Selling Stock Images

[mshockley]

Good Morning All,
I've seen so very many intelligent posts and responses to questions here that I'm hoping this question will generate some good information.

I'm very interested in starting to branch out a bit into selling stock photography. I've read, read, and re-read all the details available at istockphoto.com, and at fotolia.com.
These just happen to be 2 that I was familiar with.
I'm wondering about the Exclusive options that both these sites have-in other words you are agreeing to only post the image at one stock site-the royalties are higher this way.

Does anyone ever really make any money selling photo's through these sites. I know the goal is to accumulate thousands of stock images, but even then, I wonder if anyone here is generating some decent money this way. It seems like another avenue of income if one had some of the kinds of images that are being sought after.

So I'm curious....Talk to me about stock photography everyone...

[andyw]

Yes, a number of people make money selling through stock sites, even the micro stock sites.
However, those that do make good money from it run it as a proper business and spend all their time on it.

If you just chuck a few images on the sites and sit back then you will see no or very little return on your images - ever.


Here is a guy who makes money through stock Yuri Arcurs - Home of the world's top selling microstock photographer

I don't know about the exclusive clauses in those two sites and personally I would never go exclusive on any micro stock site.
If you are putting images up as RF on these sites then you may as well cover all the half decent sites rather than just make an extra couple of dollars on a single site.

I do have some images with a couple of spe******t libraries on an exclusive basis but those are a different kettle of fish than the on-line stock sites.

There are loads of forums and sites which will give you info on selling on these sites - just do a quick google search.


P.S. images such as your JD shots would not be accepted on stock sites without releases from JD.

[dakwegmo]

I agree with andyw, there are some people who make money from online stock sites, but they are in the minority and approach their stock portfolio as a business.

The one photographer I know who is earning money from this part of her portfolio says that she makes about half of her very comfortable income from microstock. She also spends a significant amount of time shooting specifically for stock. According to her estimate, about 60-70% of the time. Basically, any day she doesn't have a client shoot scheduled, she'll setup shoots of her own with professional models and shoot specifically for microstock.

When I asked her what advice she had for shooting for stock sites, she said I couldn't expect to just go out and shoot whatever I wanted and expect to make any sales (especially since I shoot flowers and landscapes). I would need to find out what images stock sites need and then go out and setup shoots to create those images.

[Jim Bryant]

To make money in stock, you have to study the market and shoot images that nobody else takes. I 'm my editor friends at Getty are sick and tired of seeing images taken by photographers, who mimic others, and their images are not as good. Find a niche...........

[mshockley]

Originally Posted by andyw

P.S. images such as your JD shots would not be accepted on stock sites without releases from JD.

lol...yeah, and my new Oreo's either! ) but it was still fun shooting those

Yes, you can make money, but I agree with the above...it's gotta be something that no one else does. I've managed to sell enough in the last year to buy a couple nice lenses with only a handful of images, but they were photos that few people take.

If your photos are less-than-original, you might try Shutterstock. On iStock, 90% of the sales come from 10% of the images. On Shutterstock, every one of my photos has at least sold once, and the distribution is a bit more even.

Dreamstime is another one that I tried. Easy to get accepted, but never sold much...EXCEPT when someone bought the exclusive rights to one of my photos. So I've actually made the most amount on Dreamstime (90% from one sale), then Istock, and then Shutterstock.

[mshockley]

thanks so much photoboothguy, I will check it out...

[danbaileyphoto]

Selling stock photography is a numbers game. The more images you have on file with an agency, the more likely you are to sell and make money. There are few photographers who have made large sums of money with just a few outstanding images that are clearly above the rest of the cut, but these days, with market saturation and so many images online that's less likely to happen.

You've got to build up a large file of professional quality images that are not just copies of everything else that's out there. Determine what style and subject matter you're best at and then study what images are selling out in the world. Use those two factors to guide you as to what kind of images you should try to create and submit to an agency.

[mshockley]

Originally Posted by danbaileyphoto

Selling stock photography is a numbers game. The more images you have on file with an agency, the more likely you are to sell and make money. There are few photographers who have made large sums of money with just a few outstanding images that are clearly above the rest of the cut, but these days, with market saturation and so many images online that's less likely to happen.

You've got to build up a large file of professional quality images that are not just copies of everything else that's out there. Determine what style and subject matter you're best at and then study what images are selling out in the world. Use those two factors to guide you as to what kind of images you should try to create and submit to an agency.

Great Info, thanks for everyone's input on this! It was just an idea I had. Stock images are something I've always been a bit interested in trying out.