stock photography

conair01

Can anybody enlighten me on stock photography and where to start with it? i'm fed up with local newspapers not paying so i'm thinking of going down the stock photography route. came across an interesting piece this is the link:

http://www.all-things-photography.com/stock-photography-commissions.html

but im looking for a website thats popular in ireland. cheers!!

Shiny

I use Alamy.(The are UK based)

Reflex Stock are an appointed Alamy distributor for the territory of Ireland.

Other than that I am not aware of any significant Irish stock websites but
I'm sure there are some small ones.

PaulieC

Shiny wrote: »

I use Alamy.(The are UK based)

Reflex Stock are an appointed Alamy distributor for the territory of Ireland.

Other than that I am not aware of any significant Irish stock websites but
I'm sure there are some small ones.

have you had any joy with Alamy ? I joined but I couldn't upsize my images enough to meet the minimum size:o

Shiny

Not so far.
I had pretty poor keywording on my images and have spent
most of the summer rectifying that and adding new stuff.

Its hard work.

PaulieC

Shiny wrote: »

Not so far.
I had pretty poor keywording on my images and have spent
most of the summer rectifying that and adding new stuff.

Its hard work.

After the photos, keywording is the key to selling stock, it is hard to do. Have you sold anything? And how do you upsize to get 48MB JPGs ?

OP, don't mean to drag this off topic...I haven't got time now, but I will reply later with some more useful stock related info

Shiny

I just upsize them in photoshop.

Image size from 24 -> 48.1MB (uncompressed TIFF).
Select the Bi cubic Smoother (suitable for upsizing).

I was half considering getting a professional agency
to keyword them but it costs around €1.50 per image
which is pricey.

I haven't sold any yet and am not going to get too upset
about that until I get to the 1000 image mark. If I haven't
sold any by then I will lose the head.

Either way it has to be better than selling them for 20c on
shutterstock.

magicbastarder

from what i've heard from friends, you either have to have a contact in the agency, or have something no-one else can offer - e.g. a friend had loads of photos of dolmens from around the country, and they were his best selling photos. partly because each was labelled with the dolmen name, so could be individually specified.

Shiny

hehe I wish.

Its only for fun really, if I manage to sell 1 or 2 every couple of
months then I will be happy with that.

Its a long term investment the way I look at it.

PaulieC

Shiny wrote: »

hehe I wish.

Its only for fun really, if I manage to sell 1 or 2 every couple of
months then I will be happy with that.

Its a long term investment the way I look at it.

any chance of posting the link to you alamy portfolio?

Shiny

Thats me.

MagicMarker

I'm a little confused.... i'd never heard of this 'stock photography' before and i fail to see why people would buy from sites such as those mentioned, you can't even view a picture at a respectable size to make a judgement.

Am i missing something?

PaulieC

MagicMarker wrote: »

Am i missing something?

Yes, I would have thought so...Stock photography is really big business. Think of all the grapdhic designers, newspaper editors, printers etc. etc. out there who need images for brochures, flyers, cards etc. etc. but who don't have staff photographers, are in the wrong location, need a generic picture of someone boarding a train, whatever. The market is huge

PopeBuckfastXVI

I have a few questions out of curiosity as much as anything...

Do you need a certain minimum amount of photos to begin?

Are the photos judged before they're submitted, to ensure quality, or do they let you upload anything and the market decides?

Do you pay in advance for hosting, or do they just take a commission?

What kind of return would you expect if you sold a photo, or is it dependent on the individual photo?

Sorry for machine gunning them, but I thought bullet questions would be easier to quote and answer!!

thx :pac:

PaulieC

Shiny wrote: »

I just upsize them in photoshop.

Image size from 24 -> 48.1MB (uncompressed TIFF).
Select the Bi cubic Smoother (suitable for upsizing).

I was half considering getting a professional agency
to keyword them but it costs around €1.50 per image
which is pricey.

I haven't sold any yet and am not going to get too upset
about that until I get to the 1000 image mark. If I haven't
sold any by then I will lose the head.

Either way it has to be better than selling them for 20c on
shutterstock.

Shiny, I just found this on an old thread on Stock

Shiny wrote:

Thats it, I'm deleting my Alamy portfolio.

I'm going to get started with shutterstock.

Dont care if i only get 20c per photo.
Its better than the 0c i got with Alamy.

changed your mind much ??:D

Shiny

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Shiny, I just found this on an old thread on Stock

changed your mind much ??:D

Yeah you have me by the balls there!

I was really pissed off with Alamy as I wasn't selling anything
and decided to try shutterstock just to get sales at least.
Little did I know it is very hard to get involved with them as they
are VERY picky, my best photos got the comment, "no commercial value!"
Was well pissed off after that.

Decided to bite the bullet and stick with Alamy, improve my keywording
and put more "stock looking" images up there.


PopeBuckfastXVI, I can only give you accurate information in terms
of Alamy but they have no restriction on the type of photos you
submit, only that you pass their quality checks.

Do you need a certain minimum amount of photos to begin?
In my case, I submitted my 10 best photos and if they pass then
you are in. There is no requirement other than that.

Are the photos judged before they're submitted, to ensure quality,
or do they let you upload anything and the market decides?
They let you upload anything once its not glamour and once it adheres
to the quality check.

Do you pay in advance for hosting, or do they just take a commission?
They take a commission, 45% of a sale I think if its direct through them
and you get a little less if its sold through a reseller. No hosting fees.

What kind of return would you expect if you sold a photo, or is it
dependent on the individual photo?
It really depends on the photo, look at the shutterstock top 50 here to
give you an idea of the images that are selling. The general consensus
is (on Alamy at least) that you need about 1000 images before you
start to see a consistent monthly return. Although I have seen people
with 60 images make sales, yet i have more than 400 and nothing.

Sorry for machine gunning them, but I thought bullet questions would
be easier to quote and answer!!

No problem.
Here are the quality check regulations for every photo.

paulocon

I wonder how many people are making decent amounts from stock - I'd bet it's a very very small percentage of those who are signed up.

At the end of the day, your images would need to be of a very high standard technically to get chosen. While having a large number of images on there would probably shorten the odds of one of your images being used, I'd say that the best approach (if you want to go down that road) would be to focus on quality, not quantity as well as to choose an area that might be niche (next to impossible on the web!).

UsedtobePC

I use iStockphoto and most of what's been said about Shutterstock applies as well, namely they'll ask you to submit 5 photos on a number of topics they list and then decide whether you make the cut or not. Once they approve you, you can upload anything you want. This also applies to vector illustration and computer art.

I suppose part of the selling work consists in joining discussions and pushing your photos in fora inside the site just to give it some publicity.

PaulieC

Disclaimer before I start: I know how a lot of photographers feel about Stock and in particular MicroStock, so if you don't agree with it, don't read this. This shouldn't have to turn into an arguments on the merits or otherwise of stock

I started off about three years ago with Shutterstock. I think the acceptance bar is now higher than it was then. As far as I know you have to submit a batch of 10 images and 8 have to be accepted or else you cannot submit again for another month, but check on the site for specific details. Looking back on my first year or so on the site I can see that I made f*ck all, in fact I had forgotten all about it.
Unlike Alamy, every submission is reviewed for quality. Rejections are common and usually for the following reasons:

• Noise
• Bad focus
• Bad lighting
• Not commercial subject

As was pointed out, go to any of the stock sites (I use Shutterstock and iStockPhoto mainly, but lots of others exist) and have a look at their top selling images. This will give you a good idea of what to think about when shooting for stock. People images sell quite well but require model releases.

Think about the kind of people who will want images a and what they will use them for. Images should be bright and clean and well lit.

Don't let your ego get in the way. Many people get upset if their images are not accepted for stock, but if you are willing to take criticism and learn from it, you will not only start getting images accepted but also become a better photographer.

Keywording is a vitally important part of Stock photography. You could have potentially the most valuable stock image, but if a customer cannot find your images because it's badly described, then it's worth nothing.

Finally, the thorny issue of money...with the so-called penny stock sites (which Shutterstock and istockphoto are), there are two business models. The first is a subscription model (Shutterstock) where people pay a certain amount of money per month or year and have a set number of downloads in that period. These sites usuallu pay the lowest amounts (Shutterstock is $0.25 per image downloaded rising to $0.40). While this is a miniscule amount, the downloads volume is quite large and that's how you make your money.
The second model (e.g. istockphoto) is where people pay for credits on the site and then download individual images as and when they need them, paying different prices depending on the image size. The amount paid here is more (in the range of $0.20 to $2.80) so potentially more money per download, but the volume is lower. Recently both companies mentioned have adapted their models to incorporate the others' model, so now it's possible for customers to buy individual images from Shutterstock and get a subscription to istockphoto.
Shutterstock also have Extended Licence downloads which pay $28. Always nice to get one of those .

If you are prepared to work at stock, there is no doubt that it will pay off, whether you're with Alamy making potentially $100s per image or with a penny stock, getting 1,000s of downloads.

And remember, it's not always what you think will sell that will actually sell. I took a macro shot of the cream roller blind in the kitchen while testing the focus on my lens a few months back. I dicked around with in Lightroom, applying different presets. I uploaded a few different versions of this to the stock sites and described it as a 'grungy linen background'. To date it's my most popular downloaded file, has made it onto the weekly Top50 (out of 4.5 million) on Shutterstock and has earned about $700 in it's different guises. For me it's paying for the 5DMKII

conair01

i'm going to try and bring this thread back on course slightly!!:D

is shutterstock they only website that is popular in this country??

does anybody on this forum go out to take pictures directly for these stock photography sites??

any advice on wording of your picture??

PaulieC

I think with the internet it's easier for any stock site to have a local focus. As such, there are lots of people in this country who use these stock sites and also these stock sites have a lot if Ireland-related content.

I don't often set out to shoot stock specific images, generally just submit stuff that I have already taken and might otherwise just sit on my HD.

Keywording is a very important part of stock sales. There are plenty of resources out there if you search for them e.g. http://blog.photoshelter.com/school/general/keywording/

Stock sites also are a great help - you can search for images similar to your own and see what keywords other submitters have used. Shutterstock also have a Top100 of searched-for keywords so you can see what purchasers are looking for

Covey

cambo_gueno wrote: »

And remember, it's not always what you think will sell that will actually sell. I took a macro shot of the cream roller blind in the kitchen while testing the focus on my lens a few months back. I dicked around with in Lightroom, applying different presets. I uploaded a few different versions of this to the stock sites and described it as a 'grungy linen background'. To date it's my most popular downloaded file, has made it onto the weekly Top50 (out of 4.5 million) on Shutterstock and has earned about $700 in it's different guises. For me it's paying for the 5DMKII

Thats impressive, well done.

About 1750 sales of one shot and it's derivatives

PaulieC

Covey wrote: »

Thats impressive, well done.

About 1750 sales of one shot and it's derivatives

well not quite 1750. Sold for many amounts between $0.25 and $28

Covey

I'll have to admit to being one of the sceptics about micro-stock photography, but I'm always open to change.

CG, if you wouldn't mind (& feel free to tell me to P**s off if you do)

What is your average income per photo ,if you excluded your top 50 shot and all shots posted that have no sales.

I think might be a better indication of what one could expect ??

Thanks

T.

PaulieC

will PM you details

MagicMarker

Reading over the thread it seems stock photography is like playing the lottery. Sometimes you'll win a tenner but most times you get nothing.

Covey

MagicMarker wrote: »

Reading over the thread it seems stock photography is like playing the lottery. Sometimes you'll win a tenner but most times you get nothing.

The master of the Ad-Lib.

But be careful, being funny may cost you around here

PaulieC

MagicMarker wrote: »

Reading over the thread it seems stock photography is like playing the lottery. Sometimes you'll win a tenner but most times you get nothing.

hehe, it can be a bit like that at times.

kgiller

Do u really have to upload a copy of your passport to join shutterstock???

UsedtobePC

kgiller wrote: »

Do u really have to upload a copy of your passport to join shutterstock???

Yep. Same with iStockphoto

PaulieC

I guess I got the equvilent of the driving licence here in the 70's - I didn't have to give any ID or pass any kind of test. I would say if I did have to do that, I wouldn't have bothered at all...I'm lazy like that

PaulieC

this is an excellent introduction into stock photography - it's very comprehensive and gives the pros and cons of each of the main stock agencies out there

http://calevphoto.com/2008/09/18/introduction-to-microstock-photography-part-i/

mac123

Can you upload the same pic to more than one stock site? Also if someone purchases your picture and prints it will you get the credit for the shot?

PaulieC

mac123 wrote: »

Can you upload the same pic to more than one stock site? Also if someone purchases your picture and prints it will you get the credit for the shot?

yes you can upload to as many sites as you like providing you don't mark it as exclusive on any one site, if you know what I mean.

As for credit, I doubt it very much