An Online Guide to Stock Photography
SECTION 2: Royalty Free Micro Stock Photography
Micro stock photography however, is quite a bit different. One of the first things you'll find is that micro stock photography agencies operate almost solely online. Submissions are made via FTP or website uploads, the entry requirements are much less severe, and things generally happen much faster with micro stock agencies.
Most micro stock photography agencies don't require hundreds of photos to be submitted in your initial application. In fact, many of them allow you to start with just one photo submission. Some require three for the first submission, and at least one requires 10 pictures for your first submission. Even that is not nearly as difficult for beginners to do though, when compared to submitting hundreds at once to Rights Managed Agencies.
Micro stock photography agencies do require you to prep your pictures, however the preparation work is not nearly as extensive. Images are submitted in JPG form for instance, whereas Rights Managed agencies often require TIFF and some even require RAW file format.
Another very big difference with Micro Stock Photography Agencies is the amount of money photographers earn for each license sale. In most cases, the photographer earns just $0.20-$0.50 with each "sale". This often sounds like an extremely tiny amount when looking at RM agencies who average $100 or more per sale.
The key difference though, is volume. With micro stock agencies, photographers tend to sell their pictures much more often, because the end client fees are such much less expensive. Instead of selling just one or two pictures a year for instance, you're more likely to sell hundreds or thousands of pictures a year.
In fact, many photographers have reported much higher overall earnings with micro stock photography agencies. Their average per picture earnings over the course of a year is often $10-$30 instead of the $1 noted above with RM agencies.
Using the same example of 300 photos in your stock photography portfolio, if you earned just $10 on average per photo over the course of one year, you'd have total earnings of $3000.
So while the per license price seems drastically cheap, the overall earnings often tend to be much better.
Now, one of the biggest downsides to selling royalty free stock photography - particularly with micro stock agencies - is reporting. Generally there is none. Photographers don't usually know who bought their photos, or how they might be used. Some micro stock photography sites give a tiny bit of information: The name of the buyer or the buyer's company name for instance, but most don't.
Micro stock photography agencies do tend to send photographer payments monthly though, and this is another big selling point - particularly for photographers just starting out in the stock photography industry.
So, there are the primary differences. Even those this is a brief summary, hopefully it's enough of the basics to help you decide which route is best for you as a photographer to take when entering the stock photography industry.
Section 1: Rights Managed Stock Photography
Introduction: Rights Managed vs. Royalty Free Stock Photography
© 2006, Kathy Burns-Millyard. All Rights Reserved.
Tangled Christmas Lights
Holiday Table Decor
Barbecue Chicken
Camping Coffee
Above: New Royalty Free Stock Photography by Kathy Burns-Millyard
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• 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.