English

Not a member?  
Member Name    Password
 

Frequently Asked Questions


Top 10 Member FAQs:


Top 10 Photographer FAQs:

What do I do when my member name and password do not seem to work?

If your browser stays at the main welcoming screen after attempting to login, please ensure your system clock (date/time/year) is correct.

If you’re redirected to a login error page, make sure your caps lock is off as your password and member name are case sensitive. Also, check your cookie settings to ensure they’re on a medium privacy level and clear all cookies and cache in your browser.

If you’re still redirected, please try resetting your password.

http://www.istockphoto.com/istock_lostpassword.php

If this doesn’t resolve the issue contact Client Relations.

Where do I find my receipt?

Purchase receipts are stored in your account details. Click on the ‘Account Details’ tab at the top of the site. Then click the ‘Financials’ tab and then click on ‘Get Purchase Receipts’. All of your purchase receipts will be listed there.

What do I do when I'm having download problems and credits were deducted?

If you experience download problems, please contact Client Relations with the file number and we’ll email the file to you or refund your credits. Please note that you have 24 hours from the time of your initial download to re-download that image without being charged additional credits.

What is a credit and how does it work?

iStockphoto works on a micro-payment system which allows you to purchase images in quantity. You pre-purchase a package of credits and then redeem the credits for images. Images cost between 1 and 20 credits per download depending on the file type and image resolution.

How do I purchase images from your site?

iStockphoto works on a credit system. Purchase a package of credits and redeem credits for images. An x-small image is 1 credit, small image is 3 credits, medium image is 5 credits, large image is 10 credits, XL image is 15 credits and XXL image is 20 credits.

Why are your images so inexpensive/cheap?

Images on our site are contributed by individual photographers whose talent ranges from hobbyist to professional. Our goal is to provide customers with great photos that also fit within their budgets.

What if I forgot my password and/or member name?
If you cannot remember what your password or member name is, please follow this link, http://www.istockphoto.com/istock_lostpassword.php and enter in the requested information. You will receive an email with your member name and a link to reset your password.
How do I change my member name?

If you would like to change your member name, please contact Client Relations and include the new member name you would like to use.

How do I change my password?

To change your password, click on the ‘Account Details’ tab at the top of the site. Then on the right side of the page under ‘Tools’ click ‘Change My Password’.

How can I use your images? Are they Royalty Free?

All of the images on our site are Royalty-free. Please follow this link to view our license agreement that outlines permitted and prohibited usage.

http://www.istockphoto.com/license.php

If you still have questions, please contact Client Relations.

What can and can’t be uploaded?

To view what can and cannot be uploaded, please read through our Photographer Training Manual: http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_1.0_account.php

Also, take a look at our needed files page for a list of images that we do and do not need: http://www.istockphoto.com/needed.php

How do I become a contributing photographer for iStockphoto?
Anyone can apply to become a photographer on iStockphoto. Contributors will be asked to read through our online training manual which is found by clicking the “Upload” link. Once that’s complete, you will need to answer a few questions and then upload a piece of government issued identification in the form of a JPEG. We require this to confirm who you are and that you’re of legal age. Finally, you will be asked to submit 3 sample images which will be reviewed by our inspection team. We will notify you of our decision via email or you may review the status of your application by clicking the “Upload” link again.
How do I upload vector illustrations or Flash files?
Vector Illustrations:
  1. Save your vector illustration as an Adobe Illustrator 8 .EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) file. Your EPS file should be saved as an AI8 compatible EPS.
  2. Open the file in Adobe Photoshop and create a 1920 x 2800 pixel RGB JPEG preview of your file.
  3. If you would like to include alternate file formats (AI, PDF, etc) you can place them in a separate ZIP folder
Flash Files:
  1. Generate an .SWF version of your file.
  2. Create a 380 pixel (wide or tall, depending on the orientation of your animation.) RGB JPEG preview of your file.
  3. Place your .FLA files into a folder and ZIP the folder.
  4. Proceed to the form, you’re ready to upload your ZIP, SWF and JPEG preview.
When do I need a model release?
If the images that you are submitting have an identifiable human face, then you will need a model release.
How long will it take for my application or images to be reviewed?
Each image is checked individually by one of our Approval Administrators 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 Approval Inspectors.

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.
Where do I find the Model Release form?
You can get a sample model release form in PDF format at http://www.istockphoto.com/docs/modelrelease.pdf
How much does a photographer make / what is the royalty structure?
The royalty structure on iStockphoto is 20%. If you’re eligible for exclusivity, you can make up to 40%. Find out more at http://www.istockphoto.com/exclusivity_intro.php.
If I’m approved as a contributing photographer, are the samples I provided automatically accepted?
No, you will need to resubmit those images to our inspectors for approval.
What are the specs required for images to be uploaded or rules for uploading?
  1. Images must be RGB JPG format only
  2. You must own the full copyright to any image you upload. This means you must be the photographer or artist that created the image.
  3. All trademarks must be 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.
  4. File sizes: the bigger, the better. 300 dpi 5" x 7" is optimal. 640x480 images are not usable by most graphic artists. All files should be 1200 x 1600 pixels minimum (anything smaller will be automatically rejected).
  5. Entering keywords and descriptions: be descriptive. Include at least 10 keywords and use a title other than ‘dog’ or ‘man’. Supplying more keywords means your image will match more searches. Images with more keywords get downloaded more often.
  6. Model releases: images with clearly visible people require a model release (iStockphoto Model Release) form for legal reasons. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Your account profile must have your full, real first and last names, and mailing address entered before completing an application. Anyone uploading with a fake name will be banned immediately.
  9. More detailed information is available in the iStockphoto Photographer Training Manual. (http://www.istockphoto.com/tutorial_1.0_account.php)
I had a file rejected because of "noise" or "compression artifacting". What does this mean?
A little bit about compression: 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).

"Compression artifacting" can be introduced by the camera and/or by your image editing software at lower quality settings. Also, re-sizing, re-sampling, and re-saving can all degrade the quality of a JPEG image, so one should be careful about re-saving JPEGs. If for example, a photo was re-saved 4 times (even at a quality of "12" or "Best") the image quality will become worse and worse. With this in mind, it is obviously best to start with the cleanest image possible. You may want to double-check your camera settings to make sure it is saving at the highest quality.

"Noise" (pixels of varying colour where there shouldn’t be) is most commonly created by digital cameras, especially in darker shadows or under low-light conditions and exacerbates the compression issues mentioned above. You might want to double-check to make sure that your camera’s ISO/ASA setting is at the lowest number (usually 100). In digital cameras, higher numbers (200 or 400) will always result in more noise (just as with film).