iStock Editorial - Deconstructed

Greetings iStockers…

It's been two years since we launched our foray into editorial content on iStockphoto. Over that time we've learned a lot about our product offering and what our customers are searching for and purchasing.
We've also learned a little about the type content our contributors are interested in and capable of producing within the confines of the current collection. All of this knowledge has gotten us to where we are, but we wanted to put some questions out to the community to get an idea of where we should venture next. We have some great ideas, but ideas don't work without the folks to back it up…

Think of this thread as an editorial brain-dump. Share your thoughts, habits, interests, concerns… whatever. Here's some questions to get you thinking:

• Do you shoot and upload editorial content to iStock? If yes, why? If not, why?
• How prolific are you with uploading editorial vs creative?
• Do you set-out to specifically shoot editorial or are your editorial images happy accidents that you capture in your random travels?
• How do you feel about the current content guidelines? Are they too restrictive?
• Now that iStock is accepting images produced on mobile devices, are you taking advantage of this?
• Would you be more inclined to upload editorial content if there was a streamlined mobile app to submit it to iStock?
• Have you read or shot content related to one of the editorial creative briefs?
• Do you feel there needs to be more direction on shooting editorial content? More detailed and frequent briefs?
• How do feel about the Editorial homepage? The search results?

These are just a few of the questions we'd love to get your answers to, but don't feel limited by them. Let's hear what you have to say.

Thanks!


Some useful links for Editorial Use Only contributors:

Revised Editorial Use Only manual article

Editorial Use Only Manual and FAQ

Creative Editing for Editorial

Captions help & examples

Product shots and other guidelines

Unreleased Copyrighted Material

(Edited on 2013-02-06 18:10:12 by kelvinjay)

Editorial Video would be great.

What are the editorial creative briefs?  Or better where can I find them? 

Editorial video would be great.

The whole property release in editorial and difficulty getting my head around the necessary documentation/description requirements plus uncertain sales return for the effort of complying with all the bureacracy about what was and wasn't acceptable, put me off from either shooting for editorial, or using material I shoot for other purposes.

If the process was more streamlined and clearer, I'd be more inclined to do something about it, as my shooting style and the type of photography I do is much more inclined towards editorial/documentary shooting.

(Edited on 2013-02-06 17:07:33 by Susan_Stewart)

It's way to complicated ans yes editorial video would be great

How do you feel about the current content guidelines? Are they too restrictive?


Yes, there seems to be a double standard, we cannot submit a lot of things that are here via Getty's contributors.


Even if we have the credentials our hands are tied.

I have photographed crowds at fairs, parades, etc., and am still asked for releases by istock. I thought with editorial, you didn't need them because the images were not going to commercial users.

editorial requirements here are too restrictive. Sometimes there are more restrictions to an editorial image than to a creative/commercial image, specially when property releases are required, famous people shows in pics, etc,etc

I like the fact editorial is available, I do not necessarly shoot for Editorial. I am pleasantly surprised at some decent downloads from files I previously had no opportunity to use for Istock. In my travels I see wonderful shots but where releases are not possible or feasible the editiorial is an excellent outlet. But the process seems strange and akward. I wish we could just have description not the Editorial Caption.... just have us be a bit more complete in the description. 

I'll vote for editorial video also.

Editorial video would be nice. However I would also consider the video inspection staff, the (relatively) long inspection times.

Give us a streamlined procedure for editing captions or submitting changes.  I am not perfect and I make mistakes or get new information about the subject or the subject staus changes in some important way. Even obvious mistakes are sometimes not caught by inspectors. 

I enjoy shooting editorial and have started to shoot with my iPhone.    One of my iPhone editorial images sold recently and that encourages me to shoot more.   I am interested in a mobile app making uploading easier.  

I enjoy shooting editorial too, while traveling. The upload process and captioning is fine, I don't find it complicated. But so far the return, money wise, is not really satisfying. I also find the rules with property releases too restrictive. 

Why not editorial vectors?!?!?!? Let us join the party.


Would be great if we can put for sale things like this example.




(Edited on 2013-02-06 18:58:50 by wagnerm25)

Also like the editorial opportunity for my travels.  Don't find the uploading procedure difficult but would like to be able to edit the caption.  Would also appreciate the possibility to use the Swedish letters å/ä/ö.


Have some difficulty with the property rellease or the written permission when it is obvious the shot could not have been done without oral permission. e.g. shots inside classrooms.

edit the editorial don't just inspect it. there is a lot of editorial on istock that is simply poor work. if it's not magazine quality, don't accept it. it would go a long way to make a strong body of work if you edited for editorial. or better yet, let getty be the ones who edit the editorial. there seems to be a better understanding of good content there.

+1 re the Editorial video!

I would like to see Editorial E+ mirrored in one of Getty's editorial collections in the same manner as E+ creative.


I also agree with loosening the restrictions as well as editorial video.

Editorial video + E+ Editorial transfert to Getty