oh duh...if it had been a snake...

lol

Quote from: helix7 on September 11, 2008, 23:38

I had to stop uploading to SV a while ago, since I was making about $3 a month there. Still am, and haven't seen any signs of improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if SV went the way of LO soon.

Agree. I'm full of patience with people struggling to get from nowhere to success, but these guys had all the resources anybody could ask for, but still it's rather dysfunctional.

I agree too with both of you.  SV would be doing very well (IMHO) if Corbis was really behind them 100% (in spirit not just financially).

Thanks for the detailed info. mantonino.  I have shot a few weddings albeit they were all family/friends and most importantly shot for FREE.    I have been reading books and researching the subject and from what I've read I see where the business end of things is very important especially for weddings.  My Husband and I do run two side businesses in addition to our full-time jobs.  He has an MBA so thankfully I can rely on him for much of the business detail. We also have an accountant to keep our books and taxes straight.

I'm not some youngster who just got my first camera for Christmas last year and decided I could make money with it.  I'm 45 and I've had a camera in my hands since I was about 12 I think.  Although I could not afford an SLR until I was about 20. So I do have a bit of experience behind the camera.

There are a several things that have made me hesitant about shooting weddings.  First, I understand it's a heavy responsibility.  I wouldn't want to be the reason a bride and groom have no decent images by which to remember their wedding day. Second, I'm a bit leary about having to deal with "bridezillas" and "momzillas."  Third, I know my skills with my strobes are still lacking and so I need more study and practice with them (the Strobist blog has come in handy for this).

If/when I decide I'm actually going to do this, I will arrange to shadow and/or assist a professional wedding photographer several times before I try it on my own.  I understand there's a lot to learn about shooting weddings.  That's why I'm asking questions and researching information before I make the commitment.  Again though, I would not (could not) make shooting weddings a full-time gig.  I have a full-time IT career which I will have until I retire (hopefully within the next 10 years).  I'm working on building various streams of photography related income now so that by the time I retire, the streams are flowing well. 

Anyway thanks everyone for the information.  I'll continue to research before I make any decisions.  Hopefully this explanation will appease those who might have been "rolling their eyes" over my questions/comments.

TGIF!!! Enjoy the weekend!   

Thanks everyone.  I'm definitely not going into this blindly. I've resisted for quite awhile now.  I certainly don't intend to make this my primary photography income stream.  I think it might be worthwhile giving it a go though along with senior portraits (which I've also resisted doing).  I'd prefer to just go backpacking and shoot nothing but nature, but it just does not sell well.  I need to increase my income from photography to at least cover expenses or the IRS is going to eventually decide this is just a hobby and not a real business.  I suppose I could do more isolated "stuff" on white, but that sure gets boring.

This sucks.  I was really hoping this one would succeed.  I'm very disappointed.

Excellent!  Thanks, pixart, freezingpictures and leaf!  I'll take a look at these. 

I had 3 cannons in a row that "went south."  1 film and 2 video.  They all went in for repairs at least once.  I had Nikons before that with no problems, and Pentax following with no problems.  I guess everyone's mileage varies 

Same goes for ink jet printers.  My Husband detests Epson printers while I've never had a single problem.  He love HP which is okay in my eyes, but not nearly as good as my Epson! 

Quote from: nativelight on June 09, 2008, 14:25

Quote from: paulacobleigh on June 09, 2008, 14:01

Quote from: a.k.a.-tom on June 07, 2008, 08:56

The point:  I shoot what I want which is primarily landscape & nature, and I get paid to do it  and I am still doing what I enjoyed doing when I shot my first 35mm picture  47 years ago.

I'm a lot like you in the sense that I shoot what I like and upload it.  If people buy it, great.  If not, oh well.  I am not really into photographing people.  But I love hiking and nature.

I agree with both of you!  If either of you are ever out this way, give me a shout and we'll strap on a backpack and head out on a trail.

Watch out!!!   You might just hear a knock on the door!!! LOL....
BTW, Where is 'out this way',  Nativelight? =tom

Sorry, Tom.  I didn't see your question until someone revived this thread today.  "Out this way" is the Rocky Mountains of Colorado - Colorado Springs to be more specific.  Pikes Peak is my "backyard."   

If I were you, I'd either let it continue to sit there until you reach a payout or upload just a few images to spur some sales.  I did that with StockXpert and BigStock.  Once I reached a payout, I deleted my images and cancelled my accounts.  I also cancelled 123RF and lost the money I had accrued there, but it was less than $10.

If you're near a payout, don't give up and let them keep the money.

Just my 2 cents.

Quote from: nativelight on September 03, 2008, 15:27

...Gotta love "the google!"

Gotta love the phrase "the Google." 

Yup...and "the internets."

Quote from: nativelight on September 02, 2008, 15:01

ugh...just another browser to have to test all of our apps on...more damned work that I detest!   

well since it is open source perhaps it will become more of a standard??

maybe, but until then every new feature or bug fix has to be tested on IE 7, Safari, Firefox and shortly IE 8...i really hate testing...if I could make my IT salary doing photography, I'd quit this job!   

I'm sure there are many good places, but I can personally recommend godaddy.com.  I've bought several domains through them and I have a couple of sites hosted with them.  Their customer support is very good and very quick - at least this has been my experience with them.

I don't really care for their site though.  There's so much content on the home page that it's often difficult to navigate.