'Stock' - what offers best returns

Hi all,

The may have been discussed to death, in which case please feel free to refer me to an earlier thread (the search didn't seem to work for me).

For the sorts of images which I am seeing a lot of on here - portraits, macros etc - where is the best place to put them to generate some income?

I've looked into microstock agencies (123RF, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia) but get the feeling that the money to be made there is through volume of sales of quick, easy (cheesy) marketing stuff. They don't seem really to be geared up to paying decent sums for unique wildlife stuff.

I'm also registered with Alamy, although have yet to upload anything.

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Note that at present I don't have a massive portfolio of really great shots - maybe 50 or so that I'd be happy to put my name to. This rules out some of the big players for the time being.

Many thanks

Ben
Dunblane, Scotland

Ben, I don't think there is a simple answer to your problem. The natural history market is saturated and I think it highly unlikely that you will get anything you can call a "return" as such. I also suspect that you will need to radically increase the size of your portfolio before you can reasonably hope for sales on a regular basis.

I am aware that some of the professional photographers on this site also do weddings or portraits or something similar where you can get get a decent return, in order (I presume) to fund their wildife photography. I don't sell wildlife pictures any more, but a friend of mine who is with a number of agencies says that he often gets more from Alamy at the end of each sales period than he does from the specialist natural history agencies he is also with.

David

Dear David,

Many thanks for your reply. Sorry - I should have been clearer! It's not a 'problem' as such - I have a well paid full-time job (I run a national conservation charity). Nevertheless, like many on here I suspect I am keen to generate some income from my hobby which I can reinvest in trips abroad, lenses etc.

So, my question is, all else being equal - where should I lodge my images to get the best return. I have in mind the likes of OSF, RSPB Images, Alamy, Science Photo Library and Nature PL, NHPA etc. Do the experienced folk on here have any 'top tips' for how best to spread images across libraries, for example, to get a decent income.

Many thanks for your help.

Ben

Your question of where should you lodge your images to get the best return...that all depends on which agencies will accept your work! Send a portfolio to each and see what returns, if you're fulfilling a niche market then you might get accepted by all (but bear in mind that many agencies want exclusive images). If your stuff is general british birds and mammals then I'm afraid you might get a Dear John letter from each...unless your work is stunning of course and then they'll all be fighting to snap you up!
In the meantime, start uploading to Alamy as it can produce a good income with surprisingly high sales. Also, their online uploading means you can take a photo on Monday and have it in the marketplace on Wednesday, which is handy.
Hope this helps.

Simon


Note: something I've read a few times is that the general rule for agencies is that you'll make one sale per year for every hundred photos lodged. Not a good return. Having said that I've found this NOT to be the case, but maybe I've been lucky (which is a first )

The bigger-better-agencies that you mention will ask for about 300-500 images to start as a first submission which if lucky they will take 20% or so and then will require regular submissions of top quality images so that you build up a good stock with them, Sometimes they have taken 30-40% of my submissions and sometimes under 20%, As said the market is saturated at the moment and they are looking for exceptional images rather than the ordinary-send in submissions to all the agencies and be prepared for lots of 'no thanks' but keep on trying-alamy is a good place if you cant commit to getting agencies lots of images and be prepared to earn pennies in the first year or so
Good luck

Dave

In my opinion stock is dead, prices are low and will be going lower. If you already have a full time job I would get everything on Alamy and forget about it. Stock is a numbers game and you are going to need thousands of pictures to generate anything like a new lens.

yep my recent experience supports this - I have just received my very first commission cheque for something I didn't even know was happening - its from a picture submitted last year to my local bird club photo competition and has been reproduced in this years Birdwatchers yearbook - albeit its now a tiny blurred B&W image total receipt £10 plus a free book!

so apparently I am now a Pro nature photographer - frightening

Not sure whether to laugh, cry or sue for breach of copyright

All I can say is my returns (both in terms of numbers of sales, and price per sale) are down substantialy over the past two years at Alamy (and they weren't very high to begin with!). (If you'd seen my pictures, you might not be surprised!)
I would think you'd need a few thousand quality shots to make anything like a worthwhile return. Seems like it's not a good time to be thinking of selling pics, as supply is increasing and demand (perhaps?) falling.

John Shaw says in his 1996 book 'Business of Nature Photography: A Professional's Guide to Marketing and Managing a Successful Nature Photography Business' to expect an average return of $1/year for each image lodged with agencies.

Craft fairs and generating print sales from word of mouth seem to be a good way to go too if trying to make a little back from a hobby.

"Not sure whether to laugh, cry or sue for breach of copyright"

ROTFLMAO

yeah i have found its not a great return on the stock libraries although i have sold bundles at local craft and xmas fairs, this a great way to start, you can also pick up the odd portrait job as well!..you need to be in the top .01% in terms of quality to make a decent amount of money out of wildlife and nature photography i believe. but then money is not why we do this right?