Make Money Selling Stock Photos

Labels: exclusivity, microstock agency, stock photo submission

Should you select one agency or several to represent your images? The answer is really up to you and how much time you have to spend uploading work.

If you stick with just one agency, you only need to upload once. Plus if the agency offers an exclusivity option for each image, you'll make more money with each download. Exclusivity means that you promise to upload that specific image only to one agency and no other. (See chart on Dreamstime: http://www.dreamstime.com/sellimages). Some agencies also offer the photographer more money if they sign-on as an exclusive photographer for that agency, meaning you upload images ONLY to that one agency and no other. So you can have an exclusive image, as well as be an exclusive photographer. Dreamstime offers this type of tier structure. So by picking just one agency you save time and have the opportunity to make extra money per photo.

But here's the downside - not all buyers shop around to different agencies looking for just the right image. Most buyers have one or two favorite agencies they like to work with and they never look any further. So if your photos are listed with only one agency, you may be missing those buyers who shop with a different agency and the opportunity to sell to a wider audience.

Here's my take on it: do what's best for you. I did all of the work to get into two different agencies, only to find that I sell well at one and not so well on the other. And because some of my images are listed on both agency directories, I loose the ability to make a larger commission by using the "exclusive option".

The mailbox photo above is a good example. At Dreamstime it's a consistent seller, but at my other agency it has yet to sell even once! If I had uploaded just to Dreamstime and opted for exclusivity, I would have been making a higher commission each time the image sells.

The other factor is time. I have a full-time job (as most microstock photographers do) and not much extra time for photography. Rather than spending all my evenings and weekends uploading images to various agencies, I have come to the conclusion that working with one agency and having more time to enjoy my photography is best for me. If I did microstock full-time, I would most likely choose to upload to 4 or 5 agencies.

Consider your own situation and whether you have the time and ambition to deal with multiple agencies. If you decide to stick to one agency, you can always add another in the future when you're ready to branch out.

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency

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Labels: store items

How do you come up with good keywords to describe your photos? No doubt about it, writing keywords is a tedious chore. But it's an essential skill for selling microstock photos. The best way to do it is to come up with a method. There's no need to reinvent the wheel everytime you have to write a list of keywords. Develop a winning formula, then stick with it. This makes the task go quickly and smoothly each time.

I want to share my own technique with you. Once you get the hang of it, you'll think "Dude, this is easy!"

Labels: micro stock, photography keywords, stock photos, submission to stock agency

With thousands (and even millions!) of photos in an agency's directory, you may be asking yourself, "How in the world will anyone ever find my pics?"

The answer to this question is crucial to your success. Here's the trick - it's in the keywords you use to describe your photograph. Let me say it again - the key to your success in selling stock photos online lies in the ability of others to find your images when you use the right keywords to depict your submissions. Why are words so important? Shouldn't images speak for themselves?

Of course you need to start with great photos, but the entire dynamic of search is based on words - not images. It works just like a search in Google. If you use a string of four very specific words to describe what you are searching for, you have a much better chance of finding what you want rather than typing in a one-word general description. Here's an example: rather than search through millions of entries for "dog", you type in "brown cocker spaniel puppy". You have not only narrowed your search by whole lot, you have a much higher chance of getting exactly what you are looking for.

Search works the same way when using a microstock agency. Before I started selling my photos online, I often purchased photos for use in my business. So I experienced first-hand just how hard it can be to find the right photos using keywords.

Here's the problem - many photographers find it a chore to research keywords, so they settle for filling in the minimum number of keywords required, using the first descriptive terms that come to them. Another problem is not thinking outside the box. You'd be surprised at how unimaginative a photographer can be when he or she needs to use words rather than images to get across a concept.

Here's my 3-point strategy for keywords descriptions:
1. Use as many keywords as you possibly can think of to describe each submission.
2. Try to use the maximum allowance for keywords offered by the microstock agency for each image.
3. Get creative, crazy and conceptual with your keyword choices.

Labels: microstock agency, photography keywords, selling stock photography, submission to stock agency

Rejection! Nobody wants to receive a "no thanks" email from their stock agency. But it happens to everyone. And it's quite common during the first submission process.

The best thing to do is view rejection as a learning experience. Many times the person critiquing your submission will offer suggestions on how to improve your photograph in the rejection email. Depending on the agency, you may get a standard, "stock" reply. Other agencies actually respond with a personal note.

Your first submission is an opportunity to grasp the style, quality and details that an agency is looking for when they accept photography. And always remember - the process is totally subjective! There's a real person looking at your pics, trying to make a decision based on the agency's pre-set standards AND on their own personal judgement whether or not the image is sellable. Unless your photo breaks a basic rule (like no model release for a recognizable face) and is automatically tossed, it's really up to the person judging your image if it makes it through to the directory.

An example of how subjective the submission process really is can be seen by submitting the same photo to two different agencies. (You can do this if you don't sign exclusive rights over to one agency). The concept image seen above, called "Three Bulbs and a Fluorescent." It was submitted to both of my stock agencies. It was accepted by Dreamstime and rejected by BigStockPhoto. So far, it has been a steady seller on Dreamstime.

Rejection is all part of the process. Don't get discouraged. And don't let it become an ego thing - you can always learn something new and exciting from another person's perspective.

microstock photos

Labels: micro stock, microstock agency, photography, stock photos

selling photography online

Labels: making money with stock photos, micro stock, microstock agency, stock photos