Stock Photos?

[feRRari4756]

Hey guys I got a few questions regardding stock photos online.
I am kinda interested into uploading pics for sale on istock

Here are my questions:

1) what are stock photos composed of? Like what are stock photos supposed to be like?

2) Is there really that big of a "market" for them? Say if i have 20 up on istock, how long do you think itll take for me to sell my first pic?

3) What aer some example subjects that I should look out for to take pictures of?

4) Why do they say DO NOT sharpen images you plan to upload to sell for stock?

Thanks! Any other info you could give me about stock photos would be great!

 

[chrisburke]

a friend of mine sells stock photos all the time. but he said the only way to make money at it, is to put a lot of time into it, and take a lot of photos.. you wont make any money with 20 photos.... he shoots in his studio every night for about 5 hours, taking pictures of "common things" and he has hundreds maybe even thousands of photos on his istock profile... he makes around $500/month with stock photos, but he puts a LOT of time into it, and he is an amazing photographer, and an even better photoshop(ist)... its not the type of thing where you can just slap pictures online for either, you have to apply to be an istock seller...

 

[feRRari4756]

thanks for the info! yeah i already applied.

 

[chrisburke]

thanks for the info! yeah i already applied.

can we see the 3 application images?

 

[Dionysus]

lol i got rejected based on my 3 photos i uploaded, i was told to try again a few days later, but i havent had time yet. i have no idea what kind of images to upload to them, or the type of photos that would get me through.

 

[chrisburke]

lol i got rejected based on my 3 photos i uploaded, i was told to try again a few days later, but i havent had time yet. i have no idea what kind of images to upload to them, or the type of photos that would get me through.

can you post the ones you submitted, then maybe we can give you ideas

 

[feRRari4756]

Ohh i didnt know they could reject you. I am in the process of applying is what i meant.

I am up to the stage when i passed the quiz and now i just need to send a pic of my ID

but could you guys help me out and decide which three pics i should send to them based on my flicrk account.

here is the link:

Flickr: Ferrari4756's Photostream

Im thinking this one:

this one:

and this one:

 

[Dionysus]

i dont mean to hijack the thread, so if you have a problem w/ it Ferrari, just let me know..but I'm just trying to consolidate the questions into this thread.

But anyway, I forgot which 3 I sent them. But if you have some time, and feel up to viewing my gallery, maybe people can help me pick 3 that would be good application photos. To me, it doesnt seem like I have many stock photo type photos, but I could be wrong, as I've never done this before.

My gallery: sideways-8's deviantART gallery

 

[feRRari4756]

^Thats not a problem if they also look through my account (flickr link posted above) and suggest which ones i use too, lol.

 

[chrisburke]

i dont mean to sound rude, but if you guys cant pick which photos can be used as stock photo, you dont have any place doing stock photos... stock photos are about knowing what kinds of things people are looking for photos of.. and saying "tell me which ones to use" tells me that you dont have that ability... these photos are my friends.. but just to give you an idea of what kind of things he sells in stock..

just to give you an idea....

stock photography isnt about "hey i took a cool image, now i can use it as a stock photo.." its more about making an effort and saying "ok, i'm going to shoot photos for stock now.. my buddy jeff (owner of the above pics) has a studio set up SPECIFICALLY for stock photos.. and as i said, he takes the time to take photos FOR STOCK, not just by fluke...

 

[feRRari4756]

i dont mean to sound rude, but if you guys cant pick which photos can be used as stock photo, you dont have any place doing stock photos... stock photos are about knowing what kinds of things people are looking for photos of.. and saying "tell me which ones to use" tells me that you dont have that ability... these photos are my friends.. but just to give you an idea of what kind of things he sells in stock..

just to give you an idea....

stock photography isnt about "hey i took a cool image, now i can use it as a stock photo.." its more about making an effort and saying "ok, i'm going to shoot photos for stock now.. my buddy jeff (owner of the above pics) has a studio set up SPECIFICALLY for stock photos.. and as i said, he takes the time to take photos FOR STOCK, not just by fluke...

I understand what your saying, but since were NEW to stock photos, we would like some help GETTING STARTED, as anyone else would. and once we get the hang of it and the "eye" for it, we can do it like second nature..

 

[davebmck]

I'm curious to know how much you get for a stock photo. Does it vary by site and by how recognized you are as a photographer?

 

[Dionysus]

ok so no one can ever be new to something and just need initial examples to get the ball rolling? seeing those images now tells me what kind of pictures to start taking. thanks for the help, but if you didnt mean to be rude, you wouldn't have phrased things that way.

you alright chris? when i first started posting here, you seemed like a really cool, patient guy...now you seem really abrupt and more apt to be rude in posts than before.

 

[chrisburke]

you alright chris? when i first started posting here, you seemed like a really cool, patient guy...now you seem really abrupt and more apt to be rude in posts than before.

I didn't really think that post was overly rude... i said I dont mean to be rude, because sometimes people can read into things.. I was just trying to be helpful.. the purpose of that post did exactly what you said

seeing those images now tells me what kind of pictures to start taking. thanks for the help,

I guess the thing that irks me sometimes is that people get a fancy camera, and want to jump into the "professional world" but they want things handed to them...(much like some of the wedding posts where people say "what settings should I use")

as I said previously, the key to stock photos is knowing what people want pictures of... and asking me to search through your pictures tells me that you don't... maybe you should do a little more research on stock photos before jumping in...

i'm not saying this to be rude.. I just think that people think professional photography is about having a nice camera, when its not, its about knowing what your doing with that fancy camera, and knowing your clients..

sorry if i have scewed your perception of me.. i'm just saying it how it is..