Nov 11 2008
Is microstock right for me?
Things to consider before starting to submit images to microstock sites.
A lot of sites advertise like this “Make money with your images that are only collecting dust on your hard drive”. Apart of the obviously nonsense of “files collecting dust whilst sitting on a hard drive”, there are some more points to consider before you make a decision if to enter the microstock game or not.
1. Despite what, nearly, everybody tells you, it is hard work. You get back what you put into it, not more, sometimes even less. Not only the shooting and post-processing of the images costs time, also the key wording, uploading and submitting to the different sites.
2. If you earn more then 10% of your income with photography, you are most likely not anymore entitled to participate in amateur photo contests. That may vary depending on contest/ country but should be kept in mind as a rule of thumbs.
3. Another myth, you don’t need a DSLR, photoshop etc every point and shoot camera will produce worthy images straight out of the camera. That is simply wrong, the better your tools –and the better you know how to use them!- the more success you will have.
4. “All my friends say my images are great!” Honestly, that what friends are for, finding you great. But even if they are right, a great photo doesn’t mean automatically a great stock photo, that are two different beasts.
5. and last. If you are a sensitive soul that can’t handle rejections stay away from microstock. Your images will get rejected until you learn to take better ones. And not all of your images will sell.
Summary: Microstock can be a great source of income, I know that, it is my main source of income, but it requires hard work and a thick skin to be successful!
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4 Responses to “Is microstock right for me?”
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OK you want more dumb questions
Why do people pay for images when you can use so many for free and legally using sites such as flickr’s creative commons images? Or is more people looking for print images? Or is the same as writing - you can get free articles from directories or unique content from freelancers?
Well put ~ especially the hard work and thick skin parts!
Laurel
@ Lis, two reasons: volume and releases! People that design web sites for example need a high volume of quality images fast and these images need to meet technical standards plus have to be released properly if they contain people. I put together some time ago a web site with resources where to get free images that are safe to use http://www.freewebs.com/freeimageguide/index.htm
the site is a bit wordy but the information might be helpful
@Laurel
Thick skin is a must
I often wonder how many people give up submitting to “MS”sites (pun intended 
because they take rejections to personally!