Here is the way you calculate it: Go to for example Istock, look at your numbers and divide the income of August by the number of your images. Example: $200 income in August, your portfolio there: 100 images. $200/ 100 = $2. You do the same for the other agencies. (We should limit it to the Big 6). Lets assume you have 2$ for IS and $0.25 at DT.
Then you calculate them together: $2+$0.25=$2.25. So your average $/image/month would be $2.25 if you have images only at DT and IS.

I do not really agree with this calculation, especially if you upload all your photos to all agencies.

Your effort is represented by the total number of photos. Therefore the maximum number of photos approved should be the basis (on whichever site that is, most likely FL or BS). Or even the number of photos submitted if available.

So I would calculate: �total monthly income from MicroStock� / Max of approved photos per site.

Guess that would decrease the numbers as it considers rejection rates.

Just my 2ct. ;-)

Is FTP currently working for you at SS?

It always worked ok for me, but somehow I can't connect to their server at the moment???


Thanks,
T

First time I see a usage. Actually it is in the IS designer spotlight.

Would you try to contact the agency/ customer for a sample/ reference? Not sure what the "industry standard" is here?

Designer: Arjun772
Creative Direction: Arjun
Agency: Digital Designs
Client: ICI AutoPaints



http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=9708

if you are in Australia

you might want to read this:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/photographers/archives/2007/02/photography_is_not_a_crime.html

and make a few prints of this:
http://www.4020.net/words/photorights.shtml#infosheet


after having been questioned, details recorded and almost arrested for taking photos on the sydney harbour bridge, I always have these with me. it was 5am+tripod, but so what.

the scary thing is that - as far as i understand it - they want to make photography in public illegal but at the same time the government is installing more and more security cameras in the same places ... that just does not sound right for me ...

Now I wonder if there other things which I implicitely sacrify by shooting at f8. Does it affect contrast or color? In my photo series, should I try going down with the f-value and see if I can get better photos with, e.g., f4? Will certain characteristics of my image quality improve by that? Which ones?

Many thanks,
Michael

2.8 lenses are expensive. You need them for shooting in low-light handheld or for the artistic effect of a shallow depth of field.

For most stock work this is rarely required.

If you are on  a super-budget, get a used Canon XT and a 50mm 1.8 prime. The 50mm is about 100 US$. I like the 20D much better than the XT, so you might want to check used prices. Also I might add that I personally find primes (=fixed focal length = NO zoom) quite inconvenient. But they deliver great image quality and are "relatively"cheap.

If you can afford a bit more, I would recommend the 28-135 IS USM lens. Its a very solid lens. Not really wide enough, but has advantages compared to the 17-85 EF-S.

Also I would wait 2-3 more weeks. PMA exhibition starts soon and most likely many new products will be announced/ released. Prices for "old" models might fall.


Feel free to check out this article about lens selection on my blog.
http://tr-photo-blog.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-lenses-glass-to-choose-for-canon.html

It explains a few details for Canon Lenses and gives you a few hints on how to start.


Regards,
Thorsten

My inclination is to try to get to 'exclusive' level with iStock and forget the others, but experience over the next year will help me refine those thoughts.

It is a good idea to wait some time before you go exclusive. I guess (!) most IS exclusives have been there a long time. Well before other agencies became popular.

Once you get approved at SS (or even DT) you don't want to be exclusive at IS anymore. Uploading there is sooo much faster. And the numbers speak for themself. From my own experience (and what I read here) SS makes between 25% and 50% of income.

I initially uploaded to the big 5 agencies and recently added StockXpert. Uploading there is very fast. And the rejection rate is very high 

Fantastic month for me as well. Top results on all sites and my first EL at DT. Have to say that I uploaded a lot in Dec and Jan. Guess thats the return 

Also StockXpert is a positive surprise. Was there only half the month and uploaded about 30% of my photos so far.

SS   42%
DT   23%
IS   13%
FL   7%
BS   10%
StockXpert   5%

Interesting data. I also read that IS has over 30k images in the queue. IS has 25k added last week alone.

And in the SS forum even some contributors with large portfolios start to notice a slowdown (while uploading more images).  http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16101&start=0

Seems that things start to get crazy on the supply side of the business.
Whats your experience?

My sales went up in Jan, but I increased my portfolio a lot as well in Dec/Jan.


Regards,
T
http://tr-photo-blog.blogspot.com

Strange to see how sites that work for some just don�t work out for some individuals. 

The ranking in terms of income is pretty constant for me. SS (40), DT=IS (20), FL (>10), BS (<10). Although IS has the largest variation for me.

And of cause extended lisenses can always impact the income statistics/ ranking. Which is a good thing 

Regards,
T

I uploaded my first batch to StockXpert via FTP today. Wow, the user interface is unique. I hope I got it right, but the bulk editor is great! Let's see how it works out.

Is there any "submit button" ... or do I just wait?! I transferred the photos from the " briefcase" into a "briefcase sub-folder" and assigned categories via the bulk editor. That's it?

If it is really that simple, I will have all my images up in no time 

Thanks again for pointing out StockXpert!
Regards,
Thorsten

I use Exifer. I heard the only way iStock recognizes the keywords is by entering them in Photoshop.


Thorsten

SS   42%
IS   18%
DT    20%
BS   10%
FL   10%


I applied at StockXpert early Dec, but no response yet 

Regards,
Thorsten

Quote from: t_rust on December 14, 2006, 05:29

I like http://www.smugmug.com/

I use it for private photo sharing. Look and feel can be customized, access restricted, upload originals, no advertising ... their forum is not bad too 
However, they have a yearly fee depending on account type.

It looks like a great site. Is it worth the annual fee?

I think it is the best site and I did quite some research (more than a year ago). Of cause there are free sites, but they all have limited upload capacity, no customisation ... plus all the ads! So if you are willing to pay, go with smugmug! I hesitated, because I wanted something free, but I do not regret it (otherwise I would have canceled already). 

They have 3 account types. Standard (unlimited storage, some customisation, ...), Power User (full customisation, video) and Professional (all about selling). Their support answers really fast! And the forum is very helpful and friendly!

I went for the Power User, because I wanted customisation. There are many examples online (and in the forums) to copy templates and code. It is relatively easy. However, if you know some programming (not me) you can do amazing stuff. Check out the samples.

If any of you want to sign up, please enter qi3v6QCmJsUN2 in the 'Referred by' field on the signup form. It will save you 5 US$ for the first year ... and save me some too.


Thanks!

http://tr-photo-blog.blogspot.com/
http://thorsten.smugmug.com/