Lee - slightly different topic.

If I wish to delete and existing approved image and replace it with an upgraded and better (hopefully) version, what is the proper procedure to do this?

Are you sure you set your payout to PayPal?  If you accidentally set it to a check, the minimum for that is now $400.  Best to double check your profile to be sure.

Quote from: w7lwi on December 27, 2014, 17:54

Is Canva down right now?  I was able to log in to the buyer page, but was unable to bring up my contributor account.  Then when I tried to log in again from scratch, all I could get was an error screen saying something went wrong and to try again (error 418), which only resulted in the same error.

Just got in as a contributor- 4 sales so far for me today. Using Google Chrome as browser on Windows 8.1 platform...

Thanks.  I was able to get back in this afternoon.  Sales both today and Christmas day.

Question for Lee.  In my portfolio, there are several buttons on the right side of each image.  I know many of these may not be active yet.  Two of these are cancel and deactivate.  Are these two buttons live and, if so, what would happen if they were selected for those images hung up in the review queue process?  Conversely, what would happen if new images were uploaded which are the same as those in limbo due to the old review bug?  Just trying to find a way to get images on line that have been hung up for 3+ months.

I think it has been down for most of the month of December.   

I've a few up and even had one accepted into their "curated" collection.  Never had any sales though.  I agree with ME that it is a good site for inspiration, but not so much for stock images.

While not in the same league as Shutterstock, DT still does fairly well for me and I take several payouts each year.  This is probably due to a relatively large number of individual sales in the $5 to $10 range each month, along with the usual $0.35 subscription sales and an occasional EL.  So are they dying ... not so far as I am concerned.

Quote from: w7lwi on December 09, 2014, 21:09

I asked Lee something along this line a month ago in an e-mail.  Basically suggested that all those images that got hung up in the early processing glitches and are just sitting there be given priority and reviewed ahead of other new submittals as they were all delayed for reasons not of our making, but due to problems at Canva.  I've got quite a few in this category with little hope they will be reviewed in my lifetime as the current procedure seems to be to try and work them in from time-to-time with no particular urgency.  I've stopped uploading until they get their act together and clear out this old backlog that is just languishing.  Lee's response to the e-mail was simply to acknowledge it's receipt, nothing more.

That doesn't sound like me.  Please resend it and I'll ensure you get a suitable response. 

We don't have any facility to prioritise reviews. If we were to build one, it would take away from what we're building on the front end to help sell more licenses. So the aforementioned priorities come into play and we elect to sell more and just deal with the temporarily disordered review queue.  We appreciate your understanding on this. In a month or two everything will be back to regular chaos.

Apart from the same issue everyone seems to agree on (the unfairness of not prioritizing submittals) the question I asked was would it be better to delete those images that have been hung up due to the early system bugs and re-submit them?  If new submittals are being reviewed, even if in a random manner, while those hung up are not being reviewed, would this not be a better strategy on the part of contributors to try and get something through rather than leave these early images alone with no idea of when (if ever) they could be reviewed?  Note I'm not referring to images that are simply taking a long time to get through the queue, but to those that were submitted back in September and October that were caught up in a system bug that categorized them incorrectly and now they have been moved into some sort of limbo.

Lee - just a quick question.  As you recall I hit the payout threshold early in the month.  Will the payout that's made next month be through the entire month of November or only some portion thereof?

Thanks,
Russ

note for those wondering ... payout in less than 2 months with just over 80 images on line.  Others still hung up in the processing/pending fiasco.

How many agencies are still including each individual word in the description in their search engine?  I recall SS several years back saying they did this.  Don't know if they still do or if any other agency does as well.

I haven't uploaded to iS since I took all my model images down back when we were concerned about Getty ripping off images and putting them up for free download.  Has anything changed since then that would make it worthwhile to restart uploading?  I hate the thought of some of my best selling images being at risk of being offered for free when I'm collecting EL's and other high dollar payments elsewhere.  Regardless, I still wouldn't upload images with people in them, only non-people shots.

If I can't shoot the image isolated I use the pen tool.  TIP ... if you isolate an image using the pen tool, make a clipping path from the selection and save that.  That way you can use the cutout for whatever composite you are after and you can upload a JPEG with the clipping path for buyers to use.  No point in wasting the time it took to make the selection for just one use.  And you never know when you may wish to use the cutout image in the future.  Example, the CANVA use of PNG images.  I had a hundred or more images with clipping paths.  Took only seconds to make isolated PNG's out of them and upload.  All seem to be selling quite well at the moment.  A continued return on my original time investment.

Lee, here's a thought that might relieve at least a part of the review backlog:

We know that clean PNG files are far and away the best sellers on the CANVA site.  Also that the initial computer review looks for solid, plain backgrounds, regardless of file type, before routing the files to either review or cut-out. Would it be possible to tweak the computer algorithm to check for both a plain background and a PNG file type?  When this combination is identified, the file would be routed to a special review group or be given some sort of special priority which could quickly confirm through the RGB BG check that the cut-out is clean and that the isolated subject is suitable.  If acceptable, the file would immediately be put up for sale.  This would have the effect of quickly moving high value files through the system and getting them before the buyers in an expeditious time frame, increasing the opportunity for increased revenue for both CANVA and the contributors, as well as reducing the normal review queue.

I don't know what would be involved in implementing this procedure, nor whether or not you receive enough good PNG files to warrant such a change.  But thought I'd pass it on just in case it could be of some value to you.

Facing some challenges uploading to Canva.  I am getting my portfolio up, but the side buttons (such as Edit) does not respond. I therefore am not able to edit text/ keywords, or attach model releases etc.

Is there something that I'm doing incorrectly here?

 

First, are you adding keywords, etc. to the IPTC data fields on your image before uploading?  If you are uploading JPEG images, the fields should automatically fill out.  If you are uploading PNG images, you have to also upload a JPEG version of the PNG image with exactly the same file name including upper and lower case letters, spacing, etc.  Their system will automatically fill in the missing info on the PNG files from the JPEG.  I usually make a small JPEG thumbnail that has all the necessary metadata in the IPTC fields.  However, if you are not adding info to the JPEG images before uploading, then, as rimglow stated, you will have to wait until the image(s) are approved.  Then the edit button will work just fine.

As to model releases, upload them at the same time that you upload the original image.  Just be sure the file name is the same except include the word "release" at the end of the name. That will link the two together.