New Photographer?
Frequently Asked Questions By Contributors
- How do I become a contributing photographer for Steve Marsel Stock?
- Is membership free?
- How long does the account activation process take?
- What advantages do photographers have in shooting Stock Images?
- How much money does a photographer make from selling stock photography? What is the royalty structure?
- How do I get started?
- Do they have to be MY images?
- Can I sell my images anywhere else while they are on Steve Marsel Stock?
- Why is it necessary to have an exclusive contract?
- What about Logos and Trademarks in my images?
- What size files are required?
- What happens to my display images if they are not accepted into the collection?
- Can I find out why my images were not accepted into the collection?
- What happens when my images are accepted into the collection?
- How should I name my files?
- What are Model and Property Releases and do I need them?
- When do I need to have a Model Release signed?
- Is it true money has to change hands to make a Model or Property Release a legally binding contract?
- Are contributing Photographers legally responsible for their content?
- What about keywording?
- If I am approved as a contributing photographer, are new images submitted automatically accepted into the collection?
- What is the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement?
- What is the Steve Marsel Stock privacy policy?
- What if I want to terminate my relationship with Steve Marsel Stock?
How do I become a contributing photographer for Steve Marsel Stock?
Anyone can apply to become a contributor / photographer on Steve Marsel Stock. Potential contributors can click on the Photographer Register / Sign In link located between the two horizontal gray lines on the right side of the home page. Fill in the form, read the contributor Steve Marsel Stock document, check off that you understand it. (this is recorded with the time and date) Your account profile must have your full, real first and last names, and all require fields must be filled in to complete the application. Anyone uploading with a fake name will be banned immediately. You will receive via email an account validation link. Click on the link (or paste it into a browser’s address line) to complete your application.
Pick a username and password that is short, intuitive, and easy to remember. Once chosen, usernames and passwords may not be changed. You are now ready for your initial submission of photos to Steve Marsel Stock.
For your initial submission, please submit no less that thirty(30) “display” images in jpeg format where the longest dimension of each display image is 500 pixels in length.
If you have forgotten your password or username, it can be retrieved by typing your e-mail address here http://www.stevemarselstock.com/cb.php?pId=125
After submitting the form you should receive your account information shortly. Make sure you have cookies enabled and your firewall settings are OK. If you don't receive your account information, please contact us.
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Is membership free?
Membership is free.
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How long does the account activation process take?
Usually within 24 hours. We will email you a confirmation to the email address you provided. Follow the instructions that come with the email.
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What advantages do photographers have in shooting Stock Images?
Photographers who shoot Stock Photography usually have more creative control over the images they create. In addition, photographers are free to retain full copyright and can re-sell their images many times over.
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How much money does a photographer make from selling stock photography? What is the royalty structure?
The royalty structure on Steve Marsel Stock ranges from 20% to 50%. If you’re eligible for exclusivity, you can make up to 60%. The factors that go into this are many. Concept, originality, and quality, and the size of your initial submission of images accepted into the collection to name just a few. I a perfect world we’re looking for the beautiful, the unusual, the conceptual. We realize that many saleable images don’t fall under this criteria, but make you initial submission representative of your best work, and we’ll work from there. Our standard agreement is to agree upon a percentage of royalties collected, after the transaction fee charged by the credit card company we use for the sale between Steve Marsel Stock, and the buyer. Royalties are distributed monthly by check. Upon acceptance of your images into the collection, you will receive a PDF contract via email outlining the terms and % of commission you would receive for each sale after transactional expenses. Please sign and date a printed version of this contract and MAIL it to:
Photographer Accounts
c/o Steve Marsel Stock
561 Windsor Street A204
Somerville, MA 02143
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How do I get started?
Steve Marsel Stock has two steps in the submission process: low-resolution “display” images for approval and the eventual display on the site & high-resolution (hi-res) images to be used for sale.
For your initial submission ( and each subsequent submission), please submit no less that thirty(30) “display” images in jpeg format where the longest dimension of each display image is 500 pixels in length in the sRGB colorspace.
After your images have been accepted into the collection up-load your hi-resolution (hi-res) images. Hi-res images must be RGB tiff format only in the Adobe RGB1998 or ProPhoto RGB colorspaces. Additionally, hi-res images must be submitted "un-compressed", {compression - none} only. At the time of sale, the hi-res images are resized on the server to the appropriate size based on the usage purchased.
Steve Marsel Stock does not accept files in the Jpeg format as "hi- res". That's because the JPEG file format uses a "lossy" compression method. In order to make the file smaller, information is thrown away, or lost. The "quality" setting that most image editing programs and digital cameras have when saving JPEGs determines how much information is lost. At a certain point with lower quality settings the removal of information during the compression process can become visible in the form of compression artifacts (places in the image where too much detail has been lost). Too much JPEG compression can become visible either in the form of a general loss of detail, or grainy/patterned areas (especially in flat spaces, such as skies).
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Do they have to be MY images?
You must own the full copyright to any image you upload. This means you must be the photographer or artist that created the image, or it had to be legally assigned to you in writing, and you must be able to provide proof of this upon request should the need arise. Legal notice: uploading images/artwork that belongs to somebody else (copyright or otherwise) will result in a suspended membership and in some cases may have legal ramifications.
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Can I sell my images anywhere else while they are on Steve Marsel Stock?
When you "sign" with Steve Marsel Stock, you agree that Steve Marsel Stock will be your exclusive agency for the images you post for sale and any images "similar" to those you have posted. You agree that all images posted for sale on this site are not posted for sale and will not be sold through any other agent or site as long as this contract is in force. This is an exclusive contract for images posted only.
Why is it necessary to have an exclusive contract with Steve Marsel Stock?
A rights-managed license grants the buyer the right to publish an image according to a specified set of terms. These terms include circulation, print run, medium, geographical location, image size and the length of use. Occasionally buyers request exclusivity - the exclusive right to use an image for a specified amount of time. The buyer pays an additional fee for this exclusive right and that fee varies dependant upon what industries the customer purchases exclusivity to. Steve Marsel Stock must be able to guarantee to the buyer that the image or images they have purchased this exclusive right to use, will not be sold again within any of the specified industry or industries they have purchased exclusivity to. The sale of use for an image made outside of Steve Marsel Stock leaves the Photographer AND Steve Marsel Stock exposed to possible litigation for breach of contract through the loss of exclusivity.
What about Logos and Trademarks in my images?
All trademarks must be edited out (removed). This includes logos, brands and entities with copyright or trademarked elements. This many also extend to trademarked products such as cast sculptures, toys, architecture and other elements of design. Copyright is checked with each file.
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What size files are required?
Submissions for inclusion in the Steve Marsel Stock digital collection are made initially in low-res “display” size – exactly 500 pixels at the longest dimension (500 pixels by whatever the shorter dimension is preferably in the sRGB colorspace. No visual watermarks should be present on any display images.
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What happens to my display images if they are not accepted into the collection?
Images not accepted into the collection are deleted within 10 working days. No copies are saved.
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Can I find out why my images were not accepted into the collection?
No, we’re sorry but it’s up to the sole discretion of our editors. Photos are usually rejected due to excessive noise, blur, logos or trademarks, poor file quality, poor lighting or exposure, lack of concept, or vulgar subject matter. There are a number of other reasons as well, and there are certain topics we don't like that much because they are not marketable (ie family snapshots)
What happens when my images are accepted into the collection
Each image is checked individually by one of our editors for various requirements such as size, file type, quality and copyright. This means that every image in the library has been downloaded, viewed at full size, checked exhaustively and qualitatively evaluated by at least one, but sometimes two or more editors. If you are a new photographer and you have recently uploaded files, please be patient. Your image is in the queue, and will be processed in turn. There’s no need to upload again, or send us an email.
Upon acceptance (you will be notified via email) into the Steve Marsel Stock collection you must then upload the hi-res version of the images accepted. Files size rule, the bigger the better! 350 ppi at 11" x 17"or larger (anything smaller may be rejected). If your files are slightly smaller than this we recommend enlarging them through Photoshop (bicubic smoother) or the Alien Skin plug-in “Blow-Up 2”, but please no more than 10% at most!
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How should I name my files?
File names are a combination of your Steve Marsel Stock username and the original file name. For example if your username is joephoto and the filename is flower.jpeg, the new “Media Name” of the file is joephoto_flower.jpeg. You will need to re-name your hi-res files EXACTLY as new “Media Name” but with the .tif extension. If there is any difference between the display image originally submitted, and the Hi-res file uploaded after acceptance, (even by one character or space) the automatic system download system will work and this might jeopardize a future sale. PLEASE! re-name your files carefully.
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What are Model and Property Releases and do I need them?
A model release is a legally binding contract between a photographer and the person he or she has photographed. The contract usually gives the photographer permission to publish the images that contain the model's likeness "for any purpose" including advertising.
A property release is similar, although the contract is between the photographer and the owner of property he or she has photographed. Some popular properties and objects may also cause problems if shown photographically without a release.
Simply put - YES! You need model releases for images with clearly visible people. These images require a model release. You must submit these model release forms for legal reasons in PDF format (scanned and saved as PDF’s). The title of the PDF should reflect the name given to the image at the time you first uploaded it as a display image for submission. Children in images can’t sign a model release. A legal guardian or parent must sign for all children under the age of 18 years. You will be notified if you need a model release and it can be uploaded later if you’re not sure. If you do not have and need model releases you may download them at: www.stevemarselstock.com/modelreleases.php
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When do I need to have a Model Release signed?
As a general rule, ALWAYS get a model release if you can. You'll ALWAYS be better off having them because it will increase the salability of your images. Obviously there will be times when getting a release from someone will seem impossible, but attempting to sell such images may attract litigation. NEVER pass on the opportunity to get a release from someone if it IS possible!
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Is it true money has to change hands to make a Model or Property Release a legally binding contract?
There is some dispute over whether money needs to change hands to make the contract valid. Some people believe that a minimum token sum of at least $1 needs to be paid to the "model". Others believe a "valuable consideration" can be given by the photographer in a non-monetary form - such as copies of the photographs. Still, others believe no exchange of value is needed at all.
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Are contributing Photographers legally responsible for their content?
Your obligations are under the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement. As a contributing artist to Steve Marsel Stock, we have always expected you to meet all obligations in the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement, including, but not limited to, (a) acknowledging that Steve Marsel Stock prohibits any material that infringes on any intellectual property rights or rights of privacy or publicity, (b) warranting that you are the owner of all proprietary rights, including copyrights, in your content and that you have obtained applicable valid and binding model and property releases and (c) indemnifying Steve Marsel Stock for a claim made by a third party that your content breaches intellectual property or privacy/publicity rights.
Where Steve Marsel Stock promises to its customers under the Legal Guarantee are not true as a result of a breach of the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement by you (ie. a fraudulent model release is uploaded or you do not own the copyrights) or fall under the your obligation to indemnify Steve Marsel Stock, Steve Marsel Stock may have a claim against you. So, yes, each contributing photographer is responsible for his or her own images. As an agent only for contributors, Steve Marsel Stock relies on the honesty of it’s contributors that the images they submit are owned by them, and the model releases submitted with those images are signed by the individuals in the corresponding shot, and that those individuals are of the age of legal consent. Steve Marsel Stock accepts no legal responsibility. The legal responsibility for each image display and sold through Steve Marsel Stock.com passes directly to the Contributor/Photographer as stated in the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement.
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What about keywording?
On a stock photography website, keywording is the method that makes it possible to find specific images by attaching keywords that describe the image or what concepts the image might represent.
Steve Marsel Stock employs the open vocabulary system. It assigns all applicable words associated with an image. For example, if there were an image of a boat on the sea, an open vocabulary system would put this image under the keyword “boat” but might put a similar image under the keyword “ship”.
Keywords include but are not limited to:
1. subject : cars, people, shoes, food
2. mood: somber, thoughtful
3. color: red, green, black, white
4. style: selective focus, black and white, sepia, photo journalism, portrait
5. emotion: love
6. format: vertical, horizontal, panoramic room for type (headlines, body
copy),
7. activity: sports, hobbies, recreation
Keywording is an essential method for selling images. If an image does not have the necessary keywords, it will not be found or sold.
Many photographers want to keyword their image but do not have the time or the interest. If you are a photographer looking for keywording services, we offer the same keywording service used on Steve Marsel Stock at $3.00 per image for 40 keywords. Please contact us at keywords@stevemarselstudio.com .
Entering keywords is of utmost importance. It’s how your images are found on the site through a “keyword search”. Be descriptive on your keywording. Include at least 25 keywords. Supplying more keywords means your image will match more searches. Images with more keywords get viewed and purchased more often. Think about what terms or concepts you images illustrate or symbolize.
If I am approved as a contributing photographer, are new images submitted automatically accepted into the collection?
No. Images are accepted in the collection based on their image quality and creativity at the sole discretion of the editors at Steve Marsel Stock. As for the original images you submitted (your first submission), there is no need to resubmit those images.
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What is the Steve Marsel Stock / Photographer Agreement?
What is the Steve Marsel Stock privacy policy?
The Steve Marsel Stock privacy policy is our statement pertaining to the collection, storage, and safe keeping of your personal information. It may be viewed at Steve Marsel Stock Privacy Policy
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What if I want to terminate my relationship with Steve Marsel Stock?
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