Breaking into Stock Photography
By Emily Price
Stock photography is quickly becoming a way for photographers on both an amateur and professional level to make some extra cash with their images. While some stock photographers take stock photos exclusively for a living, many others simply upload their pictures to stock sites to make a few extra dollars each month. If you’re interested in trying your hand at stock photography here are a few sites worth trying out.
Shutterstock pays users $.25 per every download of their photographs. Their customers subscribe to their service on a monthly basis, giving them 750 downloads a piece. Once your earnings from the service clear $500 then they start paying you $.30 per download. Photographers can also earn 20% off subscription buyers they bring to the service.
iStock Photo pays contributors a 20% royalty for each of their photos that are downloaded with a 40% royalty for exclusive contributions. A non-exclusive contribution will make somewhere between $1 for a download of a small image to $6 for a download of an extra extra large resolution image. iStock Photo has a $100 payment threshold, so you’ll have to see quite a few photos before you can actually get paid. Once you reach the threshold they pay in check, PayPal, and by direct deposit.
DreamsTime gives photographers 50 percent of the sale of their photograph, with exclusive images receiving a 60 percent royalty and an additional $.20 per accepted image. Once an image has been downloaded 10 time it starts selling for a higher price, the price goes up again after 100 downloads. Non-Exclusive pictures can earn anywhere from $.50 to$7 per download, and Exclusive photos can earn between $.60 and $8.40 per download. Like iStockPhoto, photographers must reach $100 in their account in order to be paid. Payments can be sent via check, paypal, or Moneybookers.
Do any of you sell your pictures to stock sites? What are your favorites?
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