the images I've uploaded to my site (URL below). I would like to submit 3 of the 4 to iStockPhoto for my application, after having been rejected 4 times now http://www.alleaume.co.za/2009/05/attention-microstockgroup-members.htmlPlease comment on the relevant images here in this post. Looking forward to your comments! Thanks!
47
« on: May 05, 2009, 10:46 »
Worked pretty well. Now, in CS4, you can create a BAtch job to automate this process. Here's how: Create the Action:1. Go to Actions in Photoshop. Create a new Action and set it ready for recording. 2. Open an image that you want to resize. 3. Resize the the image (width portion) to 5100 pixels. Constraint Proportions must be checked, and use Bicubic Smoother (for enlarging). 4. Click OK. 5. Save the image. 6. Close the image. 7. Stop recording. Ok, that's the action done. Now, we want to automate this for all images in a folder: Automate:1. Place images for upload to Alamy in a folder. 2. In photoshop, click File ->Automate->Batch 3. Action: Select the Action you've just created. 4. Source: Folder. Click "Choose..." and browse to the folder where your images reside. 5. Check "Override Action "Open" Commands" 6. Check "Suppress File Open Options Dialogs" 7. Select Destination: None 8. Click OK. Voila. Watch as the magic resizes all your images in the folder... Then simply upload and you're done
48
« on: May 04, 2009, 01:01 »
Some interesting viewpoints here.
I would ultimately like some advice on a few images that I want to post to iStock for approval.
It's now been 4 attempts, and every one has been rejected.
I am going to watermark them and upload them shortly to my web server, links to which I will post in a little while.
Is it ok to post the images in this thread for crit?
49
« on: April 16, 2009, 02:31 »
Hello Everyone,
I just want to tell you that Stockxpert is not dead. There was a very long transitional period during the JI/Getty deal, which slowed everything down considerably. We are working hard on fixing some of the important issues that couldn't get any attention earlier. You all know what they are. As for reviewers, we have the same people. Many of them have been with us since the start and some have looked at hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of images already. Reviews might have slowed down a bit lately because we're getting an unbelievable amount of images, but I believe we will be able to deal with them.
Thanks for your patience!
Peter (admin)
That's great news. Thanks, Peter.
50
« on: April 15, 2009, 06:26 »
Yeah, I also upload there. I've hit 5 downloads for April so far, 3 for March (that's when I started uploading there I think). Not bad really, considering the size of my port - just a hair under This is actually my 2nd best selling site atm, considering iStock reject me every time I apply (4 times now, and counting). SS and 123RF (oddly enough) outperform any other site I upload to. I think there's potential there. Ok, look, my ports are TINY at FT and DT (no sales there in 2 months). StockXpert and BigStock are under 100 images. SS is 64, 123 is about 142 odd I think. I'm not the world's greatest photographer (in fact, probably closer to the worst  , but hey, it's a good start in my honest opinion. I reckon we should all give the smaller sites a chance - especially when comms are as good as 123.
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