Stock photography - advice needed

[claire400]

I'm thinking about signing up to a stock website such as shutterstock.com so I can hopefully make a bit of money from my pictures whilst helping me to improve my photography skills.

Has anyone had experience of submitting stock photos, good or bad!? and is there any money to be made?

Would be interested in hearing from you.

Thanks!

[PhotosGuy]

Who sells stock photographs?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54045

Stock photography, which of the Big Three (Getty, Corbis, Alamy) and why? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=364266)

Newb question - Best Stock Photo site?
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=44280

[amfoto1]

Shutterstock = micro stock = royalty free.

"Danger, danger, Will Robinson!"

[ChrisRabior]

I tried the micros. Very unhappy with results. Proves your images are worth something, and that you're getting screwwed in the deal.

Give a few traditional agencies a try. Alamy, MyLoupe, Photographer's Direct, PhotoShelter Collection are some that you may want to consider. MyLoupe and Photographer's Direct won't accept you if you're working w/ microstock.

I've had a few sales on Alamy, for a total of a little over $350.. much better than microstocks can offer.

[jbimages]

claire4000 I see you are in England. Have a look at the photo credits in your newspapers. From what I read in other forums, Alamy images are regularly found.

[amfoto1]

I tried the micros...
I've had a few sales on Alamy, for a total of a little over $350.. much better than microstocks can offer.

Let's see... It would have taken about 700 sales on micro to equal "a few" on Alamy then, right?

Just curious... How many images do you have on there? How long have you been offering images there? Are they unique or are they in a crowded category with lots from other photogs?

OP, my earlier answer was a little... well... terse.

I'd suggest you pick up a copy of "Photographer's Market 2008". There are about 60 pages devoted to stock agencies. Might be a good $20 investment.

[jbimages]

Let's see... It would have taken about 700 sales on micro to equal "a few" on Alamy then, right?

Just curious... How many images do you have on there? How long have you been offering images there? Are they unique or are they in a crowded category with lots from other photogs?

OP, my earlier answer was a little... well... terse.

I'd suggest you pick up a copy of "Photographer's Market 2008". There are about 60 pages devoted to stock agencies. Might be a good $20 investment.

Alan, you can answer your questions regarding the quantity of ChrisRabior's images on Alamy and Photshelter by clicking the links in his signature. The Alamy total is written on the top left, you will have to add up the Photoshelter ones yourself.

John

[ChrisRabior]

Alan, you can answer your questions regarding the quantity of ChrisRabior's images on Alamy and Photshelter by clicking the links in his signature. The Alamy total is written on the top left, you will have to add up the Photoshelter ones yourself.

John


To be honest, I absolutely SUCK when it comes to my Alamy account. (Yes, I am aware, and I am working on self motivation to fix that). I had about 100 images up for about 4 months, got my first sale, and then started pushing myself to get more on. Got a whole bunch accepted, up to I think I have around 1300 that made it through QC.. but they aren't even close to all being available.

My sales have been picking up in frequency.. the last three have all been Michigan related (Detroit Tigers, Cobo Hall, and UofM).

PhotoShelter hasn't given me any sales yet, and I find it hard to truly dedicate any real time to it until I get my Alamy account up to par. I uploaded a few 'news worthy' shots to PS, and they were QC'd overnight, but it didn't give me any views or sales, so I'm trying to focus more on Alamy.

FYI, my microstock affiliations disqualified me from MyLoupe and Photographer's Direct at the time I started looking for
traditional stock agencies. Alamy seems to be a pretty popular one, and as it's given me the most returns, it's the one I'd recommend the most.

[ChrisRabior]

Let's see... It would have taken about 700 sales on micro to equal "a few" on Alamy then, right?

Just curious... How many images do you have on there? How long have you been offering images there? Are they unique or are they in a crowded category with lots from other photogs?

OP, my earlier answer was a little... well... terse.

I'd suggest you pick up a copy of "Photographer's Market 2008". There are about 60 pages devoted to stock agencies. Might be a good $20 investment.

700 sales at $0.50, or 1400 sales at $0.25. The big thing that drew me to Alamy was the fact that one image that sold five times would make much much more than it would with a micro, and it would have only sold five times (still a 'fresh' image, chance to be used for other buyers).

To be honest, I don't know if they're in a crowded category or not. I guess they sort of are. Search for Cobo Hall, and the shot I had sell is in the first page of results. Search for Detroit Tiger Fans, same thing, but further down on the page. Same thing again for Michigan Football Stadium. Proper keywording does wonders on Alamy.

And I'll second the Photographer's Market. I have the 2007 edition.. lots of good things to know in that one.

[cory1848]

I'd suggest you pick up a copy of "Photographer's Market 2008". There are about 60 pages devoted to stock agencies. Might be a good $20 investment.

Amazing book...I was floored by the amount of information in this book...