If you talk with a lot of photographers about where to sell photography the standard reply is usually going to be "go with one of the Microstock libraries". However , if you're serious about selling photographs online, you will usually find the best returns are made when you stop following the masses and think beyond the curve.
The demand for photo stock images has increased substantially in during the last 20 years, beginning with the appearance of desktop publishing and more recently with web publishing. These days nearly every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
It's no surprise then that a number of budget-priced stock libraries "the Microstocks "have appeared to cater to those markets with vast image collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy images of any conceivable subject for a dollar or less, with most Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the advances in digital photography, nearly any photographer with the most fundamental talents and consumer equipment can supply images to the Microstocks. And for good or bad, there's plenty of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For a bit there were a lot of photographers swearing there was big money to be made giving their images away for less than a dollar, 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 am sure there are some doing quite well with Microstock, but you can be sure they're highly accomplished photographers with giant image collections, who are consistently creating unique and new material. They're putting real effort and time into researching their markets, and they are probably investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the most part, the concept of any photographer just submitting thousands of average pictures to a Microstock library and making big money are well past.
Another major difficulty that is appeared recently with the Microstock libraries is, as quickly as a good photographer does come up with a stock photograph concept or idea that sells well, it gets copied by hundreds of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves encourage this, publishing live statistics of images that are presently being downloaded the most, so the less creative photographer can just throw together a copy, upload it and benefit from the other photographer's effort.
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 question has to be asked: if you've got to put that sort of effort and time and money into making new stock images, does it actually seem clever to toss them away for a dollar each?
Wouldn't it make more sense to sell stock photographs where you face less competition and you actually get paid a fair and reasonable price, each time somebody uses your image?
Plenty of photographers are starting to think so, and more and more, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer's 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a specific use for a specific period. The buyers pay only for the rights they need , so it's a better deal for them, and a superior deal for the photographers. Rather than making 50 cents or less for someone using your image, you can make $100-$200 or more. Sometimes a whole 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're serious about selling photographs online, you really need to choose what kind of photography business you need.
One where you struggle with countless other photographers to mass produce photographs for a market that expects to own your photographs for a couple of bucks each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your talents and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality photographs that truly 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 photo stock images has increased substantially in during the last 20 years, beginning with the appearance of desktop publishing and more recently with web publishing. These days nearly every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
It's no surprise then that a number of budget-priced stock libraries "the Microstocks "have appeared to cater to those markets with vast image collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy images of any conceivable subject for a dollar or less, with most Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the advances in digital photography, nearly any photographer with the most fundamental talents and consumer equipment can supply images to the Microstocks. And for good or bad, there's plenty of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For a bit there were a lot of photographers swearing there was big money to be made giving their images away for less than a dollar, 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 am sure there are some doing quite well with Microstock, but you can be sure they're highly accomplished photographers with giant image collections, who are consistently creating unique and new material. They're putting real effort and time into researching their markets, and they are probably investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the most part, the concept of any photographer just submitting thousands of average pictures to a Microstock library and making big money are well past.
Another major difficulty that is appeared recently with the Microstock libraries is, as quickly as a good photographer does come up with a stock photograph concept or idea that sells well, it gets copied by hundreds of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves encourage this, publishing live statistics of images that are presently being downloaded the most, so the less creative photographer can just throw together a copy, upload it and benefit from the other photographer's effort.
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 question has to be asked: if you've got to put that sort of effort and time and money into making new stock images, does it actually seem clever to toss them away for a dollar each?
Wouldn't it make more sense to sell stock photographs where you face less competition and you actually get paid a fair and reasonable price, each time somebody uses your image?
Plenty of photographers are starting to think so, and more and more, when people ask where to sell photography online, the answer's 'find a rights managed library'.
With rights managed you license the image for a specific use for a specific period. The buyers pay only for the rights they need , so it's a better deal for them, and a superior deal for the photographers. Rather than making 50 cents or less for someone using your image, you can make $100-$200 or more. Sometimes a whole 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're serious about selling photographs online, you really need to choose what kind of photography business you need.
One where you struggle with countless other photographers to mass produce photographs for a market that expects to own your photographs for a couple of bucks each?
Or one that caters to a market that values your talents and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality photographs that truly 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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