Fotolia Hot

Fotolia has been one of my top earners for a long time (currently in 3rd place). The thing I don't like about them is that they make randoms changes without very much notice. For example, they killed off their photographer referral program. They used to pay 10% for 5 years and then its all of the sudden gone.

Another gripe is their ranking system. You earn more percentage as your total sales goes up. These ranking brackets have changed. I was just about to make Silver and then they moved it up to twice the number of total images.

All this aside, they sell my images which is what matters most.

I started with Fotolia about 3 years ago. When they first started they were pretty good. The had plenty of problems, mind you. But Chad was responsive both on the site and on forums like this. The seem to have gotten less responsive and more painful to work with in the last 6 months. Payments can take 2 weeks sometimes. This is my 4th place earner, but pretty far behind #3

I have never been crazy about Fotolia's personality. They have a tendency to change the rules often. This year they have changed the photographer ranking system (determines your compensation %) and they have also dropped photographer affiliates (which they used to have a 5 year program for).

On the UP side, they still sell more for me than any other microstock. They are just barely ahead of Dreamstime and 20% above iStockphoto. The submission process is still a pain, but its worth it.

I know there are many photographhers and illustrators who have pulled their Fotolia portfolios because of the politics and lack of responsiveness, but I still "play the game"

This is an agency that has had its problems. When I first started with them about 3 years ago, things were slow and the submission preocess was cumbersome, but they have fixed many problems. Payments take a few more days than other agencies, but they always come so I don't worry. My sales here have tripled in the last 12 months and I have shot that many new photos, so they must be doing some good marketing. You should add that they have several languages availible, I think this is why they sell soo much.

I am a photographer and find the site is picking up nicely. Especially since they just upgraded their site. It is faster, and the site is very friendly with decent reviewers.

I have an acceptance rate with them that varies between 80% and 90%.