Selling your photos

[Leigh Robinson]

Hi,

I am getting quite a large folder of photos taken when I am out in the woods and other places. I was thinking perhaps I could sell some of them and make a bit of cash.

So far I have found that I can sell them online but there are loads of stock photo selling sites. Are there any good guides or 'must use' sites?

I don't want to sign up to these sites if they aren't any good. Anyone's knowledge and experience will be greatly appreciated.

[Tobyh]

Welcome Leigh,

I can't offer too much advice in this area but will say that it's a very difficult market. I think the temptation is to use the micro stock sites but you really earn so little from these it's barely worth the effort. Also bear in mind that this takes sales away from professionals and the more this happens I guess the more often those seeking images will use them.

If I were to sell I would go for a site that's got high standards and on which you will earn a reasonable amount for a sale rather than just a few pence. It'll be worth jumping through their hoops to ensure your images aren't lost in amongst thousands of very similar images.

Interested to hear other opinions.

TobyH

[zan]

I don't really have a lot of advice to give here - I do sell a few shots now and again, but it's largely a hobby for me so I never really push it. What I would say though is that you need a LOT of images if you're going to see results in stock, and I think the economy at the mo isn't really helping!

There are lots of stock sites out there as you say, and I would agree that microstock is well worth avoiding. Try and find out about specific galleries tailored to your personal style \ subject, for example look at the RSPB or RSPCA stock libraries. I am a contributor to PhotoShot which do a lot of wildlife \ nature and hold the Nat History Museum (Wildlife Photog of the Year) images as well. I was a member of Photographers Direct for a while which is worth a look, but I didn't have much on there and never got anything from them. The other big one to look at is Alamy, or Getty images (who have a stock (not microstock) library through Flickr now as well if you have an account on there). I haven't heard of people getting much through them, but it would be worth checking for yourself.

Most of teh big sites will have pretty strict requirements for image entry (usually min 2000x3000px, unsharpened, saved from TIFF) and it's worth looking into those before you start. Also bear in mind that if you currently shoot in JPEG format, your images may be rejected if your camera automatically sharpens them during the conversion (I believe most do), so start thinking about shooting in raw if you don't already.

Finally, once you've got yourself sorted out and chosen a library, make sure you only send your very best ones in for assessment (no dust on the sensor for example!) and keep your fingers crossed! After that, have a good think about your processing workflow and sort out a methodology that is efficient and sensible for you and the stock requirements. I haven't had a good workflow system in place until now, and I'm really paying for it trying to get the images processed appropriately! Actually, even if you don't get accepted to a library straight away it's worth adjustnig your workflow asap anyway since most libraries have similar requirements and it really will save a lot of time!

Hope this is some help, give me a shout if you have any other questions and I'll see if I can help

[acherontia]

Zan's advice is sound.

Stock sites are a whole new ball game and the standards are very high and precise as regards requirements.

A lot of 'saleability' hasn't so much to do with artistry as filling the requirements and sussing out what sells and to whom. It's a bit of a surprise sometimes what sells.

It's all very complex as to what sells and what is needed but - as Zan says the more images are on those sites the better the chances. OH is coming up to 1,000 images on Alamy and the OSF wants some more as well! Some stock sites are fussy about who they invite to contribute and will give contracts that they expect to be fulfilled (ie the OSF)

The best way to go about it is to 'shoot for stock' and to religiously do at least 20 good quality images per week for this purpose.

Acher

[big bill]

Hello Leigh a site I used to deal with is Photographers Direct they are like a site thats is comparable to the shops that deal with the Fair trade for photographers they take if I remember rightly 20% commission on salesthat you pay after a sale has gone through.
You do not have to submit a certain amount of images either but the more the better the site is well run and you can make links to your own web site if you have one.
the site is photographersdirect.com its worth a look nothing ventured nothing gained best of luck