Stock photography websites

[photo-orama]

you need to work very hard,

planing, sourcing, shooting, post processing, keywording, uploading,
than start this cycle again and again,

after two to three years, you should have thousands over files if you spend at least 10 hours a week,
than able to see some returns.



hope this help.

In that "planning" that catchlights mentioned, it is more like researching and understanding what people need / will need, rather than just shooting what you like and hope someone will buy it. Probably, just like other projects you of course have to plan, manage your time resources etc.

hope that adds

 

[LeicaF]

lol, you won't able to get property release from owners, the best you can do is upload it under editorial licencing collection.

every recognizable human face, identifiable body, and body parts, even tattoo, all need release.

no release, the best you can do is upload it as editorial licencing collection, but there are more rules need to comply in editorial imagery.

Thanks! Now it makes sense! I'll go try it out

 

[Scintillation]

Hi scintillation,
Congrats on ur success so far.
I wish to view ur images over at Getty. Could u link me pls?

Thank you. The link is in my signature, under 'getty'. ;p

 

[catchlights]

Thanks! Now it makes sense! I'll go try it out

keep this in mind when you upload editorial images to istockphoto,

- if you shoot inside a building, you will need to get a written consent from the owner, unless the interior is so generic, nobody can tell where is it.

- you don't need model release for editorial images, but the people in the images are not suppose to pose for the shot, eg, you can upload a photo of a street hawker cooking and selling food at his stall, but you can't upload a photo he is smiling and looking at the camera in his stall.

- read the guideline of caption and description for editorial images carefully and following it closely. you can post questions in istockphoto forum when you have any doubts.


Hope this help.

 

[catchlights]

Thank you. The link is in my signature, under 'getty'. ;p

the links in your signature seem not working, you may need to repair them.

 

[Scintillation]

the links in your signature seem not working, you may need to repair them.

Ah thanks for the heads up, just fixed them.

@TS: You can view my Getty gallery here.

Edit: You may be interested to try out Stocksy too. I recently got an invitation to join them and I'm crossing my fingers that they'll accept me.

 

[ellery]

Catchlight,

a small but important point from the perspective of a stock photo library company, editorial or images without property or model release tends to sell less well. If the buyer is careful, they will not use such images in case there are issues latter. The company I used to work for will not even consider trying to market any images with property and model releases.

Stock as you mention is a not a passive income option; you can harvest all those nice trips you took with shooting buddies to take children playing in the river etc if not for the fact that it would have been submitted more than once by people who have no idea what is it they are doing.

Yeah how many people to 100% magnification sweep of the whole image to remove spots, artifacts and things that should not be there. Try doing that x 2000 images per quarterly submission and in not more than 2 days. My frigging eyeballs cringe when I think about it.

keep this in mind when you upload editorial images to istockphoto,

- if you shoot inside a building, you will need to get a written consent from the owner, unless the interior is so generic, nobody can tell where is it.

- you don't need model release for editorial images, but the people in the images are not suppose to pose for the shot, eg, you can upload a photo of a street hawker cooking and selling food at his stall, but you can't upload a photo he is smiling and looking at the camera in his stall.

- read the guideline of caption and description for editorial images carefully and following it closely. you can post questions in istockphoto forum when you have any doubts.


Hope this help.

 

[ellery]

Great stuff. You are in the zone.

Ah thanks for the heads up, just fixed them.

@TS: You can view my Getty gallery here.

Edit: You may be interested to try out Stocksy too. I recently got an invitation to join them and I'm crossing my fingers that they'll accept me.

 

[catchlights]

Catchlight,

a small but important point from the perspective of a stock photo library company, editorial or images without property or model release tends to sell less well. If the buyer is careful, they will not use such images in case there are issues latter. The company I used to work for will not even consider trying to market any images with property and model releases.

Stock as you mention is a not a passive income option; you can harvest all those nice trips you took with shooting buddies to take children playing in the river etc if not for the fact that it would have been submitted more than once by people who have no idea what is it they are doing.

Yeah how many people to 100% magnification sweep of the whole image to remove spots, artifacts and things that should not be there. Try doing that x 2000 images per quarterly submission and in not more than 2 days. My frigging eyeballs cringe when I think about it.

Yes, editorial does not sell that well, but hey, better than noting right? anyway, more than 80% of my stock photos are with release.

FYI, the inspectors of istockphoto are super meticulousness, they able to find many spots that I had missed, even after I check thru every square inch of 36MP files.

 

[Sion]

..... My frigging eyeballs cringe when I think about it.

$1 microstock is not worth ruining your eyeballs for.

Save them to watch Japanese AV videos.

 

[Dfive]

I've got around 50 plus shots on Getty Images that were picked from my Flickr account. I think I've been quite fortunate so far to receive around USD100 per month for royalties. This month's earnings are even better at around USD280, haha. I've always wondered who buys them, but I guess one could only be thankful. Anyway, as a hobbyist, some pocket money from photography is always welcomed.

Your work is of a high standard and well above that of a "hobbyist" so no surprises there.

 

[Scintillation]

Thanks guys. I'm also happy to say that my application to Stocksy has been accepted. Some of you may know that Stocksy is actually created by the founder of iStockphoto. I find that the cut they give to contributors (50% royalty, and 100% for extended licenses) to be quite attractive. Additionally, they also pay out dividends at the end of the year.

Here's the link to my Stocksy page: Jonathan Chiang - Royalty-free stock photos at Stocksy. There's very little up there at the moment though! Their selection criteria is pretty strict, considering their iStockphoto roots.

 

[catchlights]

Thanks guys. I'm also happy to say that my application to Stocksy has been accepted. Some of you may know that Stocksy is actually created by the founder of iStockphoto. I find that the cut they give to contributors (50% royalty, and 100% for extended licenses) to be quite attractive. Additionally, they also pay out dividends at the end of the year.

Here's the link to my Stocksy page: Jonathan Chiang - Royalty-free stock photos at Stocksy. There's very little up there at the moment though! Their selection criteria is pretty strict, considering their iStockphoto roots.

Congrats.

wishing you all the best with the Stocksy.

 

[edutilos-]

I've always wondered who buys them, but I guess one could only be thankful.

You can actually check IIRC, under Royalties --> Export.

 

[Scintillation]

You can actually check IIRC, under Royalties --> Export.

Oh wow, thanks! Never tried exporting them until you suggested it. Hahaha, people actually do buy these things!

 

[Actururss]

All very nice pictures.
Very sharp as well. May I know the lens that you use?

 

[Scintillation]

All very nice pictures.
Very sharp as well. May I know the lens that you use?

Thanks, I use a Nikon D800E with the Nikkor 17-35mm. It's pretty okay once sharpened in post.

 

[Actururss]

I guess you are using ND filter as well? or under HDR mode?
Any recommendation of brand and where to get one?
Thanks in advance.

My Pic without ND filter and not under HDR mode.
Maybe with ND will have better result.

Garden By The Bay Stock Images - Image: 26512824

 

[Scintillation]

I guess you are using ND filter as well? or under HDR mode?
Any recommendation of brand and where to get one?
Thanks in advance.

My Pic without ND filter and not under HDR mode.
Maybe with ND will have better result.

Garden By The Bay Stock Images - Image: 26512824

I'm using Lee and Hitech grad and neutral density filters, so I don't do much HDR work now, if any. You can get them at TKFoto and Orient Photo.