iStockphoto
 

Are any of you guys signed up? If yes, do you use it mostly to download images, etc? Did you sign up to upload them as well? It seems like a long process. You have to fill out a form with personal info + your SIN etc... and mail it off to Calgary. Is it worth the trouble to all do that?

Thank y'all! :thumbsup:

No. Don't even bother dealing with the cheap stock photo sites. You'll never learn enough to make it worth your while. If you want to get into stock photography, go with the big guys like Getty or Corbis. Granted, you need to submit 200 of your best images to even get your foot in the door.

Wow! 200 images? Holy shit... Ok... that's something to think about. I guess I better get my ass in gear and go out there and shoot like mad :p

Getty owns iStockphoto

With stock photo, does the images need to be a certain size as well?

I know, but iStock is one of those stock agencies that take total advantage of amateurs, only paying 25cents to $1 on average per photo, or a super low flat fee for royalty-free usage. Your photos are worth MUCH more if used in an ad for example. Getty or Corbis will pay hundreds or thousands per image based on usage, and you get to keep all rights to your images. I know someone who woke up one day to have a $14,000US deposit in his bank account from Getty, just for a 1/4 or 1/2 page ad in some US magazine.

Now ask you: iStock will pay you 20-40% per image bought/used by a buyer...but those images are royalty free! The buyer can use it for whatever the hell they want to use it for. Getty, on the other hand, will pay you 40% per usage, and since your images are rights managed, you get to control how the images will be used. Yes, Getty owns iStock, but if you look at the images in their respective databases, the quality of the images on Getty are a hell of a lot better than iStock. Conversely, it is a hell of a lot harder to get accepted by Getty vs. iStock.

I don't know about iStock, but here are the submission requirements for Getty as of last year when we had our stock imagery classes & workshops at Focal Point:

* Only accept JPEG images which have been converted from uncompressed 47.5-52 MB TIFF files, (flattened, with no layers, paths or channels) - 24 bit RGB Color, 8 bits per channel (8 bit file).
* For 35mm digital capture, we strongly recommend use of a professional-quality digital SLR using RAW or uncompressed TIFF format. Most compact "point-and-shoot" and consumer-level cameras do not produce images of the level of quality our customers demand, and would not be suitable for submission to Getty Images.
* All isolated visible logos must be removed via retouching prior to submission, as must dust, hair, scratches etc.
* Model and Property releases are required with all images where relevant and must be supplied in digital format. To download copies of our releases please click here .
* Metadata (also known as captioning) must also be supplied to us digitally in IPTC, XMP, Excel or Text File formats.
* We only accept digital files from scanned film if they have been drum scanned by a professional scanning house or scanned using the approved desk top film scanners from the following list: Imacon 949, 848, 646, 343; Fuji Lanovia Quattro and Finescan; Creo Eversmart Supreme 11, Eversmart Select 11, IQsmart 1,2,3 <--- all $10,000US+ scanners.


...so pretty much a MINIMUM of a 12MP DSLR and pro-caliber lenses, assuming you have a properly exposed & composed image, no cropping. Remember, this is just for preliminary submissions only! You are also required to take a test to see if you understand Getty's submission rules. You have to view a whole slew of images ans reply to questions like whether a certain image is okay, or violates their rules by having excessive sharpening, visible re-touching, not sharp, etc.

Yes, those rules are tough, and many people would and do fail. That's why bottom of the barrel stock agencies like iStock were started up by the top tier stock agencies, so images that are 'adequate' for certain applications could be sold at rock bottom prices. This enables the rejects to get their foot in the door, so to speak, but it also brings down the industry as a whole, IMHO.

Has to be a minimum 1600x1200, but they ask to ALWAYS upload the highest resolution possible. Their requirements are pretty nuts to tho (maybe not as crazy as Getty but still)... Your photo can't be blurry (obviously), can't be noisy etc, they only accept certain themes, so no crap like pics of your pets, or sunsets, etc...

Senna, those requirements sound insane... Kind of sad tho, the fact that you have to go and shell out bunch of cash on decent enough equipment in order to submit your images with a high chance of not even getting accepted... But I guess for pros it's the way to go.