Online Stock Agencies?

Who here uses online stock agencies - royalty-free or otherwise. Which ones do you use and what do you think? Do you make money? Have you tried more than one service?

PJ,

I signed up for www.istockphoto.com. I have really submitted to much to it yet, but they have some great feedback in their forums. Some people's images have been used on book covers, magazine ads, etc.

--Dave

I don't have any personal experience with stock photography, so I can't really answer your question. But I have a few friends who are graphic designers, so I asked them where they shop. I figured that was a good place to start.

They use:

www.gettyimages.com for the majority of their stock photos. Usually larger, higher quality and more expensive stuff.

www.istockphoto.com for smaller, cheaper images.

I hope this is helpful.

Paul

Hey Photo-John,
I looked at your pic of a rusty car in a field. It looked very much like a shot I saw on the front cover of a photography magazine. Did you get it published? If so well done, if not you should have.
Well done

Dear PJ,

I know a lot pay very little as they charge very little so you would have to sell a lot of shots to make any money. These are called micro sites. Agencies such as
www.corbis.com charge the client more so are able to offer the photographer more but I think they are very choosy who they take on board and may want their contributors to be exclusive with them.

Why not try a site like www.yourperfectpic.com who is just starting out where you can earn up to US$800.00 for one shot. They are mainly looking for business shots like the one you took of the office building and photos with people in are much more in demand than scenery.

I would select a few sites but don't give the same work to all the sites as they will charge differently and you want to get the best price for your work. Pick your best shots and give them to the agencies that will pay the best with the best conditions and try and avoid having to be exclusive with anyone.

I was just accepted with istockphoto but have only just started submitting to them. Not really expecting to make a fortune via this agency. I look at it as a way to employ images I would otherwise see no income on, i.e., they don't fit in any of the categories I already cover and sell on my own. Plus I like the challenge of producing for a commercial standard and the potential for exposure if you do well. Newer, higher goals, keep one fresh and motivated.:thumbsup:

I started submitting a few images to iStockphoto a couple months ago. I haven't been too serious about it, but I have been getting some sales from them. I have had 7 images accepted so far. Of those 7 images, one has been purchased 43 times, another 12, and a 3rd image has been purchased once. It's not enough to get a check from them, but the $ is steadily increasing.

I haven't had time to prepair more images to upload, but hopefully that will change soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Who here uses online stock agencies - royalty-free or otherwise. Which ones do you use and what do you think? Do you make money? Have you tried more than one service?

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I bought about a million royalty free images from a Quebec company. I find them very useful for quick design purposes to mix with text for digital presentations or for print design projects. As well, simple ads for small local businesses can be put together quickly and cheaply using some of these images. I have also designed educational materials using this kind of material as well.

So my point is that you can make money as a buyer from stock agencies, just as easy as a seller to them.

Ronnoco