Micropayment / Microstock Photography: Selling stock in 2008

Hi guys, I just was wondering if anyone else on PictureSocial sold their work on microstock sites, such as iStockphoto.com? I have been doing it on the side for the last 2 years to supplement my income. I am a full time graphic designer by trade, so that takes up 40 hours a week...the rest of the week I try and squeeze in a few hours for my stock photo portfolios.

Man, all I can say is that I wish I knew about this whole stock game sooner. I just got accepted to alamy.com as well, and I hear that the sales yield much higher payments, although they sell a little slower than with sites like iStock.

If anyone is interested in seeing some more examples of the types of images that I sell, or how you can get started yourself, I set up a little informative website: http://www.freewebs.com/micropaymentphotography

Tags: business, micropayment, microstock, photography, photos, selling, stock

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kari Quaas on March 12, 2008 at 12:49pm

Thanks! I just realized I forget the word "use" in my first post. Are you limited in your use of the images if you sell them to a stock agency or do you retain all rights to do with them as you please, i.e. sell fine art prints, sell to other agencies, make cards, whatever?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by gopalshroti on March 14, 2008 at 12:48pm

very informative and encouraging, particularly at the time of digital cameras and procedures, why not to use Pix for income purpose. it is motivating and confidence generating. to photographers, at least, who do not understand the value of their clicking each shot, or the graphic designs they can make using PS.. I HEARTILY THANK.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by arenacreative.com on March 14, 2008 at 1:23pm

No problem, gopalshroti. I don't mind telling others about it at all. If anyone wants to thank me for my efforts, signing up for the sites through my referral links on my website is greatly appreciated. That way I'll get credit for referring you. If not, that's fine too.

Myself personally, am very thankful I've been able to make a side income from this. It's been a huge help with the finances, and supporting my family.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by gopalshroti on March 15, 2008 at 12:27pm

my dear, no need to thank me. i expressed what i felt. i must be thankful otherwise for your encouraging article. moneymaking with hard labour is very difficult. u shd have thousands of idea to encash because the stock agency and the buyer, both want standard images that remain upto their mark. so thank u once again what our duty shd be as a photographer to have a small income to carry on in life.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by arenacreative.com on March 26, 2008 at 4:40pm

Mostphotos - have you checked it out yet? A great site for newcomers to the stock game. I just signed up about a week ago. Upload is cake, and its a lot of fun to see what photos get rave reviews from the community, and which ones don't. A few friends already had sales, and they pay in euros.

Here's my gallery and what I've uploaded so far.
http://mostphotos.com/graficallyminded

Check it out on a rainy day, it's a lot of fun. FTP upload is so easy, too - no categorizing or anything. BEST PART No rejections ever, there are no photo approvers!!!!!

Whats even BETTER - you can get at your images anytime from anywhere with an internet connection - like free online hosting. You can download single images or your entire portfolio in one big zip file. So even if you don't even make any sales, you always have access to your pics! I get excited over the littlest things.

Not that you shouldn't back up your stock photo collection onto external hard drives or DVDs, but this is another safeguard you might want to utilize when signing up for Mostphotos. Even if I don't make one sale, I still have fun in the photo community with the comments, ratings, and chat rooms. This great little "free downloads" feature that I discovered is just the icing on the cake. Being able to download any of my own images for free at any time, has always been a feature I've loved, especially on other sites like Stockxpert and 123rf. What's better about MP is that there are no rejections, so you can be sure that ALL of your images are accessible; not just the ones they accepted.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Monika Soltysik on September 27, 2009 at 9:19pm

How is going with your microstock selection?
I just joined the club and was looking through the forums. I know by now you probably figured out your sweat spot but just in case I'll post this link out for Microstock Sites - Reviews at a glance.
http://www.microstockinsider.com/microstock_site_comparison?filter0=10

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by maigi on October 25, 2009 at 6:25pm

Microstock is only hobby for my, but it has payed all my equipment (2 cameras, lenses, hard drives, lots of little gadgets and couple of trips abroad) during those 4 years, when I have submitted my photos and graphic works to several stock agencies. And I'm pretty happy, that I found contact with microstock agencies. Of course it doesn't mean easy money, but if you are willing to work and figure out how microstock industry works, it might be quite rewarding.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nate Burnett on October 25, 2009 at 8:53pm

Thanks for this post, it has been very full and informative on a subject that i've been pondering. It seems like such a common sense thing to do considering it is what I love and do for free (actually pay a lot to do)! Much appreciated!