Comments on: Earn Residual Income Selling Your Photos on Fotolia

By: MJ Wolfe

MJ Wolfe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:36:07 +0000

Yes – that is exactly what I do with my photos. I place my entire portfolio on every microstock photography website possible! Let me know if you have any luck with Alamy.

By: Mangopork

Mangopork — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:49:23 +0000

Hi Michael,

I’ve checked out each of these sites you’ve mentioned and here is what I’ve gathered.

Obviously, their policies are subject to change.

But as of this writing, I’ve found is that exclusivity is NOT required at all.

You CAN post the same photos on all sites for a reduced price.

So there’s a trade-off.

I agree that exclusivity would be better with higher-traffic sites.

Thanks for the Alamy link, by the way!

By: MJ Wolfe

MJ Wolfe — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:37:38 +0000

Yes, a few microstock websites do allow you the option to elclusively post your photos on their websites. I don’t know too much about this – because I never chose to be exclusive with any one microstock agency. I do know that if I was to go exclusive – I probably would’nt choose Fotolia to do it with. You might want to look into iStockPhoto’s elclusivity options. Also, you should check out Alamy.com – I remember that they have many exclusive photographers and they allow you to set much higher prices for your images. Once you find out the particulars of being exclusive – please come back to Residuals and Royalties and let us know what you have learned. Good luck!

By: Mangopork

Mangopork — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:12:11 +0000

Michael,

I noticed that Fotolia has an “exclusivity agreement” now.

Does that mean they own my content?

Am I not able to post photos on any other site? what does this mean?

By: MJ Wolfe

MJ Wolfe — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:40:07 +0000

Haha – no, I’m not an agent of Shutterstock – but they have been the best earner each month for me and they have the highest acceptance rate of my photos. For example – I have 312 photos on Shutterstock that were approved and I submitted those very same photos on iStockphoto and I think only about 80 were approved. I am by no means a pro photographer, but I did work with an amazing table top stock photographer in LA about 5 years ago. He was making a ton of money off his images by selling them to Getty and the big stock agencies. But let me tell you, thinks have changed – in this economy no one wants to pay $10,000 or even $1,000 for an image any more. The equipment has gotten so good that “average joes” like me can create stockworthy photos. But if your question is “should I try stock?” – I’d say only if you are committed to mass submission. I kind of fizzled out at 300 photos and I still make a at least $150-$200 a month on my images. Can you imagine if I stuck with it and I had 5,000 photos? You should check out Yuri Arcurs – he’s the best selling microstock photographer in the world and he makes thousands of dollars per month in residual income from his images. If he can’t motivate you to shoot stock, no one can. His website is here: Yuri Arcurs

Good luck Charles! Let us know if you decide to pursue microstock photpgraphy!

By: Charles Harris

Charles Harris — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:27:37 +0000

If I were cynical, I would suspect that you are an agent of Shutterstock doing a sly promotion for them. Well, I would rather think that your sentiments of trying to help colleagues is the real reason you posted this, which, if that is the case, is commendable and deserving of my respect. Any more, most photographers are so cloak and dagger and secretive about their business and work that it is discouraging. I remember a time when all my friends were other photographers, and they shared jobs, shared ideas and techniques, and socialized as a collective. I miss those days. I think it is the stinking economy that has made things the way they are. If you charge too much you can’t get jobs unless you have some great marketing schemes and know the right people. If you charge too little you aren’t taken seriously and can’t pay the bills. Heck, no matter what I charge I can’t get work. I am a pretty darn good photographer with great equipment, but that equipment sits there, gathering dust. What’s your take on all this? Maybe I should try stock, perhaps that’s where the market is.

Sincerely,

Charles Harris

By: MJ Wolfe

MJ Wolfe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:41:59 +0000

Thanks – I will have to take some time to upload my portfolio. I am on istockphoto, shutterstock, big stock photo, dreamstime and stockxpert. If you have not tried stockxpert, you should try it – I do pretty well with them. Best of luck!

By: microstockinsider

microstockinsider — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:24:39 +0000

Nothing wrong with Fotolia from an earnings point of view. Have a look at istockphoto and dreamstime too. If you upload to one you may as well upload to all 4 it’s not all that much more effort.