Stock Photo Sites

[photodesign]

Hello all,

Thanks for the good thread - interesting information.

Has anyone seen this site before:

http://www.freerangestock.com

The photos are all free, but the photographer income is through Google Adsense ads tied to the account (look at the revenue sharing link). I've never seen a system like this.

[zig]

Hello everybody

I've started submitting to microstock agencies about 3 month ago and today i earn some ~200$ monthly from those sites.(with income increasing every month) I'm not any pro photographer, Just an amature with a Digital SLR, that couldn't believe I can ever make money of my photos.
And strange as it was, it was not that difficult.(Just takes some time to invest)
Those are the sites i submit to sorted by the most profitable ones first :

Shutterstock
Istockphoto
Dreamstime

Wish you luck and remmember to believe in your self. U can do it too...

I was accepted to iStockPhoto on Thursday, submitted a few photos over the weekend. My goal is to put about 100-150 photos up before really making a judgment whether it's for me.

Do you know what the average user's portfolio size is there? It seems like a wide range but it's nice to hear someone like you makes a nice amount.

[Jen]

Not sure, but if you have success please do share - I haven't had time to even try to upload pics yet although I want to!

[zig]

I'll keep a log once things pick up and see how it goes & report back...

[zig]

Not sure, but if you have success please do share - I haven't had time to even try to upload pics yet although I want to!

here you go...
http://www.photoforum.com/index.php?showtopic=8094

[photosa]

I use shutterstock, makes couple of cents per download, but in the end it ads up. I do not post my best photos there, not worth getting cents for my good photos.

[chrisrabior]

It's been a while since I dropped in my two cents on this one, and now I figure it's a good time to add a few more comments.

Since my last post, I've had a few batches accepted with Alamy. Zero rejections so far (knock on wood), and about 8 batches from upload pending QC. I removed all of my shots from the microstock sites, but still have a good number left on Shutterstock.

Something that anyone needs to consider before joining microstock is the lifespan of a photo. I uploaded a number of images of classic cars to Shutterstock and Dreamstime. My four most downloaded literally saw fewer and fewer downloads as time went on. It was essentially 200 some images with about 25 downloads from the lot daily, down to maybe one or two a week. Not very motivating.

I'm good friends with another Alamy contributer. He sees maybe one or two sales a month, but it pays out typically 50 to 200 per sale, so it's a monthly income.

My life lesson from the micros: Great for experience, most definitely capable of a salary-like income, but not the system for me. I want my images to become a long term investment, and micros just don't seem to fit that trend. Traditional stock gives images a lifelong run. I watched micros sap the use of a few within a matter of 6 months. While it's been a great experience, I must say: No thank you.

My advice to anyone looking to get into stock photography: Try with the real agencies first. Micros are really no different than macros in terms of quality control. Sure, you may need to use photoshop or gimp to upsize, but that's EXPECTED of you from most macros. Give them a shot before hitting micro if you will. Otherwise, best of luck.

[Jen]

Thank you for the insite!