01:11
comehere
If you talk to anybody about where to sell photography the standard answer is probably going to be "go with one of the Microstock libraries". However , if you're serious about selling your photography online, you'll often find the serious profits are made when you stop following the crowd and think out of the box.
The demand for photo stock images has increased substantially in during the last 20 years, beginning with the appearance of desktop publishing and more recently with web publishing. These days nearly every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a host of super-cheap stock libraries "the Microstocks "have sprung up to serve those markets with massive picture collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy photos of every possible subject for a buck or less, with many Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For some time there were lots of photographers swearing there was serious coin to be made giving their pictures away for less than a greenback, but nowadays they have gone a bit quiet.
It looks like we could have come the full circle and the competition has reached a level that makes it difficult for the average photographer to generate reliable income with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long past.
Another major drawback that's emerged lately with the Microstock libraries is, as soon as someone does come up with a stock photo idea or idea that actually sells well, it gets copied by lots of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves facilitate this, publishing live lists of photos which are currently being downloaded the most, so that the lazy photographer can just throw together a fast copy, upload it and exploit the other photographer's work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some lucrative new market, then put in the effort and time to capture top quality original commercial content, chances are that you will not have the niche to yourself for long. If it's working, it is going to be copied
So the real question must be asked: if you have got to put that kind of time and effort and cash into shooting new stock photographs, does it honestly make sense to dump them for a buck each?
Would it make rather more sense to sell stock photos where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photography?
Plenty of photographers are starting to think so, and more and more, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer's 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a particular use for a specified period of time. The photo buyers pay just for the rights they require so it's a better deal for them, and a better deal for the photographers. Instead of making 50 cents or less for somebody using your image, you might make $100-$200 or more. Often lots more!
Since you're controlling the usage as well as the sales, you can offer the top-end photo buyers a history of the image, and offer buyers who need it, first rights, exclusive use, and all the assurances the top-end users need for the best paying jobs.
So if you're serious about selling photographs online, you really need to choose what sort of photography business you want.
One where you compete with millions of other photographers to mass produce pictures for a market that expects to buy your photos for a couple of dollars each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your talents and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality photographs that truly talk to their audience?
Either way, the business has changed and the stock photo sales are going to go to the smart photographers who research their markets and create high quality original material.
So at the end, isn't it just a matter of deciding what you want to get paid for it?
The demand for photo stock images has increased substantially in during the last 20 years, beginning with the appearance of desktop publishing and more recently with web publishing. These days nearly every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a host of super-cheap stock libraries "the Microstocks "have sprung up to serve those markets with massive picture collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy photos of every possible subject for a buck or less, with many Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For some time there were lots of photographers swearing there was serious coin to be made giving their pictures away for less than a greenback, but nowadays they have gone a bit quiet.
It looks like we could have come the full circle and the competition has reached a level that makes it difficult for the average photographer to generate reliable income with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long past.
Another major drawback that's emerged lately with the Microstock libraries is, as soon as someone does come up with a stock photo idea or idea that actually sells well, it gets copied by lots of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves facilitate this, publishing live lists of photos which are currently being downloaded the most, so that the lazy photographer can just throw together a fast copy, upload it and exploit the other photographer's work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some lucrative new market, then put in the effort and time to capture top quality original commercial content, chances are that you will not have the niche to yourself for long. If it's working, it is going to be copied
So the real question must be asked: if you have got to put that kind of time and effort and cash into shooting new stock photographs, does it honestly make sense to dump them for a buck each?
Would it make rather more sense to sell stock photos where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photography?
Plenty of photographers are starting to think so, and more and more, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer's 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a particular use for a specified period of time. The photo buyers pay just for the rights they require so it's a better deal for them, and a better deal for the photographers. Instead of making 50 cents or less for somebody using your image, you might make $100-$200 or more. Often lots more!
Since you're controlling the usage as well as the sales, you can offer the top-end photo buyers a history of the image, and offer buyers who need it, first rights, exclusive use, and all the assurances the top-end users need for the best paying jobs.
So if you're serious about selling photographs online, you really need to choose what sort of photography business you want.
One where you compete with millions of other photographers to mass produce pictures for a market that expects to buy your photos for a couple of dollars each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your talents and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality photographs that truly talk to their audience?
Either way, the business has changed and the stock photo sales are going to go to the smart photographers who research their markets and create high quality original material.
So at the end, isn't it just a matter of deciding what you want to get paid for it?
About the Author:
Matt Brading contributes articles on how to market photography to GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency. If you're looking where to sell photography, Matt recommends the co-operative approach of GlobalEye, where like-minded photographers have been working together to increase exposure, reduce costs and sell stock photos since 1998.
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