Frequently Asked Questions

We've compiled a list of answers to common questions for our Community site.

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General

StudioNow’s Community is a platform that connects visual creators with brands, other creatives and businesses who need to license authentic custom shots. Buyers post a creative brief (which we call Requests or Challenges) and creators respond by submitting their best shots to match. Buyers nominate shots based on the visual aesthetic they are trending toward. When a shot is nominated a it is shortlisted as a favorite which sorts it to the top of the Request feed and creators will earn points. Buyers purchase shots when images that match their vision. At that time, the winning creators get awarded and paid. Both buyers and creators can like shots. When they do, it adds shots to a view where they may be saved for future inspiration and purchasing consideration. StudioNow also has a growing library of original authentic visuals in our Marketplace where buyers can search, discover and license shots previously submitted to a profile, Requests and Challenges. Additionally, when creators upload shots to their profile their shots have a chance of being chosen for our Marketplace Subscription offering. Learn more here.

Yes. You can submit shots to your profile and build a great portfolio at anytime, or submit shots to open Challenges. If the Challenge is posted by StudioNow, any buyer can purchase shots from it once it closes. If the Challenge is posted by a specific buyer, only this buyer can make a purchase while the Challenge is live or in review. Buyers can also license shots directly from our marketplace once they subscribe. Always strive to submit your very best high resolution shots on StudioNow so you have the best chance of selling them to potential buyers.
We’ve built a leveling system that rewards creators who have success on StudioNow. Rewards include the ability to get invited to Requests, higher-visibility to buyers in the marketplace, and eventually paid commissioned shoots. The goal is to help you earn more money, improve your reputation as a creator, and allow direct relationships with buyers. Once you level up to Shooter status, you earn points for every major activity you do on StudioNow. On StudioNow, we have seven levels: Explorer, Shooter, Advanced, Expert, Elite, Pro and Master. Each level provides a unique perk and advances you toward further success. Learn more here
Yes. We allow anyone to participate in Challenges so they can fully experience our product, have a chance to level up to Shooter status (where they can submit to higher priced buyer Requests), and hone in on their creation skills.
You have to level up to a Shooter status to submit to higher priced buyer Requests (but you can submit to Challenges or build a Portfolio at anytime). To level up, you must have at least one shot nominated on a Challenge or StudioNow has to handpick one of your shots for our Marketplace. If you’re at Shooter level and still cannot submit to a Request, the Request is likely in review or has been closed. The buyer can close the Request at any time.

You can level up to Shooter status if your shot gets nominated or purchased. Additionally, StudioNow’s editors also review shots uploaded to your profile. If the quality is high in your profile, your shots have a commercial appeal, and the images could serve buyers – you will level up as a Shooter right away. If you have not leveled up, focus on submitting your most beautiful work and improving your skills. Also consider modifying your portfolio (removing your weakest shots) and your profile will re-appear to our creative editors. A tight submission of a few great shots is always better than lots of average shots. Learn what it takes to get approved on our blog.

Creative directors, art buyers, graphic designers (we call them collectively; buyers) are typically the people nominating and purchasing on Challenges and Requests. StudioNow runs its own Challenges as well, so we nominate shots on these type of Challenges. Keep in mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it is not always easy to know why a buyer selects shots, but they are going to choose the best shots for their specific image need and that can depend on many factors. Buyers are going to nominate shots to help inform other creators what is closest to their vision and purchase shots that only work for their creative projects. Take note of nominated shots to learn which shots buyers are trending toward and submit accordingly.
If you are a buyer, liking shots serves as a collection of favorite shots you may consider purchasing a license to use in the future. For creators, liking shots collects the shots you have liked to keep a feed of those which inspired you.

If you are building your initial portfolio, you’re building your initial library of shots that would sell so be sure submit shots that are beautiful, clean of borders, and have commercial appeal. Also consider shots that have a good use of light, sharpness, and concept. Avoid submitting ‘happy snaps’. You’ll want to upload at least 4 of your very best shots to your profile to get reviewed. The more shots uploaded, the better the chance on getting accepted in the Marketplace library. When submitting to a Request of Challenge, be sure to read the brief for other restrictions. While self-editing can be intimidating, take clues from other successful creators, noting nominated & purchased shots on requests, and shots accepted in our Marketplace. Additionally, your uploaded shots should always be JPEG and there is no limit on the size of the file submitted.

We limit submissions to encourage all users to submit only their best work. The number of shots you can submit to Challenges or Requests is determined by your user level on StudioNow. Learn more here. Remember, Buyers only want to see your best shots so if you have very similar compositions of the same subject with similar angles, please limit your submissions to one or two images.

Yes, but only when other Challenges or Requests you submitted is closed. This is primarily due to prevent issues that may arise if a shot is purchased with exclusivity. If your shot has not had a temporary exclusivity purchased on a Request, you can upload your shots to another Request. Once the exclusivity period expires on the shot purchase it can be submitted to another Request or Challenge.

Yes, but please limit the number of ‘sister’ (‘similar’) shots submitted to any one Request or Challenge. A ‘sister’ shot (or sometimes called ‘similar’) is a shot that is roughly the same frame with multiple variations of the same subject. Too many ‘sister’ shots can overwhelm buyers and decrease your chances of a purchase.

Yes. Some of your best shots have already been shared. We encourage quality uploads from cloud-based shot sharing sites like Google Drive, Facebook, Flickr and Dropbox.

On StudioNow, each shot submitted to a Request or Challenge is under consideration for one potential buyer. Buyers can optionally claim a exclusivity for each submission in the purchasing process. In order to ensure that buyers can complete this flow, we can not allow creators to submit previously submitted shots to multiple Requests or Challenges. In order to ensure that your profile does not include duplicate shots, we allow creators to hide and reveal each shot. You can manage what shots appear on your profile by visiting the Manager on our website. Use the toggle next to each shot to reveal or hide shots. Also use this option to hide duplicate shots from appearing on our your profile.

You can manage what shots are made available for license on StudioNow by visiting your Manager on our website. Use the toggle next to each shot to turn on or off the shot’s license status on the Manager. In order to give yourself the best chance of earning money on StudioNow, you should always have your images made available for license.
Captioning and keywording your shot is an important step to success on StudioNow. Buyers use this information when reviewing the shot before they purchase. Additionally, we use this information to help aid a shot’s discovery in our search if your shot is chosen for our Marketplace. It’s important to caption or keyword your shot for context and accuracy. When entering a caption, describe the dominant subject and gender, age, color, location or object. You can also add localized or seasonal information. Avoid personal names or personal narrative in captioning your shot. As way of an example; ‘A young girl holding a red umbrella in Central Park on a spring day’ is an acceptable caption for a relevant shot.
If your shot is chosen for the Marketplace, they will be made discoverable through keywords we automatically apply for you but you can also add and modify keywords to any shot by visiting your Manager on our website. You can also use the Caption feature in our mobile application to add simple keywords when you upload your shots. If you do this, all keywords should be separated by commas. Do not add hashtags or symbols in front of the keywords. It is recommended that add caption to shots separately from keywords. To change existing keywords, visit your Manager on the website.
When your shot is purchased on a Request or Challenge, the buyer may choose to leave you personal feedback and also rate your shot on its creativity, accuracy, and originality. Maintaining a positive rating builds trust with buyers and gives you a positive reputation. Learn more here
Once you’ve reached the Advanced level, you’ll be eligible to be invited to Requests by buyers. You can achieve the Advanced level by earning 1000 points. Invites get you an additional level of exposure, and increase your chance of earning more money.
StudioNow encourages the largest size shot to satisfy the most flexible use for the buyer. At this time we require a minimum 1000 pixels on the shortest side of a photo. StudioNow will automatically read your photo to ensure you meet the minimum size requirement. Buyers may also require you to upload a shot that meets their minimum size requirement on a Request.
Messaging is reserved for non opinionated communication between buyers and creators. Use the messaging feature to ask questions about the creative brief to improve results for the buyer or the brief. Negative messages that defame or slander other users will be removed and messages posted that express religious or political opinions are subject to removal.
Reading the Creative Brief is critical. If a buyer has removed or hidden your shot, it is likely that they believe the shot is irrelevant to the brief. It is also possible that a StudioNow curator has determined the shot was not a fit for the Request or Challenge.
The StudioNow Marketplace is a set of the best shots submitted to StudioNow. We offer this content to all buyers in a Marketplace subscription. If your shot is chosen, and you are an Explorer, you will level up to the Shooter level. Shots chosen for the Marketplace are flagged as Select or Premium and are only made available for download for buyers who subscribe. Participating in subscriptions offer you the greatest chance of earning the most for your content since more buyers download on a subscription. If you would like to remove any shots from the Marketplace Subscription, you can simply change the licensing status on your file or delete them from the Content Manager section of your account. Creators earn 50% when shots are downloaded from buyers in the Marketplace. Select photos can also earn a spot with our premium image partners. Premium shots have other rules that apply. Please note below.
Premium shots are curated to the top of search results due to their commercial potential. When your shot is chosen as Premium, you get notified and earn points. If your shot is chosen for the Marketplace or nominated on a Challenge you automatically level up as a Shooter. You also agree to let StudioNow represent any Premium shot in our Marketplace Subscription. Some Premium and Select shots are also selected for our global partner sites and will be sold on Third Party platforms. This provides more opportunities for your shots to be sold. If your shot sells on a partner site, you will earn at the Marketplace Subscription payout rate of what fees were received by StudioNow when your shot sold. Payout availability may vary depending on our partner but we always work to negotiate the highest rate possible.
StudioNow’s buyers must subscribe in order to download photos from our marketplace. For a monthly fee, the buyer may get access to a select number of shots as outlined on one of our Subscription plans. Subscription offerings increase a creator’s earning potential due based on volume downloads. Payouts are based on the price of the Marketplace Subscription plan and the creator’s pro-rata download during the subscription period. Subscriptions bring in more buyers which generally leads to more downloads. To see our current subscription offerings and payouts visit our Subscription Offering and Payout Guide on our site.
Creators who have achieved at least 1 Nomination and at least had 2 shots chosen as Premium will have all their shots flagged as Select made available in our searchable Marketplace. StudioNow reserves the right to remove the status of any submitted shot automatically flagged as Select or Premium. Learn more about our Marketplace.
All shots uploaded directly to your Portfolio are available for buyers to purchase a license. Shots uploaded to Challenges or Requests are eligible for our discoverable Marketplace under one of our two price tiers when they are chosen by a StudioNow creative editor. If your shots are chosen for our discoverable marketplace, they are made discoverable by keywords which we apply for you. You can add your own keywords to any of your shot in your Manager on our website. Learn more about our payouts on our Payouts page on our website.
If your shot is sold with exclusivity you will earn more money. Exclusivity guarantees the buyer that no one else can purchase the image during the exclusivity period. It also means that your image will only be reviewed for the Marketplace after the exclusivity period has expired. When a buyer purchases a shot, any Sister shot (or similar out take) may be requested to be removed from StudioNow during the term of the exclusivity period.
When someone creates a Request on StudioNow, they determine the price they are willing to pay per shot and it’s posted on the Request. While StudioNow requires minimums on pricing in order to launch a content need on the service, the price is typically informed by a buyer’s need and budget. Since budgets vary by project, submitting to lower paying Requests gives you exposure to the buyer and a way to build overall exposure on the platform. As an added benefit, you’ll level up, expose your skill, and get a chance to have your shots chosen for the Marketplace.

We make payments through Paypal or Stripe. All earnings you make on StudioNow will be automatically sent to you through your chosen payout method. To request to collect your payment on mobile visit My Stats. On the website, go to “Payouts” from the side menu to transfer your StudioNow earnings. To collect payment on our website, login to your account and choose to transfer money to your Paypal or any US bank account you own. Payments will be processed on the 1st of the month following 30 days from the date the Seller requests payout.. If the 1st is a weekend or US holiday, the payment will be made on a prior business day.

At StudioNow we believe you should retain the majority of the money you make from your shots. That’s why we give you the majority from every shot that is purchased on a Request. That’s a big departure from most stock shot services who pay as little as a few cents for every shot sold on their platform. You keep 100% of every shot sold on a buyer’s paid Request and 50% when your shots sell in the Marketplace.
It will depend on your total annualized earnings and your local government’s tax laws so you should check the tax law specifically for your country.
If the quality of your shot is low or contains sexual, violent or other inappropriate content that violates our terms of service, it will be removed. In some cases, StudioNow or the buyer may remove your shot from a Request if it contains inappropriate content. Even if your shot was sold to a buyer, we can always remove the shot if it violates our terms of service.
Yes. In order to delete a shot, visit the Manager page on the website or on our iOS app. On mobile, slide the status bar to the left to reveal the delete feature. On our website, hover over the image to reveal the delete icon. Note that deleting shots does not affect previous licenses you have granted.
If you are registered as a “buyer” to buy photographic works with StudioNow, you can give a discount coupon for $ 20 to your friend’s buyer. If a buyer of a friend who gave this discount coupon uses this coupon at the first use of StudioNow, you will be credited for $ 20 for you. Credits are currencies in StudioNow that can only be used when purchasing photos on StudioNow, photographers can not use it for cashing purposes. Introduction can be done up to five people, you can earn up to $ 100 credits.
Depending on needs, some buyers purchase immediately, while others take a long time to purchase. A small percentage of buyers end up not purchasing due to a creative concept change. Regardless, buyers often work with teams of decision makers and projects have multiple stages of approvals ranging from days to months, depending on the schedule of the client. During this time the Request may or may not be re-opened to allow more shot submissions or closed. The buyer has up to 45 days to make final purchases before the Request automatically closes. When a Request closes, StudioNow handpicks the very best shots to be included in the Marketplace.
Please go to the close account tab in your Settings if you wish to delete your account on our website.

The easiest way is to send an email to support @ studionow.com.

Permissions

Yes. In order to submit a shot to StudioNow you agree you have the permission from any identifiable people in the submitted shot in order to sell the shot with a commercial license. You will need the written permission of the person(s) in the form of a Model Release for commercial use. You can use our own model release app; Releases. By accepting the StudioNow Terms of Service, you agree to comply with all laws regarding model releases. Upon upload of your shots you can also upload or attach an accompanying model release. Not uploading a release is a red flag to many buyers and often will result in lower sales. Please check our blog or click here to learn more about Releases and other Photo Laws.
If your shots contain recognizable trademarks or personally owned property (like a identifiable store sign, branded product, logo, or other identifiable private property) it is best to have a property release as most buyers look to license shots for commercial use. As this is not always possible, be sure to capture shots that mitigate this issue. Be confident you can obtain a property release for any shot before uploading a shot to StudioNow. Please check our blog or click here to learn more about Releases and other Photo Laws.
Obtaining permission to take photographs in public areas varies between countries. We recommend that you check the regulations of your country. Most countries permit taking photographs in public areas, which usually means places that can be accessed without restrictions, such as city streets and public transportation buildings. If your shot was captured on private property, such as someone’s home or a commercial office, and the location is recognizable, be sure you get the permission of the property owners too. Do not submit shots of people taken through windows in their homes or offices.

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No. You may only submit content you shot and you have the rights to sell. Uploading someone else’s content is a violation of copyright which can result in substantial damages to you. We also reserve the right to terminate the account of any user that is reported as uploading content that belongs to others creators or other users. Other legal action may be taken in cases of extreme abuse.
When StudioNow has received a copyright violation, we immediately take action to investigate the issue and follow the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protocol. We send a notification to both the infringer and copyright holder about any copyrighted works on StudioNow’s service. We identify the Internet Protocol (‘IP’) address associated with the infringer’s user account at the time of infringement as the source of the infringing works. As such, a copyright violation notice is sent explaining the seriousness of the offense, illustrating potential damages reaching up to $250,000 per infringement may occur, and all uploaded content from an infringer’s account will be removed from their profile and their account will be deactivated per our Terms of Service. We further investigate the matter with the ISP (Internet Service Provider) to obtain full contact information about the infringer and communicate with them via the appropriate legal channels as the case evolves.
It is a violation of our Terms of Service to submit any shots that contains nude people, sexual or violent content or other material that might be offensive (see our Terms of Service if you are unsure). If you see a shot that violates our Terms of Service, you can report the image on iOS or on the website while previewing the shot or you may notify us at violations @ snapwi.re so we may take immediate steps to remove the shot.

Requests

StudioNow is free to use when a creator submits a shot to the platform. StudioNow charges buyers a licensing fee for the right to use the content. Buyers agree to pay a per photo or video licensing fee when they create their Request brief. It works a lot like this: Buyers create a Challenge or Request for custom visuals, and set their own budget which they pay upfront when launching the Challenge or Request and if none of the submissions work, buyers can get a credit. 

Submissions end when the remaining time on the Request or Challenge reaches zero or the buyer manually ends the submission period because they have found the shots they are looking for early. At that time, the Request or Challenge then enters into a Review period where final purchasing decisions may be made.

Challenges (also known as shots contests) are open to the whole StudioNow community including creators of the Explorer level. Explorer level are typically newer to the platform. Requests are open only to approved creators of Shooter level or above, and are usually priced higher than Challenges. Challenges that are posted by StudioNow are thematic Contests that allow anyone to participate and give buyers a chance to purchase relevant shots from themes and trends we observe to be relevant to today’s buyers. Buyers can also run their own Challenges on StudioNow to engage with the StudioNow community, bring awareness to their brand, and build a library of content to promote their product or idea. If the Challenge is posted by a specific buyer, only this buyer can make a purchase while the Challenge is live or in Review. If a Challenge is posted by StudioNow (directly), we allow anyone to purchase from it at the listed price per visual. Shots purchased on a Request come with an optional exclusivity period; shots purchased on a Challenge don’t have an exclusivity option.

Content directly uploaded to a creator’s profile are made available for sale at the seller’s discretion after the shot has been selected for the Marketplace. Shots submitted to buyer Requests or Challenges may not be for sale until they have ended. Be sure to check a shot’s model permission status before you buy. In order to download images from our marketplace library, including a user’s profile, you must subscribe to one of our subscription packages.
Yes. Once the timer reaches zero and the Request is in the Review state you can still purchase shots until you close the Request. Some buyers like to buy shots as soon as their Request goes live, and others prefer to wait until submissions have ended. We give you the freedom to decide when to purchase. All Requests will automatically close 45 days after it enters into the Review state. If you need more time you can contact us at support [at] snapwi.re
Yes. You can post messages on your Request by clicking on the messaging tab on the Request detail view. All participating creators will get notified that you’ve posted a message. You will also get notified when creators message back on your Request.
Once you publish, your Request is live,creators can start uploading images immediately. Depending on the difficulty of your Request it can take as little as a few hours to begin reviewing results.

Yes, you can change almost everything about your Request or Challenge by simply clicking Edit in the top right corner of the Request page. You’ll be able to update the title, use, style tags, art direction, inspirational images and some of the additional requirements such as orientation, environment, lighting, space for copy and language. If you need to change the price, extend, cancel, or delete your Request or Challenge, please send an email to support @ studionow.com and we will help you.

Any file purchased on StudioNow automatically comes with a personal and commercial royalty free license. This license provides you the right to use the visuals for personal, editorial and commercial purposes. For the one-time payment, you may use the content over and over again for uses such as advertising and promotional projects, websites, presentations, editorial uses, videos, commercials, catalogs, and even broadcasting. As a buyer, you must ensure that publishing the content you’ve purchased complies with any applicable legislation regarding the publication of visuals and you are responsible for securing any required releases prior to publication. If file is purchased with exclusivity, the royalty free license for the content is exclusive to the purchaser for a select period of time. If the file is purchased as a buyout, the content (photos and videos) ownership is transferred to the buyer.

On StudioNow, creators are responsible for warranting that all the models in their shots have given their permission for using the content for commercial use. If the permissions information is set to “Yes” then you may ask to obtain a signed model (or property release when applicable) in advance of your purchase. If you need to do so send an email to us at support @ studionow.com and we will get that process going. Please build a 2-day lead time to obtain releases.

The terms of service require that you complete all transactions and communications using StudioNow itself. If you have to follow up with a creator for licensing, releases or dispute issues, the creator can be contacted through StudioNow. If you need to do so, send an email to hello @ snapwi.re and we will help you.
You can purchase shots from Requests, Challenges or download from our Marketplace Subscription. You can purchase all licenses on StudioNow using any major credit card. We accept Visa, Master Card, and American Express and all licensing fees are charged in US Dollar. If you require to pay by another method, you may be billed and pay by check. Please contact us to do so.

If none of the images are working for you, contact our support team and we’ll work with you to get you closer to what you need as we can modify and extend the time on a Request. Email support @ studionow.com to get started. We ask you to close all Requests once you make your final purchasing decisions.

Inspirational images are used for the purpose of illustrating the type of shot you are looking for. When creating a Request you may not ask creators to copy, replicate, or duplicate any sample inspirational images as this would be a violation of copyright. You can inform creators that you like a particular style of a inspiration content, but do not instruct creators to submit an exact clone. You are responsible for all visuals uploaded to your Request. All users are responsible for abiding by all laws, including copyright.

Licensing

A license is a legal agreement between a creator and a buyer where the creator agrees to license their content to a buyer. This license means the buyer may legally use the content to help illustrate an idea, sell a product or a service.
There are two ways StudioNow sells rights to your visual content. By default, you sell a license to a buyer to use the shot under a Royalty Free license use. This means the buyer does not own the content but they can use it for any personal or commercial use with out paying additional fees. If a buyer launches a Request that requires a buyout of the copyright, you have to agree to sell your copyright which means you will not own the content and the buyer can do anything they want with it. Buyout Requests are by invitation only and we will always communicate with you that you will be selling all the rights related to your content. Additionally, you have to double opt-in and electronically agree to sell your copyright when you submit content to a Buyout Request. When you sell your photo as a buyout, you are asked to agree to the Content Purchase Agreement. If you choose to shoot for a Request that you have been invited to, you must comply with all specifications on the Request which may include additional expenses. The payout amount related to a Request will not cover additional expenses (such as props or models), so be sure to understand the scope of the project before you commit.

Yes. Every shot sold on StudioNow comes with a royalty free license, which means the buyer may use the content multiple times without paying further to the creator. Be sure to check the Permission status of any shot if you are planning to use it for commercial purposes. 

Visuals sold on StudioNow come with an in-perpetuity Royalty Free license so they may be used for any personal or commercial use, such as prints, magazines, blogs, advertising and promotional projects, websites, presentations, videos, brochures and for any medium.

Depending on how you plan to use shot, you will need to know your required pixels or resolution (in the case of video) for your project. A photo’s height and width in pixels should exceed your required pixels in your project. We provide the photo’s and video’s exact available pixels and resolution but here are some suggested uses for sizes on StudioNow:

  • X-Small – blogs, small web articles, or various website banner ads.
  • Small – basic website use like on-line articles general website use, spot use for printed brochures.
  • Medium – Use for responsive web design like backgrounds or half page print advertisement.
  • Large – Great for full page print advertisement, double page spreads, and any web need.
The creator always maintains the copyright to their visual content. When a buyer licenses through a purchase, the creator is granting them rights to use that content under our terms of service. If a buyer licenses from a creator, they may never resell (or sublicense) the content to another person or entity. Other restrictions may apply.

If you have questions that are not covered in our FAQ, please send your question by email to support @ studionow.com.

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