Just got some images accepted to Getty!

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by ressalg

This exactly why I just ordered two books from Amazon.ca today:

While you're at it, as a gift I recieved Business and Legal Forms for Photographers. Hugely informative, especially the detailed checklists for each form.

[ressalg]

Originally Posted by BCampbell

While you're at it, as a gift I recieved Business and Legal Forms for Photographers. Hugely informative, especially the detailed checklists for each form.

Oh, sure! Try and make me spend more money! Sheesh.

[digirebelva]

Originally Posted by ressalg

Oh, sure! Try and make me spend more money! Sheesh.

Okay, I am right behind you with the gun...see now you have no choice but to spend more money...

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by digirebelva

Okay, I am right behind you with the gun...see now you have no choice but to spend more money...

It's been a 29 -year fight with my wife and that phase is thrown up in my face weekly

[equilution]

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

I tried to get in to Shutterstock and Istock for several weeks, and kept getting denied.

And then a marketting company offered me $500 for one of my photos on Flickr, and is now in Camel cigarette ads all over the U.S. This same photo was rejected by both Istock and Shutterstock as "no commercial value". At that point, I had a bad view of stock photography sites, and stopped trying.

I recently gave it another shot, and got accepted into Istock (haven't tried shutterstock again). I uploaded 15 photos on Jan 8th, and 7 were rejected for "artifacting". Of those 8, only one has sold, but it has sold 8 times for a total of $10. I got another 10 accepted last week, but none of them have sold.

But hey, if I get $10/month for a few months from one photo, I'd be happy. As it was, I wasn't making any money off that photo, and $10 is better than $0.

If you want to see what photos I've uploaded, you can find my portfolio on Istock under the username rt80639.

I just had some images accepted by Can Stock Photo, and a few being considered by IStock.

Anyone heard anything (good or bad) about Can Stock? Thanks.

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by ressalg

Oh, sure! Try and make me spend more money! Sheesh.

You gotta spend it to make it

[ressalg]

Originally Posted by BCampbell

You gotta spend it to make it

Yeah, but I gotta have money to spend it, too. Hmm... maybe I should start selling 8x10's at $5 each? Eventually, I'll make some money at it. Just kidding, Jim.

But it does bring up a point: You want to go pro but your equipment isn't up to it. How do you make enough money (through photography) to upgrade without whoring yourself out?

[rebel_John]

Update: I made one whole dollar last month! They don't even send you any money until you reach at least $20.00.

Ironically, after all my griping, I finally decided to toss some of my photos on iStock, Shutterstock, and Dreamstime. Getting accepted was a breeze this time...I think Lightroom does a little better job processing that Picasa, and that helped with a lot of the noise/artifacting issues that I was having before.

It'll be interesting to hear other's experience, but here's mine:

1. iStock - Application process is a pain in the ass. They ask for 3 photos, and then complain when they're not "diverse" enough. After that, they're pretty strict on what they take, and sometimes I had to resubmit a photo after I desaturated or unprocessed it a little bit. As for sales, I'm sitting at about $52 after 2 months with 18 photos accepted. However, only ONE photo is selling, and it's only been downloaded about 25 times. Average commission is about $2, depending on file size.

2. Shutterstock - Again, application process sucked. They seem to be more easy-going than iStock when it comes to accepting photos, and I have about 30 accepted through them. In 30 days, I've had about 120 downloads for a total of $30. Unlike iStock, all my photos have been downloaded, but some more that others. Commision is $0.25 per photo.

3. Dreamstime - Does anyone use this site? I've had 5 photos on it for a year now, and am at $5. I put my top-selling photos from iStock and Shutterstock on there, and have had ONE sale in 30 days. There is no application process...just a yay or nay on every photo. They also seem to be more accepting than iStock.

So in summary, if you have one really good, really popular photo...put it on iStock. Otherwise, Shutterstock is probably your best bet through sheer volume of sales. Dreamstime is a waste of time.

Keep in mind too that to collect a check, your sales must be over $100.

I'm going to apply to some other stock companies as well with the same photos. I find it interesting how the market is different on each site, and think it's worth writing about.

[Jim Bryant]

Get a copy of the Photographer's Marketplace, it explains in detail how to submit images to each stock agency.