I would say that with SS you need to make sure your first 10 are VERY STOCK WORTHY images.  No real estate or landscapes snapshot looking images.  The first time I submitted at SS I uploaded all the wrong images.  I got in the second time and now have a 85% approval rate.  On the first 10 I think they are expecting to see the best you have to offer.  If they see a group of 10 just so-so images you get rejected every time even if the images are technically superior.  I guess they figure that if you're not submitting worthy stock for the first 10 then they don't need you.

Bottom line is this.  Take a long hard look at your work.  Then take it to the next level for stock.  What works for portraits and weddings won't work at all for stock.  I've been taking pictures for over 30 years and getting into stock has been a whole new learning experience for me to say the least.   

A total rethink on overall content is what got me in. The images that I submitted were carefully thought out technically of course, but in reality they really were just about on a similar level technically with previous submissions. I also broadened the range - some illustration work, holidays photos that popped, some isolated objects. It got me past the 6 out of 7 malady that many suffer, and now my acceptance rate runs about 90%.

I have the sneaking suspicion that if the reviewer is easily bored by the content, they are more quick to mark things off.

Rethink that content, even f it means shooting specifically for the application process. A well thought out apple in the hand is worth much more plain old birds in the bushes.

Right now my small portfolio of 57 has 160 DLs I think since Mar 29. In the next month I will work on getting the number of images up. Have been a little short on stock shooting time the past few weeks.

Does anyone miss a column on the front page that shows how many posts a thread has?

I would kind of like to see this. Kind of  nice for when someone needs help but not many are replying. I don't need at all to see a "number of views" column. That is pretty much useless.

I have a separate email address set up at my own domain just for paypal and the bank account. In that way, if I ever get one of the spammies I will know the address has been "shared" or compromised in some way. The address is never used for any outgoing email of any kind, nor is it ever used on a board, for a microstock acccount, etc. My brother suggested this as he got caught up in a paypal mess late last year.

I did an experiment when I had AOL a few years back. I opened up an emal address off my AOL account one nite. I just opened the address, never went onto to the internet using that account name, never emailed from that account name, never did ANYTHING under that account name,  It was a very unique address, not a common name with numbers, like John2634 or something like that. It was more like w29z44yt5. Within a week, I was gettting all kinds of porn spam, Kind of tells me it was an inside AOL job. I dumped the whole AOL thing shortly after that.

Even their Java uploader works great for me, and "nothing Java" has ever worked right for me anywhere. Always get some kind of stupid warning box, or it locks up etc. Yes, have all updates installed.

FTP works great too. So far this site has given me the least headaches as far as uploading. If I have just a few, I usually use the Flash uploader. A whole bunch and I dump into the FTP and go get some coffee. When I come back tey're done and waiting for me to click them off to Pending land.

Yaymicro is also a member of Kiva

http://www.kiva.org/lender/yaymicrodotcom

always some drama
quite the cast of characters
blame the miz, I do.

 

As noted on one of the related threads here, I just sent a listing of supporting info off to Fotolia regarding the stolen images that now reside on their site. Sent along your Magic Book link, and some others.

Well this guy Bob should at least get some $$, as this I think was the top selling image in the Zillman98 portfolio.

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1078047-stack-of-one-hundred-dollar-bills-u-s.html

I just went to look at number of sales, and the stolen port under Zillman98 is now suspended, along with user Muhamed2525. I think the number of sales was 13 when I last looked.

The copyright right or proprietary right owners may not be the photographer. One simple example is where a studio owner hire photographers to shoot the photos, the studio owner is the copyright and proprietary owner, while the photographers are the employee and not the copyright holders, because they took the photos in the course of their employment.

I am not saying that guy was the legitimate owner. However, since DT has not taken down the photos, I wonder if there is a reason behind their inaction.

DT has not taken any action because they are off enjoying a lovely weekend. It says so right in the related post from an infringed user on their forum.

How does work for hire even apply here? The images were ripped from various users that can be verified as legitimate artists across different sites.

If any of you find threads on any of these sites pertaining to this subject, would you please be so kind as to post them here? I cannot find any and I'm EXTREMELY curious to see how the individual sites "deal" with the posts. If they close them or punish any of the "posters", this might lend credibility to the "insider" speculations.

THX

Here is the thread that Lumaxart2D started at DT. The last post right now is by one of the Admins saying "awww c'mon, they're off for the weekend. give em a break..."

http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_9737

And I personally admonished them via private email for having a Site Admin that was first to link the offender as a fave photog, so just counting the minutes till my account suspension. They have done it for stranger reasons. For instance the saga of a Polish girl reporting a blog article as "useful" when it was just chatter. The girl just automatically marked it because she knew the photog name or was a friend. Happened fairly recently. Don't know f you can access blog posts from the outside world, but here's the link anyway

http://blog.dreamstime.com/2008/03/25/to-apologize-and-warn_art25856

As far as sites like SS, IS FO etc, well just hoping some of the active people there check in here as well and see what is going on.

But Scott's gold guy with a trophy isn't in the portfolio you pointed to - did they just take down that one image after Chode notified them?

I think it may have come down quickly. The DT people just an weekend vacation is all  

On FO, they seem to work weekends as I recall getting image appvals there on Sat/Sun.

my goodness, are you guys thinking it's an insider ripoff?
this can open a can of worms... like why certain good photos are rejected from many of you long time members.

this could be exciting... and scary,, too (for a newbie!)

[/quote]

Everyone remember Joma said this and not me! 

Well, I questioned the Anyra link based on what has been discovered. It's just too fishy. Site Admins should be beyond reproach, period. In my opinion, they should not be allowed to market images, nor show favoritism towards ANY photog. A Site Admin should be just that, and nothing else.

I don't know how reviews are done at DT, but I think it's a fair comment to say that having 1200+ images many/most of which were stolen from other contributors go through the review system in 2 months indicates they need to take a serious look at what they're doing to prevent this type of thing from happening again.

It's not that people will stop trying to pull these con games, or even that the sites fall for it initially, it's that so many images did in such a short time and none of it raised any red flags.

I looked at this user's referrals and noted one new photographer, Photosmillenium, for whom zillman98 is a favorite. I was staggered at what's been approved for him - page after page of simple bursts and sunrays, things that I'd never have thought DT would approve (very low quality work, IMO). I don't recognize any of the stuff though.

Then I noticed that a site admin, Anyra, lists zillman98 as a favorite photographer.  He certainly wasn't flying under the radar...

Photosmillenium - I can't put my finger on it, but I can almost swear I've seen some of these images before. Particularly some of the busines bar graph ones with the silhouettes.

And on the Admin Anyra being the first to list Zillman98 as a faved photographer, well I just emailed DT specifically about that connection, so I definitely do feel my account suspension looming, keeping in line with the cloak and dagger and KGB-like behavior of some of the DT Admins.