How to Make Money From Photos?

No problem. I was in the same boat when I first started. Microstock should be more aptly named micropayment. Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Bigstock, iStock, FeaturePics, Fotolia, 123 Royalty Free, the list goes on. These are 'microstocks'. These operate much in the same way that the traditional stock agencies like Alamy, MyLoupe, Photographers Direct, and Photoshelter do. The main difference is the pricing. Microstock offers their photographers the potential for massive numbers of sales. The catch is that you only get a fraction of a dollar per sale. Traditional stock is the opposite. You don't get a constant drip drip drip of sales going to your account balance. BUT, a single sale with a traditional agency is monumentally big compared to a microstock sale. There have been some pretty big debates about which is better. Can you make money with a micro, sure. I did. But, can you make more? Consider this: if it sold with micro, then it could have sold with traditional. If you're happy with more frequent sales at pennies on the dollar, try micro. If you're patient and can tolerate waiting a while between sales, try a traditional stock agency. My first three sales at Alamy added up to almost $400. THREE SALES. Now, those images are only going to be seen one time each. They still have value. It's not like someone else who might consider using them is going to see it used elsewhere and decide against using it again. Compare that to a microstock, where you'd need 1600 sales to get $400. 1600 different usages. The odds of having a buyer notice the image in use elsewhere is MUCH higher, making it far more likely that they're not going to use that image. Traditional stock just seemed the better route to go for me. I want a long term earning potential out of my images, and having them used hundreds of times at the microstock pricing scheme doesn't at all fit that philosophy.

Hi, Thanks for the great response but I am still blur about Alamy. I think I will try to search in Yahoo and then join it to learn more.

Hi, I am confused. Is MicroStock a website to submit photos to make money or it is a collection of sites to submit photos? What are Alamy, MyLoupe, PhotoShelter and Photographer's Direct? Which site is the best to make money from photos? I know that some sites have low traffic and less buyers. So, we make less money. I hope you could explain some ways to make money and which site is the best. Sorry to ask so many questions because I am truly a beginner. I hope to learn more from you.

Hi, I think they are trying to cheat money. I am trying to find great sites to make some money using my photos. I hope to find some. I know iStockPhotos, ShutterStock and Fotolia. I am not sure which one is the best and how to sign up to upload photos. The sites are quite confusing.

I know a site called shareapic where you can upload your pics and post them in a forum or your own webpage you'll be paid if your pics are viewed. Good Luck!

Hi Kianli, Thanks for the response. I know about Share a pic but we need a lot of views to make money.

Hi, Yeah, personally I feel that this discussion is great because I have learn a lot from mylotters. I hope you can make use of some of the suggested sites in this discussion to get started.

That's awesome trickiwoo. Congrats on your success. All I'd ask is that people consider a simple notion. If the images are selling that well on microstock agencies, what's to say they wouldn't sell with traditional stock agencies? Now, on that line of thinking, why would you settle for 25 cent sales when you could be getting three to four digit figures per sale?

Hi, Thanks for the response. I visited your site, it is great.

Hi, Could you give me your email? I really hope to learn and get started fast.

Hi, Thanks. I will try your suggestions.

You might want to try magazines sites as well. cdrxo