Earning money from photography: 15 directions

Nowadays, no one will be surprised by the good quality of pictures. Modern digital photographic equipment has become accessible to any consumer. And with it came the opportunity to replenish your wallet - making money on photo stocks. Only relative liability can bring from 500 to 1000 dollars per month.

Amateur photographers doubt the real realization of their creativity, which can become a source of income. Although in today's market, non-professional work is highly valued. Unlike staged ones, they are lively and emotional.

It is important to know which photo stock platforms and in which direction to start your career.

Amateur photos can become top ones

What is “photostock”

Photostock is an online platform where a large volume of photographs, vector images, videos, music files, and 3D graphics are stored, which can be legally purchased for personal use.

For example, to design a veterinary clinic, you need photographs of animals. You can purchase them on photo stocks for a small fee.

To find out how this payment ends up in the author’s account, you need to understand the concepts of microstocks and photo banks.

In a technical sense (registration, downloading material, etc.) these platforms are no different. But there is a fundamental difference in the licensing issue. On photo stocks and microstocks, uploaded photos can be downloaded by users countless times. Moreover, each download brings the author from 25 cents to 1 dollar.

The photobank pays significantly more for the material, purchasing copyrights. Thus, this image can be sold only 1 time.

Types of purchased licenses on photo platforms:

Editorial – the material is used for informational purposes (low price);
Rights-Ready – indication of the purpose and project of use;
RoyaltyFree – the author himself limits the rights to exploit his material (implies inexpensive downloading);
ExtendedRoyaltyFree – the widest possible rights for commercial use (uploading a photo is several times more expensive);
RightManaged – the owner imposes a limit on competitors (costs hundreds of dollars);
Exclusive Buyout – exclusive rights (the author removes the material from all resources).

License for stock photos

When searching for works on the site, customers use sorting by popularity, size, orientation (portrait/landscape) and keywords. When uploading images, you need to consider the need for a relevant work title and description.

SKILLS AND RESOURCES BY TOPIC

No matter how cool a specialist you are, you cannot do everything at once, so depending on your specialization, certain microstocks and photo banks will suit you.

How to make money from photography

The easiest way to earn extra income is by selling photos. All photo banks and microstocks, except specialized ones, accept photographs for sale, although not all sell them equally well. Thematic and advertising photographs sell well. It’s important to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and think about how your work can be useful to them. If you can’t just put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, you can look at our “” section - these are the top sales of photo banks and, as a result, what you need to focus on. To sell photographs, you must register as an author on the following photo stocks:

Photo bank Shutterstock.com is the most profitable stock in the world. How to register. Instructions for beginners.
Photobank Dreamstime.com. How to register.
Photo bank BigStockPhoto.com. How to register.
Photobank DepositPhotos.com. How to register.
Photobank PhotoDune.net. How to register.
Photobank Fotolia.com How to register.
Photobank Pond5.com. How to register.
Photo bank CanStockPhoto.com How to register.
Photobank 123Rf.com. How to register.

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

How to make money as an illustrator and artist

If you are an illustrator or artist, then you can make money by selling vector or raster illustrations and drawings. Most photo banks also accept illustrations for sale, so the list of sites for selling illustrations approximately matches the photos. For those involved in vector graphics, you can sell both vector and rasterized versions at the same time. To sell illustrations or drawings you need to register here:

Photo bank Shutterstock.com is the most profitable stock in the world. How to register. Instructions for beginners.
Photobank Dreamstime.com. How to register.
Photo bank BigStockPhoto.com. How to register.
Photobank DepositPhotos.com. How to register.
Photobank GraphicRiver.net. How to register.
Photobank PhotoDune.net. How to register. (raster only)
Photobank Fotolia.com How to register.
Photobank Pond5.com. How to register.
Photo bank CanStockPhoto.com How to register. (raster only)
Photobank 123Rf.com. How to register.

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

How to make money as a 3D designer/visualizer

There are several opportunities for 3D graphics professionals to make money from their skills. You can sell the 3D models you create through 3D microstocks and sell visualizations, including object and interior (if the models are yours) as regular raster illustrations. Depending on the type, you will need to register.

For sale 3D models:

turbosquid.com. How to register.
3docean.net. How to register.
Photobank Pond5.com. How to register. (Sells both renderings and 3D)

For sale of 3D renderings (visualizations):

Photo bank Shutterstock.com is the most profitable stock in the world. How to register. Instructions for beginners.
Photobank Dreamstime.com. How to register.
Photo bank BigStockPhoto.com. How to register.
Photobank DepositPhotos.com. How to register.
Photobank GraphicRiver.net. How to register.
Photobank Fotolia.com How to register.
Photobank Pond5.com. How to register. (Sells both renderings and 3D)
Photo bank CanStockPhoto.com How to register.
Photobank 123Rf.com. How to register.

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

How to make money as a video designer/cameraman

If you know how to shoot videos or create computer animation, you have several opportunities for additional income. Classic photo banks only accept videos for sale, but there are also specialized sites where you can sell templates, screensavers, and even projects for After Effect. Depending on the type, you will need to register here.

For sale After Effect templates:

Photobank Pond5.com. How to register. (Sells both AE and videos)
VideoHive.net. How to register. (Sells both AE and videos)

To sell videos or footage:

Photo bank Shutterstock.com is the most profitable stock in the world. How to register. Instructions for beginners.
Photobank Dreamstime.com. How to register.
Videostock VideoHive.net. How to register. (Sells both AE and videos)
Photo bank BigStockPhoto.com. How to register.
Photobank DepositPhotos.com. How to register.
Photobank Fotolia.com How to register.
Microstock Pond5.com. How to register. (Sells both AE and videos)
Photobank 123Rf.com. How to register.

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

How to make money as a musician

If you are a musician and write small tracks, background music, or work in the “trailer music” genre, then there are also opportunities for you to earn extra money on microstocks. Music is in great demand, which can be used for video editing, voice acting, applications, presentations, and so on. You can sell music on the following sites:

Audiostock AudioJungle.net. How to register.
Photobank Shutterstock.com (music section). How to register. Instructions for beginners.
Microstock Pond5.com. How to register.

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

How to make money as a web programmer

If you are a PHP programmer or Java coder, you can create ready-made components and sell them through a specialized microstock. There are few such stocks, but they have good profitability. To sell your code online you will need to register here:

Microstock CodeCanyon.net. How to register.

How to make money as a web designer

There are several earning opportunities for web designers. First of all, this is drawing website layouts, but there is also the opportunity to make money on related services, for example, selling sets of icons for a website or ready-made templates for popular CMSs. You will need an account on these resources:

Web stock ThemeForest.net. How to register. (Templates and CMS templates)
Photobank GraphicRiver.net. How to register. (Any graphic web content)

You will find descriptions of all the sites mentioned below. These resources cover about 90% of the market. Registration in all guarantees you full presence throughout the world, except China.

Review of photo banks

The Internet space contains dozens of photo stocks and photo banks. The most popular and reliable photo banks for making money:

Fotolia (Russian interface) – the photographer’s income will depend on the rating indicator on the official website. Photographs are sold individually in the following proportions: 20-60% copyright, the rest goes to the site. Registration using a passport or other identity card, without an exam.
Dreamstime (English) – without a document or exam, loyalty to the quality of the material, acceptance of RAW and vector formats. If the client purchases them, the author is paid up to two times more than for photos in JPG format (the highest resolution).
Depositphotos (Russian) – passing the exam and having an identification document. There is a system of bonuses and promotions for authors, because... photo bank in the active process of promotion.

Shutterstock Official Website

You can also use the services of BigStockPhoto, CanStockPhoto, Crestock, Lori, Istockphoto.

What to arm yourself with and what you need to know?

Perhaps the attributes that we list will not surprise anyone, but it’s worth saying about it, since we promised to reveal all the secrets.

The first thing you need to buy is a camera that will help you take great, high-resolution photos. If we are talking about digital cameras, then the minimum threshold should start at 6 megapixels.
Secondly, this is a computer with a minimum set of programs that you need to learn how to work with, say Photoshop, to edit your pictures.
Internet. Access should be unlimited, because you will have to upload pictures to photo banks. And most likely there will be a lot of them

It would also be a wise decision to want to learn how to make vector images. Yes, you can live without it, but with a decent amount of knowledge, your chances of success increase tenfold.

How much can you earn from photo stocks?

The peculiarity of making money using photo stocks is that after working once to create a photo, the photo begins to work for its owner, bringing passive income.

For each image, several smaller sizes are generated. The cost of downloading also depends on the size.

The main interest in images arises in the first six months after they are posted on the site, but sales can continue further. The most popular ones are downloaded up to 15,000 times.

Individual vector elements are in demand, rather than complete compositions. They are used in filling websites, in printing, etc.

Raster graphic and traditional drawings (watercolor, pencil, etc.) are a separate topic for sales. The big minus is filling out special forms for property.

It is most profitable to sell work for commercial purposes for the production of mouse pads, postcards, calendars, etc.

The client pays the photo bank, and the photo creator receives a percentage for each download. It can be 30-70%.

As a beginner, you can earn up to $80-100 per month. When adding several thousand pictures to your portfolio – up to $500-600.

The main benefit is passive income for multiple downloads

Calculation for example. The portfolio contains 200 photographs. In 1 day, a quarter of them are downloaded from different sources - 50 images costing $0.25 each. Total $12.5 per day. Accordingly, per month – $375.

Advanced stockers create and promote their own websites for selling photos on the Internet without intermediaries.

What to look for when choosing works for sale

For an example of what is on sale and in demand, you can look at our “what others are selling” section. There are good examples from the “top photo banks” - i.e. exactly those works that are in maximum demand among buyers. You have come across many of them more than once on the Internet as illustrations for articles or websites. All of them are from photo banks.

Real examples of income from stocks

Let's name real examples:

Mikhail Popov. Registration on 4 stocks. The first year - $366 net income, for the second - over $2000. There are about 500 pictures in the arsenal.
Vitaly Shcherbinin. 8 stocks, with 2000 images each. In almost 2 years, my earnings amounted to $1255. The main profit comes from Shutterstock and Fotolia stock.
Steve Heap. First samples in 2008. In 2011 he published a book about interaction with a photo bank. Portfolio on Shutterstock. For 2020, the profit was $32,732.
Glen Nigel. Landscapes, architecture, animals are the main themes of his works. Income – $1000 per month.

Top photographers earn up to $1000 per month.

People as the main subject for photography

Looking at the list of infograms, it’s hard not to notice that photographing people is certainly profitable; this method provides an opportunity to earn good money. Why? It's simple. People will hire you to take photos for them.

So, if you want to make money with your camera, you should consider this type of photography (it's good to see that our list has a fair number of options suitable for photographers who want to take pictures of people).

What do you need to make money?

Minimum required:

SLR camera (interchangeable lens) or digital camera (minimum 6 mpx), you can use a mobile device with a high-quality camera, taking into account proper shooting;
high-speed Internet for downloading large photos;
registration on several portals (5-7);
Proficiency in Photoshop for photo processing, Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator for drawings.

A “cool” camera is not a prerequisite

Knowledge of English will make the task easier, or an online translator will help.

Aerial and drone photography

Aerial photography for topographic needs has been around for a very long time, but now the creation of photographs taken from high altitudes has reached a new level of quality. Thus, photography using aircraft – drones – has become available to a wide audience of photographers. Drones are produced by several companies, and they have different technical characteristics. For example, DJI Phantom series drones are very popular. Controlling these unmanned aerial vehicles does not require extensive training.

This direction of photographic art is now experiencing a period of improvement and flourishing. For less than $2,000 (which is about the price of a DSLR), you can create stunning aerial photos and videos.

This genre is becoming more and more popular every day not only among photographers, but also among customers, and its popularity is rapidly gaining momentum. For example, the American rock band OK Go recently released a funny video in which, among other things, they showed impressive video footage from a drone.

If you've always loved RC toys and photography, then there's nothing better for you than taking photos and videos from flying drones.

How to make money on photo banks - step-by-step instructions

Step-by-step instructions on the process of how to make money on photo banks and photo stocks will prompt further practical actions.

Selecting Photos

A good place to start is by studying stock reports, consumer demand, and keyword searches. You can start filling a niche that is in short supply, where there is little occupancy, but taking into account your creative range.

Rating topics:

healthy lifestyle/sports;
travel (architecture, sights);
holidays;
family;
relationships;
nutrition, diet;
profession;
business (office, office equipment, business negotiations, etc.);
individual objects on a plain or transparent background (stationery, food, medications, etc.).

Customers of an online platform buy a product for business, so they focus on the commercial significance of the material, and not on a complex artistic concept.

The main thing is commercial significance, and a simple artistic concept

Registration

Registration is actually an electronic conclusion of a contractual relationship between the user and the resource. It gives you the right to legally sell your product (photos, drawings, videos, music files, etc.). Data is entered in English.

Shutterstock requires linking documents during registration, the rest - upon the first withdrawal of funds.

For the identification process, a scanned image of the passport and, of course, the international passport are required. In some cases this may be a driver's license.

Uploading first photos

Image requirements:

allowed format;
consent of models for photographs with people (Model Release);
there should be no damage to the photo when increasing its size;
absence of glare, blur (allowed if the composition requires);
lighting must be of high quality (excessive overexposure and shadow);
absence of inscriptions and logos on the material (copyright).

There are certain requirements for downloading. It is necessary to indicate in English not only the name and category of the photo, but also to describe it (Description), as well as define keywords (Keywords), from 30 to 50 pieces. Keywords is the main parameter. The more photos there are, the higher the likelihood of being found in a search engine.

From the first photos there are certain requirements for uploading

Exam

The exam system exists only on Shutterstock (10 works) and Depositphotos (5). Photos must be of excellent quality (focus, lighting, exposure) with a variety of themes and subjects. Vector illustrations make it easier to pass control.

If 7 out of 10 Shutterstock exam papers are accepted, you will be registered with unlimited photo upload options. And the credited product is put up for sale. If only 6 are approved, the registration application is rejected.

Notification of acceptance or rejection with comments is sent to the specified email. Fresh or revised footage can be sent again after a month.

Portfolio preparation

For a permanent income, you need a portfolio with 100-200 works, which is updated regularly.

A RoyaltyFree license gives you the right to post identical works on multiple platforms. It is important to replenish your portfolio with 5-10 photographs daily.

Thus, earnings from photographs are real and depend on the regular filling of the portfolio and the number of partnerships with stocks.

The more photos in the portfolio, the better

Russian photo stocks

The best Russian photo stocks that will pay. You will learn about the costs and features of registration below.

If things don’t work out, you can always get 1,000 subscribers on Instagram and start making money.

Laurie

Domestic photo site. For one photo you can earn 45 - 3,600 rubles, and for a video - 175 - 4,500 rubles. The price of exclusive images that are not posted on other sites starts from 75 rubles, and videos - from 300 rubles.

To start trading, you need to go through a special registration on Lori. You not only indicate the standard data: name, place of residence, login, but also print out the cooperation agreement form. Fill out and sign it. Then you send the document to the Moscow office of the photobank by Russian Post.

Withdrawal of money through a bank with a deduction of 13% tax. Money will be credited automatically at the beginning of the month if you have accumulated 3,000 rubles or more.

The exam consists of 20 images. The weekly sales limit depends on how many are approved. If you accepted 90 - 100%, then you can upload 100 photos. Those who reach the minimum completion threshold of 60% are allowed to post 3 images.

Photogenica

Domestic photobank. This is good and bad. There are fewer buyers, as the foreign audience is being cut off. But all documents for tax and accounting reporting are issued according to the Russian model. Money is transferred in rubles to a current account, Yandex.Money, WebMoney or Qiwi wallet.

Registration is the same as everywhere else. Real information: Full name, registration, scan of passport. 10 images are submitted for the exam. You can send 400 px thumbnails or links to other photo stocks.

Selling one photo on Photogenica will replenish your wallet by 60 - 360 rubles.

Etxt

Etxt is no longer just a text exchange; now you can also trade photos.

I had a bad experience. I added unique photos of zucchini and tomatoes from the garden; they were not missed. The quality is bad, you see. Although there was no noise or artifacts, and the extension was 720p. Yes, I admit, I filmed it on my mobile phone, but it turned out pretty good.

Advantages:

no exam;
you set the price yourself;
no need to send a scan of your passport and fill out a bunch of paperwork.

There is nothing to do here with photographs like cats and flowers. They buy them, but for 7 – 19 rubles apiece.

Photo requirements:

size – no more than 9.9 MB;
extension of one of the sides – 2,000 pixels;
uniqueness – 100%;
without noise and artifacts;
no shadows or highlights;
in JPEG, PNG, GIF formats;
the frame is correctly flipped;
no brands.

Look at the categories of texts and think about what pictures might be useful for the article. For example, if it is tourism, then photos of attractions; if it is a garden, then seeds, fruits and other paraphernalia.

In 2 months we bought 5 photos on the topic of tourism. They cost around 5 – 12 rubles. As a main source, not very good, but part-time work for ice cream is normal.

Minus: earnings are 20–30% less than on foreign photo stocks.

Main reasons for failing the exam

You can fail the exam for several reasons:

Poor quality of shots. The quality suffers from the presence of artifacts and noise. The reason is file compression and matrix sensitivity. You can protect against this by using the minimum camera sensitivity (ISO) when shooting and correct exposure so as not to add brightness. It is necessary to avoid excessive sharpness (by setting it to Sharpen). You can take photos in RAW format. When converting, remove the sharpening to 0 and add it in the right places (eyes, eyelashes, etc.) when finishing processing. You can reduce the level of artifacts, glare and noise by reducing the image size to 4 megapixels.
Lack of commercial value. Comparison with the rating of demand on the site and topics. For selection, you need to send shots of different types and subjects, creative, unique and original.

The exam can be taken more than once

Incorrect keywords selected. For the exam, 7 keywords and a description are enough, but accurate ones, according to what the consumer enters into the search engine. After approval of frames, you need to add up to 50.
Model Release not attached. This is the name given to the permission of the people whose face is in the photo. If there are children in the picture, permission must be from a parent or guardian. The document is not complicated in execution, is not checked, does not oblige you to anything, but is a guarantee that there will be no private claims. The document form can be downloaded from the photo bank. Required fields to fill out: names of the author (photographer name) and models (model name), addresses, telephone numbers, date (shoot date), signatures (signature and witness/witness, acquaintance). A scanned completed form in JPG format is uploaded along with the work.

Few stockers make it past the exam stage. But they get 50-70% of their profit from cooperation with Shutterstock. Therefore, if you fail to pass the control the first time, you need to try repeatedly.

What quality should my photos be?

Most of the photos are purchased by designers to create websites, design printed products (notebooks, notebooks, calendars), and create advertising brochures and posters.

The higher the quality of the image, the more likely it is that it will be used, and even in different areas. It is advisable that the quality of your work delights any buyer, be it the owner of a blog or a professional designer working on the cover of an e-book.

All photos should be processed in Photoshop, removing noise, red-eye and other “roughness”, and also working with color, contrast, and clarity of contours. “Light-exposed” photos, distorted colors and other flaws will cause the photo to remain in a folder on your desktop: the photo bank simply will not let such “products” through.

How to get money from a stock photo

Withdrawal of funds – earnings from drawings and photos – starts from $50. On Shutterstock – from $100.

You can use payment systems WebMoney, Moneybookers, PayPal. The first two, according to reviews, are the most convenient for translations. The PayPal system does not operate in the range of CIS countries.

Foreign payment systems are used

You can make money from photographs!

Hello! My name is Tatyana, I want to tell and share my experience in making money remotely - selling illustrations and photographs on microstocks. I found out about them back in 2013, but only started studying now. There is a crisis in the country right now, so additional income in dollars or euros greatly motivated me to return to this area. The article below will include examples of my works for sale.

If you are a designer or photographer by training, then this can become your permanent source of income. Unfortunately, I have an economics background, so I had to learn graphics programs from scratch.

Tips for beginners

It is best to process the footage in Adobe Photoshop. You can adjust the exposure and color correction, set a white background, remove shadows and add names with keywords (File -> File Info). To remove noise, use the Imagenomic Noiseware Professional plugin, installed separately in the program.

It’s better to start with 1, maximum 3 photo stocks, but with active uploading of your works in order to get results, and with it further incentive.

Despite the difficulty of passing the selection when registering on Shutterstock, you should start with it, because... the lion's share of the profit comes from there.

Think like a designer making a banner or designing a website or office, like a journalist looking for a photo for an article.

Minimalism in composition – maximum interest. The principle applies: simpler means better.

Main principle: simpler is better

Happy, bright and light photographs attract buyers more than dark and gloomy ones.

You can make money on what is interesting to the customer, and not to the photographer. It is necessary to study demand based on the popularity rating of the photo. Abstraction and landscapes are less in demand.

On calendar holidays there is a peak in sales of thematic works. Especially March 8, Mother's Day, New Year and Christmas, February 23, etc.

Searching for keywords is time-consuming but rewarding.

Familiarity with the rules is mandatory. If you have language difficulties, an online translator will help you. Russian-language photo stocks are simple and easy to use, but foreign stocks bring more profit.

Photos for social media

Some readers were probably confused to see this type of photography on our list. We expected this, since the genre of social media photography is relatively new. But this does not mean that it is impossible to make money from such photographs. In fact, this method of getting money is a real “bomb”.

That's the point.

Some people who have amassed a large following on social platforms (primarily Instagram) are willing to pay money to photo authors for the sole purpose of being able to share photos with other members of the media community.

Not to mention, you might get paid a few dollars to take a photo for a local pizzeria. And companies like Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Nike and Vogue send photographers to far-flung lands where incredible adventures await them (often with just an iPhone). Just so that they make a selection of photographs for advertising and increasing the popularity of famous brands. This is freaking awesome and looks like my dream job!

But don't underestimate the amount of work involved in such activities. Many of these photographers built audiences of hundreds of thousands of people before they could start making money and living that way. Building an audience requires serious time, patience and dedication.

If you are really into communicating on social networks and apps, then you may well have great earning opportunities. For example, you can go to the Tinker Street agency, which represents the work of many famous photographers from social networks and applications, and see breathtaking images.

Pros and cons of making money on photo stocks

Advantages:

passive, multiple income;
own minimum financial investments;
without searching for customers;
sales in all corners of the planet;
payments in dollars, independence from the country's economy;
earnings without a limit;
convenient schedule without being tied to a place of work;

Flaws:

passing an exam upon registration;
small profit at the beginning of a career, hence the lack of motivation;
constant search for new ideas, daily uploading photos to the site;
long-term study of consumer demand;
development of professional knowledge and skills.

As with any business, there are pros and cons

It is important to assess your strength and readiness to work regularly in this area, which requires a certain amount of time and effort.

Possibilities of drains

In addition to photos, many stocks allow you to sell vector images. The main demand is not for finished compositions, but for elements used to create original layouts in printing design and website design. Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw are the main arsenal of stock graphics. A separate topic is selling through stock drawings. They can be made both in raster form using a graphics tablet, and in the traditional way, i.e. pencil, watercolor, oil. To confirm your authorship, you will have to fill out a special form - a property release. The activity is not for the faint of heart. For example, this is what a completed Shutterstock release form looks like:

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In addition to text information, you will have to provide a thumbnail of the image itself. Now imagine that you have hundreds of drawings. Some stockers work with their own team. In this regard, the experience of stocker-illustrator Microvector is indicative. The team's total income is approximately 11 thousand dollars per month, and there are 5-7 permanent performers. The format of the works is vector images. Payment to the performer for the finished work is 20-25 dollars, for a “similar”, i.e. small modification, 10-12 dollars. The manager’s own income is slightly less than half of the total earnings. The benefits of teamwork are obvious:

an already promoted author sells more effectively than a beginner;
the manager is focused on studying demand and promoting work;
The artist does not spend time on proper design and uploading of images.

We can say that there is a synergistic effect here: the team’s productivity is greater than the sum of the individual productivity of its members. Once again, Shutterstosk generates the bulk of its revenue, followed by iStock and Fotolia. An interview with Microvector can be read here fotostoki.ru/articles/interview/interview-microvekctor.html

Speaking about earnings, we cannot help but touch upon the topic of withdrawing funds. For example, at Shutterstock this happens automatically every month. The withdrawal method is selected during registration: PayPal or MoneyBookers. The minimum amount is also indicated. No money will be withdrawn for the first three months. This is argued by the fact that there are swindlers trying to sell other people's works. The administration undertakes to find them as soon as possible and expel them from the site. It is highly recommended that you complete the W-8BEN tax form, otherwise you will be subject to US income tax of 30%. It will be automatically deducted when withdrawing the earned amount. The process of filling out the form will not cause difficulties: the process is automated and uses registration data.

123RF

Registration is available via this link.

There is no exam as such, the photos are simply submitted for revision. It is very convenient because there is no tedious attribution of photos; you just need to enter keywords and after uploading your photos are sent for review by moderators. And this greatly simplifies working with stock. Photos are checked very quickly and in a year you can earn a decent amount from your existing portfolio. It is mainly used by experienced stockers for additional sales of those frames that sell well on Shatterstock and Adobe stock.

How much might your work cost?

The cost of photos in each photo bank is different. For one download, i.e. purchasing a photo, you can pay from 25-50 cents to 5-6 dollars. The cost of a photo is influenced by the popularity of the topic and the quality of the image that the customer chose to buy. However, if you consider that a photo can be sold as many times as you like, then the earnings are essentially endless.

Let's try to calculate. You registered in 4 photo banks, posting 15 photos in each of them. Each photo was purchased once within 24 hours. Let's say the price of the photo was $1. It turns out that it’s possible to earn $1,800 in a month, even for a beginner, because we took the minimum numbers and the average cost of a photo. (Editor's note: This is not entirely rosy. As a beginner, you will most likely struggle to break $100 at first with a much more substantial portfolio)

Let us also draw your attention to the fact that many photo banks accept videos, the price of which varies from 8 to 200 dollars per download. If you have found a common language with a video camera and are able to make high-quality, useful or exciting recordings, then the money will find you.

If you are counting on a permanent income, then do not be lazy to post at least 20 photos in each of them in the selected microstocks. The more topics you cover, the greater your chances of earning money.

Next to each photo you can see statistics of views and purchases, and therefore from your personal account you can monitor which topics are really popular and which photos of yours are in greatest demand. Perhaps you will earn little on 5-6 topics, but in the topic of sports you will be indispensable, who knows? You will also be able to see what exactly the photo bank user was looking for.

Common Mistakes

When starting work on photo stocks, users often repeat the same mistakes:

They stop after the first failure, having inflated expectations. Working on a drain is hard work.
They upload random photos without thinking about commercial value.
They photograph nature, animals, people, food - everything in a row. Some use it as a way to fill out a portfolio. But this niche is filled to capacity, so there is no point in joining the ranks of millions.

You can make good money on stocks if you understand the essence of the activity. It is worth strictly fulfilling the requirements of the service and publishing in-demand content. Foreign sites bring more profit, but on Russian sites it will be easier for beginners.

Idea and placement

A series of photographs have been taken, but what next? The specialist must present at least five places where the buyer could place it. If there are fewer of them, then the photo is useless. Photo – visualization of the concept.

Technical component (minimum noise, inconspicuous processing).
Commercial value.

Two components of a successful photo. For a stocker, the lifespan of a frame on a resource should not matter; it is much more important to monitor trends and category ratings.

Food photography is a recognized leader. There are hundreds of food magazines and they all need good, mouth-watering illustrations. Product photography also remains relevant. If a novice photographer does not know which niche to go into, then you can stop at these two.

List of photo banks for a beginner photographer

In my opinion, the most suitable photo stocks for beginning photographers are the following:

Adobe Stock
Shutterstock
Dreamtime
Depositphotos
123RF
Creativemarket
iStock
Big Stock Photo

They are very convenient to start with, easy to navigate and functional. Therefore, I would recommend starting with them, especially with the first two. If you decide to study on your own, then you will have a lot of questions on which you will spend a lot of time and thousands of hours on YouTube videos about drains.

Next, we will look at basic information on each of the photo stocks that is relevant in 2020. But it is important to say that if you are a beginner stocker, then it is better to focus on only a few stocks. Because if you register for everyone at once, then you will spend a lot of effort to understand the functionality, instead of increasing your profit from one stock. In this article, we will tell you which microstocks a beginner should focus on first.

iStockphoto

The oldest and one of the largest photo banks. Microstock iStockphoto has a huge reputation in its field. A sign of a microstocker’s professionalism is selling their work on Istockphoto.

Why is this so prestigious? Yes, all because the iStockphoto photo bank puts forward very high demands on the quality, subject matter and execution of work. It’s important to know about it, but I don’t recommend starting to work with it at the very beginning.

To be able to sell your works on it, you will first need to pass a theoretical test and then send 3 works for the exam.

The exam you need to pass on iStockphoto is much more difficult than on the same Shutterstock photo bank. As a rule, works do not start selling immediately. Inconvenient and complex process of uploading and attributing photos, since this stock has an advanced search system

, built on Getty Images' internal dictionary of concepts.

But iStock has a good level of image sales, which encourages photographers to join the exclusive program.
With an exclusive subscription, authors can receive almost twice as much for the same pictures. With an exclusive subscription, authors have the right to post their photos only on this stock, but if you have previously worked with other microstocks, you will need to delete your work. Despite this, iStockphoto, like microstock Shutterstock, generates the largest volume of sales in the microstock world. Accordingly, if you give it enough attention and nerves, you will get decent results with it.

TOP 7 mistakes beginners make

Mistake 1. Stop after the first stagnation and quit

Beginning specialists come, read the biographies of TOP stockers and get down to business with inspiration. But in this matter, defeat is inevitable. Sometimes one-minute shots bring in a month’s income, and those that took half a day in Photoshop won’t even pay off.

Mistake 2. Rushing to make money

Before going to photo banks, you need to have financial support that will ensure stability. The first year there will be no money at all. There is a direct dependence on time. The longer a person stays on photo stocks, the more he earns.

Mistake 3. A random photo is a good idea

Turning your portfolio into trash is a bad idea. “Passing” photos clutter up the space, don’t sell and spoil the impression of the stocker.

Mistake 4. Art without concept

Selling illustrations in their pure form is useless; they are not in demand and do not pay off. Only food pictures and subject vector illustrations will do.

Mistake 5. Laziness

You can't achieve anything by sitting on the couch and sipping a mint cocktail by uploading ten pictures. Only daily work brings serious income.

Mistake 6. Waiting for a liability for many years

You can reach a net income of $10,000. per month and give up. Move to live in another country, enjoy a full life. But all the pictures will sooner or later fall into oblivion and people will stop buying them.

Mistake 7. Pure freelancing

Uploading five pictures, using one left hand to run through a ready-made filter in Lightroom, is a useless exercise. Only daily work of more than eight hours can lead to results; the more time spent, the higher the return.

Do better than everyone else

The photo banking industry is developing. Fashion and demand dictate their own rules. Uploading photos of the same type is stupid. If yesterday succulents in a pink pot were relevant, today they buy business photos with respectable men from expensive cars.

Food photography has never lost its relevance, but it is important to love and know how to cook. A small amount of equipment, a lot of time at the stove and a couple of dozen “delicious photos” per day are guaranteed.

The ability to “plow”, choose and develop a single niche is the path to a well-fed pension with passive income. If love-story in a city park attracts more, then photo banks disappear.

Top photographers insist on one thing: “Photograph anything, but make it cooler than everyone else. Then the pictures will bring profit.”

You should initially consider photo stocks as a business

Work 24/7.
Eliminate discussions about free time.
Vacation, cooking, relaxing for the sake of successful photographs.
Free time? Upload pictures to stock.

There will be no money for the first year or two. Before breaking into a high-budget niche, you will have to prepare a financial cushion. Investments are required not only at the initial stage, but also during promotion. There is no need to rely on the internal “genius” of photography.

Stoker is a producer of photographs for the buyer, and a creative figure only secondarily. When creating the perfect photograph, you need to think not about beauty, aesthetics, secret meaning, but above all about the commercial component.