Make sure that you read our Photographers Tips page before aiming your sights at the big guys of the microstock world.
Microstock Photographers Guide
Shutterstock
Slightly different from other microstock agencies in that Shutterstock is subscription only. Therefore their customers mainly consist of large design agencies who have a daily download limit. This means that microstock photographers tend to get fairly fast results with freshly uploaded images but the sales tail off after a time so frequent uploads of new material are essential to maintain a regular income.
That said, Shutterstock often runs head to head on revenue potential with iStock below. They're not nearly as picky either, but you still need to be careful when first trying Shutterstock as they impose a one month ban on further applications if less than 7 out of 10 of your initial upload fails to make the grade. A quick tip, they are looking for variety on your initial application so DON'T send them 10 photo's consisting of landscapes and flowers. Also be aware that just about everybody gets their first batch refused so don't take it personally. You will get sales IMMEDIATELY upon acceptance so perseverance is worthwhile. Shutterstock have a very easy uploading process and it's a dream compared to iStock. Minimum payout balance is set to $100 by default. You can manually set it to $75. You'll automatically get paid at the end of each month assuming you hit minimum payout and that tends to come around quite quickly. It's a slightly easier ride getting accepted as a vector illustrator here. Shutterstock is the ultimate goal for a Microstock photogragher, as they produce the fastest sales turnaround of all the agencies.
iStockPhoto
The original microstock agency started by Bruce Livingstone is now owned by Getty Images, the biggest name in stock photography. iStock is arguably the biggest name in the Microstock world too. Depending on your portfolio, and how you play things with them they can be the biggest potential source of income for a microstock photographer.
However, iStock ARE fussy about what images they take. Take time to read up on what they want and what they don't want, and be aware that they will scrutinize your initial photo submissions with an extremely fine toothcomb. If the words "artifacts" and "noise" mean nothing to you at this point, they will after you've been at iStock for a while. Their uploading process is quite long winded and time consuming, but worth all the effort because the sales are very good here. Also the minimum payout balance needs to hit $100 before you can get your hands on it, but like Shutterstock above that tends to come around before you know it. Vector illustrators should find the acceptance ritual a trifle easier going here too. Istock have recently started accepting audio samples such as sound effects and music loops for sale on the same principles as their photo and video stock.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime, like Fotolia below are also a popular choice for European customers. Unlike Fotolia, they are less easy going the image acceptance side of things, although nowhere near as fussy as iStock or Shutterstock. Dreamstime are definitely one of the big six microstocks.
Their $100 payout threshold means that it will probably take longer to reach paydirt than with Fotolia below, but depending on the contents of your portfolio, they could turn out to be the bigger breadwinner of the two. The site has a limited zoom facility, which sadly unlike Istock and Fotolia doesn't allow the customer the chance to see much detail while they are browsing. They probably lose some customers over this, which is a shame since Dreamstime often turn up some of the larger individual sales and if they tweaked the zoom facility, they probably get a whole lot more. Uploading is a relatively hassle free ride.
Fotolia
Depending on who you ask, Fotolia may come up third or fourth on the earnings table when up against Dreamstime above. Although their head office is in New York, Fotolia has a large number of European users. Therefore you may find that different images turn out more popular here than on some of the other micrstocks.
They are considerably more easy going than the aforementioned three when it comes to image acceptance. Fotolia should give you a healthy turnaround and a regular paycheck and are well worth the time. Their image browsing and zooming facilities are good too, which helps sales a lot. Their payout threshold is only $50 which is also a popular feature, especially with photographers who are only beginning to build a portfolio. Uploading to fotolia is fairly trouble free.
BigStockPhoto
Definitely one of the big six, but sometimes scoffed at because of their easy going policy on image acceptance. BigStock are one of the least piccy of the microstocks when it comes to what they'll accept image wise. However they are no slouch when it comes to sales. They promote heavily on the search engines, and are a popular choice for web designers because they often have a wider choice of material on any given subject, by virtue of the fact that they let more through the door in the first place.
Their minimum payout threshold is $30 too, which means that you'll probably get paid by Bigstock before anyone else in the early stages of your microstock life. BigStockPhoto should be the first agency you apply to, if only for the boost to your ego! Uploading is fairly quick and easy.
123RF
Which is short for 123 Royalty Free. OK so it's not the most electric sounding name for a microstock website and to be frank it's not the most dynamic in terms of sales either. Based in the UK (although they still pay out in US Dollars) they do indulge in the occasional promotional drive from time to time which gives sales a boost.
They are, like BigStockPhoto, fairly easy going on what they'll accept from photographers. And that, coupled with the fact that you can manually set your payout threshold to $50 (you just need to know where to look), means that they are worth the time and effort. Be warned though, beginner microstockers with small portfolios will take quite some time to reach payout here. On the upside, the uploading process is very quick and easy.
FeaturePics
Not technically a microstock agency really since YOU determine the picture price. It has to be said that Featurepics doesn't exactly rock the world earnings wise either.
They are however very useful as a portal for selling your photo's if you have your own website as they provide helpful HTML codes for linking across to individual shots and entire portfoilios. Also many microstockers set their images at prices to rival the major microstock agencies (because Featurepics give photographers a whopping 70% of the sale price, which means that both you and the buyer can get a better deal) and therefore you CAN earn money and with a threshold of $50 you CAN make payout at Featurepics. Uploading is easy and they accept most images without any fuss.
CanStockPhoto
Canadian based microstock agency that sadly doesn't really bring home the bucks. Yes it is possible to earn some cash here but it's going to be really, really slow. And if you only have a small portfolio we are talking years.
What they DO have going for them is a really useful keyword suggestion facility, and this makes them worth the effort. The trick is to upload to Canstock first, and copy any relevant keywords that they suggest onto your image information before uploading the pics to the other agencies. Also the fact that they have a $50 payout threshold means that you just might earn some money one day here. They're very easy going on what they accept image wise and uploading is pretty much a breeze.
