Most casual photographers buy their first point-and-shoot or DSLR camera for the purpose of capturing memories, not so they can get published on the cover of TIME Magazine or net millions of dollars selling prints and coffee table books. Maybe you have a photogenic eye and simply love the artistic value of photography. Or perhaps you want to decorate some walls with a few framed prints. However, we all leave the serious photography to the professionals, right? I mean, photography is a very competitive industry. It's hard to get started and buy all the necessary equipment. Sports photographers might pay $5000 or more for a single lens; talk about prohibitive!

Now some of the above is true and some is false. Shooting sports takes hair trigger timing and focus, lots of practice, and it can be difficult to penetrate the industry. Likewise, other types of photography (like shooting weddings, real-estate, news) are not a great fit for everyone, and who knows how to manage pre- and post-production printing, publishing, shipping, and running websites and art fair booths? There can be a very steep learning curve for new photographers trying to turn a dime, not to mention the stiff competition that can exist in many areas (Denver for one!).

I’m not here to discuss any of the above. Though I do have experience behind the lens, there is a sizable difference between making some extra money from photography and making a living (and eventually, a lifestyle) with a camera. That is what brings me to my next topic, Stock Photography.

Stock agencies (or sometimes referred to as Microstock agencies) sell your photos to (typically) graphic designers and marketing teams. Pretend you’re a business owner looking to do a magazine ad with a palm tree and beach in the background. You have several options. You could dig through your vacation album to Hawaii in hopes of finding something that will work. Or maybe you could send an employee to go take the photo for you. Too bad you’re based in Iowa. A plane ticket these days could run you several hundred dollars. Hiring a professional photographer to take the image seems pretty costly as well.

The answer here is buying the image from a stock agency. You can purchase one single file (with many different types of licenses) or a monthly subscription that allows you to download a set number of images per day/month. Paying $50 for and extended license on the perfect photo doesn’t seem like a bad idea now, does it?

Of course, for such a demand, there must be a supply. That’s where you come in! There are several stock websites to which you can upload your photos and make some money. The best thing is, once you upload a photo, it remains online, bringing in money any time it gets downloaded - it’s like free money! Now your photos can finally start paying off your equipment!

Depending on what license the downloading party selects, you may make $0.25 or $30 per download. However, the more photos you have online, the more chance you will make a sale. If you get 200 downloads in a month, 200 x $0.25 = $50. Not bad for doing almost nothing. If you make a few extended license sales, that might translate into $200/month or more.

This whole stock thing may seem easy at first, but it does require some degree of skill. Stock agencies have a certain level of quality they must maintain. Photos that are improperly exposed, not focused sharply, framed poorly, or are of a subject that will not sell or is already well covered, will not be accepted. Photos with distracting noise or artifacts will also be declined (though sometimes noise/blur is desired).

So how can you figure out if your photos are good enough for stock? Firstly, check out the popular images at each stock site. The message boards and discussion forums are also good places to ask for tips, advice, and critique. You may notice a lot of popular images have people in them. You will need any model (even it if is yourself or your spouse or children) to sign a model release with an additional witness. Model release templates can be found easily online, but you should read them over and fine tune them to your specific needs.

If you're interested in product photography, you'll want to look into how to build your own lightbox. It's great for achieving seamless backgrounds.

Onto the stock websites!

Every stock website is different, but there are some similarities. They require you to upload photos (through a browser or FTP if you want), provide an image Title, Description, and tag the image with applicable Keywords (important!!!). I use a great program that embeds keywords into my images that are automatically detected by the website and added. It saves a lot of time if you will be submitting to multiple sites. Check it out: XnView. You'll want to keyword your images correctly so they show up in searches!

All images are reviewed by real people (not all reviewers are equal) before they are put online for sale.

Here are the stock websites I use:

iStockphoto is a well known site with plenty of subscribers. They require you to 'apply' to the site by submitting three sample photographs (they also accept vector illustrations, video clips, and sound clips) along with a scan of your ID. They need this because they have to verify who you are in order to pay you. A major downside to iStockphoto is the upload limit (15 images/week) and the long wait times for image approval. I suppose this is done in an effort to encourage photographers to submit only their best images.

Dreamstime is another large stock site. They also limit the number of uploads to up to 100 per day or less, depending on your approval rating. They also have some very long waiting times for approval, but not as bad as iStockphoto. Dreamstime is a bit more forgiving on images than agencies like iStockphoto and Shutterstock. I am also a big fan of their interface.

BigStockPhoto is another great site. I actually have the most images accepted with them.

I haven't worked with Fotolia very much. They hold images to extremely stringent guidelines and (I have heard) can be a royal pain to work with. If you're feeling adventurous, give it a shot!

shutterstock

Shutterstock is another agency with an application process and they are pretty stringent. I believe they require an ID (I simply used a credit card for them to verify my identity) and 10 photos for review. If they accept 7 out of 10, congratulations, you are in! If you do not pass, you have to wait 30 days before you can apply again. Choose your photos wisely...

There are other stock agencies out there, but these are the ones with which I have the most experience.

If you have any questions about stock photography that have not been covered here, feel free to contact me.