How to Make Money From Your Photography (Microstock)
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.
When we began selling our photos online we only earned $16 in our first month. Given that this was something we were passionate about we persisted and, with lots of research we raised the amount to $270 in six months. Since it was only a part time hobby we honestly didn’t expect it to earn so much money as soon as it did, but our early success convinced us of the possible potential and we immediately purchased in a digital SLR. It has been over two years later and we’re now making around $600 each month with a modest portfolio of around 700 photos listed with eight agencies. We’re still considered hobbyist photographers who create stock photos in our spare time.
Who sells photos in the microstock market? I’ve reached hundreds of other microstock stock photo sellers through the internet and have been amazed at the variety of individuals who are contributing to this market, each with a similarly impressive variety of reasons. There are retired couples who simply want to see their photos published and I have met people who make tens of thousands of dollars each month. For some microstock is their job and for others, like myself it is simply a portion of my overall income. Amazingly, one of the largest groups of contributors are photography students – both those who have chosen photography as their career and hobbyists who study for fun.
Why is microstock so good for students? There are three reasons microstock is so great for students: freedom; money; and education.
To participate with Microstock is free and there are no set work hours, no bosses and most importantly, no due dates. Microstock pays money which is great given that photography isn’t a cheap endeavor. If you are interested in learning about the commercial side of photography Microstock is also a great way to educate yourself. What better teacher than a global market of photo buyers?
Isn’t microstock ‘bad’ for the industry? If you do any research about microstock you will quickly find that it’s controversial. The concept only works with the Internet and high quality digital cameras, so it’s still relatively new. Subsequently 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.
Now you might be wondering, how much can I earn in microstock? That question depends on both the quality and quantity of photos you can produce. Many people who work full time and have a portfolio of 7,000 high quality images earn over $20,000 per MONTH! On the flip side some contributors with only a handful of images earn just a few dollars a month. Like me, you will 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 microstock easy? Not at the beginning, it isn’t. Many online agencies require a test submission which is generally stricter than their typical review process. Microstock agencies also review submissions based on what sells, which is images that are super sharp, noiseless and commercially appealing. Because of this initial review many of the established and highly skilled photographers experience early rejections and quickly dismiss the microstock opportunity. You can start with some of the middle tier agencies which don’t require you to pass a test. In doing this you can easily get an idea of what types of photos are being 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 to create above-average success. The average per-photo earnings of many of the top microstock contributors can be up to ten times what I currently make, so you can imagine the difference in the quality and appeal of the photos they produce. They also need to repeat this success 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:
Managing your expectations can often sound easier than it actually is. A typical sales pitch might read, “click here to start earning money from the photos sitting idle on your computer”. That’s not exactly realistic and you’ll soon quit if you begin with this expectation in mind. Do your own research to figure out what sells, create these photos well, and be smart about how you contribute. Concentrate on workflow.
If you wish to contribute many photos it makes tons of sense to have an efficient workflow so you don’t waste time doing unnecessary and repetitive tasks. Do your research and refine your process so you can put a quality product into the market as efficiently as possible. Microstock is business. If you’re more of an artist than an actual commercial photographer you may want to seriously consider if you and microstock are a good match. Don’t get me wrong, 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.
