From the category archives:

Microstock

Microstock Site Review: Shutterstock

by admin on December 9, 2009

ShutterstockGeneral Information

Shutterstock is one of the “Big Four” microstock agencies. It was founded in 2003 and currently has over 9 million pictures online. With this, it is the microstock site with the largest number of pictures. Shutterstock has invented the subscription pricing system that most other agences now have adopted as well.

Submitting Pictures

If you want to sell your pictures at Shutterstock, you will have to send 10 of them for application. If at least 7 of those are accepted, you can upload as many pictures as you like. If you fail the application review, you can send 10 more pictures after 30 days.

For uploading pictures, Shutterstock offers FTP, a Java applet and a HTML form. They have a small set of basic categories of which you can chose two. But for any kind of graphics, the use of the “Illustration/Graphics” category is mandatory, so you have just a single category left.

Shutterstock has a very useful feature which is the reason why I upload my pictures first on this site: It checks the spelling of your keywords. If you have a spelling error in the keywords, you have the chance to correct it before you upload them to other sites.

Picture Review

The review for your initial batch of ten application pictures is fairly tough, and it might well be that you have to repeat the process. But once you have been accepted, the inspectors are noticeably less picky. The tough application is supposed to make sure that you are really capable of producing high quality content.

For my computer graphics images, Shutterstock has the highest acceptance ratio of all the microstock sites I upload to. Your mileage may vary of course.

Pricing

For a long time, Shutterstock has only been selling pictures via their subscription models that allow customers to download up to 25 picturers a day. Recently they also added pay on demand and extendend licenses, but the vast majority of sales still comes from subscriptions.

When you start out you get $0.25 for each subscription sale and $.81 or $1.08 for on-demand sales. After your lifetime earnings have surpassed $500, $3000 and $3000 these amounts are increased. A full overview of the Shutterstock earnings possibilities can be found here.

Payout

Payouts are made automatically after the month your balance reaches a set limit ($75 minimum, $100 is the default). Supported are Paypal, Moneybookers and check. You will receive the  money in the second half of the following month. There have been no problems with Shuttestock payouts so far.

Community

Shutterstock have their own forum system where  livley discussions are going on. It is one of the few microstock sites where the forums are not merely a question and answer place but also a place for gossip and in-depth discussion. Furthermore it is my impression that Shutterstock staff are following their forums closer than in any other microstock agency. So if you have something to say, chances are good it will be noticed.

Earnings Potential

Shutterstock has the reputation of being the fastest paced microstock site. New pictures are given a strong preference while older ones fall farther and farther back in the searches. Because of this experience the term “feeding the beast” was coined, meaning that you have to upload continuosly in order to maintain a good position in picture searches. Recently, the search algoirithm was changed, so this effect may not be as strong anymore as it used to be.

My personal experiences with Shutterstock are a bit mixed. When I started I was lucky enough to be featured for over a month on the “New Artists” section which gave a big initial boost to my sales. But after that, my earnings from subscription sales have not been overwhelmingly good.  I got a few extended license sales though, and every once in a while there are on-demand downloads. But because uploading is hassle-free, I see no reason not to upload at Shutterstock.

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Keep it Simple!

by admin on December 3, 2009

cocktail01bWhen you want to offer your works on microstock sites, you have to attract potential buyers and convince them to purchase your pictures instead of those of other contributors. An essential first step is of course good keywording because you want your pictures to be found instead of to be collecting virtual dust.

But a typical picture search will usually give hundreds or even thousands of results. So it is also important that they attract the attention of the buyer.

It is important to understand that a good microstok picture will have the same effect on the buyer as it has on the buyer’s audience. You try to sell the picture to the buyer, and the buyer tries to sell something with the use of your picture. The mechanisms behind this are the same.

You only have few seconds to convince your customers to klick on your pictures. Keep in mind that search results are always in thumbnail view. Pictures overloaded with details and with many different colors look to “messy” most of the times. The best eye catchers are simple shapes and clear solid colors. White backgrunds help, but also black has it merits as it can enhance the effect of bright colors.

With the big microstock sites about to reach the 10 million picture mark, it is more important than ever for your images to stand out from the crowd.

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Microstock Site Review: Crestock

by admin on November 30, 2009

crestockTo put first things first: This is not so much a review as a warning. At the time of writing this, I can not recommend to anyone to join this agency.

General Information

Crestock was founded in 2005 in Norway. It is one of the smaller microstock sites, although they don’t publish the actual number of pictures to the public. The company started with the ambitious concept to offer the highest quality pictures of all microstock sites while maintaining attractive prices for buyers.

Submitting Pictures

You can upload via FTP or a HTML form with 10 slots. Crestock has a very efficient bulk editing system can save you a lot of time, if you have filled out the IPTC data for title, description and keywords. It is one of the sites that refrain from using categories for pictures, so this will save even more time.

Picture Review

Crestock has the reputation of having the pickiest reviewers of all microstock agencies. This is of course due to their intention to offer only the finest pictures to their clients. Especially for technical issues, the review standard is extremely tough. Some accepted pictures will be downsized to a smaller resolution without asking. But there are also many complaints that rejections are inconsistent and sometimes plainly imcomprehensible. And also in my own experience, I had to scratch my head very often about the reasons that were given for some rejections.

The review process used to be very fast. In fact a bit too fast for my taste, as I can remember a few times when pictures were accepted or rejected within minutes after submittal. It really made you wonder how a picture could be properly judged in such a short time.

But now, things have changed to the exact opposite. Some submitters complain that their pictures haven’t be reviewed for two monts.

Pricing

Crestock pushes the marketing of subscription plans, but it is also possible to buy single images at a higher price. For each subscription sale the contributor will get $0.25. Regular sales will give you $1.

Payout

Payout can be requested, if your accout is over $50. Supported are Paypal and Moneybookers.

Currently, Crestock is extremely slow with payouts. Many contributors complain about waiting for months to get their money.

Forum

There are a few forums on the site, but there is not much going on. Common topics are “When will my pictures be reviewed?, “Why did you reject this picture?”, “Where is my money?” or “Please close my account!”. Response from Crestock staff is almost non-existent.

Earnings Potential

My earnings at Crestock are minimal. After almost a year of membership, my account has not yet reached a two-digit value.

Conclusion

At the present time, Crestock seem to have serious difficulties in keeping up their business. Finances seem to be extremely tight. Payouts are still made, but only after very long waiting periods. There have also been reports about staff members leaving the company which might explain the current lag in reviews.

One can only speculate about the reasons, but I would think that the “high quality for bargain prices” concept backfired. Less and less contributors are willing to give away their pictures for a quarter. Such low prices can only be justified by high download volumes. But Crestock did not manage to attract enough buyers to warrant the loyality of contribtors. This loyality has been undermined even more by the high rejection rate. Right now, Crestock seems to have been trapped in a vicious circle: Contributors are fed up and stay away, and buyers can’t find interesting new pictures and stay away too.

I suspect one of two things to happen within the next few months: Either the site will be closed for good or it will be bought by a competitor. The concentration process on the microstock market will continue.

Until then, I can only recommend to avoid Crestock.

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Fun with Earth

by admin on November 28, 2009

rubik03If you look at the top selling 3D pictures of a microstock site, you will notice that some of them are just plain Earth globe pictures. This is a relic from the early days of microstock, where agencies had to build up their stocks and were eager to accept just about any picture that met a minimum quality standard.

Today, none of the major agencies will accept such pictures anymore. As most of the imagery is based on NASA pictures, they don’t want you to make money just by copying a plain picture. And they are right, in my opinion.

But with some creativity you still can create pictures that will get accepted and will be sold. Projecting the picture onto unusual objects is always a good place to start. Or try to put Earth into unusual situations or an everyday scene where it can replace something round. And if you can give it a symbolic meaning as well, even better.

Earth is a timeless subject. The things you can do with it in microstock graphics are only limited by your own imagination.

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Why Microstock isn’t Art

by admin on November 25, 2009

I already touched this topic in my first post on this blog, but I think it deserves its own article. It does not matter if you are a graphics person or a photographer, the basic principles are the same. Making pictures is a creative process, no doubt about that. And many photographers and graphic deisgners see themselves at least partly as artists. But when it comes to selling your pictures in the microstock business, can you really call your works “art”?

The definition of what is art and what is not has always been a topic for lively discussions and will certainly continue to be. So I can only give my personal view on that matter here. In my opinion there are two things where the concepts of art and microstock are fundamentally different:

1. Personality vs. Anonymity

All works of art have a creator. Usually artists are proud of their work and will publish it under their name and may even sign it. There is always a direct connection between artist and work.

In Microstock, pictures are usually used anonymously. Buyers are able to see the identity of the creator, but when the pictures are published, his or her name will rareley be disclosed, and then only hidden away somwhere in the small print.

2. Uniqueness vs. Mass Market

For me, a work of art has to have an aspect of uniqueness. This does not mean it should not be reproduced and distributed, but it has to be in a context where it is given the importance that it deserves.

Microstock pictures are made to be sold by the dozen, and most of the times their use is only illustrative. They might show up in situations the creator would never have thought of.

3. Inspiration vs. Purpose

Art is made because the artist wants to create it. Period. If people like it, even better. Sometimes artists want to deliver a message, sometimes they only want to create something that is pleasing to the eye. Of course, artists need money to survive just as everybody else. So if they see that their art is not very popular, they might try to change their style. Creating something in order to sell it is nothing to be ashamed of. But the inspiration of true artists will always be their imagination and not the taste of the crowd.

Evidently, microstock pictures are created to be sold as well, but there is an important difference to art which I believe to be the most fundamental. In microstock, pictures are bought not for enjoyment but to serve a purpose.

Good microstock creators will try to make their pictures according to the needs of those who are supposed to buy them. Thier target markets are advertising agencies and publishers. But this does not imply that they should deny their own personal style and just clone successful competitors. To stand out from the crowd, they have to maintain their personality without losing appeal for potential buyers. This is the most important aspect of microstock in my opinion. Getting this balance right is the master key to success in microstock.

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Microstock’s Favorite Color? White!

by admin on November 19, 2009

HeartMagazine editors love white! Paper is white, so anything on a white background will blend seemlessly into the contents. There is nothing more versatile than a simple object or scene surrounded by some white space.

For stock photographers it is a significant effort to shoot perfect pictures of isolated objects. They need expensive equipment and much experience in setting up the studio lights. Some photographers try to avoid this tedious work and try to isolate their objects with Photoshop. But this is not easy either. Badly done Photoshop isolations are daily fare for reviewrs on microstock sites.

Rendered 3D computer graphics has got a defintive advantage over photography here. You have to setup your basic white scene only once, and then you can put anything into it you want. Possibilities are virtually unlimited, but 3D designers have a different problem to solve: If you want to render something, you obviously need a  model.

Depending on your skills and personal preferences, you can either model the object yourself or try to get hold of a model that somebody else designed. There are countless websites where you can buy commercial models, but there are also plenty of possibilities to get free models that can even be legally used in a commerial environment.

But as nice and useful isolated objects may be, there are so many other things that can be done with computer graphics, that it would be a shame just to rely on them. I think most photographers couldn’t imagine just to shoot isolated objects and nothing else. And as far as I am concerned, I feel much the same. I regard the isolations as bread and butter work, but it’s always better to have some ham or jam with it!

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Get Ready For Spring on Microstock!

by admin on November 17, 2009

Dandelion with seeds flying awayIts only November, but Christmas is almost over on Microstock! Preemptive uploading is one of the key factors for success om mircostock sites.

Upload Early…

The early bird catches the worm. This old saying is especially true for microstock. Planning advertising campaigns takes time, and magazines need to stock up on topics early enough so they won’t be forced into rush jobs.

Right now, the first decisions are being made about what to publish in next spring. Help publishers and advertisers by supplying them with seasonal pictures as soon as possible.

Evidently, this holds true not only for spring but for any other seasonal topics as well. Last year’s pictures may not yet look outdated, but something fresh is always better than recycled material.

But Not Too Early

Now perhaps you think you’re clever, so you start pumping out halloween pictures. But uploading them right now will most likely backfire. Of course it is good not to be too late. But to be too early is just as bad. Campaigns for next halloween are most likely to be planned in late summer, so any pictures uploaded now will get buried under a heap of fresh material that will come in later.

Many buyers of microstock images have their search results sorted by “newest first”. You have to take this into account when uploading pictures. A good time to upload seasonal material is about three months in advance.

For us digital artists this means that now is the time to create our spring pictures, so we have enough in stock to start uploading around Christmas.

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Microstock Site Review: Fotolia

by admin on November 16, 2009

The first microstock site I ever joined was Fotolia. I don’t recall what led me there in particular, it might have been a forum post or a review on a website.

I started out putting up my nicest travel photographs, some of which have been selling quite well actually. So when I started to get more serious in my 3D graphics efforts, I did not think long about uploading my works there as well.

General Information

Fotolia is one of the oldest and one of the biggest microstock sites on the internet. It was founded in 2005 in France. Headquaters have since been moved to New York City, but the main market is still Europe. Fotolia’s  Alexa rank in Germany is 81 (!) as I write this, in the US it is only around 1000.

In early 2009, Fotolia also started accepting videos and 3D animations. Currently they have slightly more than 7 million JPG pictures, 400000 vector illustrations and 50000 videos online.

Fotolia is divided into a number of regional sites, but they share a common database. Keywording is expected to be done in the local language, the keywords will then be translated. It is also possible to choose another language for keywords.

Signing Up

Unlike other sites who require an application with sample pictures, Fotolia accepts every anyone who wants to join. Just fill out the forms, and your’e in!

Submitting Pictures

Pictures can be uploaded in various ways:

  • Up to 5 pictures at a time via HTML
  • With a Flash applet
  • By FTP

IPTC data is recognized flawlessly. As soon pictures are uploaded, you can edit their details. If you had the keywords in IPTC data, all you need is to assign two categories, one “representative” and one “conceptual”. Unfortunately, the category tree is not very intuitive, expecially for the conceptual ones. Everything seems to be pretty random. But most buyers ignore the catagories anyway and search for keywords, so this does not really matter.

There is no feature for batch editing, but the submiting proces still is quite fast.

Picture Review

Picture review time is not too speedy but still acceptable, usually it takes three to four days. For computer graphics, the acceptance rate is pretty good. About 80 to 90 percent of my graphics pictures get accepted. Your mileage may vary, of course. With photography, reviewers are a bit pickier, mainly due to the fact that they already have a huge stock of images, so they dont want to “dilute” it. But I still think their acceptance rate is resonable.

Pricing

Fotolia has a credit system with 1 credit equalling €1. Pictures are priced by size and cost from 1 to 8 credits at the cheapest level. There is a also a susbcription service where pictures are significantly cheaper.

What percentage of a sale contributors get depends on your canister level. This means the more sales you have, the higher you climb on the leader and the more you get from your sales. On thing that sets Fotolia apart from the rest is that after you have reached a higher canister level, you have the possibility to set your own prices. The higher your level, the higher you can set your price.

The system is a bit too complicated to explain here in full detail. For the actual figures, please refer to the Contributors Information Page at Fotolia.

Payout

When you have accumulated more than 50 credits, you can request a payout via Paypal or Moneybookers. I only have a Paypal account, and requested payments will arrive there within a few days.

Anything Else?

Fotolia has a forum system that is divided between the regional sites. There is not too much going on, but if  you have specific questions, it’s good to know that there is a place where you can get help.

There have been complaints from long time contributors that conditions have become worse over time. Fotolia once used to pay out the highest commission rates. But with the introdoction of subscription servicec by their competitors, especially Shutterstock, they were forced to cut down a little. Also the introduction of exclusivity options was not very warmly welcomed. Instead of giving exclusive contributors a bonus, they took off a few percent from the non-exclusive contributors as compared to before. But Fotolia still has a very competitive payout model for contributors.

If you have pictures in your portfolio that have not sold for 24 months, you are given the possibility to offer them in the free section for a on-time payment of 0.5 credit. This option is really quite good, because the free section only shows a fraction of all available pictures at any time, and your pictures can still be bought at the regular conditions as well.

Earnings Potential

Fotolia is my top earner. But to be honest, my best sellers are still some of my older photographs. For selling computer graphics, I would not rely on Fotolia alone. But as application is hassle-free and submitting is fast, there is no reason not to join.

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What is Special About Microstock Graphics?

by admin on November 15, 2009

fragezIf you are are an amateur with an interest in computer graphics, it is very likely that you create your pictures just for your own personal enjoyment. You might use Ultrafract to explore the unfathomed depths of fractal formulas, design 3D cartoon characters with Blender or create virtual worlds with Vue or Bryce. Perhaps you will set up a website or a join a graphics community where you can show your works to the world.

Now maybe you have read somewhere that you can put up your pictures on microstock agencies and earn real money with them! So you sign up, upload a few dozen of your most beautiful pictures and take on the tedious task of assigning keywords and categories. First you will notice that a lot of your pictures will be rejected by the agencies for whatever reason. Then you sit back and wait for the cash to roll in… But after a while you might realize that you sell hardly any pictures at all, and your monthly income from your pictures might be in the single-digit range. But Why? Your pictures are so beautiful and all the forum people loved them!

In Microstock You Are not an Artist, You Are a Supplier

The most important thing to understand about selling your pictures on microstock sites is that people buy a picture not because they think it is beautiful but because they need it for their business. They don’t want to frame it and hang it an the wall above their couch, they need it for a sales brochure or a website or as an illustration for a magazine arcticle.

You can sell your pictures only if they meet a need of your customers. And one mean thing about microstock ist that you don’t even know wo buys your works. You might stumble upon them in your newspaper or even on a billboard. To be successful in microstock in general, no matter if it’s  graphics or photography, is that you move from Art For Art’s Sake to Give the People What They Want. But this does not mean you should sell your soul to Mammon and deny all your aesthetic concepts.

The Holy Grail of Microstock

The true art of microstock is to find a way to align your personal style with the views of the potential buyers. The better you manage to walk that tightrope, the more successful you will be. The ultimate goal for which to strive is a picture that sells like hotcakes but could also hang in a museum.

Of course this goal is somewhat hypothetical, especially when you are just beginning. And be prepared that many of your pictures will of the bread-and-butter type. But take a look at the most popluar images on a microstock site. You will find some truly amazing pictures there that are far from being “cold an commercial” – not all but some. Now if you have the feeling that you could take on this adventure without sacrificing your artistic integrity, then I can only say three words to you: Go for it!

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