Brooke Fuller | Photography

June has been a fantastic month in the world of stock photography. So far this year I am up an average of ~ 45% each month with consistent contributions of 100 images per week or the maximum slots available to Shutterstock, iStock, Veer Marketplace, Deposit Photos, Big Stock, 123 Royalty Free, Fotolia & Dreamstime.

Shutterstock came out on top as usual, and was up by over 100 downloads this month. I also saw more higher dollar downloads as well. Deposit Photos, Big Stock, Fotolia & Dreamstime were all up as well. I was especially impressed with Big Stock which preformed better than it ever has out of the blue. Whatever they are doing over there I hope they keep it up because more money in my pocket is never a bad thing!

This was my second month with Veer Marketplace which I joined because of a pay per photo approved program they had going on until June 30th. Their approval process is so slow that I really don’t have any results to talk about, but either way I will have some money coming from them in September when the Dash For Cash promotion pays out. I didn’t get a chance to submit many more images to Panther since getting in there, but have it on my to-do list for when I have some extra time on my hands. Lucky for me client work has been poring in so I have had my hands full keeping up with my stock photography goal of submitting 100 images per week, and keeping up with my clients needs.

iStock is running about flat right now. When they report the partner program royalties later in the month I expect them to be slightly up. My portfolio over there is growing and about to reach 400 images in the next week. They always hold steady from month to month, but over the past few months I am seeing little growth. I am hoping the new iPhone application they just launched will have great results with sales.

After a surprising May 123 Royalty Free is back down again. I am not thrilled with the results I am getting on that site, especially with their high approval rate. Now I have my entire collection up there, and the uploading process is so easy that I just keep with it and hope someday it sticks. Deposit Photos was also down in downloads, but I got $10 for putting their banner up on my site so that was a nice little extra. I am selling images through their SMS feature, and expect that even though it is a new site they will continue to grow. I am impressed with their growth so far even if I had a down month.

Overall I am up 43% this month, and happy with the results. Stock photography is not an easy career, but I like the challenge of coming up with new ideas, and watching my images sales grow month after month. It is a great way to fill in the blanks between client work.

I am very pleased with May even though it only amounted to a 9% increase overall from April in Microstock sales.

Shutterstock has been my cash cow, and I can always count on them for a good payout which makes my decision almost a year ago to not go exclusive on iStock a good one! iStock is still doing okay, but has not grown at the same pace as Shutterstock, and this month Dreamstime has really shown iStock up. Fotolia is not too far behind, and the little agencies remain a small portion of my sales, but are all growing so I can’t complain there.

Are you thinking about selling Microstock? I’d love it if you used my referral links. In Microstock every penny counts!

My Shutterstock Portfolio is on fire this week! I just hit 2000 images & got a raise too. Here are the two images that put me over the edge. I have only been uploading there since July 31, 2009 so I am pleased with the progress.

I thought I was done joining new stock agencies, but then I heard about the Veer dash for cash and I just couldn’t help myself! The website advertises that you can earn cash just for submitting images, and after the luck I had with the similar program that is now over at Deposit Photos I am going for it. I am uploading my 10 images for approval as we speak and then I am going to go crazy uploading.

Here is the breakdown :

New contributors

Get 1 to 199 images accepted and you’ll earn $0.35 per image.
Get 200 to 399 images accepted and you’ll earn $0.70 per image.
Get 400+ images accepted and you’ll earn $1.40 per image.

That’s pretty good if you ask me. I have plenty of images to upload so I guess I am going to be busy for quite some time. I will write and update once I get approved and familiar with the upload / approval process.

Sales are up in April all around! My goal of shooting a minimum of 100 new images a week has really kicked sales into high gear, and I am loving it. I am going to work on paying some more attention to each individual site to continue to boost my sales into the future. I started with iStock and went into the forums to suggest some of my images to be added to lightboxes. I have seen this help some other iStockers, and although I haven’t seen any noticeable boost yet, it can’t hurt! Today I am shifting my focus to one of my lower performers, 123 Royalty Free. Many people seem to like this site, so I am not willing to give up on it yet, but for the number of files in my portfolio I should be seeing greater sales. They have an option on the site where you can "Favorite" 5% of your portfolio for preferred rankings in search results. I started sorting through my portfolio, and plan on finishing that task later today.

Overall April is up. I saw sales increases on every site except for iStock and 123 Royalty Free, but the decrease in sales on those sites was not dramatic. iStock does not post partner program uploads until later in the month, and I am sure once those are posted I will end up in the green on iStock as well. I have had great results with the partner program, and hope it continues on! I love the little extra sales without having to upload to additional sites.

Tonight I am catching up on my submissions for Deposit Photos. I joined the site as a contributer because they were running a pay per photo special up to $100 and who would turn up a quick $100? Now that special is over, and uploading to the site is part of my stock photography routine. It is still one of my bottom earners, but I see much potential for the site. With that $100 offer they already have over a million images for sale, and I have seen quicker sales there then when I started with other sites. With all the investment made they seem to have a good outlook on the future and motivation to grow. The last file I sold was by SMS text message, and I love that they are embracing technology. I am an optimist at heart, but I have a good feeling about this site in my mix of stock photography agencies.

With stock photography I work on the shoot everything because you never know what will sell premise, but sometimes I just know things will be sure sellers. A site like Shutterstock favors new images so I know that if I see some great clouds I can take that shot, and it will sell about 5-10 times before falling into a black hole to never be seen from again. But, a quickie shot like that is worth even a few sales to me. Here is a collection of photographs I have taken over the past few years with the intention of them being good sellers, and they have been all around. The apple with the money is my #1 seller on iStock.

This week I have a few client shoots planned and am starting off my stock shooting with some Education themed images that should make me some money with graduation season coming up on the horizon. It should prove to be another busy week!

Well … yesterday I sold the first photo of myself as a stock image. I don’t think I am destined for super-stardom, but lacking any other inspiration I can always be my own model!

This post is all about photos I thought wouldn’t be popular, but have turned out to be some of my top sellers. I am grabbing thumbnails and stats from Shutterstock again, not because I don’t love my other stock agencies, but because it makes me the most money so I check the stats over there more frequently!

What I have learned about stock photography is that you never know what will sell. I am speaking within the realm of technically proficient commercial in nature photos of course. I try to shoot everything I can get my hands on in enough variety to not be repetitive, but to give someone options in case they need two images. I find that especially with food imagery I see many downloads of similar images grouped together which I assume are from the same user.

In my world it is a constant activity sketching in my sketch book, looking at images for inspiration, and planning new shoots. It is great to have a creative career, but it really pushes me to the edge of my creativity sometimes. BUT … just when I think I am out of ideas a new blast of inspiration comes into my life and I am up and rolling again.

Up next : The photos I knew would be popular and are!

Here’s some of my hottest images of the week from Shutterstock!