selling stock photography

[clairet]

I am a photographer currently setting up my own small business in portraits and wedding photography whilst still working part time at a local newspaper as a photographic scanner.
To boost my income in my own business I was wondering how I could go about selling stock photography.
Has anyone else out there earnt a few extra pennies by doing this?
Who did you sell to?
I've done a search on google and the results are not promising as you have to pay the websites an awful lot in commission.
I would be grateful of anyone knows of a reputable company.

 

[Harpper]

I've done a search on google and the results are not promising as you have to pay the websites an awful lot in commission.

Yeah, I hear you. Places like istockphoto.com and other internet sites take something like over 50% and istockphoto takes 90% commission. Basically the photographer does all the work and they get most of the money.

I don't know about any specific companies but I did happen to read a classified employment ad about a local stock photography company needing an assistant. The position was quickly filled but from reading their website they are always looking for new stock photographers. Try looking in your local yellow pages and contacting those type of companies for work.

 

[jack]

hiya

clairet (OT) can you add some insight into the Time, AP, Reuters
thread which is generally about procedure detail, for submitting freelance press-photos to papers ?


general ideas...
maybe, choose either to concentrate on Cardiff stock-photography
(shopping-centres, public-transport, business-parks, community, culture,
infrastructure - energy, new development),
or... instead, focus on Snowdownia / Aberystwyth and the tourist / seaside, mountains imagery for the leisure industry. (the landscape choice i'd choose second from a commercially POV, as it involves travel and time and lots of that stock-photography exists already (mountains dont change much :0)

then i'd maybe, attempt to sell these to Welsh/UK marketing agencies and graphics bureaus involved with that regions business campaigns.

many marketing agencies that purchase stock-images , use them a lot
for mock-ups.


im not sure how much of a market is really acheivable or a small-operator
(speaking personally) with 'stock-photography'. i can imagine
big image libraries with wide exposure can make a living selling pics of beautiful business people talking into cell-phones and laptops, happy family units, snowboarders and people shaking hands but ... for the rest,
i think its better to speak with local marketing agencies and see what
things they need often and base your wares around that.


:0) whadya reckon ?

I am a photographer currently setting up my own small business in portraits and wedding photography whilst still working part time at a local newspaper as a photographic scanner.
To boost my income in my own business I was wondering how I could go about selling stock photography.
Has anyone else out there earnt a few extra pennies by doing this?
Who did you sell to?
I've done a search on google and the results are not promising as you have to pay the websites an awful lot in commission.
I would be grateful of anyone knows of a reputable company.

 

[metroshane]

50% is pretty standard take for stock photo agencies. Believe me, taking pics is much easier than selling them. Don't be so naive to think you are doing all the work. Besides, I'd rather have 50% of something than 100% of nothin'.

 

[Harpper]

50% is pretty standard take for stock photo agencies. Believe me, taking pics is much easier than selling them. Don't be so naive to think you are doing all the work. Besides, I'd rather have 50% of something than 100% of nothin'.

After re-reading my last post I don't know why I said "all the work" because I don't doubt selling pictures requires a lot of effort. It's most likely because I wrote the above post after getting a price shock from seeing istockphoto's commission percentage and it looks like I vented a little. Anyway, I wouldn't mind if it were closer to 50%. What I meant was when it goes way over 50% such as in the 70% and over territory. Although then again I don't make a living taking pictures so I can stick to my principles.