Anyone uploading to stock sites?

[Richard Hutchings]

I just started doing it, I don't know what the rules are about posting site names so I won't. I take a lot of pics and they mostly remain in storage which bugs the heck out of me. Go through all the effort to get a cool shot and spend some time editing only for it never to be heard from again. Not that it isn't fun to do!

 

[Derrel]

I just started doing it, I don't know what the rules are about posting site names so I won't. I take a lot of pics and they mostly remain in storage which bugs the heck out of me. Go through all the effort to get a cool shot and spend some time editing only for it never to be heard from again. Not that it isn't fun to do!

The stock photo biz has CHANGED for the worse for photographers over the last 15-20 years.License fees have dropped well below what they USED to be. It is no longer a lucrative specialty for MOST photographers..

 

[GANGGREEN]

Yeah, what Derrel said. I started with one of them about 5 or 6 years ago and immediately made a couple of really nice sales. For someone who considers himself very much a hobby guy, that felt nice. Over the last couple of years, I haven't made any of those nice sales and the average sale is a little bit of nothing. I'm past the point of simply being impressed that I sold a photo, regardless of the price, and if I had to do it over again now, I probably wouldn't waste the time. Now, that said, there are those who probably still make a decent living at it, but they're far beyond my abilities and have far more time on their hands to mess around with the business end of photography.

 

[Richard Hutchings]

I'm not hoping to make a living off it, just a little supplemental income as I near retirement and fixed income. If I make enough to go out to dinner once a month that would be great in my book.

 

[Derrel]

"If I make enough to go out to dinner once a month that would be great in my book."

That is what? $30-$40 a month? Even that lowly goal will, statistically, be hard to achieve.

 

[JBPhotog]

Especially when stock agencies are up against free, royalty free images from companies like Unsplash. Stock agencies have devolved to treating photography as a commodity race to the bottom, enjoy the ride if you don't value your time or craft IMO.

 

[Richard Hutchings]

"If I make enough to go out to dinner once a month that would be great in my book."

That is what? $30-$40 a month? Even that lowly goal will, statistically, be hard to achieve.

If that's going to be difficult than it's definitely not worth it.

Especially when stock agencies are up against free, royalty free images from companies like Unsplash. Stock agencies have devolved to treating photography as a commodity race to the bottom, enjoy the ride if you don't value your time or craft IMO.

I've done some reading on the subject and one guy says he's making $700 per month with something like 20k photos uploaded. If there's any truth in that then I should at least give it a try although I've already spent too much time uploading photos only to get a handful approved. Only 19,996 more to go! What???

 

[Derrel]

Well...get busy uploading those remaining 19,996 photos...

From 2011..almost a decade ago..
How Much Money Can You Earn In Stock Photography?

I think the market for stock images has grown worse since then, with more and more Royalty Free collections available now..

 

[Richard Hutchings]

I wonder how old the article was that I read. Sounds like I'm wasting my time.

 

[Derrel]

I wonder how old the article was that I read. Sounds like I'm wasting my time.

Times do change.. back in the 1990s, I had a friend who regularly licensed bird/travel photos for single use, in mostly small-to-medium size magazines, at $150 per image.. Now, with magazines so much reduced, and with so,so many things shifted to the web, 29 to 45 CENTS per image has replaced the $75-$150 image licensing fees from the 1990s... it is the way of the world...

Check out this site! Stock images for as little as 19 cents per image!
Stock Photos, Vectors and Royalty Free Images from 123RF

 

[smoke665]

Sadly the more I looked at it, the more I realized what the others have said above is the truth.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Wow. I think this should be eye-opening to those dreaming of making a living from photography. Glad I only aspire to being a hobbyist

 

[Derrel]

Sadly the more I looked at it, the more I realized what the others have said above is the truth.

It is no longer 1979 or 1985. The days of knowing "how to use a camera to make quick, easy, easy money", are long-gone. Images are now eight for a dollar.

 

[texxter]

I have done quite a bit of stock photography, and I can tell you, the business is near dead. I had months of $1,000+ using only Getty/iStock, but now it's more like $170 if I am lucky. It's a good feeling to see you work on the cover of a magazine, a book or even a big billboard, but that requires a lot of effort shooting, editing, uploading, and... yes, getting quite a few rejections for little things. I stopped contributing a while ago because it's really not worth my time.

 

[Soocom1]

I refused to even try, even when the internet was still a lovable little tot and not the destructive counter-culture revolutionary teen it has become.

Internet companies allow "free" hosting to take the photos for their own use.
They junk 99% of them and let them stay on servers until dumped.
but the real eye-catchers get a few cents worth and they take the money from the sales and modifications of what you created.
Perfect capitalism.
Low resource, high end sales.

but because of this "intellectual and creative black hole" this means that in time the pendulum will swing the other way and when folks decide they are tired of the "twinkee version" of photography, and they want a quality copy, you may some a small resurgence in the art form.

Dont discount this, historically this is perfectly normal.

We just have to ride out the storm.