Earning a Living from Microstock Photography

Most photographers dream of the day when they can give up their day job and focus one hundred percent on their photography. But how hard is it to actually do? In this article, I will describe how it is possible to earn a living from microstock photography.

I've often wondered whether or not it was actually possible to earn a living from microstock photography, so I did some research. Everyones cost of living will differ, but most people probably need to earn at least thirty thousand dollars per year. How hard is this to do with microstock earnings? Well, assuming that the photos you sell go for the minimum twenty five cents then you would need to sell three hundred fifty images per day.

That's seven days a week. In order to reach this number, you will more than likely need at least a thousand photos(probably more) in your portfolio that are spread across several different stock agencies. Five or more agencies seems like a good number to me.

Obviously, if the majority of your images sell for a dollar then you will not need to sell as many of them. At a dollar per download, you would only need to sell one hundred or so images every day of the week in order to make a living from your microstock earnings.

Keep in mind that these images need to be high quality images that are in demand. You should also try to branch out into different areas of photography. Instead of just shooting nature photos, try shooting people or some other type of subject.

Also, try to take pictures that will stand the test of time. If your pictures or designs are not created for the long term then future generations will stop purchasing them. An example of an image that has a long shelf life would be a nectarine. I doubt that people are going to suddenly stop eating nectarines in the future, which makes them a perfect example of a long term stock photo.

An example of a subject that will not stand the test of time would be a video game cartridge. Who knows what video game cartridges will look like in a few years. These game cartridges may be replaced by another type of storage media, which will mean a photograph of them is less likely to sell.

So it is possible to live off of your microstock earnings, but it will take a lot of hard work to get there. Just try to diversify your image portfolio as much as possible and keep at it. With time, I'm sure you will see your earnings grow. Good luck!