Part Two

The long delayed continuation of my iStock story ... (continued from here)

The changes seemed to begin slowly at iStock. At first it was a series of price increases which slowed my ascent to the next "canister level" at iStock as buyers became more price conscious, downloading less. I saw the effect after the 2009 price increases, when they also announced the upcoming "premium collection" now known as the "Vetta collection." My quest for the "Diamond canister level" (25,000 total downloads) moved from an estimated December 2009 date up to April 2010. (This estimate was based on the estimator tool that iStock had on its website which would take into consideration your downloads and earnings to estimate your future earnings potential and "canister level" advancement).

I decided I needed to work harder if I wanted to really succeed at stock photography. I really enjoyed it and the extra income was a big help with my monthly bills. I was determined to build my photographic skillsets. I knew I needed to get more experience with models and with lighting. So, I began scheduling photoshoots with models I'd connected with on Model Mayhem along with friends and family members willing to model for me. It also helped tremendously to have a Photo-Buddy. My dear friend, charlybutcher, and I met through iStock. She had joined in 2008 and found me through the iStock community. (More on that another time). Together we did a lot of shooting and I added over 350 images to my iStock portfolio in 2009. That's a lot for me, since I have a full-time job (unrelated to photography and design) and am a single mom to two teenage boys. In 2009 I also attended 3 big photo events, all organized with fellow iStockers: The "Spring Fling" photoshoot in Phoenix, "Desert'lypse 4" minilypse event, and a smaller photoshoot with 3 other photographers and about a dozen models in Reno when I was there visiting family for Thanksgiving.

2009 was a good year for me as a photographer. I learned a lot and made many new friends in the process. But then, at the end of 2009, iStock dropped the bomb about not only raising prices, but making a major change to the royalty structure and "canister levels." I was within a few months of moving up to the "Diamond" level and this change was going to double the requirement! That meant it would be years before I would reach that level. I was completely deflated and felt udderly betrayed. I had worked so hard for so long and this felt like not only a slap across the face, but like the rug was pulled right out from underneath me. This announcement caused a huge uproar in the iStock community. so much so that iStock came back with some changes and concessions, allowing "grandfathering" to the next level. While still not the best of news, at least I knew that I would be able to move up to the next level based on the current goalposts and not the doubled amount.

I was still recovering from that blow and trying to move forward as best I could, concentrating again on building my skills and my portfolio. And then came the now-infamous September 2009 announcement abuot the new royalty structure. Wow. As a contributor with both vectors and photographs in my portfolio, I was going to be knocked down to the bottom the levels of the royalty plan. All that hard work and effort gone in one fell swoop.

That is when I began to seriously consider my alternatives. The iStock I had grown to love, the community and spirit that I was so proud to be a part of quickly deteriorated from there. Sure, there had been issues up until then, but this pretty much sealed the fate. I knew then that this was all about business and iStock really didn't care what my goalposts had been moved to. They only cared about one thing - their bottom line.

So, I did some research, looked around at other microstock agencies, chatted with other independent microstock photographers and got a lot great advice. Ultimately I knew the decision was mine and mine alone. Yes, I could completely boycott iStock and quit completely, but I did have an established portfolio there and didn't think pulling out of there completely was my best choice. In September 2010, two months before I was set to get the "diamond" canister and two months before that diamond canister would no longer have any relationship whatsoever to the royalty amount I received for my work, I decided to cancel my exclusive relationship with iStock.

During the required 30-day waiting period, I signed up with the other "Big 4" microstock agencies: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, and Fotolia. And also one new stock agency, StockFresh, which was built by the people who created StockExpert and recommended to me. Once my 30 days were up, I was ready for my new portfolios to go live at these other agencies. I was now an Independent Microstock Photographer.

So that's the long, drawn out story, I'll continue to add updates as I progress. I know it's been several months now, and perhaps some of you are curious about how I've done in my first few months - I'll save that for another blog post.

On September 19, 2010 I clicked the link that would dramatically change my six year relationship with iStockphoto.com. I made the decision to end my exclusive status with iStockphoto and become an independent stock photographer/artist. Once you click the the "cancel exclusivity" button you still have to wait 30 days before it is actually effective - a 30-day "waiting" period.

So, let me back up a little. In March of 2004 I stumbled upon iStockphoto, "the designer's dirty little secret," while looking for some stock photos for a website I was creating for a client. I bought a few credits, got some photos and finished my design. But something about iStockphoto.com brought me back. As I had been looking for specific photos, I noticed that iStock's library did not have every image I had been looking for, and at the bottom of their main page was a small paragraph that read
"Becoming a Contributing Artist: iStockphoto members are a part of an international community of artists creating a huge database of royalty-free content. Our artists earn between 20 - 25% royalties on their image sales."

So I thought that maybe, just maybe I could shoot a few images myself. Afterall, I had this great little Canon EOS (35mm SLR - FILM!) camera that I had been playing around with and a digital Canon powershot that I had "borrowed" from my boyfriend. I sort of became a woman obsessed. Okay, not "sort of" - I was obsessed! Canon had recently come out with the "Digital Rebel" DSLR that was almost affordable for me (a single mom, so this would be a splurge on myself which I rarely do!) I couldn't get the idea out of my head. So, I got out a credit card and ordered myself a Canon Digital Rebel camera kit. It took me about a week after the camera arrived to actually tell anyone about it. I was actually embarassed about spending that much money on myself! (If you're a single parent living paycheck to paycheck, you can probably relate).

I became even more obsessed. I had no lighting equipment and just the kit lens that came with the camera, so I experimented with all sorts of Do-It-Yourself options. Once I felt I had some decent photos I applied to become an iStock contributor. To apply you have to read through the training manual and then take a test. I passed the test and uploaded my three sample images: a flower, a clarinet and a cactus bloom. They accepted me! I guess I wasn't too bad afterall.