If you talk to anybody about where to sell photography the standard answer is probably going to be "go with one of the Microstock libraries". However , if you're serious about selling your photography online, you'll often find the serious profits are made when you stop following the crowd and think out of the box.
The demand for stock images has increased phenomenally in over the past 20 years, beginning with the arrival of desktop publishing and more recently with net publishing. These days pretty much every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a large number of budget stock libraries "the Microstocks "have popped up to deal with those markets with gigantic photography collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy pictures of every imaginable subject for a couple of dollars or less, with the Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For some time there were lots of photographers swearing there was serious coin to be made giving their pictures away for less than a greenback, but nowadays they have gone a bit quiet.
It seems we might have come the full circle and the competition for sales has reached a level that makes it tough for the average photographer to generate consistent returns with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long past.
Another major drawback that's emerged lately with the Microstock libraries is, as soon as someone does come up with a stock photo idea or idea that actually sells well, it gets copied by lots of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves facilitate this, publishing live lists of photos which are currently being downloaded the most, so that the lazy photographer can just throw together a fast copy, upload it and exploit the other photographer's work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some lucrative new market, then put in the effort and time to capture top quality original commercial content, chances are that you will not have the niche to yourself for long. If it's working, it is going to be copied
So the big question needs to be asked: if you have to put that kind of time and effort and cash into creating new stock pictures, does it really make sense to give them away for a buck each?
Would it not make a lot more sense to sell stock images where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photo?
More and more photographers are beginning to think so, and more often than not, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer is 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a particular use for a specified time period. The publishers only pay for the rights they want so it's a better deal for them, and a better deal for the photographers. Instead of making 50 cents or less for somebody using your image, you make $100-$200 or more. Often a lot more!
Since you are controlling the usage as well as the sales, you can offer the high-end buyers a history of the image, and offer those who need it, first rights, exclusive use, and all of the assurances the big budget users need for the best paying licenses.
So if you really are serious about selling photographs online, you actually need to decide what type of photography business you would like.
One where you battle with thousands of other photographers to mass produce images for a market that expects to purchase your images for a few bucks each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your skills and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality images that actually talk to their audience?
Either way, the business has changed and the stock photograph sales are going to go to the streetwise photographers who research their markets and create top quality original material.
So in the final analysis, isn't it just a question of choosing what you want to be paid for it?
The demand for stock images has increased phenomenally in over the past 20 years, beginning with the arrival of desktop publishing and more recently with net publishing. These days pretty much every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a large number of budget stock libraries "the Microstocks "have popped up to deal with those markets with gigantic photography collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy pictures of every imaginable subject for a couple of dollars or less, with the Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For some time there were lots of photographers swearing there was serious coin to be made giving their pictures away for less than a greenback, but nowadays they have gone a bit quiet.
It seems we might have come the full circle and the competition for sales has reached a level that makes it tough for the average photographer to generate consistent returns with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long past.
Another major drawback that's emerged lately with the Microstock libraries is, as soon as someone does come up with a stock photo idea or idea that actually sells well, it gets copied by lots of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves facilitate this, publishing live lists of photos which are currently being downloaded the most, so that the lazy photographer can just throw together a fast copy, upload it and exploit the other photographer's work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some lucrative new market, then put in the effort and time to capture top quality original commercial content, chances are that you will not have the niche to yourself for long. If it's working, it is going to be copied
So the big question needs to be asked: if you have to put that kind of time and effort and cash into creating new stock pictures, does it really make sense to give them away for a buck each?
Would it not make a lot more sense to sell stock images where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photo?
More and more photographers are beginning to think so, and more often than not, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer is 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a particular use for a specified time period. The publishers only pay for the rights they want so it's a better deal for them, and a better deal for the photographers. Instead of making 50 cents or less for somebody using your image, you make $100-$200 or more. Often a lot more!
Since you are controlling the usage as well as the sales, you can offer the high-end buyers a history of the image, and offer those who need it, first rights, exclusive use, and all of the assurances the big budget users need for the best paying licenses.
So if you really are serious about selling photographs online, you actually need to decide what type of photography business you would like.
One where you battle with thousands of other photographers to mass produce images for a market that expects to purchase your images for a few bucks each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your skills and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality images that actually talk to their audience?
Either way, the business has changed and the stock photograph sales are going to go to the streetwise photographers who research their markets and create top quality original material.
So in the final analysis, isn't it just a question of choosing what you want to be paid for it?
About the Author:
Matt Brading contributes articles on how to market photography to GlobalEye Photo Stock Agency. If you're looking where to sell photography, Matt recommends the co-operative approach of GlobalEye, where like-minded photographers have been working together to increase exposure, reduce costs and sell stock photos since 1998.
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