On this page I will explain you how you can earn money with your digital photos and videos on Microstock sites. Microstock sites are web sites in which people can submit their digital photos and videos and get paid when someone downloads their photos and videos. You get paid per download.
You will probably ask: "who downloads these photos and videos ?"
Micro stock sites are widely used by designers, graphic designers, web designers, graphic artists, journalists, advertising agencies, marketing professionals, in magazine ads, newspapers and brochures, i.e. by people who don't have time to go out to take photos or to make illustations, i.e. people who will pay to these services for example around 250$ per month and download digital photos and videos that you or other people submit to these sites.
I have read on some web sites and blogs that some people make around 1000$ every month with each of these microstock web sites. But thay have around 1000 submitted photos on each of these microstock sites.
And when taking and submitting your photos, you must go for quality, not quantity. And you can submit the same digital photography to all of these micro stock sites.
And for video files that you can submit to these sites - money they pey per download is biggger than for digital photos.
In order to see which digital photos they are looking for, which photos sells well and what type of photography you should make you should visit appropriate categories on these micro stock sites and see what are the most popular photos in each category.
You must also take care about composition of your digital photography. You must take into account the fact that they are looking for commercial, not artistic photography, i.e. photos that sell well.
You must also take into account several tips:
Photography of sky, nature or similar things according to some people don't sell well, because there are too many of these type of photography.
In order to get astonishing macro photos of isolated objects (glasses, dish, food, fruit, vegetable and all other staff ) that sells well there are 2 ways:
Here is tutorial on how to make Light Box
How to make Light Box / Light Tent
There are many ways to make it. Only important thing is that material of which it is made must have white colour. If it is made of some other color it can has negative effect on your photos. Those colors can show up on your photos. On this web site address you can see some excellent example photos taken in this Light Box / Light Tent.
Here you can read some very important articles with tips, advices on how to make good photo, that sells well on these sites:
For more information on Composition and Impact of photography For more information on Suitable Stock Photography
Reasons for refusals of your Stock Photography, and what you should take into account
Articles on how to improve your keywording and therefore, your sales
Tutorial on selections/isolation of objects in Adobe Photoshop
Some popular Micro Stock sites that generate the best revenues and on which you can earn money with your photos and video files are:
According to some people this is the most popular and used microstock site. In order to join this service you first must submit your scanned passport or driver licence, then you must pass test i.e. submit 10 of your best looking photos. 7 out of 10 photos must be acepted in order to get accepted into this service. If they don't accept you first time, you will have to wait for one month before you can submit another 10 your best photos. If you pass, then you can submit your photos. All photography you submit must be accepted in order to show up on their site.Some photographies will be accepted, and some won't be accepted for several reasons (noise, bad composition, little or no commercial value and other similar reasons). The same thing applies to all other sites.
When you submit your photos on this service, your photos will be also submitted to some of their co-branded sites.
In this service you don't have to pass the test. You can start submitting your photos rightaway after joining.In this service you also don't have to pass the test.
Before submitting your photos you must enter 2 things:
- Title of your photography
- keywords - that describe your photography. You can enter up to 50 keywords (you had better enter all 50 keywords, since it increases probability that your photo will be found by those who are searching for them).
You can enter these data manually with Adobe PhotoShop, or by right clicking on your photo in windows explorer, then click on 'properties', and there you enter your data (That's how I do it in my 'Windows 7', and I thing that the same thing can be done in Windows XP, if not do it with Adobe PhotoShop or a software called ProStockMaster).
You can download a software called ProStockMaster that can automatically find relevant keywords (it downloads keywords from micro stock sites) and enter them into each photography. This software is FREE, it has some limitations, but is totally functional as FREE version.
If you take photos of people (model) and their face can be recognized, your model must sign or fill in 'Model release document' that can be downloaded on each of these microstock sites, and which you submit along with the photography. If their face can't be recognized you don't have to do this.
The similar applies if you take photography of some building, and photography is taken within someone's property or estate. The owner of that property must fill in 'Property release document' which you submit along with the photography. If the photography of some building or something similar is taken from the public property i.e. street you don't have to do this.
I wish you good luck!