Stock image libraries - making money
Discussion
Slightly long winded post, bear with me...
reading the net/forums, It seemed to me that you needed a 'lucky break' to get your work accepted by a good photo library for resale. What, with the millions of photographers, and billions of images taken each year, naturally QC standards need to be in place. Ive seen a few photographers "jump for joy" when they "finally got an image accepted by a library, at long last..." type comments floating about.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was chatting to one of getty images' (self acclaimed) "top photographers" today, who said he has, literally, thousands of his own photos online at getty, available to buy.
He also went on to say, without mentioning figures, that he makes a Substantial amount of money from getty each year.
Always curious about how people make their money, Id be interested to hear the experiences/opinions of PHers
Is it really an impossible mission, or if you 'started young 
' and submitted a good image a week, might it be possible to generate a fair bit of revenue after 10 years of shooting/submitting
>> Edited by UKBob on Thursday 4th May 23:11
reading the net/forums, It seemed to me that you needed a 'lucky break' to get your work accepted by a good photo library for resale. What, with the millions of photographers, and billions of images taken each year, naturally QC standards need to be in place. Ive seen a few photographers "jump for joy" when they "finally got an image accepted by a library, at long last..." type comments floating about.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was chatting to one of getty images' (self acclaimed) "top photographers" today, who said he has, literally, thousands of his own photos online at getty, available to buy.
He also went on to say, without mentioning figures, that he makes a Substantial amount of money from getty each year.
Always curious about how people make their money, Id be interested to hear the experiences/opinions of PHers
Is it really an impossible mission, or if you 'started young ' and submitted a good image a week, might it be possible to generate a fair bit of revenue after 10 years of shooting/submitting >> Edited by UKBob on Thursday 4th May 23:11
poah said:
depends on the pictures youhave. I'm on istock and have only made $37 lol but then I don;t have any realy specific pics and certainly no xmas, or any other seasonal pics on there
How many pics do you have on istock. And if it boils down to making money (after youve had your fun shooting) which site will make you the most money?
With the guy on Getty you have to remember that when anyone in the press or media wants an image, chances are they go to getty. Getty photogs get into everywhere and their images get used loads - even the BBC use getty images all the time.
Me, i haven't made a penny from anything like that but then I haven't submitted my pictures so wouldn't expect to. I made a choice very early on that photography wasn't about making money, as I'd had bad experiences with other hobbies that had turned into a way of making cash.
That said now that I'm down a kidney from a month ago had have just purchased an 80-400VR using one of my lungs, I am starting to think of ways of recouping my costs. Anyone want to buy a load of distinctly average photos?
Me, i haven't made a penny from anything like that but then I haven't submitted my pictures so wouldn't expect to. I made a choice very early on that photography wasn't about making money, as I'd had bad experiences with other hobbies that had turned into a way of making cash.
That said now that I'm down a kidney from a month ago had have just purchased an 80-400VR using one of my lungs, I am starting to think of ways of recouping my costs. Anyone want to buy a load of distinctly average photos?
UKBob said:
Always curious about how people make their money, Id be interested to hear the experiences/opinions of PHers
You need to have literally thousands of "saleable" images to make a reasonable wage. To make a substantial amount you need even more even better images. Its not an impossible mission, it is a volumous one.
I would think a "good" image a week would be taking a turn to nowhereville, and you would probably have to up all your kit to meet their submission regulations anyway. The standard is so high for their creative images, I think it would require a substantial commitment to break into it.
I personally have never submitted anything.
Matt
This is a really interesting subject and I looked into it myself a few weeks ago. The comments I read before were that it was quite easy to get your images accepted and make £50/month or so. I was going to submit some things myself but when I looked, I found that very few of my images where really suitable as they were mostly too abstract or personal.
These links might make for some interesting reading...
www.freewebs.com/micropaymentphotography/
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/s
These links might make for some interesting reading...
www.freewebs.com/micropaymentphotography/
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/s
White_van_Man said:
I might give this a go, im sure im not going to make a fortune out of it but anything is a bonus
That's what I thought, although the amount of time you spend taking and preparing the images, you would be better off getting a Saturday job at Burger King. I guess taking pictures is more fun though.
marctwo said:Its definitely burger flipping money. But if you applied yourself and stuck with it for a few years, it would definitely equate to an awful lot more than burger flipping wages!
I might give this a go, im sure im not going to make a fortune out of it but anything is a bonus
That's what I thought, although the amount of time you spend taking and preparing the images, you would be better off getting a Saturday job at Burger King. I guess taking pictures is more fun though.
Check out the sites. Look at the images. Even the worst ones are selling, just not as often as the good ones.
Assuming we are doing this for fun, not money, then its all good
But the point of starting (like a pension) is not for gain tomorrow, its for gain long term. Once an image has been accepted into the library, you need never lift a finger again. It'll earn you money till the end of your days. And a lot more money, if you upload it to half a dozen sites. The more photos you take, the more you'll learn about which images sell best. In that regard too, the more time you invest, the more money you'll make.
Given that its all 'for fun' - its possible that if any of us started now, some of us might still be snapping/submitting regularly in 3, 5 or even 10 years time. I dont have much 'staying power' and will probably quit after uploading 20 images
If I get that far at all
But if the more talented kids are making a few hundred dollars a month with cheap point and shoot cameras, in such a short space of time too, so theres no reason why with application, the more experienced photographers amongst us couldnt make a great deal more. Perhaps a fortune, if you stuck with it for a number of years, working hard at it.White_van_Man said:Sell 5, and you'll make $1.25
I would only be in it for beer money. I think i have 5 worthy pics so will upload them and see what happens. if i make some money out of it, its a bonus
Sign up under me, and I'll get 15cents
http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=6
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