Making your photography pay / stock photography
Discussion
I've only just found the joys of this sub-forum, I'm a keen photographer and car enthusiast, it seems a good place to be!
I've often wondered about trying to make photography pay something back, purely as a background activity. I have a full-time job, wife, daughter, and more sports/hobbies than I have time for already, so I'm not keen on doing proper "shoots", perhaps just selling shots I'd have taken anyway, or stuff I've taken before. I've done a wedding for a friend and while the results were good - and I had to learn about flash to do it - it was a hassle. Have any of you guys done the stock thing or found other ways to sell your photos easily, such as local galleries? Do you have advice as to who to use, what sells, etc? My photography is mostly landscapes and nature, some is at:
www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=399040
Most of this photo.net stuff is pre me going digital (slides and negs scanned into my PC) which I suspect would be viewed as having too much noise except for some of the better slide scans. Nowadays I mostly use an EOS20D and prime or L-series lenses, and it occurs to me some of my snapshots that I don't consider my best landscapes - such as the three below, could be salable and should certainly be of sufficient technical quality (not that you can tell from these tiny photobucket compressed versions!). What do people think - is the income worth the hassle? Will people take slide scans or just digital shots (the slide scans are exactly the same size as the full-quality shots from the 20D)? What sort of stuff sells?
Thanks!
James
I've often wondered about trying to make photography pay something back, purely as a background activity. I have a full-time job, wife, daughter, and more sports/hobbies than I have time for already, so I'm not keen on doing proper "shoots", perhaps just selling shots I'd have taken anyway, or stuff I've taken before. I've done a wedding for a friend and while the results were good - and I had to learn about flash to do it - it was a hassle. Have any of you guys done the stock thing or found other ways to sell your photos easily, such as local galleries? Do you have advice as to who to use, what sells, etc? My photography is mostly landscapes and nature, some is at:
www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=399040
Most of this photo.net stuff is pre me going digital (slides and negs scanned into my PC) which I suspect would be viewed as having too much noise except for some of the better slide scans. Nowadays I mostly use an EOS20D and prime or L-series lenses, and it occurs to me some of my snapshots that I don't consider my best landscapes - such as the three below, could be salable and should certainly be of sufficient technical quality (not that you can tell from these tiny photobucket compressed versions!). What do people think - is the income worth the hassle? Will people take slide scans or just digital shots (the slide scans are exactly the same size as the full-quality shots from the 20D)? What sort of stuff sells?
Thanks!
James
Edited by jwyatt on Friday 21st July 12:26
Hi James
You sound a bit like me in that you want to sell photos but don't want any of them nasty commissions.
The way I have done it is to sell via www.photobox.co.uk (I sell half a dozen a month), and I also frame some to sell in galleries - these tend to be area specific. I also sell about 500 CDs of scren saver res pics per year.
I try and avoid any commercial or wedding offers - as that is W O R K
You guessed it - you won't make a bunch of money... but the income will at least let you claim VAT!
You sound a bit like me in that you want to sell photos but don't want any of them nasty commissions.
The way I have done it is to sell via www.photobox.co.uk (I sell half a dozen a month), and I also frame some to sell in galleries - these tend to be area specific. I also sell about 500 CDs of scren saver res pics per year.
I try and avoid any commercial or wedding offers - as that is W O R K
You guessed it - you won't make a bunch of money... but the income will at least let you claim VAT!
Try these three sites:
Bigstock
Dreamstime
Shutterstock
I have only sold 1 photo so far. But then again, they are not very good quality shots.
Bigstock
Dreamstime
Shutterstock
I have only sold 1 photo so far. But then again, they are not very good quality shots.
When we are talking about "noise", are we basically talking about what looks like the effect of a high-ISO film in the old B+W days, i.e. does it look like grain? I'm sure that some of my slide scans would be up to scratch, but I'd probably have to re-edit in photoshop as I'm a bit lazy about the unsharp mask - I should apply it to the ground only, but apply it to the whole shot and the sky tends to show slight but noticeable grain. I quite like the effect on landscapes, would this be an instant fail for stock? Can post an example if it would help...
GetCarter said:
You guessed it - you won't make a bunch of money... but the income will at least let you claim VAT!
AFAIK you need to be earning 60% of your income as a photographer in order to get vat registered and claim back VAT on your purchases. But that is only what my Dad told me, as he is VAT registered as a journalist.
dcw@pr said:
GetCarter said:
You guessed it - you won't make a bunch of money... but the income will at least let you claim VAT!
AFAIK you need to be earning 60% of your income as a photographer in order to get vat registered and claim back VAT on your purchases. But that is only what my Dad told me, as he is VAT registered as a journalist.
This is of course assuming that you are already VAT registered.
dcw@pr said:
GetCarter said:
You guessed it - you won't make a bunch of money... but the income will at least let you claim VAT!
AFAIK you need to be earning 60% of your income as a photographer in order to get vat registered and claim back VAT on your purchases. But that is only what my Dad told me, as he is VAT registered as a journalist.
Hmmm... I'm VAT registered as a musician. I think if you are VAT registered anyway, and then make money from photography, you can claim (as long as you charge).... 'cos I can't make 60% from music AND 60% from photography!
...but I charge and claim for both.
I started shooting stock 2 months ago...
Shutterstock
Strict. 7/10 of your first photos need to be accepted, or your account is suspended for 30 days. But you will make more money here than elsewhere.
Bigstock
Lenient. They accept 98% of the photos I submit. Sales are very slow, but its easy/fast to upload to.
Dreamstime
Better than Bigstock, well worth uploading to.
There is stock (pics sell for huge amounts of money, commissions can be hundreds of dollars per sale) and microstock. Microstock is the new stock. Pics sell for mere dollars each, commissions are small (.25c to $1, sometimes $20 with royalties) but you sell far more pics.
Have a look at my shutterstock gallery which is here
There is much to consider!
ISO. Images need to be free of noise, or they will be rejected
Clean. Dust spots removed
No chromatic abberation, fringing, hazing, etc.
And salable.
I was shooting all last weekend, Saturday at a wedding and Sunday at a wildlife reserve. Not being able to turn the ISO up, I found it hard to get good shots of moving animals in the shade. Not being able to include people (without a model release) I couldnt shoot as much as I would have liked at the wedding.
Objects sell, signs sell, medical, food and business shots sell exceptionally well, as do people photos (model release needed)
Ive had 143 images accepted by Shutterstock in the last 2 months, about 15 per week then. On shutterstock alone, Ive sold over 287 photos and made $73 (including commissions on other peoples sales) in this 2 month period. Highest day was 14 sales. Best selling image has sold 25 times (food).
Ive found food sells exceptionally well, on white is best.
Flowers, nature, landscapes and animals sell consistently over time, but you need BLOODY good images to make much money from it, or just vast quantities of images. Ie hundreds to make good pocket money, or thousands to make a living.
Most photographers have a tonne of nature pics, and comparitively fewer medical, food, and business photos. Grahpic designers and web designers are in greater need of business/lifestyle photos than they are of pretty flowers.
Every day I learn a little more about stock. Im no expert, but if you want to reply to my email offline, Id be happy to help you as much as I can with the bits and bobs Ive picked up so far.
You'll need a program to keyword your images for starters, and a noise removal tool if you've been shooting using a high ISO.
Shutterstock
Strict. 7/10 of your first photos need to be accepted, or your account is suspended for 30 days. But you will make more money here than elsewhere.
Bigstock
Lenient. They accept 98% of the photos I submit. Sales are very slow, but its easy/fast to upload to.
Dreamstime
Better than Bigstock, well worth uploading to.
There is stock (pics sell for huge amounts of money, commissions can be hundreds of dollars per sale) and microstock. Microstock is the new stock. Pics sell for mere dollars each, commissions are small (.25c to $1, sometimes $20 with royalties) but you sell far more pics.
Have a look at my shutterstock gallery which is here
There is much to consider!
ISO. Images need to be free of noise, or they will be rejected
Clean. Dust spots removed
No chromatic abberation, fringing, hazing, etc.
And salable.
I was shooting all last weekend, Saturday at a wedding and Sunday at a wildlife reserve. Not being able to turn the ISO up, I found it hard to get good shots of moving animals in the shade. Not being able to include people (without a model release) I couldnt shoot as much as I would have liked at the wedding.
Objects sell, signs sell, medical, food and business shots sell exceptionally well, as do people photos (model release needed)
Ive had 143 images accepted by Shutterstock in the last 2 months, about 15 per week then. On shutterstock alone, Ive sold over 287 photos and made $73 (including commissions on other peoples sales) in this 2 month period. Highest day was 14 sales. Best selling image has sold 25 times (food).
Ive found food sells exceptionally well, on white is best.
Flowers, nature, landscapes and animals sell consistently over time, but you need BLOODY good images to make much money from it, or just vast quantities of images. Ie hundreds to make good pocket money, or thousands to make a living.
Most photographers have a tonne of nature pics, and comparitively fewer medical, food, and business photos. Grahpic designers and web designers are in greater need of business/lifestyle photos than they are of pretty flowers.
Every day I learn a little more about stock. Im no expert, but if you want to reply to my email offline, Id be happy to help you as much as I can with the bits and bobs Ive picked up so far.
You'll need a program to keyword your images for starters, and a noise removal tool if you've been shooting using a high ISO.
Bob, have you tried taking photos at 400 ISO? On some at 800 on mine noise really isn't noticable so it might be worth taking some shots at a higher setting and either checking them yourself, or seeing if they get rejected? For me the instant adjustability of the ISO is one of the best things about digital photography, but you seem dead set against changing it from 100!
darthdicky said:
Bob, have you tried taking photos at 400 ISO? On some at 800 on mine noise really isn't noticable so it might be worth taking some shots at a higher setting and either checking them yourself, or seeing if they get rejected? For me the instant adjustability of the ISO is one of the best things about digital photography, but you seem dead set against changing it from 100!
I was shooting at up to 250 this weekend, and have just had quite a few rejected by shutterstock - some of which were for noise. Ive learnt that noise can be caused by factores other than just the iso setting. For example, underexposure, slow shutter speeds, and ambient temperatures.
When shooting at even 100 ISO on a very hot day, noise can be introduced due to the heat. I read on the net about a photographer who was shooting in the antarctic and one of his observations was that noise was virtually non existent due to low temperatues which kept the sensor cool.
The chap also said that regarding the 30d, 400 ISO should be acceptable most of the time, and perhaps even 800 iso if using a noise removal tool.
Im just dead set on taking images which arnt going to be rejected due to noise. Gonna buy a photoshop plugin to help remove it, I guess.
graham@reading said:
Oh cool 
Wonder if it's 30 days from the change if you had more than 30 days to wait, if you see what I mean
Some folks have a friendly word with one of the mods, and are back in the review queue within the week. Ive heard Wonder if it's 30 days from the change if you had more than 30 days to wait, if you see what I mean 9/10 of my images were accepted first time round
flameop said:
ya need to scan ya passport ? :-/
how do you talk to mods? is there a forum after you have joined?
also once joined do you have to submit stright away ?
ta
si
how do you talk to mods? is there a forum after you have joined?
also once joined do you have to submit stright away ?
ta
si
1) Scan or photograph your drivers licence or passport (I did both in one shot, to ensure they didnt query it)
2) When you have signed up, enter the forums (fantastic learning environment). Mods can be found in there, sometimes answering questions. The rule of thumb in stock (on most sites) is dont bother the mods unless you have to. Like most mods, they are exceedinly busy (There are 26'000 photographers on Shutterstock!) Often stock sites wont reply to email queries, which is what the forums are for, ie help from other users, which brings us to point 3
3) You dont have to submit your first 10 right away. I spent a week (and 10 hours) reading and learning a great deal of valuable do's and dont's from other members before I submitted my first 10, which was probably why 9/10 of my images were accepted (and my account approved) I suggest you do the same. If you enjoy photography/stock, then this wont be a chore, and in reading and learning from others you'll pick up a lot of tips. Whilst you're in the forums, post 100% crops of your images online, to get feedback on them before submitting them.
Save photos in photoshop (at 12 quality) then keyworded, then upload. If in doubt, assume the photo WILL be declined
Once approved (I think it takes a week, or maybe a little less) then your images will find their way online.
Edited by UKBob on Monday 24th July 14:55
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