Photographers that sell stock photos, how does this work and is it possible to make a primary income from it?

Question

Serious answers only please.

Answer 1

Yes it is... I started getting my pics noticed on Stock Xchange (http://www.sxc.hu/gallery/anissat) about a year ago, and started making money with my pics recently. I picked up 2 very helpful, in-depth books on selling your work from Dan Heller (http://www.danheller.com/ ) - great resources, and very informative site.

Answer 2

At one time you could make a pretty steady income from stock. However, the business has shifted dramatically against the creators of the images. The business eats images at a tremendous rate. The ability to charge the necessary fees to cover the costs of production have dropped to the point that the margins are too small. You have to plan each shoot for maximum benefit. You have to be very aware of diversity issues in the work place. You have to have people with a good look...or product specific look. The images have to be technically flawless and you need to be aware of any and all legal requirements...the models and the buyers.

For many years I could generate enough income from stock sales that I could afford to plan a trip to a local to shoot stock images to pay for the next vacation/business location. But the explosion of royalty free image disks and consolidation of the larger stock buyers forced a lower return on each sale.

If you are planning to try this I strongly advise that you invest in photo management software. You have got to be able to locate and ship images in a matter of hours. A lot of the work is catalog intensive. Key words and other computer specific talents will make or break your effort.

I wish you the best of luck...and good shooting.

Answer 3

A general comment - Your photos will need to be very good and will need to address market requirements. I have worked a little in the microstock arena and the better sites can be very critical. That is good because it forces the photog to get better but it is definitely work.

In microstock a few people do make enough for it to be their primary income. But from my experience with fotolia.com, it must only be a few because I was ranked in the top 30% and wasn't hardly making enough to cover buying a few cheap props. I went into it thinking I could use a lot of my old photos but most of those weren't good enough, had people in them (model release issue), or had too many trademarks showing.

It is worth giving it a shot. Just expect to put in a lot of time to get it going. If nothing else it will force you to improve your craft.