# Dreamstime?



## SimpleSpeed (Aug 25, 2009)

Hi, i am a new member here and this is my first post. I am recently unemployed so i have a little bit of free time on my hands. I cycle alot so i see alot of things one wouldnt normally see when driving in a car. So, i bring my cheapie kodak shoot and point so capture some images. 

My question is this. I just set up an account on Dreamstime. I created aprofile and uploaded one image. It showed that it was succesfully uploaded but i cannot find it anywhere im my prfile or anything. 

Also, is that it? Just upload and wait for someone to download the images and then they pay you? It  cant be that easy can it?


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## KmH (Aug 25, 2009)

Has Dreamstime accepted your image yet?


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## SimpleSpeed (Aug 25, 2009)

KmH said:


> Has Dreamstime accepted your image yet?


No not yet. I uploaded it about an hour ago but now im reading that it may take a few hours. Once accepted, what are the next steps?

Also, are there any half decent photoshop type programs that i can download for free online?


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## rufus5150 (Aug 25, 2009)

SimpleSpeed said:


> Also, are there any half decent photoshop type programs that i can download for free online?



GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/


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## benlonghair (Aug 25, 2009)

rufus5150 said:


> SimpleSpeed said:
> 
> 
> > Also, are there any half decent photoshop type programs that i can download for free online?
> ...



GIMP is great. And if you get UFRaw it will take RAW images as well.


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## KmH (Aug 25, 2009)

GIMP is limited because it can only do 8-bit editing, but it _*is*_ free, so have at it.


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## SimpleSpeed (Aug 25, 2009)

Awesome, im downloading gimp right now. I dont think my Kodak EasyShare 813 will shoot raw will it?

Thanks for the help.


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## SimpleSpeed (Aug 26, 2009)

WOW gimp has a lot of options, im kinda lost.

Dreamstime uploaded my picture and put it on the unfinished page. Under continue upload it says commercial rf, rf (no keywords) and editorial> wich one do i choose?


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## KmH (Aug 26, 2009)

SimpleSpeed said:


> WOW gimp has a lot of options, im kinda lost.
> 
> Dreamstime uploaded my picture and put it on the unfinished page. Under continue upload it says commercial rf, rf (no keywords) and editorial> wich one do i choose?


To learn how to use GIMP 2.

You don't know what the difference is?

RF stands for Royalty Free. Editorial stand for, well Editorial.


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## vegasvisionstudios (Aug 26, 2009)

A better place for you to ask these questions would be the forums on Dreamstime there are many experienced microstock shooters there that will be happy to read the FAQ's and User Agreements to you.You might even find one that will read your camera manual for you too.

In all seriousness it is not that easy, stock, be it micro or macro stock requires a significant level of commitment. If you actually want to make anything resembling more then beer money you will need to treat it like a business. In which case your first point of attack would be to read your camera manual so you know what your camera is and is not capable of doing. 

Then you should hit Google and search for information on getting started in Microstock. There are lots of EBooks and Blogs out there that will fill you in on the basics and help you get started.

But seriously, microstock is a volume business, you need to dedicate some time to creating images specifically for it. If you think you are going to ride around on your bike and take snapshots of things that catch your eye and make a bunch of money selling them for stock you are setting yourself up for some real disappointment.

Successful stock shooters think like graphic designers and advertising agency reps. They respond to the task of creating imagery as if they were developing an ad campaign of their own. It is not enough for an image to have artistic value in stock. In stock an image must tell a story, it must be able to be associated to a task, a service, a product or a story and it must illustrate those things. Artistic merit worthy of fine art photography will go largely unnoticed and unrewarded in microstock. 

I have been involved in Microstock for a long time, my user ID at all the agencies is in the low to mid 200's and I have seen the industry birthed and grow through adolescence and it is now writhing in the uncomfortable growing pains of teenage-hood. It can be a viable way to earn supplemental income or to add an additional revenue stream to an existing photography business but easy is not a word I would use to describe it.

Good luck to you.


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