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 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.
Not surprisingly a host of super-cheap stock libraries "the Microstocks "have sprung up to serve those markets with massive picture collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy photos of every possible subject for a buck or less, with many 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 rather well with Microstock, but you can be sure they're all proficient photographers with massive image collections, who are constantly creating fresh and new material. They're putting real effort and time into researching their markets, and they are likely 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 big problem that is appeared in recent years with the Microstock libraries is, as fast as somebody does come up with a stock photograph concept or idea that really sells well, it gets copied by tons of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves encourage this, publishing live tallies of photographs that are being downloaded the most, so the uninspired photographer can just throw together a quick copy, upload it and cash in on the other photographer's hard work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some untouched market, then put in the time and effort to produce high quality original commercial content, likelihood is that you won't have the niche to yourself for long. If it is working, it will 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?
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 period of time. The photo buyers pay just for the rights they require 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 might make $100-$200 or more. Often lots 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 sort of photography business you want.
One where you compete with millions of other photographers to mass produce pictures for a market that expects to buy your photos for a couple of dollars 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 photo sales are going to go to the smart photographers who research their markets and create high 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.
Not surprisingly a host of super-cheap stock libraries "the Microstocks "have sprung up to serve those markets with massive picture collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy photos of every possible subject for a buck or less, with many 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 rather well with Microstock, but you can be sure they're all proficient photographers with massive image collections, who are constantly creating fresh and new material. They're putting real effort and time into researching their markets, and they are likely 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 big problem that is appeared in recent years with the Microstock libraries is, as fast as somebody does come up with a stock photograph concept or idea that really sells well, it gets copied by tons of other Microstock photographers. The libraries themselves encourage this, publishing live tallies of photographs that are being downloaded the most, so the uninspired photographer can just throw together a quick copy, upload it and cash in on the other photographer's hard work.
So even if you do the hard-yards and find some untouched market, then put in the time and effort to produce high quality original commercial content, likelihood is that you won't have the niche to yourself for long. If it is working, it will 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?
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 period of time. The photo buyers pay just for the rights they require 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 might make $100-$200 or more. Often lots 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 sort of photography business you want.
One where you compete with millions of other photographers to mass produce pictures for a market that expects to buy your photos for a couple of dollars 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 photo sales are going to go to the smart photographers who research their markets and create high 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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