Microstock Photography

March, and April Earnings

2013-05-24T08:13:00.002-07:00

I have not had a chance to blog for awhile, since I was mainly focused on uploading more images to the main microstock sites.
The month of March was my best month ever at Shutterstock for earnings with $443.98 and I had 608 downloads. Fotolia ,and Deposit Photo did well, but not so good for 123 RF, and Dreamstime which came last. No signs of life for Can Stock Photo, Pocketstock, Bigstock, Cutcaster or Graphic Leftovers.
I decided to cancel my account at Pockestock, Can Stock ,and Graphic Leftovers. No reason to waste time uploading images to those sites, at least for me.
April seemed to be very promising in the first two weeks at Shutterstock, but the last week of the month was slow. It was my best month ever for the number of downloads with 668, but not for earnings with a total of $391.38. As usual, Fotolia came in second place, then Deposit Photo, and the other sites. I signed up for Pond 5, and uploaded some videos and images, but no sales yet. I heard that Pond 5 is the best place to sell footage. Looking forward to get some sales over there, and I like the idea that we can set our own prices. I have not had any sales at Fine Art America for a long time, and I only had one of $18 on the first week that I signed up. Not planning to be a paid member at this point.
Soon I will reaching 7,000 downloads at Shutterstock. I'm working on increasing the amount of images in my portfolio, and I hope to reach 5,000 in the next few months.

Some of my best sellers at Shutterstock:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

Learning New Skills with Footage

2013-04-03T06:52:00.003-07:00

Besides microstock photography, I'm also learning about footage, and it is a lot of fun. I recently bought a Nikon D7000 which has a HD 1080p Video camera, and it is great! After some research, I was able to add my first 33 videos at Shutterstock, and I can't wait to add more. The review process for footage is way faster than images, and so far I'm having a 100% approval rate, exciting!

No sales yet, but I heard it takes longer than images to get your first sales. I also added 22 clips to Pond5, and it should take one to two weeks to get reviewed, crossing my fingers. The uploading process is pretty easy, I use FTP with Filezilla, and I had no problems so far. Now I'm trying to find new subjects for my next videos, and find out what sales.

Here are three of my clips, still learning, and hoping to improve in the near future.

http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-3645623-stock-footage-golden-mixed-breed-dog-digging-a-stick-at-the-lake-sand.html

http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-3645611-stock-footage-waterfalls-lake-stream-flow-movement-background.html

http://footage.shutterstock.com/clip-3645761-stock-footage-waterfalls-stream-flow-movement-background.html

Reached another Raise at Shutterstock

2013-03-14T09:39:00.003-07:00

March has been the best to date in downloads ,and earnings. I knew I would be reaching Shutterstock next raise to $0.36, but not that early in the month. An EL ( Enhanced Download) did the magic this morning. The EL image is my best seller at the moment, and gets many sales a day.

Now, it is a long ride to the $0.38 club, but I'm ready for it, bring it on.

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

February 2013 Earnings

2013-03-14T09:32:00.002-07:00

I'm very happy with February earnings and downloads, it is my best month ever at Shutterstock for both, and Fotolia. Weak at Dreamstime as usual, no surprises there. 123 RF , and Deposit Photos had some sales.
Shutterstock was on the 1st place as always with 484 downloads, and $ 363.15 in earnings which is a record for me, never got close to $300 before. I added many images to my portfolio in the past 3 months, and it is starting to payoff now. I'm really excited with the improvements ,and March looks great so far ,and it could be another best month ever.

Some of my new images:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

January 2013 Earnings

2013-02-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

After the Holidays slow down sales, I'm having great sales, and more downloads day by day. January was almost a best month ever, a little short on downloads, and earnings but a very strong month. Shutterstock is always on the lead compared to all other agencies, and I got 420 downloads, and $216.05 which makes my 2nd best month ever. It could have been number one, if it weren't for the Holidays that affected the 1st week of January.

Fotolia always comes in second, and soon getting more payouts. 123RF, Deposit Photo, and Dreamstime were slow as usual. Sales are less, and less at those 3 sites. No sales at Pocketstock, and I don't see anything good coming from this agency. Fine Art America had no sales, only one sale so far since I became a member.

I finally passed the 2,000 images mark, and now I have 2,057. Soon, I will be reaching 5,000 downloads at Shutterstock, and close to another raise in a month or two.

My new uploads ,and best sellers:
http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

December 2012 Earnings

2013-01-18T07:55:00.001-08:00

Shutterstock earnings was very similar to November, slightly below as I expected due to the Holidays. A total of 340 downloads , and $ 178.01. Fotolia came on second place as usual, and I get downloads almost everyday now. I had very few downloads from Dreamstime, Deposit Photo ,and 123 RF, and they are not doing well this month either. CanStock, Graphic Leftovers, and Big Stock are a total waste of time, nothing ever happens on those sites.

I recently became a contributor at Pockestock Photo by invitation, and now I have 500 images in my portfolio. I had no sales yet, and it looks like is going to follow CanStock with zero downloads every month. The site is very slow, and freezes all the time, probably affecting buyers also. I will wait 6 months before I give up on them.

Overall, Shuterstock is the best miscrostock site for downloads, and earnings. I just wish they had better reviewers, no bugs on the site, and all of us would benefit from it. On a positive side, the review process is way faster, and soon I will reach 5000 downloads.

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=115427305

November Earnings

2012-12-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

The month of November had a great start for downloads, and earnings at Shutterstock, but it got pretty bad during the third week. I believe was due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, slow image review times, and increased image rejection. Rejection mostly due to SS reviewers's lack of consistency since I was able to get some of them accepted afterwards. Overall, it was not too bad, but I was expecting to hit another BME( best month ever), since it was a trend for the past 4 months. Shutterstock had 343 downloads, and $ 180.39 which was 30% less than October for earnings.

Fotolia had a best month ever, so did 123 RF. Deposit Photos, and Dreamstime showed some reaction during the last two weeks of the month.

Looking forward to hit some milestones. Shutterstock will reach 4,000 downloads soon, and in a few months, I hope to reach the $0.36 club. Also, I have 1,665 images, and I'm working to get to 5,000 images by April next year.

I reached a new milestone at Fotolia today, now I'm on the next rank level. I need to increase the amount of images over there, but they reject too many pictures that sell pretty well everywhere else.

Some of my recent best sellers:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

October Earnings

2012-11-03T16:33:00.002-07:00

Once again I had a best month ever for earnings, and number of downloads at Shutterstock. I had 428 downloads, and earned $ 254.07. Many On Demand Downloads this month, and it was a record for me, 4 SODs, but no ELs this time, still it was a best month. It was also good at Fotolia, 123 RF, Deposit Photos, and Dreamstime, they are starting to pick up, especially Fotolia.

This month I added over 550 images to my Shutterstock portfolio, and hope this helps to increase sells in November and give me another best month ever. Now , I have 1609 images in my portfolio. Image reviews are slower this week due to the Hurricane Sandy, and rejections are on the rise.I'm working hard to add more images , and reach my goal of 5,000 images in my port by April next year.

The first two days of November was really great, lets see how the rest of the month goes.

One of my best sellers new image:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

September 2012 Earnings

2012-10-02T08:10:00.002-07:00

Once again, I had a best month ever at Shutterstock, followed by Fotolia ,and 123RF. Sales are increasing over Fotolia which is surprising ,and I finally got my first payout there. I passed the $200 for the first time at Shutterstock , and earnings reached the amount of $ 219.98 with 307 downloads. Two ELs, two SODs, and many many ODs helped the increase.

Here are the 2 ELs from Shutterstock:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

August Earnings

2012-09-03T21:24:00.003-07:00

I had the best month ever at Shutterstock in downloads, and earnings. I got 333 downloads with earnings of $ 190.74. It was way more than I expected since the month started pretty slow for me. It picked up after the 15th of the month. I got one EL, two $ 15 SODs, $4.75 SOD, low amount of ODs this time, but more regular downloads.

The first 3 days of September started pretty good, hope it continues, and surpasses August. I'm looking forward to reach 1000 images in my Shutterstock portfolio, and I have 938 so far.

Other sites like Fotolia, and Deposit Photo had an increase in downloads also. I even reached my first payout at Fotolia. Dreamstime was dead for the first three weeks, and I got some sales at the end. It was an average month for downloads at 123 RF. Big Stock, and CanStock Photo are the worst sites ever with many months of consecutive zero downloads, and I'm not uploading images there anymore.

Two new images are having a high amount of downloads:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

Best Week Ever

2012-08-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm having the best week ever at Shutterstock, and very close to a best month ever this month of August. I had two $15.00 SODs, and one $28.00 EL so far with a higher number of downloads in general. It looks like the summer slump sales are over.

$28.00 EL

Two $15.00 SODs:

July Earnings

2012-07-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

The month of July was little bit odd, started very slow during the first couple of weeks, and picked up on the last two weeks. I believe that uploading extra 211 images helped to increase sales at the end of the month at Shutterstock. My best month was last May , and this month was my 3rd best month for money, and 2nd in the amount of downloads. I had no ELs ,and no SODs, but I had a pretty good amount of ODs. I got 269 downloads ,and earned $ 136.88 for July.
Looking forward for the month of August, hoping for a best month ever.

Some new images that are becoming best sellers:
http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

My New Bestsellers

2012-07-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

Unsold Images

2012-07-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

All microstock photographers have some images that we had high expectations, and never got a sale.
Here are some of my unsold images.

http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=757657

My Newest Images for Sale on Shutterstock

2012-07-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Images of the Week

2012-07-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

June Earnings at Shutterstock

2012-07-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Once again reached a payout over $100, but It was not my best month ever. I had fewer ODs than last month, and a SOD of $15 helped to overcome the decrease of ODs. Also, the number of downloads was lower by 99 downloads. I'm wondering if it is the summer affecting sells. Overall it was a normal and stable month with 224 downloads with a total earnings of $126.62. I haven't had an EL for the past couple months, looking forward to get them sometime.

$15 Single Download :

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

1st Image with 100 downloads

2012-06-28T06:07:00.001-07:00

One of my most popular images reached 100 downloads today.
Image of the Washington DC Capitol Building. It got one EL( Extende License), 7 ODs ( On Demand), and 92 regular downloads.

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html

$1000 Milestone

2012-06-28T06:01:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, I reached another milestone at Shutterstock with $1000 in downloads during the 14 months I have been a contributor.
It took me more time to reach the first $500, about 11 months, and my second $500 took me a little over three months.

I'm working on increasing the amount of images in my portfolio. The main delays are the long review times, and continuous image rejections. Right now, I have 658 images, and my next goal is to have 1000 images in one month or two. Hope to get to the $3000 mark as soon as possible.

Fine Art America

2012-06-22T14:45:00.002-07:00

I got my first sale at Fine Art America. A $ 18 Framed picture of the Washington DC- Three Soldiers Sculpture. I was very surprised since I only have been there for few days, and I only have 26 images there.

http://fineartamerica.com/saleannouncement.html?id=d7e1d92c80aab469bac4f36087c05a67

Images of the Week

2012-06-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Shutterstock Best Month Ever

2012-06-03T17:44:00.001-07:00

Shuterstock earnings get better and better every month. May is my best month ever with 323 downloads, and I earned $175.15. I had the highest amount of ODs ( On Demand Downloads), 29 of them which was $63.46 out of the $175.15. I also had a $15 Single Download. I added more images during the past 5 months than I did on my first 8 months at Shutterstock. I can see the big difference in my income since January. First 8 months my income ranged from $30 to $40 a month, past 5 months range is $68 to $175.00. I'm currently having a monthly payout of over $100.00 for the last three months, and hope it continues.

April Earnings

2012-05-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

April was my 2nd best month ever at Shutterstock. The month of May might surpass my best month ever which was March, and April also. It is my best week at Shutterstock, and for the 1st time I had a single download ( SOD) for $ 15.00. Hoping to get some EL's this month.

Shuttertock - 212 dls - $ 117.84
Dreamstime -      4 dls  - $     8.05
Deposit Photo -  9 dls - $     4.68
Fotolia -             9 dls -  $     2.95
123 RF -            3 dls -  $     1.72

Total   -           237dls - $ 135.24

March 2012 Earnings

2012-04-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

March was my best month ever for downloads ,and earnings at Shutterstock, 123 RF, and Can Stock Photo.

Shutterstock - 259 downloads - $137.36
123 RF         -     3 downloads - $    6.00
Dreamstime   -     4 downloads - $    5.99
Fotolia          -     8 downloads -$    4.65
Deposit         -     8 downloads - $    2.32
Can Stock     -    2 downloads - $    0.55

Total   : 284 downloads     - $ 156.87

My 3rd Extended License ( EL )

2012-03-30T13:56:00.002-07:00

March is my best month ever for sales ,and it became complete with my 3rd extended license.

The image that got the EL today , it is my number one in my portfolio, Washington Capitol Building. It has sold over 85 times in the past few months.

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-757657p1.html