How can I sell Microstock Pictures

How can I sell Microstock Pictures - Making Cash from your camera

How to take and sell Digital Photos.Its the most common question I'm asked.

The first thing you have to do is take pictures people want to buy !

That seems obvious but far too many people try to sell pictures that are just not commercial.

Think seriously about WHO would use a picture and what they would use it for.

A jigsaw company would love a photo of jelly beans or baked beans but probably no-one else would !

A Palm fringed beach could be sold for travel,luxury items or airline brochures and similar travel related uses. It would get downloaded huindreds or even thousands of times if its good enough.

Go for the pictures that get used the most.

Wander in to your local news agent / news store and look at the magazines - what do they use ?

Pictures on Magazine covers are ALWAYS vertical so don't bother sending horizontal ones for uses like that.

Postcards are always colourful or straight pictures of standard views. Go out and just do similar (but not exact copies - several photographers make hundreds of thousands of dollars doing just that worldwide !

Active pictures of families,sports,kids with pets are always good sellers -

so are great sharp shots of the pets themselves.

Always get the EYES in sharp focus as this is what most people look at first.

A Lens can only give you the basics of selling pictures - Ron Engh's book on the subjects (although written for film cameras) has much of the information needed to sell photo worldwide. You'll need at least a 6Mb digital camera (preferably larger) and editors will be VERY critical about what they keep.

Some Digital Stock Companies require even larger file sizes so a good image manipulation program like Photoshop is pretty much essential.

Digital Microstock Essentials

You really Need Photoshop to manipulate and resize your pictures to Agency Required sizes (Elements has many of Photoshops basic tools built-in !)
If you have an earlier version of Photoshop CS then there is an upgrade available.
A good book on DIgital Microstock is also going to make your life easier...

Digital Stock Photography: How to Shoot and Sell

by Michal Heron

Digital Stock Photography equips photographers with everything they need to know to create digital stock photos that sell in today's marketplace. From organizing a shoot to raking in the profits as the pictures sell and sell and sell again, all the steps are here: Capturing digital images, working with scans, digital delivery of images, evaluating equipment, organizing digital files, building an archive, and more. Thirty assignments, designed to reflect the latest trends in photography, provide readers with a blueprint for building a stock collection. Special sections explain how to market, negotiate and quote prices, and manage a business, plus obtaining model releases and protecting copyright.

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/26/2008)

SellPhotos.Com: Your Guide to Establishing a Successful Stock Photography Business on the Internet

by Rohn Engh

Photography is in the midst of a revolution. Rohn Engh shows part-time and professional photographers how to compete with the big agencies by using the Internet--the new frontier of stock photography sales--and by determining how their images, both traditional and digital, are delivered and paid for. A comprehensive guide, sellphotos.com covers everything for photographers from Internet basics and the nature of the stock photography trade to building their own web sites and operating their own business.

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6

* Make your photos look their best with easy-to-use editing tools
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* Easily perform more advanced retouching and enhancing thanks to easy image-selection tools, amazing compositing capabilities, and more
* Share your stories in imaginative photo books, scrapbook pages, slide shows, interactive web galleries, and more

Amazon Price: $79.99 (as of 07/26/2008)

Adobe Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3 software accelerates your path from imagination to imagery. Ideal for photographers, graphic designers, and web designers, the professional standard delivers new features such as automatic layer alignment and blending that enable advanced compositing. Live filters boost the comprehensive, nondestructive editing toolset for increased flexibility. And a streamlined interface and new timesaving tools make your work flow faster.

Boost your productivity with a streamlined interface.

The Loupe tool in Adobe Bridge CS3 lets you easily zoom into the fine detail of any image.

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Zoomify export allows you to efficiently display even the highest resolution imagery over low bandwidth web connections.

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Take advantage of a wide range of improvements designed to boost your productivity. Experience native performance on Intel based and PowerPC Macs and on Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista systems. Maximize your workspace with a streamlined interface, process raw images with increased speed and quality, and manage assets more efficiently in the revamped Adobe Bridge CS3. And enjoy complete compatibility with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software (sold separately), so the changes you make to an image in one product will automatically appear in the other.

Edit with unrivaled power
The comprehensive image-editing toolset in Photoshop CS3 lets you correct and enhance your images with unmatched creative control. Experiment more freely with nondestructive filters. Manage and correct color more easily, and convert color images to rich black-and-white with one click. Retouch images with more powerful cloning and healing tools. And count on higher fidelity conversion when you merge a series of exposures into a 32-bit high dynamic range (HDR) image.

Composite with breakthrough tools
Photoshop CS3 offers a wealth of features that make compositing multiple images easier than ever before. Create more accurate composites with new tools that automatically align and blend layers or images based on similar content. Make an image selection with one brush stroke. Perfect any selection edge in an easy-to-use, intuitive dialog box. And merge multiple photos into a panorama with superior results.

Product highlights

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Amazon Price: $635.99 (as of 07/26/2008)

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Upgrade

Upgrade to Photoshop CS3 at a huge discount ... and get all the latest goodies buit-in.

Amazon Price: $195.99 (as of 07/26/2008)

What is Microstock ?

Stock Pictures for less

Stock Photos are well known as an easy way for art directors to buy high quality pictures for less than the cost of comissioning them - until recently when the Microstock model of stock photography appeared. There are two forms of Microstock - a standard agency type agreement where the photographer gets either a percentage of the sales figure or a straight download fee per picture for a subscription-based agency.

The main difference as far as the client is concerned is PRICE - where traditional stock libraries/agencies charged $100 or much more per picture, a Microstock agency charges from $ 1 per photo. Or less for a subscription based company where you can download up to 75 photos per day (a practice that has lead to ripped off photo-compilations being sold on Ebay and other online auctions !)
Both of the Major Stock Agencies - (Getty and Corbis) are now heavily into the Microstock business.As both agencies have commisioned many photographers they will probably use those photos as a foundation for their Microstock business.

A number of photographers claim to be making hundreds of Dollars a day mostly from subscription-based services and in the case of people pictures that's both possible and likely.

In fact I would advise any would be photographer to specialise in people photos to be really successful.

Microstock from the clients point of view is a great asset - especilally if the client is a media based organisation and uses hundreds of photos a week - or even per day in the case of TV.

To suceed in Microstock try to find yourself a niche subject area that no-one else is handling. Look though your own pictures and then go on to one of the major microstock companies and make an image search for those subjects.

Frankly the standards in many Microstock companies are currently very low and many companies are offering poor quality subjects that are not really good enough for commercial reproduction.
The alternative is to try your own online sales through a purpose built site - an example of this is my own site at http://www.digifotostock.com
This way you get all the download fees and set your own prices - and you can STILL offer pictures to Microstock companies too (on a non-exclusive basis)

Keyword your Pictures

Keywording is 50% of the answer to Microstock Success !

Why is Keywording so important ?
The answer is how people search for pictures.
Most search engines look for specific words and variants of those words - the actual word the customer is searching for is shown first and then variants and phrases containing those keywords.
The picture at the top of this lens is of the Great Wall of China - here are some of the relevant keywords for that picture :
China,Asia,Great Wall of China,Wall,building,barrier,tourism,Asia,Orient,Oriental,Fortress,Empire,Mongol,Mongol Hordes,Civilization,Architecture,Empire,Tourists,Beijing,wall,stone

Well you probably get the idea - but most stock photographers just put a simple caption and if the client doesn't type that caption into the search then the picture isn't shown ! (even though it might be the best picture ...)

There are keywording programs available - and keywording services in India and the Orient that are very reasonably priced -Keywording services
http://www.keywording.com
http://www.abouttheimage.com
http://www.a2zkeywording.com
http://www.jaincotech.com
http://www.keywordcompiler.com
http://www.keedup.com
http://www.africamediaonline.com
http://www.keywordingindia.com
http://www.onasiadigital.com
http://www.careydam.com
http://www.adnetinfosystems.com/
http://www.keywords-to-go.com/
http://www.keywordcompiler.com/

Keyword Compiler have a software program that will do keywording for you.
At $29 for a single user it's a bargain - that's less than the cost of putting out 50
images for keywording ...

Here are some ground rules for getting photos keyworded -
Never send money in advance (unless its by Paypal)
Send pictures on a cd or dvd - NEVER ORIGINAL transparencies !
Only send a sample selection first (20 pictures or so) to see how good a job they do.
Make sure you get your cd/dvd back..
I would be wary about using services in Korea as you may run into copyright problems.
Check Google and Ephotozine for opinions before you sign up with a keywording service.

Stock DVD Photography

Digital Photography Unleashed: Capturing Wildly Great Pictures

Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 07/26/2008)

Digital Sports Photography Made Simple

Amazon Price: $30.00 (as of 07/26/2008)

Digital Photography DVD

Amazon Price: $59.95 (as of 07/26/2008)

Pro Photo Techniques Complete Boxed Set

Amazon Price: $55.99 (as of 07/26/2008)

Digital Photography: Crafting Images

Amazon Price: (as of 07/26/2008)

Microstock information

Microstock photography, also known as micropayment photography, is an offshoot of traditional stock photography. What defines a company as a microstock photography company is that they (1) source their images almost exclusively via the Internet, (2) do so from a wider range of photographers than the traditional stock agencies (including a willingness to accept images from "amateurs" and hobbyists), and (3) sell their images at a very low rate (anywhere from $.20 - $10) for a royalty-free image.

A number of microstock sites also sell vector art, and some sell Flash animations and video, as well as images. Stephen Shankland, "With site revamp, Fotolia adds vector art", ZDNet News, June 1, 2007

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Great Stuff on CafePress

Postcards (Package of 8) horse Race

Beach Horse Race Southern Ireland

Price: 8.99

Tiger Cub Journal

Tiger Cub Journal makes this a Super Gift for anyone who likes Tigers

Price: 11.49

Las Vegas Aerial Photo Small Poster

Las Vegas Cowgirl

Price: 17.99

Las Vegas The Strip Greeting Cards (Package of

Las Vegas The Strip by Night

Price: 19.99

Cute Cocker Spaniels Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

Cocker Spaniel Greetings Card Saffi

Price: 19.99

Sell Photos on eBay - Stock Photos

Stock Photos on Ebay

Look at these and you'll see that you CAN sell pictures.
Hint - search on the concluded auctions too !
Microstock hasn't really made it to Ebay yet as current prices are a bit low for that to happen .. but regular stock still sells here If you have pictures at a Microstock agency check here to see if they are being pirated !

Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by

Make More Money from your website

You don't have to sell only Photography

An excellent revenue source is Widgetbucks.com
The make great Widgets specially for your website and you get paid well for real clients ..
Why not check it out - its easy to use - .

Your Microstock thoughts !

Suggestions and hints are most welcome.

For any Microstock information or query.
(You can even put your website link if you want ..)
No Flaming,Adults sites or other naughtiness though !

John

My site is called Cutcaster and you can find it at www.cutcaster.com. Cutcaster offers royalty free images, stock photos, stock footage and stock photography for advertising, publishing or web design. I'd love any feedback and users to tell me how we can improve the site to help them sell their photos.

Posted June 27, 2008

flowski

Selling your digital photography as microstock photos sounds like a nice way to make a little extra cash. I'll have to try it, thanks for all the great tips and info!

Posted December 04, 2007

fotos4web

I'm writing a book on Selling Microstock pictures - If you have any questions that you'd like answered about how to sell or distribute your work then I'd be happy to answer them - the best 30 Questions will get a FREE copy of the ebook when it's published .Email to microstock@fotos4web.com

Posted July 24, 2007

fotos4web

I sell Photos worldwide. Both as prints and as stock photos.
My website is at www.fotos4web.com
My Microstock site is www.digifotostock.com

Posted June 05, 2007

Photography Books on Ebay

Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by

Photographing flowers

Flower Photography Tutorial

Flower photography tutorial about how to great flower photos

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Stock Photography: The Complete Guide by Ann Purcell

This is slightly more towards editorial photograph more...0 points

Microstock Links

Microstock Libraries to buy or sell Microstock pictures.

Digifotostock: Travel,Historical ,Animals and background pictures for Microstock Clients. prices range from $1 for small Internet use up to $50 for wider ranging uses.
Microstock Stock Photo Library: Stock Photo library of over 3 million images. Ideal for the Creative Director or Art Director who needs Photos "On aBudget".
STOCKXPERT - Royalty free images by microstock: Royalty free images by microstock. ... Buggy in the Be .. microstock; S M L XL; 0; 0.00; 0 ... Looking Down th .. microstock; S M L XL; 3; 0.00; 0 ...
Corbis to take 'microstock' plunge | CNET News.com: Corbis to take 'microstock' plunge | Established stock photography seller will take on a host of smaller rivals--and one bigger one--in the budding realm of ...
Top Microstock Sites: Whether you're a designer, photographer, illustrator or flash guru, the new emergence of microstock agencies is rapidly bringing creative media to the ...
Stock News: Misunderstanding Microstock blog post » LuckyOliver: 15 comments on this blog post. The LuckyOliver blog is focused on helping our Carnies and Olivers learn more about stock photography, illustration, ...
What A Dollar Can Buy In Stock Photography: Micro stock customers have raised the obvious concerns of how they can be ... Other micro stock sites conduct similar checks, and say they have teams of ...
Flickr: Discussing Online MICRO stock sites.....for selling your ...: They are more "forgiving" of minor flaws than the two bigger micro stock houses listed earlier in this thread....but they also don't have much business yet. ...
Illustrations/Clip-Art Stock Photos : Shutterstock Stock Photography: Shutterstock provides royalty free images, stock photos, and stock photography for print ... Shutterstock® is a registered trademark of Shutterstock, Inc. ...
Royalty Free Photos, Download Stock Photos and Images stock photo ...: Cheap stock photo download royalty free - high quality images for just $1 - $2 each. Royalty free stock photos, low cost, available for purchase and ...
Photodoto » Blog Archive » Stock Photo Superseller!: Those of you who are interested in stock photography might want to read more about Lise Gagne, a freelancer who recently set a new record for stock ...
Digi-Foto-Stock | Affordable Stock Photos from digifotostock Stock ...: Stock Photos of Travel,Historical and general subjects at very affordable prices.
Fotos4web: This is my own site with galleries of my stock and historical pictures.
I'm happy to add other photographers galleries and links right here - but no adult material thanks - it *will* be deleted.

Blog Posts from Google

Microstock Music ---StockAudioCommunity: What Company Is Offering: Microstock Music is a concept rooted in the photography industry. What def...
November Statistics: Statistics for November. 19. 12. 110. 200. 5000. 48. 3150. 4000. Any guesses on what each stat goes...
Gold at iStockphoto: I registered there in April 2005, so it took me two years and three months - which is relatively slo...
Can a Little Maintenance Increase your Microstock Earnings?: If, like me, you've assumed you can just upload and forget your microstock photos, you may be miss...

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How can I sell Microstock Pictures

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