I stock and uploading images

[bogtrotter]

Hi there..have just signed up to I stock as a contributor ..I now have to submit 3 sample images. When I try to upload from aperture I get a response from I stock saying I should submit images larger than 1200 x 1600 pixels ,I have checked the metadata in aperture and the images are much larger than this....am now at a bit of a loss,am I doing something wrong ? Has anyone else uploaded without problems ? Thanks in advance Steve w.

[McMacro]

Can you not just export them from aperture, then upload through the form on the website?

[xrrr]

Are you exclusive to iStock?

I ask because if you submit to more than one agency then I found it far easier to export the image to a file and then upload the file manually. That way you can track what images you have uploaded to where and if you decide to submit to a new agency in the future all the files are handily processed, keyworded and in one place.

I use a tool called "Deep Meta" to upload to iStock and I use a website called picworkflow.com to upload to the other agencies (Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Veer, Fotolia, Bigstock & 123RF).

My workflow is roughly as follows (you may find it is a bit OTT but I track everything in a Google spreadsheet as I found when I first started I was losing track of what had been submitted where):

• Import RAW files into Lightroom
• Process in LR and (sometimes) PS
• Add caption and keywords in LR
• Export to JPG file
• Rename the file to "<unique number> - <photo title>.jpg" (e.g. "0667 - Windmill Silhouette at Sunset.jpg")
• Enter the file into my tracking spreadsheet
• Copy the file into my submissions directory
• Import the file into DeepMeta and submit to iStock
• FTP the file to picworkflow for submission everywhere else
• Update the tracking spreadsheet to show what has been uploaded and submitted

(wait)

• When I get notified a file is accepted or rejected I then update the spreadsheet to mark as 'accept' or 'reject'

Spready looks like this:


Doing it all in a Google spreadsheet lets me track stats and stuff. e.g.







I keep meaning to explore using Lightroom rather than a separate directory but the file copying management takes about 1 minute. The time comes in allocating categories for each individual agency as there is nothing out there to automate it.

Not answering your question I know, but hope that helps!

Edited by xrrr on Tuesday 5th July 22:14

[RobDickinson]

xrrr has it been worth all that effort?

[xrrr]

RobDickinson said:

xrrr has it been worth all that effort?

LOL I often ask myself that!

If I answer it in 2 ways:

1) Is it worth the effort to go through the effort of submitting photos to stock sites, filling in all the keywords, assigning categories on each site, etc.... Yes. I make a couple of hundred quid a month (before tax) that funds my hobby plus I have learned shed loads about composition, lighting and photoshopping. I use a rule of thumb that from RAW import to submission to all agencies takes 1 hour per picture on average (less if there is a group of similar images submitted at the same time). That focusses my mind on self-quality control. I see it as 1 hour effort up front and then £5-£10 per image per year payment for at least 3 years (longer if the image has a long shelf life). It won't pay the mortgage but it does put all that expensive equipment to good use.

2) Is it worth being a stat junky? Yes (just about). Yes for the submission tracking as it can get tricky to track what is going on with submissions to each agency, who has been sent what and what their approval decision was, esp when you get rejection feedback from some sites that let you resubmit. The sales and finance tracking takes me about 5 mins per day but isn't all that useful - other than ego boosting and answering "how much do you make" questions. If I was exclusive to one agency then the Agency website would tell me everything that I track manually but exclusivity means less income.

Edited by xrrr on Tuesday 5th July 22:11

[RobDickinson]

Do you enjoy what you shoot for stock? Is it shot specifically for stock?

[xrrr]

RobDickinson said:

Do you enjoy what you shoot for stock? Is it shot specifically for stock?

Yes I do enjoy it. I see it as a learning challenge. About 80% of my stock portfolio was taken purposefully for stock, the other 20% are images I took whilst out and about or on holiday. Recently I have been doing more landscape oriented stuff rather than indoor flash based stuff as I have not had as much time and outdoor stuff is a lot quicker as there is less setup and less processing needed.

I have also tried people shots with friends or myself as models. Last year I rented a room for a day and did a studio session with friends that was really good fun - the processing got a bit samey admittedly but it was worth it. Every now and again I get an email from a friend saying they saw a photo of me somewhere - last one was a work colleague who saw a photo of me in an article in the inflight magazine of Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi's carrier). Every now and again I stumble across one of my images on websites too.

[Ed_P]

xrrr said:

... I have learned shed loads about composition, lighting and photoshopping ...

This is how I started off (making some money from my hobby that is), and because of the very exacting requirements of most microstock agencies, you really have to master the "basics" of photography to get a reasonable number of images in your stock portfolios. An excellent training method I reckon.

I've now given up my main "day job" and I'm concentrating on building the photography business. It's all rather modest as far as turnover is concerned (primarily to boost my income when I retire later this year), but it's the stock work that really set me on the road.

[bogtrotter]

So tried uploading one more time, Bingo it worked ! I can only assume the problem was with the i stock site.Thanks for the above input though..