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Messages - bbettina

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26
Off Topic / Re: German movies
« on: June 07, 2008, 14:05 »
Best German movie I have seen in a long time, in fact best movie I have seen in a long time:
"The life of others" (Das Leben der anderen).  Received an Oscar for best foreign movie last year and truly deserved it. 
But if you are just starting out: maybe some soaps like "Lindenstrasse"or "Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten" would be easier, albeit much less enjoyable and I have no idea how you would get access to them.  If you life in the US there are in some places German news (Deutsche Welle, DW) on TV and/or radio.  Also check on youtube for previews and or short films or study lyrics from songs (many English hits got translated - freely - into German, some the other way around like some songs of Nena and Falco).  I am using all of these sources to study Spanish.
Good luck with your efforts.  Very admirable to study my difficult mother tongue!

Tina

27
Discusin en Espaol / Re: Hay alguien?
« on: May 28, 2008, 12:48 »
Hola desde Sunnyvale.  Soy de Alemania pero estoy viviendo en California (in este momento estoy en Alemania para vacaciones) .  Estoy estudiando Espanol - un idioma muy bonito y util.
Tina

28
Adobe Stock / Re: sales on FT since search engine change?
« on: May 20, 2008, 12:45 »
my sales aren't simply down, they have disappeared completely.  My port is about 450 so I am not expecting a lot: the usual 2-3 downloads a day, maybe a day without sales but not a single darn sale in a week or more.  I am too disheartened to even check my numbers.

29
Adobe Stock / Re: sales on FT since search engine change?
« on: May 19, 2008, 06:07 »
My sales aren't slow - I wish they were.  They are dead!  Not a sale in days. I don't even want to check anymore it is so disheartening.

30
Quote
When US economy hurts, then it hurts mostly US but many other markets will be affected also though I dont think it will hurt too much.
Wrong - sorry, buddy but when the US economy hurts everybody else hurts too, big time.  Who do you think buys plastic toys from China, cars from Germany, IT services from India?  The US, right.  And when they don't buy anymore, or buy less everybody will pay the price and it could be a heavy one.   Love it or hate it but the US has been driving global demand for goods and services for a long time.  That might change over time, as China and India become bigger markets but these guys are currently growing mainly because the Americans are buying their stuff putting the money they need for those shiny new Mercedes' (or whatever) in their pockets. 
 
The economy has long gone global and so has microstock. You can tell simply by checking who bought your pics on Fotolia or what time you sell something on SS (I pretty much guarantee you that a sale at 1 am PST is a European - or Asian sale). 

What does that mean for microstock? Hard to tell.  Will major companies ever overcome their bias against using non-exclusive pictures for major campaigns?  Time will show - but I wonder.  They might also use their power to drive down the prices for an exclusive photo shoot (you can call me a miserable little bottom-feeder but I would probably do that major shot for $300 less than you - just to do it).  They might have fewer new campaigns, advertising less frequently - all associated with major savings.
In general I think that recessions - unavoidable as they are - are good business for very few and so it would be foolish to assume that microstock as a whole will profit from this one. 
As always, just my 2 cents worth (these days, Euro cents, not US Dollar cents, though)

31
General Stock Discussion / Re: What to do with travel pics
« on: March 03, 2008, 12:38 »
Thanks for the input.  I'll try photoshelter - just signed up recently but haven't done much there yet as my Internet connection is slow and intermittent at best.

Quote
Personally I find it unethical having people pose for you and then sell their images (even as editorial).  It seems unfair to me that they got no compensation for it (and a couple of coins is not a compensation...).  I have several such images and I haven't put them anywhere.  It's a different story if you simply took images of people on the streets, passing by or involved in some activity.  Those would be ok for me as editorial, and I have some of those online.
To your point, Adelaide, I think the opposite is true: especially here in Kerala people have been delighted to have their picture taken and I make a big effort to get them a copy even if it means to spend hours editing pictures that I will never use anywhere or for anything and I believe it is much more ethical to take a picture of a person who consented to having it taken and make a few bucks off of it then take pictures of unsuspecting passers-by.   Just my opinion.

Tina

32
General Stock Discussion / What to do with travel pics
« on: March 02, 2008, 11:48 »
I am traveling for an extended period of time and have taken bunches of pictures (needless to say) everywhere I went (currently southern India).  None of the people pictures have a MR and so I was wondering what to do with them - if anything - with regards to microstock.  Is it worth my time and the effort to upload them as editorial only and if so where?  I have tried with a few that I took during carneval in Mexico and they haven't exactly sold like crazy (very seasonal topic, I realize, but still).

Any suggestions, experiences to share.

Thanks,

Tina

33
Panthermedia.net / Re: Is Panthermedia worth a shot?
« on: February 26, 2008, 12:02 »
I have about 100 pictures there - less then on other sites because until recently I had to translate everything into German, even for me as a native speaker that was a big hassle - and have only sold about 3 pics in the year or so I have been uploading.  Those 3 pics netted me 50 Euros, mind you, but still ....
Uploading can be cumbersome and just recently my perfect record (100% approval rating) has changed to a 100% rejection rate (only for like 5 pics but it bothers me nevertheless) so I am not sure what to do about them.  Traffic is very low and I think I'll just keep uploading at a low rate for the time being and see what happens but I am not sure I'd join again.
Hope that helps,

Tina

34
Panthermedia.net / Re: Need help interpreting Panthermedia message
« on: February 14, 2008, 15:25 »
Quote
Reason: Bitte Detailangaben ergnzen (bei Tieren/Pflanzen: Rasse/Art; bei Stdtefotos: Stdtenamen/Land, etc.)

this is what it means:
 please add details (for animals/plants: provide species/breed, for cityscapes: name of the city/country, etc.)

really straight forward, they just want some additional details for some of the pics (or all, I dunno)

Tina

35
183
so that makes a new total of 19029

36
search term:  plaster block
image bought: my toddler son playing with tools - honestly, he looks nothing like a plaster block  :)

What's up with the n/a's anyway?

37
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dream Editorial
« on: February 07, 2008, 20:14 »
I just got a couple editorials accepted I took at a Mardi Gras parade here in Mexico (Dreamstime).  I uploaded them also at Panthermedia but given their review times it is probably time for christmas pics by the time they get reviewed.

38
StockXpert.com / FTP uploads
« on: January 14, 2008, 02:22 »
I'd like to have a quick clarification from you guys who have been on StockXpert longer than I have.  I want to use FTP upload now that I finally set it up but it seems to me that every time I upload a picture with a person I need to upload the model release(s) anew and what is even worse, I have to upload it/them so the name matches the name of the picture.  Are they honestly expecting me to rename my model release 30 times for 30 pictures or am I not getting it? -  ???

Thanks,

Tina


39
General Stock Discussion / Re: Portfoli promotion
« on: January 08, 2008, 14:34 »
okay, stupid question showing the full degree of my webpage building ignorance :  how do I link to my portfolios on various sites on a google webpage?
Thanks for your help

40
Adobe Stock / Re: Fotolia, Then and Now.
« on: January 06, 2008, 16:59 »
I uploaed a largish batch of pics from a shoot in November and keyworded about 2/3 right away.  Then I got lazy and waited a few days to finish the rest up.  On the first batch I at least get some views, mind you, not many and even fewer sales, on the second: nada, nothing, zip, 0 views on some of them.  Same shoot, same model, same basic light set-up, very similar keywords (not that many ways of accurately describing a "young attractive woman") -  how does that make sense?  ???
I am pretty disenchanted with them by now, very low sales - and it used to be one of my better sites.  No more.

41
Dreamstime.com / can't upload
« on: December 31, 2007, 17:13 »
anybody else having problems uploading.  I can't either upload a new MR or resubmit the files I wanted to resubmit because of issues with the MR. 
After I select the approproate document in the Browse box the whole thing just relaods without the information.  I have "played " this enough times now to know that it's not me making a mistake.
Anybody else?

Thanks,

Tina

42
Shutterstock.com / Re: Feeding the Beast?
« on: December 19, 2007, 01:47 »
My bestseller has sold 313 times on SS - it just keeps selling.  In fact I am selling my "old" pictures (I have been on SS since April 2007) quite well across the board.  I don't keep stats but I would estimate about half new stuff, half old stuff.  When I started I thought sales would come mainly from new pics but so far that's not the case - I hope it stays that way.

43
Shutterstock.com / Re: SS is dying for me
« on: December 12, 2007, 13:06 »
I am seeing huge oscillations from one day to the next:  I have super-crappy days with like 8 downloads on a portfolio of over 500 and the next day I have 23 by the time I get up in the morning. It's not just weekends that are bad but there is also no consistency as to which weekday is good or bad.  'tis the season, I am guessing (hoping)

44
General Stock Discussion / How many in a series?
« on: December 01, 2007, 02:24 »
I just did a photo shoot with a adorable 3 year old girl and have tons of cute pictures of her as angel, in her princess dress, ...  I want to upload them all - but I wonder how many should I really upload?  What the "recommended series size"? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tina

45
Shutterstock.com / Re: High reject rate at SS
« on: November 28, 2007, 12:39 »
I upload pretty regularly about 10 pictures within a day of the last batch being reviewed and have seen dramatic swings from batch to batch.  I had some unusually bad days with lots of pictures getting refused for lighting/white balance reasons and the I have days where very similar shots (same model, same shoot, same light setup) get accepted.
I try not to get upset about it but I have to admit - I don't always manage.
Also, review times have been slow - hopefully just a Turkey-Day effect that will go away.

46
Adobe Stock / Different Fotolia payout in different countries?
« on: November 23, 2007, 12:25 »
Do I get this right:  I am on the US version of Fotolia and am making 35% of whatever I sell in US Dollars .  If I were to sell through the British website I would make the same percentage of the same amount of money but in British Pounds or if I were on the German website I would make the same in Euros.
I hate to point out the obvious but the BP is twice as much as the Dollar and the Euro almost 1.5 times as much as the Dollar.  So why wouldn't I sell through one of the other sites (okay, it would suck to have to translate everything into German but that isn't the case for the British webpage and moreover most of my sales seem to come from Europe anyway).

Am I missing something?


47
Kiva is here in San Franciscao and while I can't vouch for them doing things right I can say that they have been featured in a number of well-respected radio shows that I have heard (I first heard about them on National Public Radio) .  So far my approach was to trust that NPR did its research before having the founder on one of their shows.  If anybody else knows differently, please let us know.

Tina

48
Off Topic / Help with asome quick event photography tips, please
« on: November 07, 2007, 20:09 »
Quite surprisingly I am shooting a Diwali event tomorrow (learned about it today).  It's sort of inofficial and I am not being paid for it but I would still like to do a good job (obviously).  It's indoors and I don't know the location.  I'll pack my Speedlight, my 85 mm f1/8 and my IS long lense and could use a few good hints, tips and tricks for the more experienced among you.
Thanks,

Tina

49
Hi Sharply:

thanks for your suggestions.  I am going to my newly rented studio later to take more pics of my teenage model (my sons baby-sitter) ;-)
Tina

50
I have been on Shutterstock since mid-April of this year and am very happy overall with my experience there (and my dlds).  My near-term goal is to have a reliable 1000 downloads per month (now its mote like 350).  Could you guys take a look at my portfolio and suggest ways to achieve that (beside the obvious - need more pictures.  I just had two really good photo shoots but am uploading slowly to keep the momentum)?

Thanks gals and guys.

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