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Messages - Carl
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 ... 17
26
« on: March 13, 2014, 12:18 »
I've never had anything even close to a S&OD sale that netted me $82.92, on SS or any other site, until today. It's a shot of my small, experimental pallet vegetable garden: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=146876147 . I hope it's not gonna turn out to be a mistake or a refund situation.
27
« on: March 07, 2014, 15:57 »
I'm not sure. It's been quite a while since I was on the site, but I recall seeing no mechanism for editing or deleting photos. The larger issue, though is that a model requested that images of her be removed, regardless of the fact that I uploaded a valid, signed and witnessed released, which they even acknowledged. Nevertheless, instead of removing those specific images, they chose to block my entire account. Had they been a high earner for me, I would have been severely impacted by their lunacy. Not worth the risk, if you ask me.
28
« on: March 07, 2014, 07:23 »
As a relatively new contributor to microstock in general I'm confused
I've been reading threads of people abandoning fotolia due to multiple reasons
the lovely people at fotolia have rejected every single image I sent and listed everything and the kitchen sink as the reason
But the poll results show that fotolia is a top tier earner so should be worth getting into
should I even be trying to get into fotolia?
A chronology of my experience with Fotolia: + A pregnant model shot with me and signed a model release in exchange for free maternity photos. + A couple of years or so later, she changes her mind, asking me to remove her pictures from all of the stock sites. Refuses to reimburse me. I refuse to remove the pictures. + The model contacts the stock sites. All of them except Fotolia refer her to me, since I uploaded a signed and witnessed model release. Fotolia blocks my entire account. (Bear in mind that once photos are uploaded to Fotolia and submitted, they cannot be edited, nor can they be deleted, by the contributor.) + I ask if they can remove the pictures of the model in question and unblock my account. They say no. + I then ask to close my account and deposit the amount due into my paypal account. + I get a system email from them saying that I have a message waiting for me, and directing me to log on to my account in order to read the message. + I try to log on to my account, but the system no longer recognizes an account with that user name and password. Apparently, they've closed my account, which means I'm unable to read their message. So if you wish to do business with that kind of mentality, be my guest. And good luck. 
29
« on: February 28, 2014, 06:20 »
I'm an Android user with the Clashot app. I don't go out of my way to shoot stock with my phone for Clashot, but if I'm gonna shoot something anyway, it's hardly any extra effort to upload to Clashot. For instance, I was replacing the rear brake shoes on my car, and I took pictures with my phone in case I couldn't remember the correct order and position of springs & parts. Afterward, I uploaded the pictures to Clashot. On another occasion, I took pictures of a beautiful, scenic lake from my canoe as I was fishing. You'll find these on Clashot, too. No sales yet, so it's anybody's guess whether or not it's a viable market. Apparently, the folks at DP / Clashot and Alamy see some potential. It doesn't take any extra time for me to upload, either. I usually do it during my morning constitution as I'm sitting on the throne!
30
« on: February 26, 2014, 06:26 »
Life is too short to deal with PITA clients, so I stick with stock, and I'm beginning to branch out to fine art. The stress of dealing with such clients makes life even shorter! I've been without clients for so long that now I'm spoiled, and I don't want any (with a few exceptions here & there). Now that I'm older, with more life behind me than ahead of me, I only do what I enjoy doing. I wish I had begun doing that a lot earlier than I did.
31
« on: February 26, 2014, 06:16 »
I don't spend the time to delete material and close accounts because I won't see a return on that investment of time. I have, however, stopped uploading to these sites: istock DP BS Alamy Yay Panther Cutcaster The only exception to that, so far, is FT. I sent a message to them just yesterday telling them to close my account. That's because of their bad business practices. If you're interested, the short version of this fiasco is... I shot with a pregnant model and got some good maternity material, gave her free photos in exchange for a signed model release. A couple of years later, she changes her mind, wants me to delete the photos, and refuses to compensate me in any amount. I told her it wasn't gonna happen. She sends a message to FT, and they freeze / block my entire account, even though they acknowledge that the signed model release is valid. I asked if they could simply delete the photos containing this model and ublock my account, and they said no. So I said goodbye and good riddance. Her photos are with other agencies who, after contacting me about the issue, have refused her request and referred her instead to me as the photographer, because there is a valid, signed model release. So FT can kiss my _____. 
32
« on: February 12, 2014, 06:01 »
Yes, this is normal for Fotolia. They very often leave us scratching our heads, wondering what the H were they thinking?!?  I don't upload there any more.
33
« on: February 09, 2014, 07:03 »
I'm finding the uploading process to be a bit more time-consuming than I like. One reason is because the system is taking the description from the IPTC data and putting it in the title field, leaving the description field blank. So I can either leave it that way, or correct it by manually putting the information in the appropriate fields. I also have to manually type in the copyright information for each photo. Additionally, there's a check box for model and property releases, but no mechanism that I can see for uploading releases and assigning them to specific photos. Perhaps all they're looking for is my acknowledgement that a release is on file.
In order to avoid taking too much time to upload, it would obviously be much better if the system would put the IPTC data in the appropriate fields, and it would also be much better to allow me to enter a default copyright notice on my profile, with the option to change it for a specific photograph if necessary.
34
« on: January 29, 2014, 06:46 »
I'm getting 25 cents per download, and very few downloads at that. I don't bother to upload there any more.
35
« on: January 21, 2014, 07:14 »
I like the site so far, but uploading is still a bit cumbersome. For instance, to assign a model release to a batch of photos with the same model, you have to upload the release for each individual photo. I think I'll wait to upload again until I can upload a release once and assign it to a batch of photos. Hopefully by then the system will be reading all of the IPTC data and uploading won't take so much valuable time.
36
« on: January 03, 2014, 06:52 »
It does seem to be a moving target. It took me eight submissions to get accepted, and a couple of times I submitted only photos that had been accepted from previous submissions. I suppose it's due to the differences among inspectors.
37
« on: December 28, 2013, 07:27 »
Does the system read IPTC data yet?
38
« on: December 14, 2013, 05:27 »
Here's an example of how Fotolia operates, which might explain why they're so deep in debt. I recently received this email message from them... We were recently contacted by one of your models, [model's name]. She has asked us to remove the images you uploaded even though a model release has been provided. This complaint has raised some questions about your account and as a result we have blocked your account until this issue can be resolved. If [model] will remove her request we can reopen your account. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Chad Bridwell
Director of Operations
Fotolia.com
206-683-4942
[email protected]
Skype Chad_fotolia
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/chadbridwell/
39
« on: December 02, 2013, 17:28 »
Yeah, I found it in Publisher, but it doesn't export to any type of file that's useable in Photoshop to overlay it (i.e., jpg, tiff, bmp, etc.). Bummer. 
40
« on: December 02, 2013, 06:36 »
For a while, it was looking like Alamy might be a good performer for me, but it's not looking good these days. One sale last month, and the amount certainly wasn't anything to write home about. 
41
« on: December 01, 2013, 17:15 »
I'd like to overlay 12-month calendars on some of my images. Anyone know how to create such an overlay in Office or Photoshop? Or where I can find such an overlay that I can sell after putting it on my images?
42
« on: November 23, 2013, 06:53 »
I have no doubt that they're "dumbfounded." They're accustomed to doing whatever they want without any consequences. Hopefully this will cause them to rethink their practices, and I hope more such actions are on the horizon.
43
« on: November 17, 2013, 17:58 »
It's down for me, too - both the retail site and the contributor site.
44
« on: October 28, 2013, 18:02 »
It would be criminal if not for the fact that their "agreement" says they can do anything they want with your material and your account, for any reason or no reason. You don't have to agree to their terms, of course, but if you don't, you can't sell your material on their site... which might not be such a bad thing. I certainly won't miss 'em.
45
« on: October 28, 2013, 17:42 »
I found out how to get a Fotolia account closed immediately, with absolutely no back-and-forth frustration and no questions asked. In fact, you don't even need to go through the hassle of closing your account, deleting files, or any of that sort of thing. All you have to do is get a model who signed a model release to change her mind and contact them for you. I recently received the following message from Fotolia: "Hello Carl,
We were recently contacted by one of your models, [model's name]. She has asked us to remove the images you uploaded even though a model release has been provided. This complaint has raised some questions about your account and as a result we have blocked your account until this issue can be resolved. If [model] will remove her request we can reopen your account. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Chad Bridwell
Director of Operations
Fotolia.com
206-683-4942
[email protected]
Skype Chad_fotolia
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/chadbridwell/"Why, you could even write such a message yourself, because I bet they didn't even check to see that the message was valid and actually sent from the model. And the fact that you can't edit or delete approved files in your portfolio has no bearing whatsoever. So for those who are having trouble with closing your FT account, or if you've closed your account but your images are still being offered for sale, just pick one of your models and send a message as if you're him/her, telling Chad that you want images of you removed forthwith. That seems to work better than anything else.
46
« on: October 12, 2013, 04:18 »
I had completely forgotten that I had uploaded 20 images to Pocketstock just to see what would happen. They were all accepted. I don't know when I did it because I don't even remember doing it, so it must have been a while back. No sales, of course. However, competing with exclusivity instead of price, it seems to me that they're the only ones with a brain. They're competing by offering the best deal for contributors! Helllooooo! Even if they're just getting started and have no serious track record to crow about, it seems like a no-brainer to me, especially when so many of us are bitchin' about the race to the bottom, commissions going lower instead of higher, etc. Am I missing something?
I completely agree with you that the race to the bottom doesn't serve anyone very well, but I think the part you are missing is that a site which produces ZERO sales is asking for people to upload only exclusive content. IMO that's like tossing it into a black hole never to be seen again.
The only way to make exclusive content pay is to upload it to a site where you can actually bring in enough sales to make it worth producing.
You won't get any argument from me. So the situation is that in order to produce sales, the site must have content. Without content, there are no sales. But if there are no sales, we don't upload content. So we're at a stalemate. Does that mean it's a waste of time and resources to launch a new site? Or does it mean instead that someone else will have to take the initial risk? I have material on the micro sites that's selling for peanuts, so I'm giving serious consideration to being that "someone else."
47
« on: October 11, 2013, 17:29 »
I had completely forgotten that I had uploaded 20 images to Pocketstock just to see what would happen. They were all accepted. I don't know when I did it because I don't even remember doing it, so it must have been a while back. No sales, of course. However, competing with exclusivity instead of price, it seems to me that they're the only ones with a brain. They're competing by offering the best deal for contributors! Helllooooo! Even if they're just getting started and have no serious track record to crow about, it seems like a no-brainer to me, especially when so many of us are bitchin' about the race to the bottom, commissions going lower instead of higher, etc. Am I missing something?
48
« on: September 24, 2013, 06:30 »
...and you can't give what you don't have. 
49
« on: September 17, 2013, 06:00 »
I opened an account there, and then discovered that they don't accept photos of people, even with a model release. Since that's the vast majority of what I do, I'm not active there. If they ever decide to change that, I'll give it a try.
50
« on: August 25, 2013, 06:19 »
I stopped uploading to FT a while back for two reasons: (1) I got tired of seeing sales of XL images for 27 cents, and (2) their keywording and categorization system is very time-consuming. If they're doing well, they're obviously selling someone else's material, because they certainly aren't selling much of mine. 
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