So, my last post explained my new thinking on microstock. In light of this I have spent a week or two signing up and uploading to various microstock agencies. Despite my feelings towards keywording, tagging and uploading 😉 I’ve not actually found it *that* difficult or too time-consuming, as I’ve been trying ProStockMaster software, and have found it to be great!
Currently I’m waiting for approval at IStockPhoto and StockXpert. Still undecided about some of the smaller companies – LuckyOliver and SnapVillage. Actually I’m pretty decided about SnapVillage, but it’s not yet got FTP fundtion and isnt included in ProStockMaster, so I’ve left it for now.
So far I’ve been uploading to Dreamstime, Fotolia and BigStockPhoto.
I’ve had higher acceptance rates on Dreamstime, but still some surprises! Images I thought would be a shoe-in have been turned down here, but accepted elsewhere. On the other hand, resubmissions to Dreamstime after correcting errors have all been approved so far. I’m finding Dreamstime easiest to use at the moment, but that’s largely because Fotolia isn’t working on Firefox, so I have to use my laptop, and BigStockPhoto hasnt finishing approving my first batch yet.
I suspect a lot of people supplement their earnings with the affiliate programs that each site offers, so here are some nice shiny affiliate badges – if you want to sign up as a photographer or buyer I get a bonus 🙂
Also, back when I first found about microstock a few years ago, I said to a friend that soon it’ll be stock footage that sells. With mobile technology, websites, etc. I could see a market for short clips of footage..and now look! I also didn’t know that vector graphics were sold this way so I’m thinking of looking into that side of things. I have a lot of vector stuff that I’ve put together over the last few years – it’d be nice to see them get used to be honest, otherwise they are just taking up space! 😉 I guess the lesson here is to trust my instincts!!
Mel Preston Photography 
Damn, Mel – are you REALLY going to try and post these pretty much every day? No wonder you have lots of work to do, if you want to write that often!
Ok, I did notice that there were several day gaps between some of the posts, but you still put a lot of effort into this – so its a shame you don’t spell-check before you publish. Yeah, I know – I’m a spelling and grammar cop and completely boring, but you want to try reading the posts. You’ll shock yourself, because I know you like things to be right almost as much as I do.
Anyway, all that aside, the comment I was really going to make is about your “micro-stock versus pro-stock” discussion, which I happen to think is pretty damn important. And not least because I want to steal some of your pictures for my own site!
Since I do software rather than photos, and websites rather than stock, my point of view is different. I could – and will in my own blog (http://www.mpreston.blogspot.com) – discuss the devaluing of coding skills in the same way you talk about devaluing photographer skills and for much the same reason.
I will be honest and admit that I am using cheap and cheerful pre-built “stock-designs” such as my blog page, admittedly with a little bit of tweaking to improve it. I’ll also be honest and admit that I need micro-stock to dress it up since a cheap website is no place to use expensive pro-stock, but the fact is that it is not very good – any professional could do much better.
The same applies to micro-stock in your business. A quick look at the designs provided by Blogger is enough to show that they are amateurish (and WordPress has the very same faults, I see, though they do hide theirs better). As an example, compare the very similar – properly done – design for my homw page with my blog page. The blog is stuck to a fixed size. But change the size of the browser window on the main site and every part of it changes size with you! Blogger does not even try to do that.
Fact is, you get what you pay for. Micro-stock can only ever be a simple, pretty, but not very good photo. It simply is not worth putting all that much effort into it. Just make sure the buyers know. You are a professional and you CAN do much more than micro-stock makes worth your while.
By: Mark on April 16, 2008
at 12:20 pm
Wow…and I think my posts are long! 😉
The easy distribution methods offered by the internet are going to shake up many areas of production, and professional work – photography is just the one that interests me 🙂
I like to go back to how the modernist thinkers approached the same issue when photography was an emerging field, and recommend a look at Walter Benjamins ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm
An enduring favourite of mine! 😉
By: gurumel on April 16, 2008
at 5:56 pm