Microstock Photography

My most popular shot at Shutterstock

Microstock!  Sell your images round the world royalty free. I think this is such a great potential opportunity. If you are into photography, (like me) you can have an outlet and make a wee bit of $ at the same time. Why not let your pictures sit on someone else's hard drive and have the potential to earn some play money for you.
I am on 4 sites and in order of sales, they are Shutterstock, iStock, Dreamstime and StockXpert There are many many sites out there and some folk are with dozens. Shutterstock and iStock do well because thousands of folk use them for stock photography, so there are more people looking for shots.
I have 152 images with Shutterstock. Here is my portfolio there. Some people have thousands of pictures and it is their full time livelihood and they do really well. I make about $50 a month at Shutterstock and I don't work at it at all. I earn about $45 from the other sites together but don't have nearly as many shots up for sale. Every now and then I upload some of which maybe half will get accepted. Stock sites are very tricky about quality and sometimes pictures are rejected for what seem like odd reasons...........don't take it personally. I don't, I just plug away when I can which is not very often.

My most popular shot at iStock, ........what is funny, is that this shot was rejected at Shutterstock. So upload to all sites, what one does not like, another might.

Illustrations are accepted, vectors, some take videos, and of course stock pictures which can be anything. There are great forums at each site and I learned a LOT by visiting and reading all I could. If you are interested you should read as much as you can. The pay is measly per picture but it is the VOLUME that counts. (hence Micro stock) Some pictures have been downloaded hundreds of times. (stockxpert pays you 1/2 of what the image sells for) I occasionally will come across one of mine in its new use and it is a thrill. It is a different mindset for sure, selling images for .25 each but for me the fun of getting my work out there and not having it languish inside my computer is worth it. It is a hobby for me,  I don't work at it consistently or with dedication. There are a few different licensing arrangements so some images can go for a LOT more.

Thought you might be interested:) If you have any questions about any of this, please leave me a comment. This picture of the Louvre is considered an editorial shot and is popular at all the sites. P.S. My mum and daughter are hidden in that  shot:)