ADDRESSED TO IS EXCLUSIVES

IS has made quite a remarkable impression since the days when they got everyone pissed off with them a while back.
for me, as an indie and a very very recent IS contributor, it is the change in the attitude of the reviewers to be specific and more communicative that truly made IS review system commendable . as we know FT and the others are still giving those of you rejections with reasons that boggles your mind and vague reasons to say the least.

but i am not interested in your problem of rejection here.
i am more interested in hearing from those who have gone exclusive in the past couple of years, to ask them if they regret or feel it was a great move.
if it's the latter, why? other than having one site to upload RF.

also for everyone else of the exclusive IS, how long did it take you to be exclusive material. and how many images did you have in the portfolio before you decided it was time .

thank you in advance for sharing your insights.

ADDRESSED TO IS EXCLUSIVES

I thought I was having Deja Vu. http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/how-many-years-to-become-exclusive-any-regrets/msg129684/?topicseen#new

For me, good move.

Reasons? Sales performance, professionalism, efficiency.

How long? One year. Mostly due to images being locked in elsewhere.

Images? Dunno. Maybe around 150-200.

I had contributed to a mid-stock agency for 4 years as an amateur. Made a few sales and was excited each time someone paid for one of my images. And it was quite decent money. But when I submitted images, they either accepted or rejected them. Never a word about WHY. No community to exchange thoughts and learn.

I started with iStock in early 2007. I also signed up for Shutterstock at the same time. iStock accepted 2 of my 3 application images, so I had to come up with only one new image and after I did, they accepted me within 24 hours. Shutterstock rejected 5 of my initial 10, so I would have to invest more time to learn first. I never found the time to do so. After joining iStock it took me about three months to realise THAT I have to change things and WHAT I have to change to become more successful. Partly because they gave rejection reasons, sometimes even attached an area of the image pointing out the problems. Partly because there was a great community to learn from and the Critique Request forum.

It took me 9 months to become exclusive - I was lucky because at that time they reduced the requirement to 250 downloads and 50% acceptance rate when I just had hit slightly more than 300. But otherwise it would have taken me maybe two months longer because my images started selling far better than I ever imagined.

Could I have had the same experience with another microstock agency? Most likely yes. But I didn't have the time to improve my skills in different places for different agencies. That's why I stick with iStock. Now I can submit RF images to iStock, three different Getty collections and with the Partner Program to subscription sites. I see less and less reason why I would go non-exclusive because I have all the options I need.

Regrets? Yes, once or twice I was seriously reconsidering exclusivity. But mostly from reading in this forum and an independent German forum I realised that other agencies may be different but not really better. They all have different reasons why contributors get angry about them.

Being exclusive at iStock allows me to plan, shoot and process for the needs of one agency. More time for my images (the fun stuff), less time for administration (the boring stuff). And it meant going to places, getting to great shootings, meeting nice people and having a lot of fun which I probably wouldn't have done if iStock was just one of the ten agencies I submitted to.

I thought I was having Deja Vu. http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/how-many-years-to-become-exclusive-any-regrets/msg129684/?topicseen#new

For me, good move.

Reasons? Sales performance, professionalism, efficiency.

How long? One year. Mostly due to images being locked in elsewhere.

Images? Dunno. Maybe around 150-200.

wow, that's really impressive Paulie!
i was under the impression that it takes at least 5 years and a lot more like 6,000 images
if you intend to be an IS exclusive.

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on January 16, 2010, 22:30

I thought I was having Deja Vu. http://www.microstockgroup.com/istockphoto-com/how-many-years-to-become-exclusive-any-regrets/msg129684/?topicseen#new
For me, good move. Reasons? Sales performance, professionalism, efficiency. How long? One year. Mostly due to images being locked in elsewhere.  Images? Dunno. Maybe around 150-200.

wow, that's really impressive Paulie! i was under the impression that it takes at least 5 years and a lot more like 6,000 images if you intend to be an IS exclusive.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question but depending on your image acceptance rating you just need 250-500 downloads to apply for IS exclusive and I don't think there's a minimum timeframe. I think that's pretty attainable in a short amount of time even with a small portfolio.

- i also have been getting whatever resubmittable rejections  approved
 how does RESUBMIT approval figure in approval ratio ?
is it one reject, one approval ? or one approval?

It's one reject, one approval.

Missing MR don't count as rejections.

i also project  to put most of my future works in RM with Alamy, as for now, i have 100% approval there but all in RF..., and i am told i can still maintain Alamy with IS exclusivity.

I'm not sure I have interpreted you correctly here, but you can't maintain Alamy RF with IS exclusivity - only Alamy RM.

You will have to remove all Alamy RF to apply for IS Exclusive - or convert to RM, if Alamy will permit.

Quote from: PERSEUS on January 17, 2010, 09:54

i also project  to put most of my future works in RM with Alamy, as for now, i have 100% approval there but all in RF..., and i am told i can still maintain Alamy with IS exclusivity.

I'm not sure I have interpreted you correctly here, but you can't maintain Alamy RF with IS exclusivity - only Alamy RM.

You will have to remove all Alamy RF to apply for IS Exclusive - or convert to RM, if Alamy will permit.

yes, you are right, i should have said i meant keep the RM, and give Alamy enough time to remove the RF. and no, you cannot change the licensing with Alamy. only request deletion of your port.
rightfully so, as who wants an RM that had RF history.

Quote from: Gannet77 on January 17, 2010, 12:35

EDITED
As for regrets - well, if I had any, I would drop exclusivity.  It's not a life sentence.

good point.
so i construe this :
 the ones who are not IS exclusives ...are not because they cannot... rather than they do not wish to be.
it's pretty obvious , esp now that there is a lot more carrot waving to be IS exclusive.

Yes, I would think that is the case for most independents.

I would estimate that most people - including myself - could probably make somewhat more in royalties by being independent, but it does involve extra time and work, so it's really a decision that depends on your personal circumstances.  I spend too much time at the computer as it is, I prefer to keep it simple!

EDITED.
Actually, I guess you could ask Support specifically about that, they might give permission on a case by case basis. But it's the principle that you have to do that - for instance I've used photos taken on a mobile phone - the pics are only used on the Smartboard, they don't have to be 'pixel perfect'.

i'm sorry if i misread.

did you say you actually got a picture approved by Istock taken with a MOBILE?
i don't use cell phones, only land line, i'm one of those ppl who never quite like the idea being contacted by phone literally wherever i am. i leave all contact to leave me a voice mail.

going back to the "pixel quality" of mobiles  (cell phones...to those of you living in North Am). are they really deficient in resolution?

if so, how did that get past the reviewer of IS?

Quote from: PERSEUS on January 17, 2010, 17:21

Quote from: ShadySue on January 17, 2010, 05:23

EDITED.
Actually, I guess you could ask Support specifically about that, they might give permission on a case by case basis. But it's the principle that you have to do that - for instance I've used photos taken on a mobile phone - the pics are only used on the Smartboard, they don't have to be 'pixel perfect'.

i'm sorry if i misread.
did you say you actually got a picture approved by Istock taken with a MOBILE?

No. What I said was that in many cases a photo taken on a mobile is adequate for many school uses but still iStock's exclusive rules would prevent an exclusive from offering them to a file-sharing site. (basically I was saying that iStock would never want the photos, but exclusives can't freely share them, which I find a real pain)

phew, thx ShadySue.

yes, i have to admit there are still certain "quirky" conditions that seem a bit unreasonable:
one being what you just mentioned,
the other being .... rejected images.

Interesting responses. Certainly pushes me closer towards exclusivity.

i don't use cell phones, only land line, i'm one of those ppl who never quite like the idea being contacted by phone literally wherever i am.

I thought I was the only person left on the world without a cell phone!