Microstock Photography

Microstock photography is an offshoot of the traditional stock photography industry. These smaller companies have opened up the stock photography market to individuals and small businesses. They have also made it easier for photographers to sell stock images.

Before the invention of microstock, a few stock photography companies ruled the market. These companies were very large and carried thousands upon thousands of images. The problem with these companies was that the fees for the photographs were usually too hefty for an individual or even a small business to afford. The other problem was that the companies had a very limited group of photographers they used. It was quite difficult for new photographers to get into the stock photography business.

One of the first microstock photography companies to enter the market was iStockphoto. iStock had great success selling stock pictures for less money than average stock companies. Making their photos only available online was one way they were able to cut costs. They also allowed new professional photographers and even serious hobbists to summit photos to be sold on the site. Their library grew and grew and other companies started using the same model.

Here's what you'll need to do to start selling your pictures on a microstock photography site.

Equipment

You'll need a good DSLR camera with at least 8 megapixels. Microstock sites used to be less strict about image quality when they first started out, but now that these companies have grown, they've developed stricter requirements. Your camera needs to be able to take high quality photos that look great at larger sizes.

Technique

You'll have to have good photography skills to get your pictures on a microstock site in the first place. Look at the pictures on the sites you're interested in using. What types of pictures sell well? Are you able to take pictures at that skill level? Are you interested in taking pictures of those subjects?

When you take pictures to be sold on a site make sure that you do your best to take them right the first time. Get your camera settings and lighting correct from the start. Sure, you can fix the picture up in your editing software after the fact, but the closer you get to getting the picture right the more time you'll save. If you want to make money with microstock you'll have to produce a large quantity of excellent images for your portfolio. The more images you have to more you'll be able to make. Spending large blocks of time editing photos will cut your productivity greatly.

What to Photography

Corporate focused pictures do very well on stock sites, but now there are millions of the same types of pictures to choose from. You probably don't want to bother putting another picture of two men in suits shaking hands up on a site. There are already thousands of those pictures for business people to chose from.

Think of ideas that you can photograph that put a new spin on business themes. What types of concepts might a business owner want to portray that you can photograph? These concepts can be quite abstract. Last month this was the most popular photo selling on iStock.

This picture is not the corporate picture you think of when you think of stock photography, but this picture can portray a number of concepts a company might want to get across to potential customers.

Seasonal and holiday photography also do quite well on these microstock sites.

There are pictures that microstock photography sites have too many of already and ask you not to submit. Don't summit pictures of sunsets, flowers or your pets.

Apply

Read the photographer's guidelines for each site you want to apply to carefully. Be sure when you summit pictures to do it right. If you don't follow their instructions your photos won't be accepted.

If you've taken pictures of people you'll need to send them copies of signed model release forms with the pictures.

There was a time when getting started with these companies was very easy. Now competition is fierce and it's a bit harder to get your foot in the door. That's why your pictures have to be the best you can make them and you must make sure you follow their guidelines carefully. The standards are continually getting higher. Does that mean you should give up before you even start trying? Heavens, no. There will always be room in the microstock industry for good photographers who want to succeed.

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