Better comission from Istockphotos for some subscriptions

good news coming from istockphoto (/gettyimages)

The platform just tested a new formula for subscriptions called  "Small Monthly Subscriptions". It has been a big success : more buyers, more sales.

And for us contributors, what does this change ?
Simply the fact that the new subscription formula will be re-evaluated for us, in terms of money earned, and we will earn more !
- Non-Exclusive : 0.28$ to $1.00
- Exclusive Essentials : $0.34 to $1.25
- Exclusive Signature : $0.75 to $2.50
- Exclusive Signature+ : $2.50 to $3.00

These changes are retroactive, so if you suddenly see your account recharged, it's normal !

Enjoy the good news and the rest of the day !
T.

Microstock Mobile : the app that helps you visualize your microstock sales !

Hey guys,

good news, someone has developed an app that helps you track your microstock earnings from different agencies. The mobile app has been around since 2012 and they just launched a public BETA for the desktop app which is much more complex.

It centralizes all agency sales in one place and helps you visualize earnings using charts and statistics. You can track the performance of your whole portfolio, single or groups of photos and more. Essentially, it makes your life easier!

Their beta is available here : http://microstockr.com/microstockr-pro
And their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Microstockr
Cheers.

Shutterstock, some numbers

There are the microstock photographers, and the microstock owners. Shutterstock is finicial-wise one of the most transparent with regard to their benefits, since there are part of the share market in the USA ;)

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/07/shutterstock-looks-good-as-traffic-and-collection.aspx

The 1st quarter of 2015 shows big promises, with 100M$ of benefits : good job us all contributors  !

Shutterstock is even more confident for the rest of the year and announces that 440M$ of income is a target for them for the yearly income in 2015. Not bad!

:)
T.

Discover or rediscover microstockgroup.com

Hey, you got 2 minutes ? 

Then go have an eye on this  website, microstockgroup.com, and put it in your favorite toolbar: microstockgroup.com is the best tracker for the microstock websites efficiency, which is super-useful in this very changing domain. 

In particular, microstockgroup.com keeps track of 

- time-efficiency to keep uploading on the best-seller microstock sites

- the new upcoming microstock websites that you should not miss 

Thanks for sharing this page and have a nice day all ! 

T. 

My FB page is here

Real or Photoshop, can you tell ?

Hey, you have 2 minutes ?

Then take this quiz ! I did 17/25, an you, how much can you do ?
http://landing.adobe.com/en/na/products/creative-cloud/69308-real-or-photoshop/

Good share, good day, because 1 share or a like = 1 happier koala in the World (and a blog that grows ;) )!
T.

Win a Apple iPad thanks to Dreamstime

Hey, you have 2 minutes ?

Good, because here is the SotD, the Share of the Day ! 

Good news and good game from Dreamstime.com, which proposes to reward theperson who will upload the picture n° 32 000 000 with an Apple iPad + 1 DT Tshirt

 
  will you be uploading the image no. 32,000,000 ?

  128,865 images left.

Thanks to those sharing, because don't forget, 1 like or 1 share = 1 happier koala !

If you're not registered on Dreamstime yet, you can subscribe here to sell your pictures online ! 

T. 

My FB page 

 

Xavier Wttrwulghe - a nice discovery !

Hey, you got 2 minutes ? So read this, it's the SotD, the Share of the Day !

The picture hereafter (and his entire work, that you can discover on 500px) is made by Xavier Wttrwulghe (a french guy, despite the Mercurian name)

https://500px.com/photo/106311743/at-work-by-xavier-wttrwulghe?from=user_library

You'll see that this is not "just a first try" and i still like it very much ! So if you like this, you know what you can do, because don't forget 1 like or 1 share = 1 happier koala !
T.

The FB page ! 

Optimizing your photo upload on Facebook !

Hi all, welcome to this new daily SotD, the Share of the Day !

I just found a french article on how to optimize your photo uploads on FB, and since it was worth sharing, here is it's translation !

So here are the important points on this "optimize your Facebook photo uploads" (with 5 star remarks):
1/ FB for the amateurs, that allows for an easy share of your creations
2/ FB for the pros, that allows for an easy growth of your networking

***** 3/ FB pages are WAYYYY BETTER than FB profiles for the photographers, since the uploaded photos will be less compressed on pages ! !

***** 4/ On FB pages, you are allowed to upload PNG files, which won't be compressed at all if they are below 1 Mo !

5/ To limit the remaining compression factors, you can submit photos with 720, 960 or 2048 pixels on their largest side.

6/ Major comment : when uploading on Facebook, you DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR AUTHORSHIP !

Thank Francis Vachon for the original text again, and now, just go create/develop on your PAGE with correct-sized PNG files !
Special thanks to those who allow FB pages to live, like this information page, by sharing and liking !

Good share, good day !
T.

My FB page

Videofort to join fotolia !

Re-hello !

Catastrophes, wildlife, superb aerian footages: Videofort strikes heavily and offers more than 10 000 clips online on Fotolia !

You too, you can now create videos using videoclips appearing in the last Grammy Awards celebration ! 

Here is their complete article.

Video: the futur (very) good plan on microstocks ?

Good share, good day, because don't forget, 1 share or a like = 1 happier koala in the world !
T.

"Supermoon" - Aaron Groen in our SotD !

SotD, the Share of the Day !

One of the most viral pictures currently on the internet... has been actually present for 2 years on 500px by now !
Despite the weird internet progression of some messages, this great work by Aaron Groen clearly deserves this new publicity !!!

https://500px.com/photo/38616242/road-to-nowhere-supermoon-by-aaron-j-groen

Good share, good day !
T.

WE + changing weather + Bordeaux = Photos !

The SotD, the Share of the Day !

Some shots from this WE, in Bordeaux, under a changing weather !

Hope you enjoy them !

The complete album is here

Good share, good day !
T.

SotD: Christophe Correy, such a nice discovery, and a slap in the face!

The SotD, it's the Share of the Day, to discover useful and magical parts of the photography world !

Today, it's a big slap in the face with this frame by Christophe Correy. in HD on 500px

 

Christophe Correy is a french photographer, and you can also have a look at
- his website
- his FB 

Christophe Correy is a long-exposure-landscape specialist, and you can see on his portfolio that this fantastic shot is not just a lucky try. This picture tells a story to me: seeing the time passing by, trapped among walls in the city, under the critical superior looks of the neighbours.

If you want to support his work, you know how to do on social networks: like and share !

good share, good day !
T.

Earth Day 2015 !

Welcome to the SofD, the Share of the Day  !
 
Today, 22nd of April 2015, we celebrate the "Earth Day". Even if that should be a perpetual thought, it's always a good thing to have some exterior pressure to do something great for our environment today.

Over here, it will be some gardening !


And don't forget all the good things this special day brought since 1970: :
- EPA creation (environment protection agency)
- "Clean Air" law approval
- "Clean Water" law approval
- "endangered species" law approval
- first sensibilisations to recycling
etc, etc, ...

And you, anything planned ? 

T.

Live webinar for Lightroom CC

Lightroom is annoucing a new version of its software, alias Lightroom CC: Kelbyone is making a special review on it for you guys, live tonight here ! http://kelbyone.com/lightroom-cc-live-webcasts/

Share to support his work ! 

How to fill the W8BEN form easily and entirely !

Hello everybody ! 

As promised, here is the complement on how to fill completely the W8-BEN form!

This form is super-useful for people who earn money via any american site, including: 

- microstocks (istock, shutterstock, fotolia...)

- donation sites (patreon...)

As for a rule, on any amount of money earned on these sites, the US tax office is taking 30% ! But you shouldn't pay it if you declare your revenues abroad !

Therefore, simply filling the W8-BEN form allows you to avoid this 30% taxation ! You'll find the form under the "tax" tab of all your favourite websites

However, in this W8-BEN form, there is a need for a so-called "fiscal identification number".

In april 2015, what works is to fill this box with the siply and quicly-obtained EIN number. 

* US citizen apply only online here https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp

* All the others

1/ Must know what the SS4 form looks like, here http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iss4.pdf

2/ Then call the IRS (US tax office), based at Philadelphia, during opening hours

- their phone number is 1-267-941-1099 (then dial 1)

Then you simply fill the SS4 form with an agent of the IRS service. At the end of the conversation, you'll get the EIN number, and simply write it down in your W8-BEN form ! (notice that there is often a box on the W8-BEN form to be ticked to signal that you got this EIN number more recently than 15 days)

NB: The SS4 form can also directly be sent to the IRS by fax : 001(267) 941 10 99 (Attn : EIN operation Philadelphia, PA 19255) 

You don't have any excuse anymore to pay 30% tax in the USA for no good reason ! 

Thanks for sharing this useful tip !

T.

Here are some more useful links about the EIN obtention: 

- http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/How-Long-Will-it-Take-to-Get-an-EIN

- http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Employer-ID-Numbers-EINs

- http://istockfaq.gettyimages.com/im-from-japan-france-slovakia-and-luxemburg-how-do-i-apply-for-a-u-s-tax-number/

- http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-SS-4,-Application-for-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)

IntroIntroduction to the world of microstocks ! sell your pictures online

Thanks a lot for the 250+ views on the microstock tutorial video. I hope it meant you liked it, tell me more !

T.
The FB page
The YT channel

18th and 19th of April : sport photoshooting in Bordeaux ?

SotD, the Share of the Day !

If you don't know what to do this WE, come for sport photoshoots in Bordeaux.

On Saturday evening, Bordeaux is organizing the unique night-run marathon in France!
This edition received big success, with 20 000 participants. Just take an umbrella with you, since the shoots might be great but... needing some waterproofing.



And for the day-part of the WE, you can get at 50km from there, on the shore, since the Lacanau Surf Club organizes the last stage of the Winter Contest Tour, a high-level Surf competition !

T.

2 new lenses by Zeiss for the Sony A7 owners !

Good news for the Sony fans!

2 new lenses just got released by Zeiss for the A7 camera by Sony
 

The 2 released lenses are respectively
 === Zeiss 50mm f/2 ===
Launched at 715 euros, here you can find already its Flickr galery

=== Zeiss 35mm f/2===
Launched at 965 euros, here is its Flickr Galery for real on-the-field examples and tests 

T.

Why should we not blindly blame microstocks

The Share of the Day:

Since i see very harsh comments (or just insults) about microstocks, I wanted to share few points with you:

I understand the fact that people can be bothered with the "royalty free" notion, since that does not exist in the law, except in the USA, but that's where Fotolia and the other miscrotocks took refugee.

What are microstocks:
they are accused to endanger the entire professional photography business by selling photos for a very cheap price (sometimes even giving them up for free). The most frequent reason being that the production cost can't be covered by such cheap revenues.
THIS IS (partially) TRUE

So why not attack the microstocks ?
Just make a tour on a microstock site, and you will see that some photos are out of these websites and totally spare the money-maker niches of most of the professional photographers (who still hit on the back of the microstocks):
- you can't get your portrait photo there
- you can't get fashion photo there
- neither wedding photos
- no reporter photographer can expose on microstocks




Just go click on the "best sellers" section, and you will notice what a huge place the illustrations and 3D-rendered images take.

So the microstocks don't endanger the whole profession, but they DO bother the illustrators.
But that is true in ANY profession. Only specalized professionals will get paid big money for illustration work now. And also when a company needs a very specific and unique illustration.
For the rest, the advertisement companies won't bother paying a lot of money for something that fill their requirement level that they can find for much cheaper. Especially because some "amateurs" are now doing graphics with an EXCELLENT quality and make additional revenue out of it (if not a living).

This is also true in all the fields: you can choose for a fancy french perfume, but you can also go for a cheaper one if it suits you enough. You can go to a restaurant or order cheap fast-food...

And you, what are your recent contact like when you have been saying that you're working for microstocks ?
T.

my FB page
my Youtube channel

Crazy dream tonight : looking for a short movie scenario, here you have !

Tonight's dream... that I called « the jail »

I will tempt to share it, as I know that some of my readers are into filming and photo-shooting, so if anybody is in lack of inspiration at the moment, feel free to use this story. If you do so, I'm actually super-excited to see what you can do with it:)

In this dream, the story starts by seeing a wooden round closed basket (30cm high). However, inside this wooden basket, you realise that the indoor size is incredibly large... (10m high), and that it is actually filled with a staircase (1 round turn of a staircase).

In the next part of the stream, there are 3 stories, each time starting with a new character appearing inside this wooden box, but without him knowing what he does there.

=== 1st character ===

A young 25-year-old man, waking up, looking around, and noticing that the upper part of the staircase is blocked. The man is then obliged to go through a door at the bottom end of the staircase. The man appears in his usual environment, where he is in the middle of a very poch, rich, club : he is facing a restaurant, and very rich well-dressed people are facing a restaurant, in a sunny day of spring.

The character knows perfectly how artificial and superficial this universe is, but still maintains a very polite discussion with the people he encounters. He however does some « rebellion » with two of his friends, and shuffles the dishes or moves the cutleries so that they are not evenly spaced anymore, and things like this...

But the man thinks that's not enough, and he suddenly decides, in the middle of the following banquet, to get up and leave, despite all the other people to be extremely angry against this unpolite behaviour. He takes his car, drives to a beach, and walks on the beach. He sits down and falls asleep when the night comes. When waking up, he is now back in the wooden basket, but all the exits are now closed...

That is our « prisonner for the social conventions ».

=== Second character ===

A young man, in traditional east-european clothes wakes up in the basket. This time, only the upper end of the staircase is open, so the guy decides to cross the door there and ends in an inn. In this inn, people (but he can't understand the language) are prepapring a happy celebration. In his life, this guy was alone and he feels even more sad know while seeing other people being happy together.

He sees the preparations from the first stage of the inn, and nobody notices him. The celebration starts, and later in the evening, he notices a very pretty girl. He instantly feels the need to seduce her, and tries charming her by playing a magnificient piece of flute. The girl notices him but it doesn't go any further than a quick glance. The man decides to follow her and notices that she is already with someone, so he flees outdoor, and go cry under a tree. He falls asleep, exhausted, and when he wakes up, he is in the all-closed wooden basket...

That is our « prisonner from love », the one who can't live anymore for anything else than finally be « someone » for someone else.

=== 3rd character ===

The third man only has an exit at mid-distance in the staircase.

When he crosses the door, he appears in a very bright, white, museum, with huge rooms. He crosses the first rooms of the museum, but he only met 2 or 3 bronze statues in the dozens of rooms he crossed. The museum does not have a regular disposition, because each room is separated with long staircases. After a long while, he still didn't meet anybody, and notices that he is back to where he started from. He changes direction, but constantly, he falls back to his starting point : this is a labyrinthe.

When he shouts « Who built this ? », he suddenly realizes that he was the one ordering this gigantic construction, and that the bronze statues he passed next to where made at his image.

That is our « prisonner from megalomany ».

My dream (thus this story) ends with this guy screaming, and the « camera » zooming out of the wooden box, and you could see a little girl sticking a paper on the wooden basket with a message on it : « Lunatics, lovers, and poets all are ruled by their overactive imaginations.  », William Shakespeare

*******

Each time, « only one exit » in these characters' life, and each time they trapped themselves or got trapped by others, in a life that they finally don't like, but it would kill them to try to escape this.

That was my special daily contribution,

Have a great day all and lots of inspiration!

Share this if you think that people love crazy dreams , ahah

T.

Commenting the first photo ever shot in the World !

Let's take some calm time for the Share of the day !

Here is a movie about what the first photo of humanity could have looked like !

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kf4n3


"Come on, let's do it again, i think i blinked"

T.

Breaking News: Youtube gives more information for the subscription !

Hey all ! 

The present article is following the previous one you can find here

In the previous article, I announced that Youtube was going for a monetization system based on VOLONTARY subscription fees for viewers. 

The principle has 2 sides

- allow the subscribed viewers to skip the ads.

- allow the viewers to financially help their favourite youtubers for the time (and equipment) spent to think, create, film, mount and share their work. 

Now, here are some new and fresh details obtained from Youtube on this new system !

For the creators

Preliminaries: 

- Your Youtube account should be in "partnership" state

- You must have a validated google adsense account attached to your youtube account

- You must have enabled the monetization of your videos on Youtube

- You must only produce and share 100%-created content (video and music included)

The money will only come in your pocket if you are ok with all the preliminary points.

"the following YouTube Partner Program Terms apply to your participation in the YouTube Partner Program "

YouTube will pay you as follow:

For the "old" system of advertisement, Youtube will give you "55% of net revenues recognized by YouTube from ads displayed or streamed by YouTube or an authorized third party on your Content"

for the new subscription system, here are the rules:   

"1.2 [...] YouTube will pay you 55% of the total net revenues recognized by YouTube from subscription fees that are attributable to the monthly views or watchtime of your Content as a percentage of the monthly views or watchtime of all or a subset of participating content in the relevant subscription offering (as determined by YouTube)."

To be clear:
- if someone subscribes only to your channel, you will receive 55% of this monthly fee
- if several channels are subscribed by someone, then you will receive a pro rata of this amount, based on how much time the viewer spent on YOUR content. Better catch them for the longest possible time then !

How much ? 
Some american magazine (The Verge) announced that this subscription could cost 10 dollars (9,3 euros).
 

Concerning your next uploads: this new system does not come with requirements in terms of production rate (time between 2 uploads) or any exclusivity term with regards to Youtube. 

What do I have to do to take advantage of this offer ?

NOTHING, if your content is monetized, then Youtube will make your content available for the subscription process. If you disagree with it, then you should set your sharing of your videos in private mode only.

For the viewers

Paying for a monthly subscription allows a viewer to support his favourite youtubers and gives him the exclusive advantage to skip the ads on youtube (except if you are that dedicated to support AND support your favourite youtuber by clicking on the ads !)

This application would allow the viewers to download the videos to watch them off-line.

More news 

This new system is supposed to arrive "very soon [...] in 2015". Knowing that the new General Terms and conditions apply starting on the 15th of June 2015.  

Particular case: those who want can still make their videos not available in certain countries.

Have a great day !

A share or a like of this work = 1 happier koala in the World !

T. 

My own Youtube channel is here

My FB page 

Youtube extends the offer to pay a monthly subscription to help your favourite creators !

Excellent news coming from the Youtube newslettertoday !

In this newsletter, Youtube announces (among other things) that they are laucnhing the monthly fee option (option!) in new countries !

Not only will that allow you to support your favourite creators, but also, paying for this subscription will allow you to get rid off all the advertisements. You're finally free to let your adblock system on while supporting the Youtube creators you appreciate !

A good idea, then, from Youtube, even if a bit copied on its neighbours/concurrents (dailymotion, twitch.tv and other streaming sites). This system proved itself to be working great and received already big success in the USA and on the other platforms, both from the creators and from the fans who want to support the creation on Youtube.

We are now waiting for the exact launching date and for the asked price for this monthly subscription (or maybe this price can be adjusted).

Good day to you all !
And don't forget, 1 like or 1 share = 1 happier koala in the world ;)
T.

Here is my own YT channel (hint hint ;) ) 

And here is my FB page ! don't hesitate to comment and ask questions, that's what networks are for !

CC, copyright and plagiarism

Welcome back for the SotD, the Share of the Day !

Today, I found an article (in french) worth sharing, about copyrights.

This story is about a (too) common non-respect of the attribution of the credits  when using or copying a work from an artist / photographer / illustrator.

the original image from Stephanie Walter (left) and its copy by Cera (agency, right)

 The image of Stephanie Walter (left) has a CC (creative commons) protection, which just asks for the users to put her name as copyright.

As too often, Cera decided to re-use her image (left one) without citing her name. Stephanie Walter tweeted them to correct this. What happened then surprised her a lot.

Instead of just correcting their mistake (as often happens, by users who don't know the rules or forgot in their website creation), they decided to replace her creation by a plagiarism: The new image was now on the website (right one), but without her name. Their justification was now 'we replaced the image, their is no need for a CC no more'.

This is tireing, but once again, here is the legal explanation:

- CC does need quoting the name of the creator.

- CC still means that there is some copyright

- the agency said afterwards that "ideas can't be protected by copyright", except that here, they copied a concrete materialisation of an idea, so it's just not an idea anymore.

- plagiarism can be legally suited as well as the non-respect of copyright.

In this case, the author didn't decide to suit the agency and just wanted her name to be associated with her work. Sadly, she didn't get respected, but that's not a reason for making commonplace of this story !!

Don't forget, 1 share or 1 like = 1 happier koala :)

T. 

My FB page is here !

transiting from argentic to numerical camera !

In the Share of the Day, the story of people truly crazy about photography!

The story takes place in a french photo group (french text)


Their technical staff has been working for 2 years on the resarch, tests and development of an element allowing for a smooth transition from argentic photography to numerical photography, starting with an argentic body camera !

Facing the rarefaction of the offer in the argentic development domain, and thus exploding prices, we can spectate nowadays
- an increasing demand (without much hope) to offer a second life to an argentic body camera and helps it transit towards the numerical world.
- The giving-up of the argentic technique, and the ridiculously cheap price of these equipements, when the tools are just not given for free.

The team from pixelistes.com is working on an independent element, which WON'T NEED ANY ADDITIONAL ACCESSORY, to be inserted in the body of your argentic camera and include a sensor to your camera.

@pixelistes.com

This new tool is developped under 3 different resolutions:
- CMOS 8 megapixels (4:3 format) (17.3×13)
- CMOS 16 megapixels (Full Frame) (24×36)
- CMOS 32 megapixels (Full Frame) (24×36)

The price and the deadlines have not been released yet, but they are on the verge of starting building the first few prototypes and are looking for beta-testers ! Thank you all that can support them !

Have a great day, and don't forget that 1 like = 1 happier koala !
T .

Share of the Day, Thought of the day

The Share of the Day is a simple but important thought about how important is to keep sharing our knowledge when we have some time, may it be practical or theoretical.

http://teacherkoala.blogspot.fr/2015/04/thought-of-day-week-month.html

Good curiosity day to all of you !
T.

Depositphotos now allows to sell videos !

And again, some news, since Depositphotos just announced that they allow for video selling on their website, thus following fotolia, shutterstock, etc...

A new source of income for you !

http://goo.gl/cri0mO

And just in case, if you were not registered by depositphotos yet, i would be happy if you go through a referral link:
http://depositphotos.com?ref=1018326
T.

The fixation of the sea power

The SotD comes back right into the world of photography, today.

Ray Collins has just been a nice discovery for me, so I thought I'd share it with you. Ray Collins gives us an intense new look at Nature, with a powerful series of images of ocean.

Until then, nothing exceptional.

When it becomes interesting, is the treatment Ray Collins apply on his photos, from the taking the picture (exactly at the culminant point of the waves) and thanks to the treatment (quite harsh), Ray Collins manages to share this idea of a powerful non-stopable element !

As always, images are much self-explanatory than a long speech, so have a swim with us: 

https://vimeo.com/95575113

And don't forget, a share = 1 happier koala!

T.

Follow me on FB here !

for the technique...

The SotD has ABSOLUTELY no interest

But how crazy it is  !!! ahah

T.
1 like = 1 happy koala, as always !

Stunning astro photography !

The superb Share of the Day !

Seen on the page of a colleague blogger : a superb photo of the solar eclipse, but largely prepared... since it captured the transit of the International Space Station (ISS) in front of the sun !
http://astrospace-page.blogspot.fr/2015/03/ISS-transit-eclipse-2015.html



The photographer, Thierry Legault (his flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/thierry_legault/ ), has already made some of these shots before, but not nearly as spectacular: this 6-second long ISS transit in front of the sun is just stunning !

You can congrat him for this shot of course and like his work !

Keep curious you all !
T.
And for visibility, don't forget that 1 like = 1 happier koala ! :)

Composition rules in photography

SotD, the share of the Day !

Today, we come back to the basics in term of photo composition !

This article is based on this very clear and explicit video, and i underline for each tipe THE thing you can remember for your next composition !

The goal of this tutorial is that your photos are well composed, to attract the look and so that it can be "read" like an open story

1/ Rule of thirds
- Next time you take a landscape photo, compose it so that the horizon makes a 1/3 - 2/3 division (and not 50/50)

2/ Driving lanes
- If your landscape shows clear lines, use them in your picture and try to make them converge, towards the inside of your photo

3/ Diagonals
Except for the very symetric photos, the composition will be reinforced by the presence of diagonal lines (especially if not crossed)

4/ Framing
- Compose your photo with the natural frames of your environment : arches, doors...

5/ Face to background
- compose your photo so that it tells a story: each plane should mean something if it is taken in the frame

6/ Fill the field
- The composition of your photo should include the elements that you like when you look with your bare eye, before shooting the photo : zoom-in until only these nice elements are telling the story in your frame !

7/ For portraits
The composition of your photo can be made so that the eye of your subject is place on the middle of your photo (not symetric)

8/ Patters / Repetitions
The human brain is avid in patterns and pre-build repetitions: if you notice some, capture them in your photo composition !

9/ Symetry
In some cases, the "harsh" symetry of your photo can be striking

Now you have a clear idea about the basic composition rules in photography ! Don't follow them and choose your style !

Don't forget, 1 share = 1 happier koala !
T.

Ma page FB pour suivre et poser vos questions 

free audio clip : on iStock !

The SotD, it's the Share of the Day ! 

Never forget that if you need audio content for your creations, iStock has been providing free audio clips on its site for a while ! 

Only one free audio clip is displayed at once, but there is an entire collection of free audio clips on the website ! 

1 share = 1 happier koala émoticône wink
T.

Follow me on FB ! 

Live solar Eclipse from the Pyrénées

The french sight of the solar eclipse can be watched live here:

http://www.linternaute.com/…/1221559-eclipse-solaire-en-di…/

Seeing how enthusiastic you were in France, but also how frustrated by the clouds, I can maybe reassure someof you by saying that some TOTAL solar eclipse are coming soon:

- in 2026, in Spain (save the date émoticône wink )

- For the ones in heavy rush, in 12months in Indonesia (how to combine exotic destinations with lovely solar eclipse observations)



1 share = 1happy koala !
T.

up-to-date Dailymotion videos !!! excited !

Yipiiiiiiiie !

Enthusiastic Share of the Day, since I made it, there is no more gap in my uploads !

You can now follow all my video tutorials on Dailymotion !

http://www.dailymotion.com/user/totolekoala/1

1 share for the work = 1 happy koala !
T.

Hélène Kérisit and discussion about the visibility on FB !

SotD, the Share of the Day !

today, the share of work will be served with a story about Facebook ;)

The Share of the Day will lead you to the daily work of Hélène Kérisit, a French photographer: Kudoos for her crossing the 1000-likes milestone !
https://www.facebook.com/helenetb

Her work can't be summed up to daily pictures, there is a lovely story behind any of them !

The story about FB, then, came up when discussing with Hélène.

Social network mastodonts (Beboy, for example) have a big enough fanbase to receive multiple likes and shares on their pages so that the page keeps being seen and shared and populates more views: it's the snowball effect.
For smaller pages / groups, or people who start their activity (me, for example, 4 likes for my daily tips), it's getting harder, since no like/share means that our publications won't even reach your "acutality thread" so you might not even see articles from a page you like ! 

FB, on the contrary, decided to over-expose messages directly from the profile, and thus, some people started posting in double, by sharing their page articles on their main profile, but then, why would you want/need to like a page...

I won't even talk about the little (none) advertisement possible for the pages on our profiles (no link / buttons / access from my profile to my pages...).

FB got a good idea, however: for 1 week, it has been deleting the "phantom" accounts (including the ones you could buy to get more views), meaning that today's likes and shares will be more valuables and "pimped" accounts will fall in visibility.

FB only has to find a way to exhibit the pages more: better visibility in the news thread, and possibility to the creators to provide links directly from their main profile...

And you, how well do you manage your visibility in here when you need it ?
today, more than everyday, 1 share or 1 like = 1 happier koala !
T.

my google plus
my FB page

FOCALHERO : sell your local photos from iStock

SotD, my Share of the Day

Today, we'll be discussing about FOCALHERO, a database created by volunteers, still looking to recruit some photographers.

FOCALHERO has been developped to promote pictures taken in your specific area, which are sold on iStock. (if you don't know what microstocks are, take a look on my presentations (english flags) https://www.youtube.com/user/totolekoalaradin/videos

FOCALHERO website offers the possibility to the participant to get a free page to present its work, including its lightboxes from its iStock's work, from a specific area.

The goal is simple: the enterprises have an easier time finding relevant photos, and you sell more.

The page of the project is here : http://focalhero.co.uk

Don't forget, 1 share = 1 happier koala in the world
Thomas

Photography from Saint-Emilion, France

Saint-Emilion, in France, taken this WE: sorry for the bad weather, but hope that this wine-related postcard will cheer most of you up émoticône wink

1 share = 1 happier koala

T.

Peter Lik's success-story

the Share of the day !

I didn't know Peter Lik, but seeing that it's the success-story of the moment, i went looking for information.
- 500 000 000$ worth of sellings
- 1,6 millions $ / week
- a record worth 6,5 millions $ on a single picture ("phantom")

his secret to sell photos ?
- he usually owns a 100 000 square feet industry all dedicated to printing his pictures
- to be known (he chased the world record for a while), he printed a single copy of one of his picture, and invited his friends for a private auction, to make the price raise as much as possible. Once the impressive price was set, he hired a communication group to make the deal public and shared.

The money, he has, but apparently, the sense of art in photography, he and his buyers lack a bit. But if your intention with photos is business and selling, copy him, he seems to have found the right method !

http://petapixel.com/…/photographer-peter-lik-has-sold-nea…/

T.

The best (and worst) microstocks

Time for the Share of the Day !

On his blog, this guy shares loads of useful tips on the microstocks, .
In particular, he just showed his monthly revenues, sorted by microstocks.

For us, what we can deduce from this is:
- He is not uploading on Fotolia: I would recommend you to upload on fotolia, which has a much bigger revenue/time-spent ratio than many microstocks for which he is a contributor. It's to important to miss it
- The strong presence of Zazzle: for me as well, this goodies-seller is a strong source of revenues when updated regularly !

T.

Fotolia : reaching 50 millions images in stock !

Share of the Day !

Dreastime just reached 30 millions pictures for sales...but here is an even more impressing milestone reached by shutterstock and its 50 million images in stock !!

It's really time for quality and original production for us, since average work will only be sinking into the crowd of everybody's pictures.

http://www.marketwatch.com/…/shutterstocks-collection-excee…

T.

"Tour de France" as a photographer

The Share of the Day !
Ever wanted to go to France ?

Ever have been a fan of photography, video-making or modelling ?

Then you should learn more about the "Tour de France photo" !

In 4 camping-cars, the motivated people from this project go all around France from the 23rd of May to the 6th of June 2015.

They are recruiting photographers, models, stylists, hairdressers, video-makers: contact them to join, even if you're not a fluent french-speaker!
the first step is taking place in Alsace, then they will move towards the Alpes, and so on.

The detailed program (their x, y, z and t coordinates :p)is available here, including the program that they scheduled in each city

http://tourdefrancephoto.fr/tfp2015.html

Enjoy the day !
T.

Dreamstime chosen by google ! more sales for our photos !

SotD !
Anotehr reason to congratulate Dreamstime !!

They just got chosen as a “beta provider of stock photos for Google display ads.” (that's the official name).

More sales to come thanks to this ?

http://petapixel.com/…/dreamstime-selected-stock-photo-pro…/

T. 

Adobe strategy after buying fotolia

SotD !
Adobe is integrating Fotolia pictures after its massive buy, to snowball on the cloud subscriptions !

http://www.bloomberg.com/…/adobe-s-fourth-quarter-sales-top…

More sales for fotolia contributors !
T.

reductions on canon prices !

SotD !
Looking for a new camera ? Then this nearly new bodies will interest you, since Canon already reduces their price: More to find about 5dIII and 6D price reduction on this link:

http://nofilmschool.com/…/canon-price-cost-drop-deal-5d-mar…

Don't hesitate to share is someone is on the edge of changing his material, some sales soon is expected
T.

Dreamstime: reaches 30 millions photos to be sold

SotD :
Dreamstime keeps advancing super-fast: just reached 30 million pictures online to sell ! Congrats to them..and to us contributors !
http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_5199

T.

Google Adsense stopped... on google !

In the SotD (Share of the Day) we talk about adsense

It starts to be a bit of an old news, but we never know:

 Did you know that Google Adsense (the monetization tool for websites) would not be supported anymore on .... google.sites !

Thus, only the only google.sites pages still support adsense blocks, but new created pages can't be monetized through this tool.

Therefore, dear followers, if you had in mind to create a webpage and monetize it, and if it is possible for you, don't hesitate to switch to a blogspot (blogger.com) format, which includes exactly the same tools as google.sites, is free, and allows quick and easy additions of adsense on their pages

https://support.google.com/sites/answer/3156640?hl=en
Have a good day !
t.

Never try the "buy it now" button on ebay

The SotD is a trick

Ebay has a sneaky move with its "Buy it now" button: Never click on it to simulate a selling to know how much the shipping fees are, because clicking on "Buy it now" corresponds to a legal promise to really buy the object.

Just use the "add to basket" button instead, or ask the seller about the shipping prices.

There are ways to deal with cancelling a click on "buy it now", but it takes time and energy, and it can be not that obvious with some sellers.

Thus, thought sharing this with you would avoid you some trouble  

1 share = 1 happy koala
 t .

SotD: National Geographic

The SofD, it's the winner of the UK National Geographic contest for the "people" category

http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/photo-competitio…/winners/…

This photo takes place in romania (Comanesti to be precise) and picturing a boy removing (or putting back) his bear head, during a traditional New Year's representation

Enjoy !
t.

Back to life: upload on Dreamstime !

Dreamstime is allowing for an easy boost of your portfolio !

They request uploads on the "back to life" theme:
every accepted picture will receive an automatic upgrade to level 5!

to start uploading, follow this link

http://www.dreamstime.com/assignments.php
t.

Adobe buys fotolia !

SotD !
800M$ TO ACQUIRE FOTOLIA !

that's a massive move by Adobe to acquire fotolia

http://www.studiodaily.com/…/adobe-buys-fotolia-plans-inco…/

Good share, good day,
t.

World Press photo: problems with the selection and prices

The SotD is a debate,

as 20% of the photos competing for the "World Press 2015" were disqualified for "fraud" reason, this relaunches an ever-lasting debate: where does manipulation, news and art start and finish ?

http://petapixel.com/…/world-press-photo-disqualifies-20-f…/

Quite an interesting article !
t.

Solar Eclipse and gigantic tide, the same WE !

The SotD !!!
The WE of 20 - 21st of march, go out, and take your cameras with you: the nature will distract you with 2 interesting phenomenon

 1/ On the 20th march, a solar eclipse !!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_20,_2015

2/ On the 21st of march, the biggest tide of the century !!
http://www.thelocal.fr/…/french-braces-for-tide-of-the-cent…

Enjoy this, don't hesitate so that nobody misses that !
T.

A 50 megapixel camera for Canon ? 50MP ?

The SotD, The Share of the Day !

Canon just decide a counter-attack to Nikon's 36MP sensor by advertising a new 50 MP (!!!!) sensor on their previously developped 5Diii body.

The interest of getting 50MP is quite limited for most of us, but why not...
It will however need extra-super-good-quality lenses to follow the monster definition needed to use such an equipment !
 
http://petapixel.com/…/rumor-two-50mp-canon-dslrs-works-on…/

Good share, good day !
T.

feeric SotD

feeric SofT !

Today, we celebrate Margarita Kareva and her work on fairies representation

http://blog.grainedephotographe.com/contes-fees-margarita-…/

t.

Testing the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8

The SotD !
February brought you new toys ! And more Yongnuo equipment to be tested and compared
 Seems relatively worth :

http://petapixel.com/…/testing-yongnuo-50mm-f1-8-nightscap…/

T.

Amazon: the prices change depending on your country...

And here is the SotD, the Share of the Day !

As some of you might know, some websites change their prices depending on the country you're looking at (amazon.com / amazon.fr for example).

 The price difference can really be huge, but the system often leads you back to the ".com" version automatically.

So before buying your next lens or camera, make a research on different pages from the following useful link 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=487250

Did you know about this trick ?
T.

3D modelling improvement

SotD, it's the share of the Day !

There has been such a quick improvment of the realistic 3D modelling ! In less than a decade, they now manage to get to the point where you can explore in real-time your 3D-created environment, calculation of the lights and shadows included, wow!

 

Why do we still even bother buying cameras ?
T.

Expanding your social network influence !

If you are trying to increase your social media network, then this article might interest you quite a lot

http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5311-improve-klout-score.h…

Enjoy your WE !
T.

The guy who had 1 billion ideas... Zach King

The SotD !!!!!!!

I love this guy: no need of a 10 000 $ equipment when you have a limitless imagination!

 Good share, good evening

T.

Model portrait tutorial

SotD, it's the Share of the day, that you can relink only if you liked


Today, a nice model shooting tutorial !


 

hope you liked a bit of humour to start the day,
don't forget, 1 like or share = 1 more koala happy in the world,
T.

Microsoft applications for free !

SotD, it's the Share of the Day,

Did you know that Microsoft starts releasing Microsoft Office around free apps for some phones and tablets ?

http://mashable.com/…/…/microsoft-office-preview-windows-10/

Good share, good day
T.

get Google Earth Pro for free!

Free trick of the day !

for people that are interested : google earth, in PRO version, has become free ! (worth 400$)

You just need to send an e-mail and you get the activation key

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2476149,00.asp

Good share, good day !
T.

Royalty-free music for your creations and streams

Hey all !
The SotD, it's the Share of the Day, that you're obliged to re-share if you liked  

Today, I want to present incompetech.com :

This website is gathering royalty-free music: Some of the content to be discovered is actually quite fresh and good, and it can be used for free and without licence-problem on many of your creations !

 I especially think about this kind of playlists for live streaming...
Coming up soon 
T.

Lightspeed : lightpainting combined with timelapse !

Hey !

The SotD, it's the Share of the Day, to reshare and like....if you like

 Today, I was impressed by this work "Lightspeed", by Darren Pearson
 
If that doesn't impress you...well, I don't know what could !

 Enjoy and reshare
T.

creation of a theme : League of Legends classical orchestra

Hey all !

Tonight, I share this video which could be entitled 'how to create as a team".

The background is about video games, but the messages are quite strong, it's good if some teenagers look at it

Good day, good share, good vibes
 T.

Get funded and donations for your work (youtube, etc...)

Is there any medium-sized youtube channel here, waiting for a big help ?

 Make yourself know, especially if you're into creation contents, via https://subbable.com/

This website has been founded by Hank Green, from the Scishow channel, and offers a 5% comission on the subscription, which is clearly a good rate in the domain !

Good luck to those who get tempted !
T.

Stunning compositions!

And because it is so stunning, here is a second SotD !
(makes me think a lot about "Dixit" game)
http://www.boredpanda.com/magic-realism-paintings-rob-gons…/

So impressive, don't hesitate to make his work known!

T.

Lightroom 6 won't be for old computers...

The SotD is a bit sad and a bit technical:

Adobe forecasts to only develop the Lightroom 6 on 64-bit machines, which means that it will only benefit for the newest computers...

 Some will be sad...

source: http://petapixel.com/…/adobe-lightroom-6-will-compatible-6…/
T.

"How to": upload your photos on FB, properly

SotD !!!!

 Today, an article well describing the "how to" upload your photos on FB so that the quality remains high enough for people to seriously see your work !

https://fstoppers.com/…/how-i-upload-my-photos-facebook-or-…

Did you know this trick ?
T.

2-speed animated GIF

SotD, it's the Share of the Day

 Today, the 2-speed GIF

Doesn't that seem SO COOL to you ? Somebody ever tried and wants to share its try ?

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/…/magique-le-gif-a-deux-vite…
 
T.

Day and night on the same picture !

SotD, it's the Share of the Day,

Today, enter the Day-Night continuum of Stephen Wilkes.

For having tried this, i know how hard this render is !
 
http://www.stephenwilkes.com/…/526fcc74-7050-4eab-94e4-3074…

And you, can you show any of your try ?
T.

Portrait mastered : SotD !

SotD, it's the Share of the Day,

Today, a guy that really masters the portrait pictures ! Wonderful post-processing!

https://500px.com/dhenypatungka

T.

My 500px presentation

SotD, it's the Share of the Day.

Today, we come back to Paris and its great light
https://500px.com/…/vue-classique-mais-on-joue-sur-les-lumi…

this link leads to my work, exhibited on 500px, i hope you appreciate it, let me know ! 
1 share = 1 happy koala, 
T.

Some stunning historical pictures, worth to appreciate

SotD, it's the Share of the Day. Today, quite shocking and stunning pictures. Hope it will inspire some strong messages in your photo work today !

Here are the historical pictures

Enjoy the day, T.

What if we could see the sky ? ...

SotD, it's the Share of the Day!

Today, I propose to dig into the work of the French photographer Thierry Cohen, and see... what would our big cities would look like if the lights were all shut down ! impressive !

http://www.iflscience.com/…/what-if-our-cities-were-lit-bil…

Totolekoala

Aaron Groen on 500px

SotD, it's the Share of the Day, to know the useful tips, people and to get motivated for curiosity every day !

Today, we're diving right into astrophotography with the great art of Aaron Groen.

http://iso.500px.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-astrophotograph…/…

Before you try to copy, check the light pollution map of your country and find the right spot !

Enjoy your day all, and thanks in advance to those who will share my post and page to launch the interaction in here

Totolekoala

The hidden story behind the creation of zoom lenses...

SotD, it's the Share of the Day.

 Today's story is pointing out how similar lens zooms are from... the atomic bomb.

Indeed, this short and well-done video is elucidating the badly-known story behind the lens zoom invention in the WW2 !

Do not hesitate to share !

http://vimeo.com/101630561

Totolekoala

Fashion shooting, ... with an iPhone

the SotD, it's the Share of the Day

Today, a stunning experience where Lee Morris decided to due an entire fashion photoshoot using only an iPhone.

http://vimeo.com/13081827

Why are we still dealing with top reflex cameras ? 
Totolekoala

Beboy presentation

SotD, it's the Share of the Day!

Today, I'll present you Beboy photographies.

He's French, and started his photographic expansion in the world of Microstock photography.

Few months ago, he decided to unleash his links with any "homy" place, and is now a freelance photographer, travelling through the World and moving as opportunities of great shots present themselves.

I'm today presenting his recent work in Thailand, during the light festival.

Hope you enjoy, and thanks in advance to the ones who will kindly stop for a comment and/or a share

Totolekoala

my-art.com presentation

The personal SotD (Share of the Day) is this picture, taken in Paris.

You can get this point of view by climbing on top of the "Arc de Triomphe" (at the end of the "Champs-Elysées"), looking towards the modern business district of La Défense.

Just be aware that when the summit of the monument is crowded, then don't accept tripods, and the point of view/climb is now charged if you're more than 25 and non EU-resident.

I'm glad for any coming share of my work but mostly for all the improvement remarks you can post! 
  
http://www.my-art.com/…/designs/la-d%C3%A9fense-%C3%A0-paris


1 share = 1 happier koala
T.

1 photo - timelapse, a new concept

A very simple and efficient idea for a good photograph:

A 1-complete-day timelapse on a single spot. The article is in french, but you'll get it with the pictures

http://www.linternaute.com/…/palais-de-westminster-a-londre…