Stock photo, illustration and video for submitters

To turn your hobby into additional income

I love drawing, making collages and digital photos. I do it for my own pleasure. But art needs audience and realization...

Few years ago I found sites which sell pictures - Stock photo sites (Microstock). There authors get some money for their pictures downloaded. While sales grow, income grows too. And pics start their own life somewhere in the world.

Initially I uploaded all I had on my hard drive, enjoying each sale. Later I started creating photos and illustrations especially for stock. I improved my retouching and vector illustration techniques with the help of the sites' forums.
I am inspired by the stock photographers who had started as amateurs and now are successful professional stockers. Nothing is better than getting money for your hobby!

What is a Stock site?

To be accurate "Stock photo" is a bit obsolete term. It was in the beginning. Now they should be called "Stock photo, illustrations, video and animation"... or, shorter: "Stock imagery".

All sites sell imagery under Royalty Free license. This means that buyer gets only the right to use the picture under certain conditions. The author still holds the rights and can sell the image on as many sites as he wants.

Common rules are: quality images (photo, illustrations, vector graphics, video) created by you.
For each recognizable person you need a Model release - written permission by the model.
There shouldn't be any trademarks, logos and copyrighted items in the image.
Different sites have their own requirements for the minimum resolution of the pics.

Images can be uploaded via the sites. There must be fulfilled Title, Description and Keywords fields. After that they wait for approval from the site's reviewers.

Payment is via MoneyBookers, PayPal or a bank cheque.

IMPORTANT! To be able to make stock you need to be an advanced amateur or professional in image creation and processing.

This article is just informative and does not claim for comprehensiveness. You need to read the Terms And Conditions of the respective site if you intend to apply.

Let me introduce...

Royalty free stock photos and vector illustrations by Shutterstock.com

Royalty free stock photos and vector illustrations by Dreamstime.com

The site offers subscription - buyer can download up to 25 pics a day. Because of that downloads here are many times more than on the other sites. It also offers On Demand and Extended licence sales, which are better payed.
Application	You must get at least 7 from 10 initial submissions approved.
Demands	photos / raster images - at least 2,5 Mp, without noise, good composition and lighting vector: .EPS AI 8 format, no rasterized elements video footage - at least 480 pixels in height with an aspect ratio of at least 4:3. NTSC or PAL standard
Payment	$0,25/subscription download if you have up to $500 earnings $0,33/subscription download if you have $500-$3 000 earnings $0,36/subscription download if you have $3 000-$10 000 earnings $1.88-$2.85 for On Demand sale up to $28 for Extended license sale
Level	high (high quality required)
Notes	Formats: photo, illustration (vector), video (footage) Easy upload. Active and friendly forums Payout is minimum $100 and is payed by the 15-th of the next month.

Nice and comfortable site with good sales. There are monthly assignments and useful stock tutorials.
Application	send a few pictures. If they get approved you can continue uploading.
Demands	photos / raster images - at least 3 Mp, without noise, good composition and lighting vector: additional .EPS AI 8 or CorelDraw! format can be added to a previously uploaded raster version.
Payment	$0,31-$31.25/download according to level and licence
Level	high (high quality required)
Notes	Formats: photo, illustration (vector), RAW) Payout is minimum $100 and is payed on demand. You can convert earnings to credits and buy pictures.

Site with lower requirements, good start for the beginners. Good sales, many Extended licenses. Vectorand video format. There is a free pictures section.
Application	7 of 10 initially uploaded images should be approved
Demands	photos / raster images - at least 2400 x 1600 (4 mp) vector EPS AI8 compatible video footage
Payment	$0,25-$63/download according to Rank, exclusivity, licence, sale Extended license (you can set your own price) $1.25-$98 for a video sale
Level	middle
Notes	You can take your earnings if you have at least $2. For earnings lower than $100 you are charged $1 for the payout. You can use earnings to buy pictures.

If you decide to get into this exciting venture and need an advice, you can e-mail me at

ana_bogdanova@dir.bg

And, please, don't forget to check the current Terms and Conditions of the choosen site!

I wish you success !

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My latest stock photos on Dreamstime

My popular stock photos on Dreamstime