The Magic of Selling Stock Photography
So, you have a Flickr account and everyone loves your photos. Your pictures on Facebook draw constant commenting….and, a weekly CD from Shutterfly comes in the mail. In other words you’re a camera packing, photo snapping…ADDICT. Even though there isn’t much camera “packing” these days….everyone takes a picture of everything. This brings me to today’s point: for all of the camera-holics out there, each time you press the magical “snap” button…it could also mean a few other buttons…the ATM Machine!
Since most of your pictures are non-sense anyway, there are a variety companies who are willing to pay for, you guessed it…random pictures. This is called “Stock Photography.”
For example, Shutterstock.com has a program setup where, you, the photographer gets paid each time a customer downloads your uploaded photo. Here is the basic idea of the program:
How Much Do I Get Paid?
I knew you would ask that…it’s why I’m here. Since Shutterstock sells subscriptions on a monthly basis, they give an allotted number of pictures to be downloaded (750 images/month.) With this said…for customers, they need photos. Most of them are freelancers who get paid $0.25 per download (when the customer chooses your pic). Once the photographer accrues $500.00 in earnings, your rate per download will increase to $0.30. I don’t think it gets any better than that. You upload a picture…and, theoretically there’s an unlimited amount of times your photo can be downloaded. Think about it: you just need 4,000 downloads / month..and you make $1,000. Break out your little calculator and figure out how much YOU want to make. Each photo you upload…your chances of having a download increase. They also offer other resources such as an On Demand system which pays up to $2.85 / photo….as well as enhanced systems you can opt into which pay up to $28 per picture.
What Camera Do I Need?
I doubt anyone uses film these days…so I would reccomend at least a 10-mega pixel digital camera. Most modern cameras sold at Wal Mart are at least 10. I was trying to sell my camera at a pawn shop the other day (don’t ask why) and they required at least 10 pixels. Sounds like this is the minimum industry standard. Any type of digital camera will work…however, the better quality of your picture…the more likely it will be downloaded. Most stock photo companies require them to be no LESS than 2400×1600 pixels which is 4 MP. Again, your industry standard is between 8-10. If you want to get serious and have the money to throw at a semi-professional camera…check out some of these Nikons.
What Are The Photo Requirements?
Taken from another stock photo website…these are some of the basic guildlines.
* Images must be in JPEG format
* Images should have normal aspect ratios
* File size must be less than 30 MB
* Files shall not have been re-sized (you must upload your files in their original resolution)
* You should be the author of all files you uploaded.
* You shall have a valid model release for each person represented in your files
* You shall not upload images representing logos or trademarks protected.
* You shall not upload images representing constructions, goods or places protected by an intellectual property right
Remember, these are pictures YOU take. Start by harvesting all of your Facebook and Flickr photos and see which ones get accepted. Hopefully grandma won’t be mad when she ends up in a TV commercial….but, its worth a shot.
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket….
This is a reoccuring theme here at Meta Fever. If you can do it with one site…it can be done with 100! There are dozens if not hundreds of stock photography sites out there just waiting and salivating for your photos. Again, just like uploading thousands of pictures on one site, the more sites you use…the chances of someone downloading it (and you getting PAID), only increase. Here’s a list of websites I would start with:
* Shutterstock.com
* Alamy.com
* iStockPhoto.com
* Dreamstime.com
* Bigstockphoto.com (they are owned by Shutterstock.com…and the starting rate is $0.50 / download)
* Fotolia.com
I hope this helps…again, get a camera (if you don’t have one), start taking pictures, upload and make some $$$$. Rinse & Repeat on another site. For more information on the subject of stock photography, visit: All-Things-Photography.com…I used some facts from this site as well. They have some great info to share.
