Thanks guys for good links!

Xanox i fully agree: i dont want to save any images but i just want to tweak them. I cannot imagine that those funky retro images that i am thinking of were shot that way. I always add the basic contrast, saturation etc, but there is def more photoshop in the pics i am thinking of. Or have i missed something? I can shoot a good, sharp photo but with my canon 50d and shooting RAW the photos are not automatically as super eye popping or tweaked as the ones i am thinking of. Sorry if sound fussy but i think you know what i mean...?

OK! Sounds like there is consencus! Thank you guys

Hey i am realising that i am not visiting this forum often enough as i miss big chunks of info... Like this one... Symbio is new to me, and have spent an hour now trying to read through posts and understanding what it is about. I would love to be part of something that promotes free trafe stock photography!

I do miss some basic overview of what it is and how it works, but will hopefully find when i continue reading.
Something i wonder is whether i can hook up my existing site or if i need to set up one from scratch to be more customised to symbio? I have a wordpress site already promoting my client work, but maybe it would be possible to add this through plug ins?

Hi all
sorry if this has been asked before but couldnt find anything in the archives:

Just wondering re fotolias categories: when processing images, the categories seem totally random. I can only see 10 main categories, and they all have confusing numbers that seem to indicate that there are other categories in between that are not visible. Am i missing something?

A.

eclaire would you go for it even if not fullframe? I have a 50d

Thank you all for good comments

I have a 50 mm and a 70 - 200. I then only have the kit zoom which is really bad, so this would be a complement to the two good ones i have. I would need it mainly for crowd photos, like receptions and weddings, and also for some interior. I don't do extreme wideangle, guess i would like one day but maybe better then to get a fish eye or the 10-22 mentioned by sgoodwin4813 at a later stage?
A.

Hi!
I was sent a payout check by Shutterstock last year, which unfort didnt make it to me. I have been in contact with them, and they have acknowledged that the check hasnt been cashed and they can transfer to paypal. Last time they wrote, a couple of months ago, they said i had to confirm my paypal account, which i did.
Since then it has gone dead.
I have written and written, but get no reply.
Does anyone have a good email to contact them through, as the submit email doesnt seem to have anyone looking into it.

Cheers

Hi all!
I know there was another similar thread, but it was a bit old so am starting it a fresh... I cannot upload my 10 test images via browser. Have tried for a couple of weeks now, and almost everytime it uploads BUT then it says the file could not be processed - unknown error. Have tried to write to them but no reply. Anyone knows what to do?
Anne

Thanks all. Yes i feel a bit silly for having missed that black weird thing on her hair. Will try to take it out and see if that does the trick. Will also try the suggestion of adding noise to sky. The vibrance thing in RAW is great!

I guess these are the tricks of the trade which have to be learned through many rejections...

Hi am struggling with the amount of tweaking i can do in photoshop, and need help!!

When i look around on all amazing stock images, my conclusion is that most are seriously photoshoped. You agree? I just cant understand how those amazing greens, blues, popping crispness is created if not in photoshop... And i want to do it too! But whenever i try to tweak my images a bit, i almost always get the images rejected. I am told i have overfiltered, over processed etc.

So i guess i have to learn more, get better! But how?! I have searched for help, tried to find classes, tutorials, books but i just find the general stuff. I can do a cool pic good enough to show off on a website, but not to get through the inspectors quality control. I think i need more advanced help. How do i get to the next level? Anyone knows where i can go?
I shoot RAW and fix most of general issues in the RAW program before i open the file in photoshop.
Thank you in advance

And just got an email promoting this site

http://instaprints.com

Hi again,

thank you all for helpful answers.

the 4 images were quite different. The one that got denied was a high office facade. I dont know in what order i submitted them, but in the report sheet back, it was the first one listed.

Racephoto: i agree, there should be more good ones! But these were the best ones!! Guess a bit nervous too, first time for macro and all...

Thank you all for very useful input. Funny with the chair - for me it was part of the concept but it clearly seems to confuse the viewer. So will remove it...

Averil: Thing is, they did not shoot it down due to lack of composition, but of the above reasons poor lighting etc. Yes i can tweak it a bit more, move levels more to the left, but then the image will turn more intense, more yellow, and move away from the mood which i loved in the picture. But sure, i can light up her face more, just seems like very picky considering other images i have gotten thru in the past...

Am glad to hear i am not going nuts, and that the image is stock value. Am annoyed tho as i had a perfect 100% upload for the month for once, was sure that would be kept for the month when i uploaded this, and wham! Also uploaded similar from the same series and they got rejected for more or less same reasons... So down to 40% again, despite what i think are my best pics to be submitted!!

click click - thanks for kind words. Yes model is SUPER (and my daughter, so slightly partial!)

Anne