An Online Guide to Stock Photography

Tuesday February 9, 2010

Can Photographers Make Money With Stock Photography?

Many new photographers like the idea of making money from their pictures, and micro stock photography agencies tend to be the ones they look at closest, because as dicussed in previous articles, they're easier to get started with.

A common beginner question though, is: "Can I really make a living taking pictures?". And the short answer is: Yes.

There's more to it than that though. Like any career or business, a lot of time, effort and study must be invested in order to get maximum returns. And the stock photography market is no different.

Having talent and skill to begin with helps of course, but almost anyone can learn the important aspects of creating great pictures, and thus almost anyone can make money in the royalty free micro stock photography industry. You must be willing to put in a lot of time and work though.

First: You must of course learn some basics of photography. These basics include composition, subject matter, focusing techniques, white balance and so on.

Second: You must be willing to take pictures often. Those photographers who make the most money tend to have the largest portfolios. It's not all about quantity of course - quality is needed too - but generally the more photos you have in your stock photography portfolio, the more money you're likely to make.

And more photos means taking tons of pictures, consistently. Not every picture you take will be of high enough quality to be accepted into your stock photography portfolio. So just going out and taking 100 pictures in one day won't do the trick. In fact, if you just go out and take 100 pictures, then upload all of those to a micro stock photography agency, you may risk having your account suspended or cancelled all together.

Only the best, most experienced photographers can take 100 pictures and have most of them be of high enough quality to submit. Even then though, I doubt there are any who have 100% success rates. Beginner photographers will likely find that only 5%-10% of the pictures they take are good enough for the stock photography portfolio. Some may be able to submit as much as 50% of the shots they take. How many useable pictures you get from one day's shooting will depend on a variety of things.

So, start shooting and keep shooting. The more pictures you're able to get accepted into your stock portfolio, the faster you'll be able to make some money.

How much will you actually make? This varies quite widely too. Some photographers are able to make $100 or more each month with just a handful of excellent stock quality photos. Others however, are barely able to make $100 a month with several hundred photos in their stock photography portfolio.

One thing is for certain though: Those photographers who make honest and consistent efforts to improve their photography, and increase their stock photography portfolio, continue to grow their income month after month. Some photographers who have worked consistently for a couple of years report $4000-$6000 per month from their stock photography portfolios.

So it may seem slow in the beginning, but with time and effort good photographers can make excellent full time incomes from their photography.

© 2006, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved.

Stock Photo Galleries

Stock Photography Articles...

• What is Stock Photography

• Photographers: Rights Managed vs. Royalty Free Micro Stock Photography

• Stock Photography Tips: Creativity vs. Saleability

• Can Photographers Make Money With Stock Photography?

• Stock Photography of People: Model Releases

• Are You Using Stock Photos In Your Business Illegally?

Royalty Free Stock Photo Portfolios

• Dreamstime

• Shutterstock

• Fotolia

• Bigstock

About This Site...

This website is here to help new photographers and business owners learn some of the basics of selling or using stock photography. My portfolios are no longer available here, instead they have been condensed onto my main Electronic Perceptions website.