Hey all,

I've been lurking for about 3 months now and I've finally gotten up up the courage to dive in to this (slightly wacky) industry. My goal is to replace my part time job with stock over the next three months (I don't really make all that much currently).

I'm in the process of setting goals (this experiment kicks off at the start of June) and I am looking for some input from some more experienced shooters.

If I am working 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week shooting, editing and uploading ( to the big 6 + BigStock) what can I reasonably expect to get done? How many images can I reasonably expect to shoot each day? What can I reasonably expect to be making after three months?

Obviously these questions have different answers for different photographers, I'm just looking for a baseline of other peoples experiences and opinions so I can set good goals for myself.

I'm starting from ground zero more or less. I've got all my accounts set up but no more than 12 images accepted at any site and no more than $5 in sales anywhere. I am well equipped   which I suppose gives me a leg up.

Anxious to hear some opinions and thoughts!

So it would not be unreasonable to set a goal of 75 accepted images each week? That would put me on pace for a 900 image portfolio after 3 months which sounds like it would more than replace my current income.

Being a college student I'm on somewhat of a starvation income. Luckily that makes it that much easier to be successful in stock     

Is that 75 across all sites?

There are some stats out there on average $ return, per image, per site, per year, that might be worth looking for.

Also if you are aiming at ("working 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week shooting, editing and uploading ( to the big 6 + BigStock)") part time, and you are a student, when are you going to study, classes and party?

Would it not be better to set goals after trying out a sample, then analyse Images Shot, Processed, Uploaded, % Accepted, and if they get any sales, then add a small stepped increase "%" as you get better and quicker.

My advice = set small increasing goals that you are likely to achive, by setting goals to high, it could mean that you do well but think you have failed if you do not reach your "Target", you then give up your dream or change direction, which is not good for the self esteem.

David

Why don't you set your goal for getting some good quality, concept images accepted, and don't worry about the numbers?

At some point, you are going to run out of things to shoot.

You really think so?
I'm thinking the number of things to shoot is infinite. Of course you may deplete your immediate surroundings, but you can go to so many places to find new things, eh?

No, the numbers really aren't everything.

Yes, but I didn't start by saying "I need to get 200 files up this week" as the first thing I set out to do.

I agree numbers are everything. Irrespective of the quality of image, as long as they are accepted & sell, more uploads means more income.

I would suggest dividing your time in the ratio seen to the right of here --->
spending the most on SS followed by IS and so on

After a month look at your overall earnings per site and if for example SS makes up 50% of your income then adjust the time you spend accordingly.

Images accepted is a meaningless metric without sales ...

There's a lot of smiling business people out there.

You should be aware that your timing isn't the best - summer is the slowest time of the year.

And no landscapes?

Someone should really exploit that.

Yep, I�m allready on that one

and it is true that quality is more important than quantity, but you still need quantity if you are going to get real income.  You can�t make a living from hundreds of images no matter how good they are... you need thousands.... but yes of course, the better they are the better.

Haha... so number of photos means nothing without sales but it's difficult to try and predict sales for the first few months. Time to formulate a new goal system.

Haha... so number of photos means nothing without sales but it's difficult to try and predict sales for the first few months. Time to formulate a new goal system.

I agree with sjlocke... too many variables... the main one being, your work has to APPEAL TO A BUYER over your entire portfolio... you have to have a knack for knowing what designers are going to want or need... watch trends and shoot accordingly, with a twist or spin that's unique to your own style, that's what sells! I am a graphic designer and a photographer so I think I have a bead on it... my ports are small but I make a pretty good income from them... whereas I know of some who have much larger ports than mine and make less money...

So yes in the beginning your numbers shouldn't be your main goal... you have so much other stuff to master like the technical aspects of a good photograph and killer photoshop skills... not to mention market prediction intuition and a true artistic bent you must develop... THEN once you have the business down, THEN worry about income... not until. People think this is such an easy business... cut and dried... that's crazy!

Anyway just my two cents... good luck Precarious and let us know how it progresses!  I always like to hear about the success stories!

I'm in the process of setting goals (this experiment kicks off at the start of June) and I am looking for some input from some more experienced shooters.

So I am wondering if you have even put in an application to Shutterstock or iStock yet? A high number of good photogs get rejected the first time around.  WIth Shutterstock, it is then another 30 days to re-apply. So that puts you out till July. Just wondering if you have considered this scenario since Shutterstock is one of the moneymakers. Or will acceptance be automatic for you?

I start uploading on microstocks in november, only to see what happen in this industry and if it can be part of my full time photographer job. I upload about 15 to 30 pictures each week usually preparing in the early sunday morning, when family are sleeping. You need time to shooting, time to edit, time to apply keywords, time to upload, and time to learn from others people.
 In may I hit 200 photos in some microstock and 100 in istock with various acceptance ratio and little less than 50% in Istock.My sells are about 500$ in SS and 200$ in IS, plus 20$ each one of the others principal sites. You must consider the archive you have and the photos you will shoot tomorrow, and as well as you have some thousand of stock photos in your personal portfolio, the one that will sell more is the one you shoot for this market. I have 10.000 slides to scan, 30.000 digital file  to browse for the stock photos, and some daily job to do. And a wife and two children. You need time to go up but you can. I think the best way to go in this market is to begin and learn all you need to do your best. Ah.... of course, I assume you know what you need to know to be a good  photographer.

Get Adobe Lightroom.  Huge time saver.  Academic pricing is pretty good ($100 at UCLA).  And make sure you keyword and descript in the meta data, so you don't have to redo it at each site.

Want models?  Join Model Mayhem or use Craigslist.

I reiterate that earnings per month will vary widely.  I don't really put up the most marketable stuff, I put up mostly pictures I'd take anyway because I enjoy photography.  So not suprisingly, my close to 2000 images only pulls in about $800 a month (hardly any model released pics).  But, that's $800 I wouldn't be making otherwise if my images just collected dust on my HD.

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Why don't you set your goal for getting some good quality, concept images accepted, and don't worry about the numbers?

Because the numbers are everything? Just like with any other job. I'm trying to treat this as a business, it's a bit of a mental switch from just being a hobby.

You're both right.  Goal setting is a very important tool in any endeavor, and goals should always be measurable - which means cold, hard numbers.

On the other hand, I agree with Sean to the extent that Precarious has no microstock image history to go on whatsoever.  The first few months, unless you are really good, are generally met with a lot of rejection, and frustration over what doesn't sell.  So to that point, taking the first few months to at least get a feel for where you stand will allow you to set reasonable goals.

I use goal setting extensively, and right now, I don't think you (Precarious) have enough information to set realistic goals.  An overall earnings number after 1 year might be something you can shoot for right away, but you won't know for at least 1-2 months how many images that is going to take, or what type of images you will need to create.

Set a few easy goals first - particularly getting into the big two microstock houses (istock and shutterstock).  Not easy.  But that is where the sales are.  Then work on getting x amount of images online in your first x weeks.  Observe, theorize, and then get about to some real goal setting.

Thanks for your comments 

After all the comments I've gotten on this I've decided to set some rigid goals just for the sake of experimentation. I'm actually already in at SS and IS so thats one hurdle I don't have to stress about.

I think hanging around and listening to all the discussion here for a few months as well as getting very familiar with all of the stock sites was a good idea on my part before starting to do this seriously. It's also nice to have all the paperwork type junk out of the way before hand. I've got all my accounts made and tax info sent in, tests passed, all that. All I have to do is upload pictures now.

I certainly plan to keep careful track of my goals and report regularly for myself and anyone else who may be interested (from the response to this thread it seems like a few maybe haha). It will be an adventure for me and hopefully useful in general.

That you got into Shutterstock and iStock this fast is a darn good sign.  Get to work then!