I hope you enjoyed part 1: @camerarules/making-money-with-stock-photography-part-1
So you now hopefully understand the difference between commercial, editorial and illustrative editorial photography.
Where do you go next?
You need to start applying on agencies in order to be able to sell your work. Typically agencies ask for a sample of your best work in order to be accepted.
Here's a list with the major agencies that you need to apply to:
- Shutterstock
There's a lot of controversy around Shutterstock. After introducing bulk packages the return for contributors dropped considerably, especially for video which typically pays better.
Most recently they have changed the way the contributors are getting paid which introduces further drops in prices for a number of them. You should now expect to make as little as 10 cents per price.
It's not all doom and gloom in my opinion as Shutterstock has an enormous pool of clients and with the right content you can potentially achieve sales daily.
My sales over the past weeks range between 10c to 12 dollars per asset.
- Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is the former Fotolia. It is definitely growing and I would not be surprised if it surpasses Shutterstock.
The only tricky thing is that Adobe will not accept Editorial or Illustrative Editorial work before you reach 1,000 downloads on their platform.
- Pond 5
Pond5 is a popular platform for stock footage. They accept stills as well but you have better chances of selling video there. One of the best features here is that you can set your own prices.
Those are the three key agencies I would advise you to start submitting to. There's an enormous number of agencies out there with not so many sales happening for people.
I will mention the ones I hold accounts on and I will then proceed to explain what is the least time consuming way to submit to all of them.
. Yay Images
. Dreamstime used to be better back in the days. After the noise of Shutterstock's anouncement of prices dropping they went and increased the percentage for contributors. Most definitely a nice and thoughtful move however, 10% more of very little sales is not that much is it.
.Mostphotos
.Bigstock (owned by Shutterstock, currently only accepts stills no video)
.123rf
.DepositPhotos
.Alamy is very unpredictable with a weird keyword system but it worths uploading.
.iStock Very popular for clients, owned by the mega Getty. I personally find the keywording system a bit annoying so I do not upload there as much.
.Eyeem is a failed platform but a good way into Getty if you have not been accepted there as they sell a number of their images on a dedicated Getty Eyeem collection.
There are plenty of other micro stock agencies but I would advise against them as not a lot is happening there in terms of sales.
I would recommend not going exclusive with any of the above agencies. Yes, an exclusive contract with Pond5 will offer you a better return per sale, however the far bigger reach of potential buyers when your assets have been submitted to multiple agencies, makes more sense to me.
During the past 4 years I have sold multiple time the same image for different prices ranging from a shitty 10c sale to over 35$ for a single sale of the exact same image. If my images were only available in one platform this would not have happened.
In a different post I will cover a mid stock agency offering better returns (much better) with an option of going exclusive only.
Ok so you've got accounts up and running and you've shot your pics too, now the dreading keyword process.
Before getting there, let me get something out of the way. The key thing for me is not to have to spend hours of my life keywording or even copy and pasting on each individual agency.
So the best way to go around this is to use a free app called XPIKS, here's a link: https://xpiksapp.com/
XPIKS is an essential keywording and uploading tool in my workflow which allows me to upload in multiple agencies at once.
In addition it will also save the metadata within your image so if you ever decide to join a new agency you won't have to add the keywords again.
In addition ,I also like to use https://microstockgroup.com/tools/keyword.php as it helps me to add multiple tags relatively easy by spotting content that looks similar to the one I'm about to upload.
In regards to the actual content of the metadata, you need to make sure your title is describing accurately your photograph and use the maximum RELEVANT tags for each one of your photos/video clips/illustrations.
Tip: On Adobe Stock the first 10 tags are of great importance.
Do not underestimate the importance of correctly key wording your work. It is as important as creating quality content that is relevant.
I'd say the best way to approach this is by putting yourself in the position of a potential buyer. What are they looking for? What does your work describe? Your titles need to be descriptive of the exact depiction on your work. If possible (not always easy) try to have a unique title. It is generally speaking considered good practice to upload multiple angles and variables from the same session, especially when that involves a model. When doing so, make sure to include some unique tags on each image and do not be tempted to copy and paste the exact same tags on each image of that session. The overall feeling is also very important be it a portrait or landscape. Is it a HECTIC cityscape or a PEACEFUL green hill. A HAPPY professional female or an UPSET young male checking his latest bills? You get the point right?
Stock photography should be seen more like a marathon and by no means a sprint race.
Upload your first batches of images but do not be discouraged if sales are slow or even non existent.
It takes time to build a portfolio with good quality commercial images. Your technical ability should be something you possess at a good level but won't be enough to succeed selling images.
Try to go through the best sellers on the most popular agencies such as Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. It is important to develop an eye for what sells.
There will be more articles about this industry, until then if you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments below!