Selling Photos

[csondagar]

I have some (10-12) photos that I think are good quality and sellable. Though I am not looking to make tons of money, I would like to sell to get some pocket money, if possible online.

I have checked out the photo agency like alamy and geatty. With them I do not stand a chance yet. Need to build a large portfolio before I can consider them. I have also checked out Shutterpoint.com, workbookstock.com, smugmug.com.

Shutterpoint.com seems to be most suited for beginners like me.

Has anyone experience any of these sites?

Any words of advice for a beginner would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[MazerRakhm]

After looking around I created a smugmug account. They are very easy to use, great uploading utilities, and are a pretty fast site (I've yet to have any problems after 5 mo. with them now.).

I also like the fact that they put display monthly statistics on how many views/gallery. I mostly post to my online journal/blog to share with friends and that has become the main way I track visitors.

Hope this helps!

[Dave2003]

Originally Posted by csondagar

I have some (10-12) photos that I think are good quality and sellable. Though I am not looking to make tons of money, I would like to sell to get some pocket money, if possible online.

I have checked out the photo agency like alamy and geatty. With them I do not stand a chance yet. Need to build a large portfolio before I can consider them. I have also checked out Shutterpoint.com, workbookstock.com, smugmug.com.

Shutterpoint.com seems to be most suited for beginners like me.

Has anyone experience any of these sites?

Any words of advice for a beginner would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

In my experience Can Stock Photo are the best paying. By better paying I mean pays the best commissions to Stock Photographers themselves Canstocks commisions are as follows.

Member Download
-----------Retail---Return
Small----$1.50---$0.50 (33%)
Medium--$3.00---$1.75 (58%)
Large----$4.50---$3.00 (67%)

Guest Download
-----------Retail---Return
Small----$3.00---$1.00 (33%)
Medium--$4.25---$2.50 (59%)
Large----$6.00---$4.00 (67%)

Compare this with Istock's commission structure which is not that great for Photographers (But it is cheapest for designers to download).

-----------Retail----Return
Small-----$0.50---$0.10(20%)
Medium--$1.00----$0.20(20%)
Large-----$1.50---$0.30(20%)

As you can see the return for photographers is ten times more on Can Stock Photo. Does anyone know of any other Stock Photo sites that pay better than this?

People in othe forums where I have posted have mentioned IstockPro but There is a barrier to entry with Istock Pro that Canstock Photo does not have, you have to have a minimum portfolio of 100 photos available to view online (at 100% of their original resolution), and if they think your portfolio of at least 100 photos is worthy and it is selected then you can become a member.

I dont have a portfolio of 100pics yet *sigh*

By the way My Istock Portfolio can be seen here, and this is my Canstock Photo Portfolio.

[phototrekker]

The subject of selling photographs to online stockagencies like istock has been very much debated. Professional photographers say that it undermines the whole photography business.

However, I feel that if you haven't reached a professional level (yet) , it could be usefull to submit your images to those stockagencies. You get instant feedback abt your pictures just by the fact that they are accepted or not. Usually they also give you a reason why they are rejected like poor focus, noise, etc...

Recently, I have found a new agency that accepts pictures:
shutterstock.com

The payout per downloaded image is 20 cents I believe, but you will probably earn more than with istock , as the customer pays an 'all-you can-download-fee' and is therefore more likely to download bigger quantities of images. This in return increases the chance of your image being downloaded


Regards

[RogCincy]

Looks like at least with shutterstock you are giving up your right to the copyright. I understand that when you sell the photo you are basically selling the right to that photo but for .20 a download......

Also beware if you sign up....... I just emailed their support about there not being a secure form when you go to fill out their photographer's application. So all your personal information is being sent clear text.......

[osh]

I know of a great service that isn't free, but well worth the small yearly fee. I am a veteran smugmug user and I wouldn't use any other service, mostly because of the many features and ease of use. During my trips to Europe and Africa, all I do when my camera's memory card is full is literally find an internet cafe, upload, and go - smugmug does the rest! This not only frees up my memory card, but lets folks back home see the places I've been while I'm on the go! You can also sell your photos online with great commission rates. If you're not convinced, check it out for yourself: http://www.smugmug.com. You can even save $5 using the coupon sL2HLom4aoVlQ !

[elkootcho]

Compare this with Istock's commission structure which is not that great for Photographers (But it is cheapest for designers to download).

-----------Retail----Return
Small-----$0.50---$0.10(20%)
Medium--$1.00----$0.20(20%)
Large-----$1.50---$0.30(20%)

Actually, I think istockphoto is now:
-----------Retail----Return
Small-----$1.00---$?
Medium--$2.00----$?
Large-----$3.00---$?

I don't sell images there so I don't know how much the photog gets but I think there are different levels so the return amount varies.

[swatcop169]

I have a smugmug account myself, the pro account lets you set your own prices. Great deal for $100 a year, unlimted space and 8gb transfer a month

[epeace]

something ive noticed across most of these sites is that theres absolutely no pirating protection on the images. a few have watermarks but those are easily removed in photoshop. and smug mug offers the entire full res image for you to just save to your computer. it would seem they are only concerned with prints. is this how it is normally done in the online stock world?

swatcop169 i noticed you are a fellow hockey fan . . dont get me started on bob goodenow . .

[S230]

This is something I am planning to do also but I am not sure if I would lose any rights to the photos in case I ever need to sell directly to a publisher for bigger profit. So far, I found 2 sites (www.istockphoto.com and www.canstockphoto.com). I am still trying to read the fine prints but they don't boldly say that or I am not reading it correctly.
Can someone please give me a highlight what happens once I upload my photo online. Thanks.

[epeace]

you retain full rights to all photos you have shot unless you implicitly sign them away (in writing) . . so read that fine print as many times as you have to to be satisfied you are not doing this . . . .

[swatcop169]

Originally Posted by epeace

something ive noticed across most of these sites is that theres absolutely no pirating protection on the images. a few have watermarks but those are easily removed in photoshop. and smug mug offers the entire full res image for you to just save to your computer. it would seem they are only concerned with prints. is this how it is normally done in the online stock world?

swatcop169 i noticed you are a fellow hockey fan . . dont get me started on bob goodenow . .

Yea hockey is my new favorite sport

As for smugmug you can choice not to display the orginal, I have my turned off, all you can see in my gallery's are large.

[S230]

Originally Posted by epeace

you retain full rights to all photos you have shot unless you implicitly sign them away (in writing) . . so read that fine print as many times as you have to to be satisfied you are not doing this . . . .

Thanks.. but what about the two sites I listed? (www.istockphoto.com and www.canstockphoto.com). any experience with these two? The reason being is that people are able to download them and I have no control as to how many gets downloaded.

[Ogrt48]

Dont use those crappy stock sites, thats more like giving away your photos, not selling them.

[S230]

Originally Posted by Dave2003

In my experience Can Stock Photo are the best paying. By better paying I mean pays the best commissions to Stock Photographers themselves Canstocks commisions are as follows.

By the way My Istock Portfolio can be seen here, and this is my Canstock Photo Portfolio.

Hi Dave, I recently joined istockphoto and I noticed that you have membership to both.
Is is ok to post identical photo on both istock and canstockphoto? The reason I say this is because sometimes users search only one one site and not another.