The Dream vs. The Reality
Years ago I was exploring online opportunities on how to turn my photography into a passive revenue stream, if not something even bigger. Having uploaded images to a number of photo-sharing sites, I soon settled on uploading to solely to one website, where I could create galleries and license images. At the time, I also participated on Facebook pages with other photographers who were submitting images, with great discussions on quality and content - and artifacts.
So, with a healthy dose of confidence, I became a stock contributor.
In retrospect, I let stock photography dictate what I should shoot on many occasions, and in a sense, I lost much of my love to create, lest it be deemed not good enough. Submitting images for consideration can be quite humbling, it can quickly take you back to critique day in high school art class, so openness to receiving criticism is essential. To be fair, I was not uploading images of people and places with model releases in place, where the bigger money was. My work was, and continues to be, rather niche. And I'm perfectly fine with that.
In those early days, the feeling of being "seen" was heady, and I started uploading image after image, licensing both "exclusive" and "non-exclusive" images, each with it's own percentage. As an exclusively licensed image, the potential income is higher, so I often opted for this on my photos. I had great sales earnings with two images - and then reality kicked in. A penny here, three cents there. Sometimes, even a dollar. Maybe.
Welcome to the reality of stock photography.
With payout minimums hovering around $30 and earnings of a few cents per image, it's a long slog before (or if) you see that payout in your bank account. I was fortunate enough to hit the minimum quicker thanks to a couple of larger sales and thus, be able to make a payout request - years after I started contributing. And speaking of payout options, carefully read the terms of the options offered, as many have fees associated, so that can cut into your penny profits considerably. And be cognizant of payout minimums,
My experience with stock photography is not unique in the online photography community, there are countless similar experiences to mine out there. For every "successful" stock photography contributor, many, many more are like me. Even then, some higher revenue generating contributors speak of diminishing profits, and, with the quickly-evolving technology of AI, this will become the reality for the majority of us stock photographers. If we're being completely honest with ourselves, it's important to remember why you got into photography in the first place, and don't lose yourself - and your passion - for what you love to do.
In the end, leaving the dreams of stock photography behind and recognizing the realities of the industry have allowed me to let go, and embrace creativity in my work again. That, combined with encouragement of an artist whose opinion I greatly value, brings you to the evolution of my work - and this blog. We should all be this lucky to have someone like this in our corner, providing those nudges & pushes when we need them the most.
What are my takeaways from my experience?
Set realistic expectations when it comes to joining, creating, and uploading images to stock photography.
Review the details - payout minimums, forms of payout (and how much it'll cost you to get paid)
Critique. Don't take critiques personally, use those comments to improve your imaging.
Get comfortable discussing model (including property) releases for bigger sales potential, emphasis on potential, not certainty.
Update: Go over the policies of your chosen stock photography site, especially how canceling or closing an account can be accomplished. Some sites do not allow you to delete your account once you have sold images on their platform.
