Stock Photography Update

So I've been talking with a few friends again recently about stock photography, and have been asked a few questions about good sites, so here are the two top sites that I recommend to you and a few differences:

iStockPhoto

Firstly, iStockPhoto is more widely known by buyers and designers, so that is always a bonus. It is harder on iStockPhoto than on other sites to get your images accepted because they are tighter on quality, however the payouts per download are higher. Instead of about 25c per download, you get anywhere from 50c to $5, depending on file sizes and so forth.

Also, because of the setup where people pay per photo instead of on a subscription, less people will buy average images, but if you have a fantastic image then you will make a lot from it.


Shutterstock

Shutterstock has a payout of 25c per download, which becomes 30c after you have made $500. They are still very tight on quality, but once you understand their expectations it is easy to have all your images accepted without dramas, and they accept a lot more images than iStockPhoto. Because it is set up as a subscription, people often just want to fill up their download quota and so will often download images more, which means that even your not-so-brilliant images have a good chance. So the less cash for each downoad evens out because you generally get more downloads.


In comparison, I would recommend both these sites above any others that I have tried (which is almost all of them), but I think it is personal preference as to which one you use.

Since I have been using them, I have made double the money on Shutterstock, because iStockPhoto has only accepted 10 of my photos, while Shutterstock has accepted over 200. However, now that my skills are improving in photography and design, I am finding more images are accepted on both, and so iStockPhoto is starting to make more money for me.


And if all else fails... refer other people to the sites. Because even though it doesn't affect their money at all, you will get bonus for referring them too!

So definetly check out those two sites by clicking on the above links if you like photography or design and want to earn some extra cash!

I love laminating

As requested by my crazy friend Rachel.....

I Love Laminatingbysnez_4eva
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

New novelty shirt

I've just started with some new t-shirt designs on Zazzle. Come check out my newest one!
Plus there will be more to come!

Ignore the avocadobysnez_4eva
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

Underwater bubbles in Photoshop

Here's another one of my pieces I've created after learning from a tutorial I found on Worth 1000

I created the wrecked photo and depth by myself (you can find other tutorials to help you with this) but I created the bubbles and water using this tutorial:


Making Bubbles with your own custom Brush in Photoshop

Check it out!

I really like this one, because once you have done it one time, it is really easy to use again and again

If everything was made from chocolate....

Mmmmmm..... chocolate!

After finding a very delicious looking photoshop tutorial to chocolatize anything and everything you could ever imagine, I decided to give old Shepp the Dog here a makeover.

It was very time consuming (which is why I haven't tried it again since!) but the end result was worth it!

If you want to check out the tutorial I used to create this,
click HERE to visit the tutorial at WORTH 1000

Their picture they use isn't as cute as mine :) but its a great tutorial!

exploding planet tutorial

This is a very cool tutorial that is pretty simple to follow on how to make an exploding planet in Photoshop! Click here to check it out!

Adobe Illustrator spirograph effect

Next time you are in Adobe Illustrator, try holding down the little squiggly key on the left of the number 1 key on your keyboard while you use the shape tool. It makes really interesting spirograph patterns!

more swirly curls in Illustrator

Here is another Illustrator tutorial on creating decorative swirls or curls or whatever you want to call them. This one is incredibly simple (basically 3 steps!), and I still find it very effective.

Visit Veerle's blog to see this tutorial!

Decorative swirls in Illustrator

This was one of the first Adobe Illustrator tutorials I ever did, and so I would recommend it to beginners. It is a very interesting technique to get those decorative swirls that everyone seems to use. And like any tutorial... it's all about what you do with it that makes it a good tutorial!

Click HERE to visit this tutorial by bittbox!

Space Art Photoshop Tutorial

It's probably about time I posted some of the fantastic tutorials I have found all over the web, so I will start with one of my favourites:


GREG MARTIN has come up with an amazing tutorial to create realistic planets using Adobe Photoshop. It is the tutorial I used to help me create my space image:

You can find this tutorial here

I would also recommend checking out Greg's other work at his online gallery

Random question time!

I've decided that I want to hear more about what you guys think, so every now and then I will throw in a random question that you can answer or leave comments on! I'd love to get some feedback!

So todays random (and yet not so random) question is....

WHICH STOCK PHOTO SITE DO YOU PREFER TO USE TO SELL YOUR PHOTOS OR VIDEOS, AND WHY?

LIVE online broadcast from 4 international launch!

The time has arrived.... the 4th of the 4th at 4pm (US time) for 4 hours....

Right at this very moment, The 4 Curriculum is having its
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH
with live video and chat available!

Come and visit this amazing team and hear about some of the great things they have been doing!

As a part of their launch, they will also be having live specials and discounts for the next 4 hours only!



visit the live feed and chat at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/4tv
or check out the 4 online store at http://www.4store/com.au

My next piece of space art

After such a long time since my first attempt at space art, I decided that it was about time I tried it again. So here's one of my new pieces that is now available on Shutterstock and hopefully soon on iStockPhoto too! I used both digital art done in Photoshop and a fractal made in Apophysis. Tell me what you think!

The Sims Brady Bunch - new YouTube video

Come check out my new YouTube video!!!

Brady Bunch meets the Sims!

"Pictures of You" video clip- great visual effects

I recently stumbled across the video clip for The Last Goodnight's song, "Pictures of You".
The visual effects used in this clip are amazing! Probably the best example of this style of visual effect I have seen so far. Good job guys!

Check it out:

God's creative flair

Just a thought from a recent devotional....

When we are creative we become more like God!

After all, he did create everything around us.... I still find the giraffe funny :P

One thing I have noted, is that we can design SO0o much better when we let Him help - cos He's got more than a bunch of degrees or diplomas in art- as much as that means we have to accept that we can't quite match His skills...


By the way.... any comments on the new site design?? It's still got a few kinks but its getting there!

Site under construction

For the last day or so I have been trying to update my site, so I am very sorry if you have had any problems using links or things.

The posts should still be fine for now, otherwise sorry for the inconvenience.
It should be running well again soon.

Thanks for staying tuned!

Children's Ministry Blog

The Childrens Ministry 1234 blog has been set up by the amazing children's ministry team at Planetshakers City Church in Melbourne, lead by Ps. Rob Bradbury.

With the new 4 Children's Ministry Curriculum growing and improving continually, the office is never empty, and this team is taking the media side of things to the next level! Some of their newest designs, characters, and videos are amazing.... and even better things are yet to come!

It's a great site for children's leaders, and has some great news, resources and links, as well as a brand new video podcast, not to mention a new, funny and inspirational story about Ps Rob and his mission for a Vespa, that really demonstrates the need to enquire of God in everything we do.

Go check it out!

Video podcast- click here!

Tips to make money online with stock photo sites

Stock photos have always been recognised as a great way to make some extra cash online from your photos or illustrations. Here are some tips to using stock photo sites, and some links to the ones I would recommend.

After doing some research, I decided to subscribe to the top recommended sites (list of sites below):


STOCK SITES:

Shutterstock - MY FAVOURITE! GREAT SITE!!!!
i Stock Photo - GREAT SITE!!!!
Big Stock Photo
Can stock photo
Dreamstime
Feature Pics

NOTE: there are a few other sites that I would recommend NOT listed here... check back for updates, because silly me can't find the list of links I have!! :O


I have been on Shutterstock for the longest, and have found it to be extremely user friendly and a great source of income. Once you pass the initial review process, it is easy to upload your images and the review process is very quick. Also, because buyers pay a monthly subscription rather than pay-per-photo, it means that they are more likely to buy photos to fill their quota, which is great for beginner photographers who often struggle to create that top-rated image.

i Stock Photo is also very good, although it follows a different subscription system to Shutterstock. It is a pay-per-photo site, so you wont get as many downloads as Shutterstock, but you will probably get more per photo.

I have more recently signed up to the other sites mentioned above, and find that some of them are a bit slower or not as user friendly, but they are still all worthwhile because you can still make a small income from photos.


EXLUSIVE OR NON-EXCLUSIVE SALES?

Deciding between exclusive or non-exclusive sales really depends on how you like to sell your images.

Each stock photo site offers photographers the opportunity to go exclusive, meaning you can only sell your photos on one site. This means that royalty rates and the amount you get for each image downloaded is higher, which is a good option if you don't have time to submit your photos to ten different sites.

However, if you have time to submit to multiple sites, the overall downloads and income of a single image on all the sites will most likely be higher than the exclusive sales on one site. Especially if you submit to sites like Shutterstock and iStock Photo, double the sites can mean double the sales, plus non-exclusive sales also gives you the right to sell the images yourself by any other means, so if you have a friend that wants to use your image without signing up to a site, you can make a private arrangement with them without worrying about the exclusivity on the sites.


MAKING MONEY THROUGH REFERRALS:

This is the part I love.... almost all of these sites offer referral bonuses, so by using a link provided to you by the site, you can refer your friends to the stock photo sites and make money from THEIR images too, without disadvantaging them in any way.

Take Shutterstock's referall program as an example:

If I get 20 downloads a day on my images, at 25c US per download (which, by the way, goes up to 30c once you pass the $500US dollar mark!!!), then you make $5 a day off your own images. It doesn't seem like much, but you already dont have to do anything to your photos once they are online.
$5 a day = approx $150 a month - going good so far


FOR EVERY PHOTOGRAPHER YOU REFER....

You get 3c per download for every referred photographer. So lets assume they also get 20 downloads a day.... thats 60c extra a day, which is approx $18 a month. Not much, but that is from THEIR photos, not yours, so you can't complain! Plus, they still get the 25c per download, so it doesn't disadvantage them in any way.

Taking all into consideration, imagine if you could just refer 10 people- that could make you approx $180 a month off other people's photos!

Sounds good to me!!!


You can also refer photo buyers, where you will get a commission on their purchases, usually from 5%-30%, depending on the site. Pretty good deal!



TOP TEN TIPS:

1. Subscribe to the top stock sites (listed above)
2. Refer all your friends and other photographers
3. Practice your photo skills... Better photos sell much more!
4. Spend the time to make good keywords- it makes it easier for people to find your image
5. Decide which is better for your needs- exclusive or non-exclusive
6. Have links to your gallery on other sites or your blog
7. Submit photos regularly to keep a good flow of income
8. Get advice from other photographers in the forum
9. Use FTP or uploading software to make submissions quicker :)
10. Bookmark all your sites so you don't get lost! (It has happened!)

Ever tried something out of this world?

Among my photoshop exploring and tutorial hunting, I managed to see a few new little tricks toc create something I had never done before - digital space art.

I find it fascinating, because I have always loved looking at other people's designs of space or fantasy scenes and thinking "How on earth did they make that!?!" so it was great to come up with some of my own.

At a later stage, I will link to a few of the good sites I learnt from, but unfortunately none of them can show you how to make exactly what I did! I guess, as with any kind of digitally created art, you can only learn so much from others, then it's up to you to put your own spin and creativity into it to make something unique and interesting.

So here is the final piece I created, after doing lots of research and completing many different tutorials!!

Feel free to leave any comments or visit the other images in my Shutterstock Gallery!

Why are online tutorials good to learn photoshop?

If you are at al like me, you will love exploring more and more in photoshop, and one of the easiest ways to do that is by using some great online tutorials.

Even if you never need to create a flashy glass ball or destroyed city, its a great way to learn heaps of new tips and tricks.

Online tutorials can be really easy to follow for beginners, while providing more complex ideas and projects for the more advanced user.

Video Tutorials are great to help you easily follow step by step guides, because you can watch someone else do the work, then pause, play or rewind it to try it yourself.

Written Tutorials are also good, and sometimes quicker to work with, because you can work at your own pace, and usually they include screenshots to help direct you. While I personally prefer written tutorials, many people prefer video tutorials because you are less likely to get confused by instructions.

In this blog, I will be posting some of my own tutorials that I write, as well as creating links to what I believe are some of the most useful or most interesting tutorials I have found so far on the web, so stay tuned! 

Pro stock Master - handy program to upload stock photos to all sites at once!

if you have signed up to any or all of the stock photo sites listed on this blog, you will probably find that even though they are great, it can be very time consuming to upload your photos to every site.

well i just recently stumbled over a very handy program, called Pro Stock Master , that helps you to sort all your stock images and will send them off for you.

I actually tried setting up my own photo database at first, but while it was useful to keep track of photos and what sites they were submitted on, it didnt really speed up the actual process.

in this program, you can add keywords and everything, but by listing the sites you have registered for, you can also get it to submit your photos for you, and to multiple sites at once.

it also keeps track of your sale statistics, which i found great because there isn't really any other way to check them all at once except for visiting each site separately. On a single page, it lists your monthly earnings for each site, as well as other useful details.

its a freeware program (yay! bonus!) and you can upgrade it later if you want. the only limitation to the freeware version is that it has a limited number of uploads per day, otherwise its great.

it is compatible with both PC and Mac, which is great because I have just converted to Mac myself... so check it out:

Pro Stock Master

stock video - is it worth submissions?

I've been signed up to stock photo and video sites for a while, but have never tried submitting footage yet.
I never really thought about it, until recently, when I discovered that two big advertising agencies that I have contacts in use i Stock Video for video resources... and it got me thinking that maybe it is more popular than I realised.

The problem with footage sales compared to photo sales on sites like i Stock Video and Shutterstock is that subscribers have to pay a lot more for videos, which makes sense, but also means that footage has to be pretty good to get sales.

However, with the amount of video that is used by people in advertising or creating video products that use multiple backgrounds in their work, it looks like stock videos are worth the submittion.

I haven't yet tried, but from what I've seen, anyone who can create interesting or abstract moving backgrounds should give it a go. Things like moving or animated fractals or lines seem popular, probably because not many people have the time or knowledge to make them themselves.

Anyway, if you are interested, check out i Stock Video or Shutterstock footage

another great stock photo site

Big Stock Photo:

Stock Photos, Search and Download Now!

Just another great site to check out...

VOTE FOR MY PHOTO!! HELP ME WIN!

I've submitted one of my photos on a site to win prizes, and I got an email saying I'm in the running, so I need as many people as possible to go to the following link and rate my photo.

You don't have to sign up or anything, and every vote counts!!!
I need at least 20 votes!!!! Please don't hesitate!!

Rate My Photo, Click Here

Thanks for your votes!

These are a few of my favourite things...

I've been working like crazy with my camera and my computer to try and come up with some new interesting images. Here's 2 of my favourites:

I really love the depth of field in this image. I also used photoshop to enhance the colours.... gotta love photoshop! I actually took this photo and a set of similar ones a month or so back, and I was really happy with the results because I didn't really put much effort into lighting or anything. Sometimes it's just luck... and a good camera!

I always knew there was a use for mum's old piano music books....

This is my most recent piece. I used a fractal program to design the heart-shaped swirls in pink.... very experimental and lots of luck required! I still have no idea how to work with all these fractal programs!!! Then I added the actual heart cutout and altered the colouring in photoshop, which has once again saved me from the embarrasment of bad images!!!

That's all for now.

Check out My Shutterstock Gallery Here for these images and more!