Where To Sell Photography Online? Why Photographers Are Re-Thinking Microstock
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 stock images has increased phenomenally in over the past 20 years, beginning with the arrival of desktop publishing and more recently with net publishing. These days pretty much every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a large number of budget stock libraries "the Microstocks "have popped up to deal with those markets with gigantic photography collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy pictures of every imaginable subject for a couple of dollars or less, with the Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For a while there were plenty of photographers swearing there was serious money to be made giving their photographs away for less than a buck, but these days they've gone a bit quiet.
It looks like we could have come the full circle and the competition has reached a level that makes it difficult for the average photographer to generate reliable income with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long 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 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?
Would it not make a lot more sense to sell stock images where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photo?
A increasing number of 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 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 really are serious about selling photographs online, you actually need to decide what type of photography business you would like.
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 skills and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality images that actually 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 end, isn't it just an issue of choosing what you want to be paid for it?
The demand for stock images has increased phenomenally in over the past 20 years, beginning with the arrival of desktop publishing and more recently with net publishing. These days pretty much every business on the planet is publisher and a potential photo-buyer.
Not surprisingly a large number of budget stock libraries "the Microstocks "have popped up to deal with those markets with gigantic photography collections at super-discount prices. Publishers can buy pictures of every imaginable subject for a couple of dollars or less, with the Microstock photographers happily accepting 25-50 cents per sale.
With the new developments in digital photography, virtually any photographer with the most average abilities and consumer gear is able to supply pictures to the Microstocks. And for better or worse, there's no absence of photographers prepared to deal on those terms.
For a while there were plenty of photographers swearing there was serious money to be made giving their photographs away for less than a buck, but these days they've gone a bit quiet.
It looks like we could have come the full circle and the competition has reached a level that makes it difficult for the average photographer to generate reliable income with Microstock.
I'm sure there are some doing pretty well with Microstock, but you may be sure they are very talented photographers with huge image collections, who are continually making new and unique material. They are putting real time and effort into researching their markets, and they're most likely investing seriously in each new shoot.
For the main part, the idea of any photographer just submitting thousands of random images to a Microstock library and making serious cash are long 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 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?
Would it not make a lot more sense to sell stock images where you are facing less competition and you get paid a fair and reasonable price, every time someone uses your photo?
A increasing number of 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 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 really are serious about selling photographs online, you actually need to decide what type of photography business you would like.
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 skills and creativeness, and is prepared to pay well for quality images that actually 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 end, isn't it just an issue 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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