Since photojournalism isn't discussed much, but forms a meaningful part of our collection, I thought I'd take a moment to share some dramatic photos being provided by your fellow contributors in Kiev, Ukraine:

http://www.shutterstock.com/blog/violence-in-kiev-photojournalism

Obviously, a tough situation for the photographers themselves, so worth spending some time with. 

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

I had 3 editorial images rejected this morning and to tag them as editorial when they were tagged as editorial. It makes no sense.

Hello Ron,

The issue that you experienced is because it appears the images were tagged as editorial after submission, rather than before.  Currently, that can result in a rejection.  Our team already has a plan to improve and fix that scenario, but in the meantime, tagging your images with the editorial designation prior to submission should alleviate the issue.

We apologize for the inconvenience!  This is on our radar to fix.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content 

Hi all,

A quick note on how we do things: at any given time, we're running a number of tests.  Those tests are typically targeted at a small percentage of the overall population.  If a test wins (for example, if it drives more downloads and customers are more successful in finding what they're looking for), then it is released to the broader audience and the performance is monitored. 

Tests can include changes to the user experience or the relevancy of search results. If you're seeing changes, it's possible that you're seeing a test that is targeted at a small audience, or that you're seeing the results of a test that won.  These tests are thoughtfully conducted and changes are never rolled out broadly without careful analysis.  For contributors, this might seem confusing in isolation, but it ultimately results in more successful customers, who then generate more downloads and more royalties.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Hello,

I'll flag this for the team, but in any circumstance of suspected infringement, please promptly contact Shutterstock directly and notify: [email protected]
 
Thank you!

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Scott can you confirm our percentage of the sales for Facebook images please? I think its only fair that we know, since it our intellectual property. Thank you

Hi Ron,

As policy -- for confidentiality, competitive, and other reasons -- we do not publicly disclose the specific financial terms of any one licensing or partner relationship.  As a business, across all of the different types of sales opportunities at Shutterstock, we pay out approximately 30%.   In general, we structure partnerships with the objective of providing contributors with a higher volume of opportunity at royalty rates that are consistent with Shutterstock's contributor earnings schedule.

Best,

Scott

Hi guys,

I haven't read every post in the thread, but to answer the size question: the license is limited to digital uses on Facebook. The current display sizes for Facebook ads are approximately 200 pixels (on the long dimension) for the right-hand rail ads and 600 pixels for news feed ads. 

Best,

Scott

Melastmohican - thanks.  Can you explain the 2nd bullet in more detail?  Examples? 

Thanks!

Scott

Hi Julie,

Thanks.  We understand that people want consistent and clear reviews and it's our goal to provide them.  Occasional mistakes can happen, and although everyone is held to the same standards, it's possible to get different reviewers for different submissions. 

The good news is that on a quantity basis (i.e., relative to the millions of images that we review and the 30 million images that we now have in the collection), the number of complaints that we receive is relatively small. 

That being said, we believe that every review matters and we welcome feedback. We provide a formal grievance process specifically for the purposes of giving reviewers feedback and correcting any situations in which you feel that a rejection was provided in error.   We audit and "review the reviewers," but sending an email to Support is the most direct way for us to look at the individual images in question.   

Best,

Scott

Scott,

 I sent an email to [email protected] regarding rejections last Dec 2nd and have had no reply yet. What's the normal time I can expect I have a response?

Hi Peresanz,

When did you send the email?  In general, our weekday turnarounds for a first reply are within 24 hours (up to 48 hours during weeks with high inquiry volume), but the turnaround could depend on whether the issue had to be escalated.  If you haven't heard back within 48 hours during the week, feel free to reach out again.  If it's an inordinate amount of time (i.e., days have gone by), then I would certainly reach out.

Best,

Scott

Hi Scott, thanks for chiming in. Just wondering, how can it be inconsistent light in the sky, if its in the image I shot? I didnt photoshop it to become inconsistent light, its just there. The skyline and the city centre behind the skyline has a lot more light pollution than the part to the right in the image, where the light dims, because its just housing in the dark and the M1 going out of the city. Furthermore, its a panorama of Dublin city, showing the docklands and the skyline at the quays, it is what it is,. Its shot from an apartment block on the 5th floor, it gives a look of the city of Dublin you normally dont see.  You want me to photograph Dublin and photoshop it into a different city?  But I emailed Shutterstock and they gave me an admin note to resubmit. Inconsistent? I am confused now.

Hi Ron,

Thanks.  Makes total sense.  Putting aside the technical and aesthetic considerations for a moment, I think the right thing to do is to look at the image from the customer's perspective (or the customer value perspective). 

If it's a commercial image, what context would it be used in?  If it was used in a travel context, then the customer is going to be looking for something aspirational and exciting and possibly a clearly distinguished and identifiable sense of place.  For those uses, saturated color can add excitement to the image.  Many contributors will shoot timelapse-style images of cityscapes with slow shutter speeds to add visual excitement and a sense of bustling, city motion.  Travel buyers want something that looks exciting and dynamic.

If it's a documentary image used in an educational or newsworthy context, then the customer is probably looking for something a little more realistic, but again - with a strong sense of something unique and identifiable about the location.  I.e., the architecture, the city layout.  Unfortunately, color casts in digital images aren't always realistic as you would see them with the naked eye - they're sometimes an artifact of a camera's inability to capture different color temperatures from different light sources accurately in a simultaneous way, or simply a matter of the image being set to the wrong white balance.   

If the image was to be used in a decorative or artistic context, then the image could be all about the graphic elements.  Strong lines, impossible perspectives (i.e., shooting from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge looking down, etc...). 

I think the skyline is definitely worthy subject matter with commercial and editorial value, but I think you'd have a more successful image commercially (or editorially) if you were down on the street shooting detail of the unique architecture OR up very high focusing on compositional elements that may be unique to the city - grid layouts of streets, for example, or just the opposite - random layouts in European cities.   The perspective of this image splits the difference.

Again - just my 2c based on what customers respond well to.  The image was rejected for white balance - I'm just putting myself in the shoes of the reviewer who made that determination. 

In terms of resubmission and acceptances, it's important to keep in mind that some images are neither perfect nor imperfect (and therefore, not images that are subject to black-and-white reviews), but fall in-between.  It's important to think about the ROI on your time, but your goal shouldn't be to focus on the acceptance - your goal should be to focus on creating images that have the highest commercial and editorial value from the customer's perspective.  If the white balance looks like a flaw, then the customer is going to pick the next image.

We can look at two images on the site shot with the same exact subject matter, the same exact equipment, similar models, etc..., and -- given the same opportunity -- one image will get thousands of downloads and the other image will get less than 100.   It's all about paying attention to these kinds of details: styling, composition, room for text, color. 

Even if you ask for reconsideration and a reviewer decides that they can be more forgiving of a perceived flaw, our ultimate goal isn't to just get you accepted - it's to teach you how to maximize your earnings and get the most sales.   There's always more for us to do in that regard.

Best,

Scott`

Hello,

Historically, the goal of the resubmission period was to give new contributors -- many of whom are completely new to stock photography -- a chance to go and learn more about quality guidelines, create new work, consult with experienced contributors in the forums, etc..., and --- to a limited extent --- reduce the spam of unsuccessful applications.   We try not to speculate on the future, but the goal is to maintain our quality standards while working hard to make sure that contributors have a successful first submission, and that there's a good educational path for them to have a quick and successful second submission if they didn't pass on the first try. 

Our goal is to reduce that resubmission time period, rather than increase it, and to build an environment where people are more successful on the first try.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Hi Soren,

It's showing up for all of us here - you may want to close out of whatever sessions you have running and try again.  Let us know.

Best,

Scott

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your patience.  We're looking forward to having everything back to 100% soon.  We do apologize for any inconvenience! 

We promise to keep you updated.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock