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Messages - Silken Photography

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126
General Stock Discussion / Re: 3 sites you should NOT support
« on: March 27, 2013, 20:39 »
Yeah, there's a "View results" button at the bottom of the poll.  It's faint, but it's there.

127
Stocksy / Re: Stocksy - Are you in or out ? Experiences.
« on: March 26, 2013, 00:35 »
I haven't had a response from my application yet either.  I'm tempted to re-apply through the website with a link to a portfolio tailored for Stocksy, but given everyone's bound to have been pretty busy with the lead-up to the opening, and my port doesn't even qualify as small fry, I should probably just continue being patient.

128
Stocksy / Re: Stocksy is Alive
« on: March 26, 2013, 00:28 »
I think it's quite exciting, a change is a good as a holiday and all that ;)  But traditional stock images, while still needed for some businesses, are also something to be mocked in other circles ("women laughing alone with salad", anyone?) and those groups want fresh and inspiring images.

I think it's likely that the fashion for this style will change over time, but there's no reason for Stocksy not to change with it if they keep in close contact with their buyers and what's hot through Pinterest, Twitter etc.  Social media gives sellers (of anything) an unprecedented glimpse into what people really want to buy, if the seller takes the time to look (as I'm sure the Stocksy founders have done).

129
I haven't set up my wordpress site yet, but my stuff is mostly travel and nature.

I'm missing people, so I think travel and nature images with people would be a complementary match for at least one slot.  Otherwise, I'm not fussy!  Like Leo I'd like to keep it G-rated though.

130
Off Topic / @earth_pics: Anyone know about them?
« on: March 24, 2013, 20:16 »
@earth_pics on twitter and pics_earth on instagram post many gorgeous and interesting photos from around the world every day, but I can't see any attribution given, and they didn't answer me when I tweeted them asking when the photos come from.

Does anyone know about these accounts and where they get their images from?

I'm not accusing anyone of anything, or trying to get my own images on there, I just find it weird that there's no credit at all given or much information about the accounts themselves.  I've seen images where I was genuinely interested to see who the photographer was but had no way of finding out.  You can save these images at about 800x600 too, not great quality but fine for web use.

131
Site Related / Re: MSG down
« on: March 21, 2013, 21:13 »
Ah, twitter and facebook, noted for future reference.  I'm in Australia too and was missing my MSG fix!

Thanks for your work on this.

132
Really, more of a part-time thing, but it is my only "job".  My husband and I are retired and we travel the country with a 27ft RV.  We don't depend on micro to pay any bills, but it sure is nice having that money magically appear in my personal paypal online shopping account every month.  Especially for something I'd be doing anyway (photographing America).

Great retirement plan.  My husband and I travelled for two weeks in an RV through the National Parks of Utah (mostly) and it was one of the best trips of my life.

On topic, I'd love to go full time in photography, but I'm not sure I want to do full time stock.  For now I'm dipping my toes in and seeing how the water feels.

133
Newbie Discussion / Re: Microstock Millionaire EBook
« on: March 20, 2013, 21:38 »
In the UK, isn't it illegal to harvest email address for future marketing purposes without asking people to opt-in?  There's no ticky-box that says I agree to receive emails in the future, or even a notification to say that's why I'm handing over an email address.

134
Print on Demand Forum / Re: Zazzle - where are my products
« on: March 18, 2013, 01:29 »
Thanks no lost everything but back now - just a glitch I guess

Welcome to Zazzle...  ;)

135
Shutterstock.com / Re: Today I've reached the first milestone
« on: March 17, 2013, 19:36 »
Congrats!  I'm hoping to reach that milestone this year too, although so far this year I haven't been able to put in the work that's needed :(

136
CanStockPhoto.com / Re: Did canstock just went all hardcore?
« on: March 14, 2013, 20:45 »
I had a batch of 19 rejected as well, mostly for "File appears to be too soft and/or out of focus, or may have an overly
shallow depth of field."  DP took all the same images, the other agencies took a selection.

I'm not concerned, this batch has subjects that have been done to death, and I've yet to make a single sale on Canstockphoto (with teeny tiny port, but same teeny tiny port is doing ok elsewhere) anyway, but I did think it was amusing.

Edited: Just checked, was only 16 of 19 rejected, not all 19!  Still a Canstockphoto record for me.

137
Newbie Discussion / Re: New to microstock
« on: March 14, 2013, 19:52 »
You definitely don't just have to shoot people.  I don't shoot people, I don't have the eye for it, and I've been accepted to all the agencies I've applied to so far (although it took two tries at SS) and had several batches pass Alamy's QC.

It's worth noting that Alamy doesn't screen on content, only on technical merit, so your theory that you not shooting people is getting you rejected doesn't hold water there.

And agencies like Canstockphotos do still have their standards, whatever they may be.  They rejected a batch of 19 of mine the other day! Commercially difficult subject matter... a mix of backgrounds that have probably been done to death and ...dare I say it... cats, but no other agency rejected the lot, they took a selection at least (and to compensate, DP took all).

I second the suggestion that you post in the critique forum.  You might be missing some basic guidelines that could really help.  There's no point uploading to agencies without good reviewers even if they do accept you, as if your images aren't up to scratch they won't sell regardless.

138
Stocksy / Re: Stocksy - Are You Curious? Response?
« on: February 28, 2013, 20:36 »
I love the look of the shots on Pinterest, at least the travel and nature boards which are the kind of thing I'm aspiring too (when I'm not photographing for stock, which is a relatively new concept for me).  I do wish I'd sent them a link to my FAA site though.  Some of that type of stuff of mine is on flickr, but very little on SS which was the other link I sent.

Ah well, time will tell.

139
Off Topic / Re: Pulling a Yahoo or You have been Yahoo-ed
« on: February 28, 2013, 19:32 »
Agreed.  Cancelling this sort of thing arbitrarily just to make a name for yourself is only going to lower morale, and thus productivity.

I do think that for a lot of work you definitely need to be in the office for, but other things such as coding or documentation, you need to have peace and quiet and the space to really concentrate.  I work in IT myself and some days open plan offices are just too noisy, or too full of interruption, to really knuckle down.  Unless the office has designated quiet spaces for people to concentrate in then overall this will hurt Yahoo.

Not to mention the hypocrisy of her being able to afford to build a nursery by her office.  I'd be more impressed if she built creches next to all Yahoo offices so all of her employees had that option also.

140
Photo Critique / Re: Request for critique
« on: February 25, 2013, 18:20 »
I see what you mean, but, phew.  If that's the effort needed for stock photography then I'm not cut out for it.  I do like playing a bit with post-processing but not to that extent.  I think I can remove the the bushes easily enough and I'll do that, thanks for highlighting it for me, but while I can see the concept with the gator and the woman with the poodle, my photoshop skills aren't up that level of work (and not least because I don't own photoshop!).

Ironically, this very photo sold overnight.  It must have known we were talking about it and wanted to prove itself worthy! ;)

141
Photo Critique / Re: Request for critique
« on: February 24, 2013, 22:47 »
Thanks!  The last 2.5 years, I've been reading and practising a lot to try and get the hang of technical aspects of photography beyond framing and capturing directly what's in front of me, it helps to hear it's paying off.

I see what you mean about stock photography, it's something I've come to learn about recently as I understand more about the stock world (through this forum and others like it), and I definitely don't have the knack of thinking like that.  It clearly shows that I haven't yet made the choice to deliberately try and only focus on stock photography, although I've had a go at some very recently which aren't online yet.  I think I need to practise more of that and see if I can do it, and more importantly, enjoy it, then choose.  I hoping my technique and eye is up to scratch though, those inspectors are demanding taskmasters!

142
Photo Critique / Request for critique
« on: February 24, 2013, 20:57 »
I don't know any other professional photographers so my feedback has come from lovely yet biased friends and family.  I'm learning a lot from MS rejections and reading critiques of others, figured it's time to grow a spine and ask for opinions on mine  :D

I'd appreciate any thoughts on my work, areas in need of improvement etc.  Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petathames/
http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_id=1294957

143
Newbie Discussion / Re: No longer exclusively istock
« on: February 24, 2013, 19:59 »
Good luck from a fellow Aussie!  I'm sure you'll be accepted, though I have no advice as I've only been on Alamy a month or so myself.  I do know that the upload process is a pain in the proverbial...

144
Stocksy / Re: Stocksy - Are You Curious? Response?
« on: February 24, 2013, 19:40 »
Add me to the list - sent links in, not optimistic given my level of experience but I figure it can't hurt to try (well, except a bruise to the ego, but I'll cope!).  What I know of the ethos of Stocksy is right up my alley and something I want to support.

Exciting times, huh?

145
General Stock Discussion / Re: The single most annoying thing?
« on: February 20, 2013, 01:17 »
Another vote for categories.  If categories are so important to buyers, can't they determine what goes in them based on keywords?  Would likely be more accurate than some of my guesstimates when an image doesn't really fit into any of them.

Second would be keyword ordering, although that wouldn't be so bad if Lightroom didn't put them in alphabetical order. 

146
Thanks for doing this, it's really interesting.

147
Stocksy / Re: Bruce, Our Knight in Shining Armor? Stocksy Co-op
« on: February 09, 2013, 00:47 »
It's great to see someone starting an ethical company.  Just iStock led the way so many years ago, I hope this becomes the new leader for the industry to follow over time.  That would be good news for all of us, regardless of whether we're part of Stocksy or not.

148
Canon / Re: Repair or replace?
« on: February 07, 2013, 23:58 »
No Way! Get a new or used better camera!

Look at this price for a newer rebel-

http://www.ajrichies.com/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T4i-Body/p-3055?refid=Ibcart

They don't look like the best place to buy from. http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AjRichard
I would go with BHphoto.com, Adorama.com, or KEH.com from the US.  http://www.resellerratings.com/store/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio

Ugh, yes, I see what you mean.  I always check http://www.productreview.com.au for dodgy Australian sites but hadn't checked out US ones yet.  The hard upsell particularly puts me off, I don't like giving money to companies who resort to pressure tactics like that.

(Yes, despite reading this forum for weeks, and having used many other forums for years, somehow I've only just twigged I really should be using quotes...)

149
Canon / Re: Repair or replace?
« on: February 07, 2013, 23:30 »
PaulieWalnuts: Well, I do love my old camera, it was the first DLSR I ever own, and it showed me for the first time how I could take the image I saw in my head and turn it into reality (well, more often than I could with my old bridge camera anyway!).  But that doesn't mean I wouldn't throw it out in a heartbeat if I can justify spending money on something younger, faster, better...

My husband's lucky I don't think the same way about relationships  ;)

Tab62: Wow that's an amazing price, thanks for the link!

150
Canon / Re: Repair or replace?
« on: February 07, 2013, 22:41 »
Thanks all, I think you're right, replace is definitely the way to go.

I've got nothing wrong with buying used particularly, although I'm wary that I might be buying a camera that's only a few shutter clicks away from its own terminal failure.  I've noticed some sellers give you actuations which I assume would help mitigate that.  I was quite tempted by a used 7D, but as even used it's so expensive I was interested to see if anyone would recommend it, but maybe it's just that bit too old these day. 

Sounds like a choice between a new T4i or a used 5D Mark2?  Final decision will probably come down to what I can justify budget-wise (as much as I'd just love to grab a 5D, if only money was no object!).

Racephoto: I probably should have mentioned that I'm quoting Australian dollars, but as the $AU is so close to the $US, and I can buy direct from the USA, I figured it didn't come much into the equation when looking at buying a new camera.  But for repairs, I'm sure parts are more expensive here, labour was nearly half the quote as they have to replace the whole body (seems they can't just replace the rubber handgrip on its own as Canon don't make that part), then there's 10% tax.

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