There was a time when it was possible to make some half
decent money selling photos through stock photography sites, although it was
several years ago now. Making money selling photos through stock sites is
virtually impossible, and whilst it is still possible to make a bit of money,
and by a bit I mean pocket change, it is no longer possible to make real money.
Digital photography has gone mad over the last few years and
with modern day cameras being so good it is now possible to “point and shoot”
and capture a commercial and saleable photo there are now thousands of people
trying to make money with their photos through the stock sites. With thousands
of contributors with portfolios of hundreds/thousands of photos the millions on
stock images out there has saturated the market making sales pretty difficult
to come by. The stock photography bubble has well and truly burst.
I still sell the odd photo through the various stock sites,
however the images are very old and I get hardly anything for them. I haven’t
been a regular stock site contributor for the last five years or so, and I am
not going to put in the time and effort in adding to my stock site portfolios
when I get hardly anything out of it. There are far more lucrative things I can
do with my photos to generate a little money and that is now what I spend my
time doing.
Rather than submitting photos to stock sites I now use the
“stock” type photos I take (and I still go out with the sole intention of
taking stock style photos) and sell them through a couple of print on demand
stores. Making money through the print on demand stores is easy and also fun
too. Basically, I upload the photos and place them on a variety of different
products, such as mugs, mouse pads, t-shirts/tops, plates, serving trays,
teapots, laptop cases, key rings, posters, postcards, greetings cards, watches,
pendants and charms, blankets, hats, shower curtains……. Etc. Once the photo is
paced on the various products it is time to post them for sale and then get to
work doing a bit of marketing to let the world know about my designs.
The good thing about using photos on a print on demand store
is that photos are never declined. This means I can light the photos the way I
want, I can expose the photos the way I want, I can compose the photos the way
I want and I will never get an email saying “you’re photo has been declined
because “it is not properly lit” or “it is not properly exposed” or “it is not
properly composed”. Photography is subjective and there is no such thing as
“properly lit, properly exposed or properly composed” so having photos declined
because the site moderator has totally different views and opinions is a real
kick in the guts. When I submit my photos to print on demand sites I submit
what I want to submit so it allows for more creativity.
In addition to this, it means I can use whatever camera I
have with me and still get photos I know I can post to the store and
potentially sell. Whilst I prefer to shoot a dslr (my Canon 6d – checkout the
pros and cons here) there are times when I only carry my point and shoot camera
(my Canon G1X) or my old Canon 450d.
Starting a print on demand store is hard work and it does
take a bit of time to get the first sale, but once the first one comes the
second, and third is not far behind, and once you have a few sales under your
belt there is a snowball effect and they pick up super quick. It did take me
about four months to reach the minimum pay out to begin with, but I not only
reach the payout threshold on a monthly basis, I blow t out the water, and have
done ever since.
So, rather than wasting your time submitting photos to stock
photography sites I suggest submitting them to a print on demand store instead.
The rewards are higher and there is a real chance of making some proper money
and not just a few pennies here and there.
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| I can even capture commercial images with my Canon G1X. Check out my Canon G1X gallery Buy the Canon G1X from Amazon.com (US) or buy the Canon G1X from Amazon.co.uk (UK) |
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