This is a call to the other newbies on Dreamstime. I respect, admire, and am floored by members with 200, 2,000 or 20,000 downloads, but I'm thinking right now of people, like me, who are just getting started.
What has it been like for you? How did you get started trying to share (and sell) photos via Dreamstime?
How do you go about determining which photos you will submit? Are you culling your collection of photos from days and years past, or are you creating work specifically for Dreamstime?
What have you been learning, and wanting to learn, about this process?
I've been wrestling with all of the above, and I would love to hear from you--established successes and newbies like me both!
(Apparently I need to provide at least one image, so I'll include one of my favorite recent uploads, a panorama I created from several separate shots of the Galapagos.)
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Charlesoutcalt
Amyemilia, thanks for your post, and for mentioning your photos. That shot of Joshua trees is really stunning. i wish _I_ could create that!
About the accept/reject issue: I know that it's tough to see to 'not selected' messages, and I have had more than my share, but something I read on one of these boards helped me a lot: The accept/reject decision isn't a judgement of quality, but rather a decision on whether the image meets the Dreamstimes marketing strategy. Reading that helped me take things a little less personally.
What do you think of the Noiseware Professional? I have been struggling with noise myself, especially in skies (where I guess it's more obvious).
Since we have to post an image, here's a golden pheasant I encountered the other day: [imgl]3935108[/imgl]
Amyemilia
Hi Charles! I am definitely a newbie at Dreamstime, and also at stock photography. Dreamstime is my first effort at selling my photos as stock. My first downloads were on January 4th I think, and were approved on January 11. 6 of 38 were accepted. A 15% approval rate isn't too great but hopefully I can learn from the experience. I submitted 5 more, and 2 were accepted. Now I have 23 pending.
Some of the refusals are baffling, but I really have not tried to contest them. A lot of them say that composition is an issue - yet I can clearly imagine them being used in publications. Obviously I don't have a designer's eye yet! :)
In terms of picking photos, it was a pretty easy process. I only bought my Nikon D40X in October. Before that, nearly all my digital photos are too small at least by the definitions I have read here. And until I get a better handle on acceptance I'm not going to spend a lot of money have the old film shots scanned!
I've been going through the recent shots, slowly, and trying to choose. I bought Noiseware Professional Edition to deal with some of the noise problems. It was recommended to me by a photographer that I respect. I've spent an inordinate amount of time looking at the most successful photographers on Dreamstime. I've started doing keyword searches before I submit a photograph, to see if I am competing in an already-full arena.
Thanks so much for asking these questions. May we both be successful - I think there is unlimited room!
Looking forward to that first download,
Amy