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Sunday, August 03, 2008
Microstock and the extra money
I am a hobbiest photographer. I've had a camera in my hand for years and got pretty good at shooting film. Then digital came about, I bought a cheap camera and took crappy images (mostly) but I tried. When I upgraded I decided to go dslr for more creative control. I'm still learning how to work it well, 2 years after purchase but I am getting better at it. Obviously the hugest advantage is no film developing and the larger flash card capacities mean shooting multiple images without fear of running out of storage. The ease of uploading to the computer immediately, getting rid of bad shots and printing your good stuff (or sharing it electronically) is a huge advantage. The downside is if you shoot raw you will have adjusting to do (even if I shoot jpg I often make at least a levels adjustment). That part is time consuming but can be done whenever you want and once you get pretty good at a) taking the pic right (exposure, focus, etc.) the post-processing is minimal and b) as you get more experience post-processing it gets to be quicker too. My post processing will mostly consist of white balance, levels, evening of horizon, noise reduction and cropping (not necessarily in that order). I use sharpening and bumping the saturation sparingly.
There are quite a few sites/blogs explaining how to do these techniques so I won't detail them here, I use PS for this and sometimes Neat Image for the noise reduction. I hear Adobe Light Room is good but I don't much care for it myself so I don't use it.
What I like though is that I can offer these images for sale on various sites. There are dozens of microstock sites out there, some good, some less so. Some are well known and some are damn near unheard of (from what I can tell). I am going to briefly review my experiences with them. I might do a post on each of the three I've been with the longest and then another post for those I just joined.
Stockxpert.com run by Jupiter Images, over a million images for sale.
Stockxpert was the first site I joined up with, I don't remember the requirements then but my first image went online in March of '06. I've been on that site for two years and didn't realize you need to self-promote to sell your work. I only found out this summer so I tried it (I hate writing about myself, if I liked it this blog would be updated more). Well it worked and I made my first sale (and 2 more since). Still not taking off very well but I don't shoot for stock so my images are eclectic and not your average stock. I may work my way to a niche but I'm not sure it won't stunt my creative juices.
Images on stockxpert are high quality and reasonably priced for the buyer. They offer pay as you go pricing and subscription-type credits (there is an opt-out). Extended licensing is available on an opt in basis. Images range in size from xs to xxl (depending on the size uploaded). Uploading in .jpg format only and rgb color. The upload interface is easy and quick (by comparison to some others) and you can upload 3 images at a time and a series (of up to 3 at a time). Their interface with read IPTC data embedded in the image so you don't have to retype keywords, titles and descriptions over and over. It will automatically number series images and there's no issue about submitting the same subject from different angles or lighting situations.
Image approval process is very quick compared to some other sites. I don't get notified by email if my image is approved or rejected though because I never ticked the box to do so. They have a newsletter which provides tips and site information.
Stockxpert accepts a lot of my images with fewer rejections than the other site, their per image payout is best of the three main ones also. They have forums that you can participate in gaining tips from other members.
What I like about stockxpert is their acceptance rate and speed, their upload interface and their pay rate. What I dislike is self-promotion, seems that's what they get part of my sales revenue to do.
I rate this site an A.
dolly's world: the fine art of bitchcraft
There are quite a few sites/blogs explaining how to do these techniques so I won't detail them here, I use PS for this and sometimes Neat Image for the noise reduction. I hear Adobe Light Room is good but I don't much care for it myself so I don't use it.
What I like though is that I can offer these images for sale on various sites. There are dozens of microstock sites out there, some good, some less so. Some are well known and some are damn near unheard of (from what I can tell). I am going to briefly review my experiences with them. I might do a post on each of the three I've been with the longest and then another post for those I just joined.
Stockxpert.com run by Jupiter Images, over a million images for sale.
Stockxpert was the first site I joined up with, I don't remember the requirements then but my first image went online in March of '06. I've been on that site for two years and didn't realize you need to self-promote to sell your work. I only found out this summer so I tried it (I hate writing about myself, if I liked it this blog would be updated more). Well it worked and I made my first sale (and 2 more since). Still not taking off very well but I don't shoot for stock so my images are eclectic and not your average stock. I may work my way to a niche but I'm not sure it won't stunt my creative juices.
Images on stockxpert are high quality and reasonably priced for the buyer. They offer pay as you go pricing and subscription-type credits (there is an opt-out). Extended licensing is available on an opt in basis. Images range in size from xs to xxl (depending on the size uploaded). Uploading in .jpg format only and rgb color. The upload interface is easy and quick (by comparison to some others) and you can upload 3 images at a time and a series (of up to 3 at a time). Their interface with read IPTC data embedded in the image so you don't have to retype keywords, titles and descriptions over and over. It will automatically number series images and there's no issue about submitting the same subject from different angles or lighting situations.
Image approval process is very quick compared to some other sites. I don't get notified by email if my image is approved or rejected though because I never ticked the box to do so. They have a newsletter which provides tips and site information.
Stockxpert accepts a lot of my images with fewer rejections than the other site, their per image payout is best of the three main ones also. They have forums that you can participate in gaining tips from other members.
What I like about stockxpert is their acceptance rate and speed, their upload interface and their pay rate. What I dislike is self-promotion, seems that's what they get part of my sales revenue to do.
I rate this site an A.
Labels: Stockxpert review
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