Microstock?

Has anybody tried microstock or switched from traditional stock photography over to microstock? What is the viability of microstock as a business model for stock photographers?

A good friend and fellow pro was in final negotiations for sale of all rights of an image to a major international company. She won't say how much money was on the line, but acknowledges it was over $20k. The company's art director found essentially the same image at a microstock house, one of many "culls" she had put there from the same shoot. Needless to say, the client backed out of the sale and picked up the "cull" in microstock.

Nuff sedd, almost. You see this image today all over the place- TV, newspapers, magazines. online. Didn't matter to the company that they bought a cull. Our friend is past the stage of throwing up each time she sees it, but she does pale noticeably.

Yikes! Hopefully your friend learned a lesson, Hank. Not sure if I could live with that one.

Sure cured her (and everyone else within earshot) of the quick buck of microstock. She figures she'll recoup her loss through further micrcostock sales extending roughly to the year 2091. I.e., she traded that contract for much less than $250 a year in microstock sales.

Interesting little post mainly dealing with this on The Online Photographer.

I think for nature photographers, microstock isn't a place to really make much money. There is just too much saturation of images online. But for people photographers, it can be lucrative... with a LOT of work and new images every week. I have talked to and read about a couple people making a decent living. They have photoshoots several times a week with models. They have to think of new and exciting ideas for each shoot, such as dressing a guy up as a boxer, putting a man in 1920's gangster clothes, people using cell phones, computers, home appliances or whatever.

And upload, upload, upload these new images constantly.

I have about 10 images at Big Stock Photo and the only one that sells is an image of the Las Vegas sign. I think I have sold that sign, in one orientation or another about a dozen times. So far my commission is something like 10 bucks. I can't collect that money until it reaches some arbitrary minimum they set, which has been raised a few times since I joined. I think it used to be $25, now it is double that or more.

I have not uploaded what I consider my prime images. Those that I have spent hours and hours scouting the locations, and then waiting for the right light. I just don't want to let them go for pennies, I'd rather not sell them at all, to be honest.

I've been a member of this forum for a few years, not really very active, and just decided to join and set up my portfolio. I'm not going to hold my breath, but I have hopes of making some sales of my prime images.

Hope that helps!