Make Money From Your Photography (Microstock)

By: Dan Feildman

My wife and I began selling photos online over two years ago as a way to earn a little extra money out of something we enjoyed. At the time we had a little 4 megapixel point-n-shoot camera but since my wife knew a little about photo editing from studying graphic design in college. At the time we thought we knew about photography, we soon realized we didn't know that much at all.

We only earned $16 in our first month, but with persistence and lots of research we raised this to $270 in six months. As it was a part time hobby we didn't expect it to earn so much so quickly, but this early success convinced us of the potential and we quickly invested in a digital SLR. Over two years later we're now earning around $600 each month with a modest portfolio of around 700 photos listed with eight agencies. We're still hobbyist photographers creating stock photos in our spare time.

Who sells photos in the microstock market?Through my blog I've connected with hundreds of other microstock contributors. There is an amazing variety of people contributing to this market and with a similarly impressive variety of reasons. I know retired couples who just love to see their work published and I know people who earn tens of thousands of dollars each month. There's also a variety of people in the middle for whom microstock is their job or who, like me, have microstock as part of their income. However, one of the biggest groups are photography students - both formal students with photography as their chosen career and hobbyists who study for fun.

Why is microstock so good for students? The three main reasons include: freedom; money; and education.

Microstock is free to participate and there are no work hours, no bosses and no due dates. Microstock pays money which is great given photography isn't cheap. Microstock is also a great way to educate yourself if you're interested in learning about the commercial side of photography. What better teacher than a global market of photo buyers?

Isn't microstock 'bad' for the industry? If you have been interested in selling stock photography for a while you may have already found that microstock is controversial. Since the concept works only with the Internet and high quality digital cameras it's still relatively new. Because of that there are still many professional stock photographers with strong feelings about the impact microstock is having on the industry.

I've personally spoken with a few of the world's most successful stock photographers and they're not noticing any impacts on their business from microstock. They know that their photos compete on quality and not price (microstock photos sell cheaper but in higher quantity) and their will always be buyers interested in the top level of the market, regardless of the price.

It's also understandable that many of the photographers who now make a living with microstock have displaced some 'traditional' stock photographers. This happens with any technological change as big as the Internet and digital photography and it's understandable that those on the receiving end are not happy about it.

To be sure, Microstock has brought new buyers to the market. Prior to Microstock small businesses, charities and bloggers weren't big purchasers of stock photos when each image cost $350 or more. Now that blog size images are $1 and print size images are $10, you can imagine how sales have increased.

So how much can I earn in microstock? The amount depends on both the quality and quantity of photographs you can produce. Those who work full time with microstock and have a portfolio of 7,000 high quality images or more can easily earn over $20,000 per MONTH! On the flip side, those contributors who have only a handful of images earn just a few dollars. Like me, you'll most likely find yourself between these two extremes.

I earn just a bit under $1 per photo per month. You can find monthly earnings, figures and links to various portfolios with a quick Google search. With this information you can quickly compare your portfolio or photography skills to figure out, more or less, how much you could expect to earn with your photos in the microstock market.

Is it easy to get into microstock? Not at the start. Many agencies require a test submission which is generally stricter than their usual review process. Microstock agencies also review submissions based on what sells; typically these are images that are super sharp, noiseless and commercially appealing. Because of this process many established and highly skilled photographers experience early rejections and quickly dismiss the microstock opportunity. By beginning with the middle tier agencies that don't require you to pass a test, you can easily get an idea of what types of photos are accepted and which ones sell well. After that, it's relatively easy to start earning money.

Here's two of my best selling photos. Each is a simple shot taken with the intention of selling for stock, but with no more preparation that being in the the necessary place with my camera. Both these photos earn over $30 per month though their success varies between agencies.

It's also not easy creating above-average success. Average per-photo earnings of top microstock contributors can be up to ten times what I earn, so you can imagine the difference in the quality and appeal of the photos they produce. They also need to repeat this many times to create a portfolio large enough to raise their earnings above average.

How can I improve my chances of success? These are my top tips for people getting started selling their photos in the microstock market:

It is important to manage your expectations. I know this sounds easier than it actually is. A common sales pitch generally will read, "click here to start earning money from the photos sitting idle on your computer". This is not very realistic and chances are you'll quickly quit if you begin with this expectation. It is important to do your own research to figure out what sells, create those photos well, and be smart about how your contribute. Concentrate on workflow.

If you plan to contribute lots of photos it makes sense to have an efficient workflow so you don't waste time doing unnecessary repetitive tasks. Do your research and refine your workflow so you can get a quality product into the market as efficiently as possible. Microstock is business. If you're an artist more than a commercial photographer you may want to seriously consider if you and microstock are a good match. Artistic photos will sell in the microstock market, but not nearly as well as commercial photos.

Research. Don't stop with the few ideas I have already given you. It is important to get all your questions answered before you begin so you save time and don't accidentally do anything that doesn't work to your advantage. There are blogs written for people selling photos in the microstock market, read these as well as other sites.

6 Microstock Sites Where You can Make Money from Your Photos Here are a number of Microstock programs that offer photographers money for their images: Shutterastock, Dreamstime, Crestock, fotolia, 123rf, Stockxpert.

Article Source: http://www.retirementlivingarticledirectory.com

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