Pure Reviews

Press release from Shutterstock that now allows downloading images directly to your tablet or cell phone on apple products.  Check out the release below. We know our contributors are always interested in getting their work seen by as many customers in as many ways as possible. With that in mind, here’s an update on what we’ve been doing to help you promote and license your images on mobile devices — and let you track your results on the go, too. The Shutterstock App for iPhone and iPad — now with downloading! We recently updated our award-winning app to make it available on iPhone as well as iPad. Both versions let users search and explore images, scroll through a seamless mosaic of options, add selections to Lightboxes, and share them with colleagues. The apps have been a huge hit with customers — to date, over 300,000 users have downloaded and begun using them! This month, we released version 2.5 of the app, giving customers the ability to download images straight to thei...

Shutterstock updates their royalty rate for referrals.  Payout will increase by once sent and a referred person will be active for 2 years.  See the info below and if you wish to join Shutterstock click here .  SS is consistently one of the highest respected stock photography sites.

So Bigstock has announced that they are going to start doing subscription sales this year.  Joining what seems to be a new industry standard they are setting their royalty base at only $0.25.  Sadly this seems to be more and more common ( Fotolia , iStock , 123RF , etc).  The odd part of this announcement is that Bigstock was bought by Shutterstock so they could have pay as you go style site.  So this begs the question of why start moving your site to the SS formula with lower royalties.  How do you feel about the changes, comment below. As you know, we already offer Bigstock customers the flexibility of pre-paying with credits. Next week, we’ll be offering our customers an increasingly popular way to buy images:  subscriptions. How will this affect me? Subscriptions can generate higher download volumes, which can increase your total earnings from Bigstock. Here’s how you will earn royalties from Bigstock subscriptions: Eve...

 A few changes to note that have gone into effect at a few sites. Dreamstime : Dreamstime has launched a mobile image section allowing you to submit cell phone photos and digital model releases.  To celebrate this new feature their next assignment will be mobile shots.  Also their is now a new category called "Mobile."  Other requirements are 3 MP minimum resolution still applies and we will not accept upsampled images.  DT is accepting model releases from: Model Release, ASMP Release and Easy Release (on both iOS and Android).  Join today ! Shutterstock : SS has launched a new features called Portfolio Pages that allows contributors to show off their work via personalized URL's.  Another feature on your portfolio page is allowing you to create public sets.  So log in and and set up your today or join Shutterstock here . Bigstock : Bigstock has launched a new partner system that will open their collection to other companies with ...

Shutterstock launched on NYSE yesterday with a strong opening.  As of closing today (10.12.12) it was priced at $22.00 with ticker as SSTK.  See the write up below from the CEO/Founder Jon Oringer Dear Shutterstock Community, Today was a very exciting day for Shutterstock – a day that wouldn’t have been possible without each of you. This morning, Shutterstock became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. This milestone is the result of many years of hard work and innovation, and perhaps most importantly, the incredible talent of each of our contributing artists. Together we have built a thriving, diverse, global creative marketplace that spans more than 150 countries. I can still remember the day I started Shutterstock in 2003, out of my apartment. I was trying to solve a business need I had for quality stock photos at an affordable price. Before I knew it, demand for these images surpassed what I could provide an...

Shutterstock launches a Viewfinder Contest that focuses on photography challenges.  For example the first challenge this month is " Celebrating Life " so any image that you feel captures that enter it in for a chance to win some great prizes.  Check out their full write up below and join Shutterstock here . Shutterstock contributors are some of the most creative in the business, and to us, that’s something worth celebrating. Cue the Viewfinder Challenge – a themed competition that gives you the chance to show off your best work and bask in the brilliance of your fellow creatives. You can even score some great prizes and major exposure while you’re at it. The theme for the first challenge is “ Celebrating Life .” Submit your best photos, footage, or illustrations that capture  “a spirit of celebration, whether it’s personal, local, global, or universal.” For reference, check out these collections of  examples of “Celebrating Life” our curator pulled to...

Below is the chart featuring the commission numbers for the month of May.  The three top stock sites this month where Dreamstime , Shutterstock , 123RF .  The chart only features sites I had a sale with and for a full list of stock sites my work is at see the right column of the screen.

Shutterstock gave themselves a facelift a few weeks ago and I must say it looks great.  The company is going to be focusing on better content and continued growth.  Check out their write up below about the new look and also check out the video.  Keep up the great work Shuterstock and if you want to join as a buyer or photographer click here . Video: About Our New Look It’s an exciting day at Shutterstock! We’re thrilled to unveil our new logo and visual identity, the result of months of development and a sign of our commitment to creativity and innovation. This video shows some of the potential built into our new logo. What you probably noticed first, after our dramatic color change, is something special going on with the “O” in Shutterstock. We call it the Viewfinder, and it’s there to allow us to showcase our vast, constantly updating collection of amazing images and videos. The Viewfinder symbolizes the artistic empowerment of Shutterstock ...

April was very close to March as far as sales and earnings go.  The top three sites this month are: 123RF , Shutterstock , Dreamstime .  Above is the full chart breakdown of all the sites I had earnings this month at.  For a full list of sites I have content with see the right side of the blog.

Another month of 2012 is in the record books and it was a good one.  The top 3 sites are Alamy (thanks to a very large sale), Shutterstock (had a large increase from last month) and then Dreamstime .  123RF and Bigstock are also nipping on DT's heels.  Below is the chart featuring all the sites I had a sale on.  Every site I submit images to is on the left.

Shutterstock launches a sensitive use license that will allow an increase of sales of up to $75 per image.  Unlike several other companies, SS is going to let you opt out of this feature which will keep your models from being featured in sensitive ads for healthcare or other topics.  This is a great new revenue stream and also gives photographers great control of how their photos should be used. To Our Valued Contributors, We would like to tell you about an important update with great potential to increase sales for you. We are updating our Contributor Terms of Service (“TOS”) to enable new sales with a royalty of up to $75 per image download. Shutterstock services both small and large buyers. In addition to our standard and enhanced licenses, we provide custom licenses to buyers such as large advertising agencies. These agencies require more rights and some flexibility in how an image might ultimately be used. That flexibility may include "sensitive uses." ...

Shutterstock has officially launched their brand new iPad app. which is available for download now at iTunes.  The application will not only allow you to search images in a mosaic type view, but you will also be able to save them to your account for quick downloads.  Also part of the application is the ability to share via email or social media sites like Twitter.  Check out the write up below from the Shutterstock team.  To sign up for Shutterstock, click here . As head of the Mobile team at Shutterstock, I’m excited to announce Shutterstock for iPad is officially live in the iTunes App store. (You can download it for free, here .) After six months of researching, planning, developing, a nd fine-tuning, we hope customers find this application makes browsing for images a more seamless and beautiful experience than ever. With the simple swipe of the finger, you can: Scroll through thousands of images, seamlessly tiled together in a unique Mosaic View th...

Shutterstock is adding the ability to add key words in other languages besides English.  They do require that you to add a note to the review team on what the words mean in English.  Its a great concept for contributors in other countries, but I wonder if it really ends up being helpful if you still have to describe the keywords in English.  Either way, its a nice feature for them to add.  Full write up is below.  Join Shutterstock here . Shutterstock serves customers all over the world, and we need creative images with global appeal. We have a demand for stock images that show text—such as signs and forms—in all major languages. This poses a challenge, since we can only approve images containing text if we know what the words say. Recently, we instructed our reviewers to begin approving more images with international text, as long as the contributor has included a note explaining all non-English text depicted in an image. What this means for you...

Attached is the chart for Febuary sales.  The month was ok, nothing to exciting to report.  Top three earners are: Dreamstime , 123RF , and Shutterstock .  For a full list of sites I am on, check out the links off to the site.

Shutterstock is building bridges to Bigstock as a way increase image submissions.  They are starting to roll out a test program for their most active Shutterstock users that will allow them to just upload once to Shutterstock and have the images avalible for download also at Bigstock.  The idea is to save photographers type on submissions and increase the image volume at Bigstock.  This is currently in test phase only and is not open to everyone yet.  Right now Shutterstock still plans to keep the sites indpendant as SS is marketed to subscriptions and Bigstock is marketed pay per image uses.  See the write-up below . We’re excited to tell you about a new program we’re offering to a select group of Shutterstock contributors. We’re calling it the Bridge to Bigstock . Here’s what we’re doing and why we think it’s a win for everyone. As you may know, Shutterstock and Bigstock are two stock image sites owned by Shutterstock. They’re run as separate bran...

Here is the chart for January 2011.  Overall the month was down quite a bit compared to a year ago.  Lets hope this is not a trend. iStock , Shutterstock , and 123RF where the top players this month.  Dreamstime had strong referral sales, glad someone was selling some images.  Click the image below to enlarge.

     The wrap up of 2010 is complete and the sales numbers are in, see charts below.  I started off 2010 with a total of 22 sites.  I personally added 2 new sites, but dropped 5 sites who either performed poorly or closed their doors.  We will start the 2011 year of with a total list of 19 sites...which have links off to the right.  Over all I would say that 2010 was a successful year with an increase in revenue by 78%.  Top earner goes to my powerhouse Dreamstime , then iStockphoto , Shutterstock , and 123RF .  Click on the charts below if you wish to increase the size.  If I can do another 75% jump in 2011 I will then be ecstatic, so here is to hoping. December Sales Chart: Year End Chart: Current Image Count per Site:

This is a little late, but here is the breakdown for July sales.  Number of sales at total sites was down, but total sales was up from last month. Dreamstime - takes back the lead after 3 months in second place ShutterStock 123RF

Sign up for the Threadless loves Shutterstock contest and you could take home a prize of $5000 plus some other great swag.  Read below for the details Threadless is an amazing creative universe where you can submit far-out T-shirt designs, vote for your favorites, and get paid if your design gets selected for a shirt. We love Threadless, and Threadless loves Shutterstock.  From now through June 20, Threadless is hosting the Threadless Loves Shutterstock Challenge. It’s a photo-themed T-shirt design contest with a fabulous grand prize: A $5,000 photo and design bundle assembled by Shutterstock.  The bundle includes: • A 1-year subscription to Shutterstock (Value: $2559) • Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Standard (Value: $1299, redeemable for $1300 in cash) • A Leica V-LUX 20 (Value: $700) • A Wacom Intuous4 small tablet (Value: $229) • A Western Digital My Passport 1TB hard drive (Value: $200) • A Gorillapod Magnetic (Value: $25) • Additional Shutters...

  If you have not already noticed we have two page updates to report.  First up, Shutterstock has launched a new sign in look for their contributor pages, no more pop up box...woot woot.  For you older contributors you might have noticed the little man that was in the corner has been replaced and forced into retirement. The second updated look goes to Alamy .  Alamy has finally given their front page a fresh update. Not sure if this is the winner to their contest they did a while back, I looked for the information and came up empty handed.  However, once you log in everything is the same over there...they could learn a lot from their microstock competition as I feel Alamy is very non-user friendly.