Question about other sites

[eccs19]

Just wondering if anyone uses sites like istockphoto to sell their items. I know the professionals on here probably don't, but I'm more thinking of the hobbiest. Is it worthwhile, and are some sites better than others? What are the pros and cons about doing something like that?

 

[joethedestroyer]

it can be a small nuisance posting items you need permission for (models, landmarks, etc), but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward process. I'd say the only con is that there is so much other stuff on there that it's less likely that someone will see or download your work, but I've only posted vector illustrations, as I'm just getting into this photography hobby.

 

[Crimsonandwhite]

Joe: Can you make me a boxing silouette? I have searched everywhere and the only one I found looks like crap when I ramp it up to 300dpi for printing.

Here is the t-shirt I am designing for my local boxing gym (at no cost) but as you can probably already tell the vector of the silouette isnt very smooth.

 

[joethedestroyer]

I'm away from my tablet at the moment, but I can try later this week.

 

[Copacetic]

I use Dreamstime a bit (read, very few images get posted there) and it seems to be a decent, but not hugely successful seller. Out of a whopping seven images I have up, I've got six downloads of one and one of another. That amounts to a total of $3.70 for me, or about $1 a month. However, the quality of my images probably have far more to do with that, so don't be put off just yet.

I read somewhere, can't remember where, a very good piece of advice on the subject of stock photography. Submit your good, but never your best. Save your best for other venues, prints, etc. where you can make more per copy.

I'd recommend doing a little research and submitting your photos to 4-6 of the smaller micro-stock sites, along with one or two of the bigger guys, like iStockPhoto.