Monday 7 August 2006

Shutterstock now has 32,000 contributors

Shutterstock


Press release from shutterstock

Shutterstocks® Network of Photographers Hits 32,000
Written by Press Release
Friday, 04 August 2006
Adding a Record-Setting 3,000 New Photographers in July Alone, Worlds Largest Subscription-Based Stock Photo Agency Continues to Attract International Talent


New York, NYAugust 3, 2006Shutterstock® is pleased to announce that its worldwide network of contributing photographers has reached 32,000. The geographic, stylistic, and cultural diversity of Shutterstocks photographers, not to mention their sheer numbers, ensures that Shutterstock maintains the most varied and relevant collection of premium images possible. Shutterstock, which currently adds about 15,000 new images a week to its collection, is popular among photographers for its user-friendly submission process and prompt response time. This, of course, translates to a stronger Shutterstock photo librarycurrently pushing one million imagesa collection that has become a go-to resource for the creative community.

July was a banner month for the company. Shutterstock added a record 3,000 photographers to its community last month alone, all of whom are now submitting new content to the site. And photographers earnings are keeping pace with their numbers: commissions earned by photographers also hit a record last month. This shows that Shutterstock is not only recruiting new talent to the site, but that these new photographers are proving to be remarkably adept, i.e., their photos are being downloaded frequently by Shutterstock subscribers. The constant influx of new photographers ensures that the quality and quantity of the collection continues to improve.

The continued success of the company depends equally on these two issues. You cant have sustainable growth without quality content, said Jon Oringer, CEO of Shutterstock. Were grateful to have a constant stream of premium images coming in from photographers around the worldtogether we are building an image library of which all 32,000 of us should be very proud.

Both photographers and their photographs must meet strict standards to become a part of the Shutterstock community. Currently, about 40% of submitted photographs meet screeners criteria for acceptance; the balance is turned away. In order for new photographers to begin submitting regularly to Shutterstock, a certain percentage of their first portfolio must be accepted. If they do not meet this standard, they are not permitted to submit at that time, though they are invited to try again after a month has elapsed. These high standards are the key to maintaining the quality of Shutterstocks photo collection even as the site grows at an unprecedented rate.

So if you want to join up, click on the banner below:

Shutterstock

Saturday 5 August 2006

iStock now does video

View My Portfolio

For anyone who does videos, istock now does videos so have a look.

For those that haven't heard of istock, they sell photos, and now videos, for you. They are cheap, so people can afford to buy them. Each one can sell over and over again so if you have a good image, over time, it can earn you quite a lot.

View My Portfolio

Tuesday 1 August 2006

Microstock photo results for July

Shutterstock

I haven't done much this month (submitting wise) and yet I earned just a little bit more than last month. This is a good sign as it shows that it is a good passive income stream that I am getting, even if I am away from the computer. I also got a payout from two more to bring that to a total of 4 that I have received payouts from.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

24% shutterstock
28% dreamtime
10% Fotolia
14% istockphoto
6% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
8% StockXpert


However, my pick of the month is dreamtime . Sales are increasing (I am not the only one to report this) and the amounts are increasing as the amount of old credits (half the price) start running out:

Royalty Free Images


Fotolia is now above the 1million photos (as predicted last month) so that are also a hot pick for when they start their marketing drive (note they onlly really started in Janurary and are already the biggest).

Fotolia