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DPChallenge Forums >> Stock Photography >> anyone here besides jodie coston making $$$@stock?
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06/29/2006 07:18:52 AM · #1
just wondering if some of you who are making it wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of us.

how long have you been shooting "just stock"?
how many images do you have out there?
how many do you try to add a month? a year?

do you do micro, macro, or both?
which does better for you?
why do you think that?

and, would you mind sharing some examples, especially your "best sellers"?

thanks!
06/29/2006 07:44:54 AM · #2
250 images at iStock. I'm concentrating on microstock cos it's suits me.....work full time, on dialup.....don't have a lot of spare time.

Muddled around for a long time, then started working more seriously on building a portfolio about mid last yr. It's still slow growing with only 10/20 images added monthly. I don't have many people shots in my port, no studio setups so mine is not the traditional stock portfolio.

Best selling images are doves, Bailey being clever and rugby




portfolio
06/29/2006 07:47:11 AM · #3
I have 1000 or so images at alamy, and 2000 on the micros.

Alamy earnings are meager.
Microstock earnings are good. If i calculate how many $$/hour I get I am more than happy. Enough to pay for equipment, studio, and get an decent wage.
06/29/2006 07:57:31 AM · #4
how long have you been shooting "just stock"?
how many images do you have out there?
how many do you try to add a month? a year?

Hiya Skip,

I uploaded a couple of dozen at istock in Dec. '04 and let them sit there... it took until the following August to earn my first $100 check. Then, though, I started uploading more regularly and with much better results. I have about 285 images on istock now, and have made at least one sale per day since Jan. 2nd. For this month (June '06) I have averaged about 9 sales per day resulting in earnings of $5.60 a day.

I've never tried macro. I have nothing against it or those who sell there, just haven't tried it. Micro is something I enjoy, and my earnings of about $150 per month let me buy a new gadget every now and then. The best thing about selling stock photos (either mi or ma) is that I will enjoy those earnings from now on, no matter what I do. I could sell all my photo gear and still have a little earnings coming in ten or twenty years from now. In the meantime, I'll just keep on uploading, a little along. I enjoy it.
06/29/2006 08:24:43 AM · #5
Well, I have roughly 600 images up on various micros and I average $550/month. This is excellent residual income! My objective for the end of 2007 is to make roughly $800/month.

I have about 100 images on Alamy for over a year with zero sales so for now I'm sticking to what works for me...micros.
06/29/2006 08:32:19 AM · #6
Originally posted by kosmikkreeper:

Well, I have roughly 600 images up on various micros and I average $550/month.


Wow! This is definitely on my to do list! I posted a handful of old wildlife photos to PhotographersDirect, but I need to get more out there. I sold one "by request" image earlier this year for $250.
06/29/2006 08:38:35 AM · #7
Originally posted by scalvert:

I sold one "by request" image earlier this year for $250.

Lemme guess.

Was it this one??
06/29/2006 08:55:55 AM · #8
Originally posted by BradP:

Was it this one??


Uh... no. But you might be able to make some cash in exchange for burning it. ;-P
06/29/2006 09:55:07 AM · #9
Originally posted by skiprow:

just wondering if some of you who are making it wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of us.

how long have you been shooting "just stock"?
how many images do you have out there?
how many do you try to add a month? a year?

do you do micro, macro, or both?
which does better for you?
why do you think that?

and, would you mind sharing some examples, especially your "best sellers"?

thanks!


I'd like to add another question to this....how do you decide what kind of pictures to put up? Is there a list stating what people need? Do you just shoot what you think people will want/need?

**I hope this forum stays postive and people don't post about how stupid it is to do stock photos.. (fingers crossed)**
06/29/2006 09:57:38 AM · #10
I have been dabbling with microstocks since last may (05)

on shutterstock with about 270 images ... and i've made about $400 ... i dont upload as much as i probably should (but i probably range about $60 a month on there lately - it was a really slow start - but i'm still playing around on there ...

dreamstime i have about 100 images on there and i'm just shy of my first payout .. i havent uploaded there in months

new site i'm building my portfolio on is //www.luckyoliver.com - first 30,000 exclusive images with them they are offering 60% royalty (if you sign up - use CFLYPHOTO in the refferal box :)

I like the microstock sites .. it lets me upload and such at my own pace and if i make money - it's a bonus ... woohoo for more equipment - eventually :)

to answer coyla's question ... yes all the sites will give you a guide of what they are looking for ... and also you can look at most Downloaded - to see what people are buying this week ...

if you are new to stock i would really recommend luckyoliver .. they are new - not overloaded with the "cliche" images and their galleries are still small - so as long as the image doesnt look like a snapshot and the quality is within their requirements - they will most likely accept it ..

good luck everyone :)

Message edited by author 2006-06-29 10:01:05.
06/29/2006 08:40:19 PM · #11
I've been at it for about 2 years now and have received a few cheques, but not nearly as much as I would like. It would help a lot if I had a better internet connection (I really need to get away from dial-up, which has been misbehaving so badly the last couple of days I've only managed to vote on one photo here as my computer is refusing to show photos at the moment). Actually my computer doesn't seem to be too good any more either.

And a DSLR would help produce the quality the microstocks demand without massive amounts of editing, though I'm a bit scared of buying a big heavy camera that I may not use as much as I should.

And of course it would help if I had the courage and models to do people shots.

But all things considered I think it's not going too badly. In time I'm sure I will earn a decent amount out of it. If I weren't so lazy I could do better with what I've already got.
06/29/2006 08:47:31 PM · #12
I make about one sale a month on Shutterpoint with 166 images up. My pics are priced roughly between $59 - $99 each.

I have casually added pics over the last two years to make that 166. I am sure I could make from stock photography if I put the time into it!
06/29/2006 11:05:07 PM · #13
What is the deal with gamut on these sites? Do you need to worry about it? Do you just make it look good for the computer screen and then let the print do what may? That's always my biggest concern. I haven't made the foray into stock and am not sure why I haven't...
07/02/2006 09:17:26 AM · #14
just been reading through the various micro sites details and wanted to be clear about royalties - istock seem to be only 20% i.e. the photographer only gets that unless exclusivity option is activated. am i right as there are other sites where photographers get more shaun
07/03/2006 01:14:45 PM · #15
I have had an account with PhotographersDirect for over a year and no sales, just few bites and about 60 images.

I started with microstock (Shutterstock, then iStock, now Fotolia) at the end of May. So far I have made about $60 w/ 100 images on SS and am just starting to make some $ on iS, still completing my uploads to fotolia.

It really seems to depend on a) how many total images you have and b) how often you upload. A solid portfolio of images (more than 200) and frequent uploading (about 100 month) and you should be able to make a 3-digit income every month, after a year of that you should be able to make four-digits.
07/03/2006 01:25:52 PM · #16
Originally posted by shaundp:

istock seem to be only 20% i.e. the photographer only gets that unless exclusivity option is activated. am i right as there are other sites where photographers get more shaun


The photographer gets 80% at PhotographersDirect.
07/03/2006 02:21:40 PM · #17
Originally posted by PhotosByAyme:

new site i'm building my portfolio on is //www.luckyoliver.com - first 30,000 exclusive images with them they are offering 60% royalty (if you sign up - use CFLYPHOTO in the refferal box :)

The only such box was the "How did you hear about us" text box ... hope that's the right one.
07/03/2006 02:25:33 PM · #18
I've got 36 pictures on shutterstock, and 10 or so on another (that I keep forgetting about).

I get a check for $75 or $80 USD every other month or so.

Every time, I *decide* to pull my images, and then figure a) I wouldn't use them any where else b) no "big" company would want them (for several reasons), so I might as well leave them there and make a few cents off of them.

I really don't like shooting stock. Actually, I like the shooting part, but on dial up, uploading is a major pain in the bo-hunkus, so until *somebody* decides our neighborhood gets something (re = anything) besides dial-up, I'll just sit on my 36 images.
07/03/2006 02:47:31 PM · #19
Well, Karmat, has cast 26,000 odd votes... on dial up that's equal to an eternity in voting. Now back on subject.
07/03/2006 03:09:57 PM · #20
Originally posted by karmat:

...until *somebody* decides our neighborhood gets something (re = anything) besides dial-up, I'll just sit on my 36 images.


Set up your images the way you like them and burn them to a CD. Then, when you visit friends or relatives in the civilized world, you can upload them on their broadband connection.
07/03/2006 04:47:49 PM · #21
I have had a few sales with Alamy and recently one with Acclaim. I have also had the same images up with MyLoupe, but nothing has sold. Also, most of my images were RM or L images, but most of the sales were RF. So based on that, I will be putting more into RF. I still plan to do a mix, however. Havn't had a lot time to get images out on a regular basis. (I do have about 100 ready to go... sum of the last 6 months.)

So, since November of last year I have made about $430 net on the same 85 images spread around these three macro sites. And I have no doubt that I could probably have done as well, or better, with the same images on microstocks.

Not surprisingly, then, I have considered doing both. I want to make some money for my work, but I would also like to pick the pricing model that will prevail in the coming years, and doing both is the only sure way to go.

Problem is, I'm lazy and I don't want to do that. It means twice as much work. So for the moment I'm gonna stick with macro and see if I can't increase my percentages. Besides, I've only been at it 6 months, and I feel like I should give it at least another 6 before trying anything else.

07/03/2006 04:53:38 PM · #22
Originally posted by PhotosByAyme:


new site i'm building my portfolio on is //www.luckyoliver.com - first 30,000 exclusive images with them they are offering 60% royalty (if you sign up - use CFLYPHOTO in the refferal box :)

How much do they pay for your images there? I can't find anything that goes into detail on actual pricing.
07/05/2006 05:00:38 AM · #23
thanks for all the useful information on this thread. i have sold some images via photographers direct, one a bad debt still outstanding. i like the royalty structure however sales are few and far between. maybe a go on istock or oliver might help me out. shaun
07/05/2006 05:36:59 AM · #24
Be aware that Photographers Direct are very much against microstock sites like istock and won't deal with you if you use them, so if you decide to go that route you'll have to drop PD (who are, I think, unique in this policy)
07/05/2006 06:17:13 AM · #25
Originally posted by dahved:

Originally posted by PhotosByAyme:


new site i'm building my portfolio on is //www.luckyoliver.com - first 30,000 exclusive images with them they are offering 60% royalty (if you sign up - use CFLYPHOTO in the refferal box :)

How much do they pay for your images there? I can't find anything that goes into detail on actual pricing.


//luckyoliver.com/guide/getting_paid

hopefully this helps :)
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