This is the first post I have made at Tangler - Anyway Welcome to the Microstock photography group.

I
have yet to explore all the delights Tangler has to offer but It looks
like a fantastic concept and Im looking forward to see what it brings.

 I though I would introduce the group with a brief description of the Microstock concept! ENjoy.

MicroStock or “micropayment stock photography” is a slightly different approach to selling stock photography where the photographer earns by selling a higher volume of images at very cheap prices compared to conventional stock.
images.

MicroStock is a term that was introduced by a company in the 90s "microstock.com" offering low cost stock
photography to customers on the internet. Microstock.com were shortly followed by a number of other sites, Istockphoto,shutterstock,Dreamstime,Fotolia and Featurepics to name but a few.

Microstock sites work by providing a large image library to their users – usually on a
subscription basis. One of the main reasons for their recent success is the
image pricing model they use. Typically a royalty free image sold on a
conventional stock photography site such as Alamy or Corbis would be sold for
somewhere between $100 and $400, where an equivalent image being sold through a
Microstock agency would be sold for anything between 25 cents and a few
dollars. This may not sound like much but when your best images are selling 3
times a day you can soon start to appreciate the money coming in.

The sites obtain their images from photographers and graphic designers who submit their images
for sale. These images can be anything from landscape photography to pictures
of food - basically anything that could be used in a magazine or a website or
an advert (or anywhere else for that matter).

The bestsellers will generally have been specifically photographed for stock but you can just
upload your collection of animal pictures if you like. You will soon get a good
idea of what type of images sell well and which aren’t worth uploading. All
images containing people must have model release forms submitted with the
images.

Graphics and digital art and illustrations often sell as well or even better than
photography. You only have to look at the top 50 images at some of the sites
below to see that large proportions are Photoshop creations!

In my experience, realistic expectations for a competent amateur would be about one dollar per
month per image. This can vary dramatically depending on the quality and the
type of images offered for sale. Several of my best images sell on average once
every day.

 This post - is the first experimental post i have made with "tangler" - A very interesting concept indeed.

To find out more visit talkmicro   or ask in here!

D 

Welcome to Tangler D! 

I like that idea of Microstock... Does that mean that once you buy the image, you can use it as many time as you want? What if I want to share it with someone? Are there any conditions attached?

Each site has it's own requirements, The majority under the type of Royalty Free but other extended terms are available. Usually an image can be used for one project or purpose, you could not share it with friends for example. But at 25cents an image you could just download it again!

 Doug