After speaking with a few of our photography students today I decided that I will conduct a test to see which is the best stock photography site for photographers looking to sell their images online. This case study will be updated over the next 30 days to include information on the image submission process, the revenue earned and the overall experience of submitting images to stock photography companies.
I couldn’t find any comprehensive stock photography case studies or reviews myself so I’m deciding to go at it alone. Here are the basics of how I plan to submit and monitor my photographs.
Project Outline
- I will submit 10 images to 3 different popular stock photography agencies
- I will monitor which of the images are accepted and which ones are rejected
- I will provide commentary on issues such as royalty structure, submission delays and other important information to help photographers make informed decisions about where to submit their stock photography.
- Lastly, I will provide an earnings report for each of the sites I submit to.
Updates
I will provide 3 updates within 30 days (space out by 10 days each) providing information on the process so far.
Stock Photography Website 1:
Website URL: www.shutterstock.com
Payout: .25 / download.
Sign up process: After veryifying my email it required that I upload a photocopy of my passport. You can’t upload photographs for 48 hours while they review your document. Mimum photo size 2.5 – 4 megapixels
Stock Photography Website 2:
Website URL: www.istockphoto.com
Payout: 20% (prices vary from $1 to $20) (.20 cents to $2 / photo)
Minimum photo size: 2.0 megapixel 1600 x 1200
Sign up process: Needed to read about 15 pages of ‘how to” information on submitting photographs to their site and pass a 13 question test on copyright issues, photo quality and topics about photography composition. They also required that I upload a .jpg of government issued ID. After I did that I needed to upload 3 samples of my work, after which they told me I may need to wait 2 weeks to have my application reviewed.
Stock Photography Website 3:
Website URL: www.fotolia.com
Payout: 33% (non exclusive rights) 50% -80% on exlusive rights (the more downloads you get the higher percentage you make)
Sign up process: Very quick and easy. No mandatory turorials, tests, or email verification. Just sign up and start adding photographs. Photos must be 2400 x 1600