I haven't noticed much change since I started 3 years ago.  Some of my new uploads don't sell but others do well.  My biggest selling photo was uploaded in the last year and sells well on several sites.  2009 has been a great year so far.  I don't see many problems with the microstock industry, perhaps there are more contributors struggling but there are also lots doing well and keeping quiet about it.

Yes, microstock has had it. Everybody stop uploading at once. (except me )

I notice that newer series that would have caught fire a couple of years ago take much longer to build up sales now.  Market saturation is real.  What's the solution?  Either give up or keep plugging away.  

I have a daughter a year away from going to college.  I have little choice but to keep plugging way

LOL.

Market saturation is real, but so is social change! What good are 8 million images from a few years ago when clearly life/technology/popular trends/EVERYTHING IN LIFE has changed? Seriously? Changing LIFE is why Getty Images will only represent an image for "x" number of years. They only renew the contract if the image is selling well, last time I bothered poking around Getty thats what I found....

Were already beginning to see microstock agencies toss out old photos.

Right now is probably prime time to get in early on undeveloped image markets within microstock. Only the brave who have some guts to invest will get in early enough to really dominate and profit from it.

One last note - try searching with just 3 keywords only at shutterstock. You'll go from 8 million images to less than a few thousand, sometimes less than a few hundred. Think about that.

The trick is don't limit your photography career to microstock only. I look at it as supplemental income to my studio as a whole. In all honesty, you will never make the money from microstock that a traditional photographer makes. It doesn't matter who you know, how many photos you have online or how hard you jump up n down getting everybodys attention. There's just no way. You can say you make a full time income from it but that depends on what you are comparing that income to. Do you think $50K a year is a full time income or maybe $100K? It might be to some but a portrait photographer would be literally freaking out if their sales were that low.
I think a lot of microstockers have become drawn into the industry to hard and to fast to actually learn about the photography industry as a whole. I've wondered how many microstockers actually know how much a photographer really makes. Yuri Arcurs gets a lot of press as being the highest paid microstock photographer in the world. That's all good n groovy but go talk to a couple of the popular senior or wedding photographers in your town and tell them how much he makes and that he's become a somewhat international celebrity for it ... they will be rolling on the floor laughing and wondering who this guy is. They probably cleared that much in the last 45-60 days. **dont get your panties in a bunch and go off topic. I'm not slamming on Yuri. I'm just pointing out to those who honestly want to succeed in this business that the highest recorded income is actually extremely low and you should in no way look at that as a career goal ... aim higher ... much higher**
Microstock has it's place but even if you become one of the microstock elite you are still only making what a professional photographer would call a failing income. If you are not already a career photographer my advice is you learn what you can about photography from your involvement in microstock. Use every penny you make to invest into your photography future and then grow into other fields where you will make the real money as a photographer. Then when you are sitting around the studio between clients or on day were you get rained out .. shoot some microstock instead of farting around on the computer. That's what I try to do .. actually I spend more time farting around on the computer. 

What's the price range for full day weddings in Germany? Here it's $4000-$10,000 for professional work and the amateurs normally do it for $2000-$3000 .. I personally hate weddings and stick with high school seniors .. which actually a high school senior can bring in $1000-$4000 in sales and requires 1/10 the work so actually they produce a higher return than weddings.
And we are very competitive on our pricing .. there are others charging way more than us. Some photographers won't bother talking to somebody who is not willing to drop a $15,000 minimum for a 8 hr wedding. I also know one of my competitors is charging high school seniors $1000 for a 1 hr session that includes 24 wallets and 2 8x10's ..... microstock can never compete with those figures.

It all comes down to knowing how to seek out and target the proper client .. the ones with money !!!!

What's the price range for full day weddings in Germany? Here it's $4000-$10,000 for professional work and the amateurs normally do it for $2000-$3000 .. I personally hate weddings and stick with high school seniors .. which actually a high school senior can bring in $1000-$4000 in sales and requires 1/10 the work so actually they produce a higher return than weddings.
And we are very competitive on our pricing .. there are others charging way more than us. Some photographers won't bother talking to somebody who is not willing to drop a $15,000 minimum for a 8 hr wedding. I also know one of my competitors is charging high school seniors $1000 for a 1 hr session that includes 24 wallets and 2 8x10's ..... microstock can never compete with those figures.

It all comes down to knowing how to seek out and target the proper client .. the ones with money !!!!

Well I just did a quick search for wedding photographers in the your area (Kansas) and the maximum package price quoted was $2500 (I'm sure they'll be extras on top of that but not a lot). Of course there's millions to choose from too so you can probably pay as little as your buget demands.

Here in the UK prices for virtually everything are significantly higher than in the US (due to higher taxes, rents, costs of doing business) and the average price paid for weddings is about $2800 __ that price includes VAT at 17% btw. By the time you've deducted overheads you've got to be a top-notch photographer to make a good living from weddings in the UK and you'll be working on most of your weekends too.

Traditionally being a professional photographer in the UK has always been very poorly paid for all but the very best __ you only have to look at the beat-up old vehicles most of them drive. I think the advent of digital has actually improved things somewhat as it has reduced cost, saved time and generally increased productivity.

Lots of people desire or try to earn their living through photography and therefore severe competition and market forces ensure that the vast majority will just earn enough to keep them doing it __ and that's pretty much the same all over the world.

There's an old adage that it is easy to become a professional photographer __ the hard bit is staying as one.

That's all good n groovy but go talk to a couple of the popular senior or wedding photographers in your town and tell them how much he makes and that he's become a somewhat international celebrity for it ... they will be rolling on the floor laughing and wondering who this guy is. They probably cleared that much in the last 45-60 days. **dont get your panties in a bunch and go off topic. I'm not slamming on Yuri. I'm just pointing out to those who honestly want to succeed in this business that the highest recorded income is actually extremely low and you should in no way look at that as a career goal ... aim higher ... much higher**

I've never heard of portrait or wedding photographers making so much they would roll around on the floor laughing at $1 million in gross sales.  Sure, there is the occasional, ridiculously successful photographer, just like in micro, but most of them are not nearly making as much as you seem to be inferring. 

Here's an old thing from 2004, but I can't imagine it's much different now:
"Median annual earnings of salaried photographers were $26,080 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $18,380 and $37,370. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $15,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $54,180. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of salaried photographers were $32,800 for newspapers and periodicals and $23,100 for other professional, scientific, and technical services."
http://www.collegegrad.com/careers/proft30.shtml#ear

Of course, the same holds true for stock.  Very hard to make the money, and very few do it.

My take is this - photography as a profession is a glamorous job (to the non-professionals who don't rely it for a living)

Just like singers and actors (also glamorous jobs), there are too much supply and not enough demand.

Most singers end up performing for small pubs and bars. Only the top 1% record albums, perform in big concerts, make world tours and get fat endorsement deals. The rest struggle to stay in their dream job.

likewise, it's hard for a photographer to earn more than your average banker, accountant or lawyer. the top 1% earns millions and do dream shoots. the rest struggles.

The problem with the research that has been mentioned is that it covers "salaried photographers" These statistics are totally irrelevant because they are looking at wages of franchise studio employees and not those who operate a studio as a professional portrait photographer. These stats are looking at people hired to work at places like .. Wal-Mart Portrait Studios, Lifetouch, Olan Mills, Portrait Innovations .. and the list goes on. These places flat out hire photographers with "no experience required" plastered right on the application form and then pay them minimum wage or close to that. They are "Mall" Studios not professional studios ... completely different sector of the industry and yes those "salaried photographers" make .. well nothing really .. they just have a normal job.

I can't go into the entire business structure of running a studio without writing an entire book. You only need to look at a few aspects though to get the idea of a potential income. Look at Senior Rep programs. For those that do not know what that is, it's where you recruit high school seniors to represent you in their school (word-of mouth referral program). A successful rep program should result in $200,000-400,000 in referrals over the senior season, which varies by region but normally peeks over a 3-5 month period. If you live out in the middle of nowhere of course you wont make this income but that is your own fault for selecting a business location based on the convenience of where you already live and not on a proper business strategy. You can't base the industry average on somebody you know who gave it a shot without having any business knowledge whatsoever. But back to my point ... this one marketing campaign for your studio generates a $300,000 average in sales ... big difference from a salaried photographers yearly income. This is also only one strategy and does not reflect income made from other targeted clientele like families, weddings, etc. Nor does it reflect the profits from other marketing strategies within each group.

With proper marketing and business strategy a studio income will continue to grow year after year. The highest earning photographer I personally know lives about 2 hours from me (thank god). He has been established for about 30 years now. He specializes in seniors but also does families children and weddings. Average studio with about 3,000 sq ft in a 2 story building in an older downtown area. Pretty standard nothing you would call a glamorous rockstar studio. He lives in a town with a population of 25,000 and an average household income of $40,000 a year. He doesn't have a website .. never has. His prices are not actually that high but he targets clients in volume who purchase larger packages and not the minimum package requirements. He is not famous. Nobody interviews him. He's just an established average photographer. I haven't talked to him for a couple years but last I knew his studio income was around 3 million a year ... after taxes.

I think most microstockers would be amazed at how many thousands upon thousands of studio photographers have 7 figure incomes and do not look at it as anything more than day to day business. It's not uncommon. It's simply overlooked because of the vast majority of MWAC photographers.

A successful rep program should result in $200,000-400,000 in referrals over the senior season, which varies by region but normally peeks over a 3-5 month period.

Oh come on.  Some one shooting high school seniors isn't going to make half a million in 4 months.  I think you're imagining things.  Regardless of the location.

Quote from: xposurepro on September 03, 2009, 21:15

A successful rep program should result in $200,000-400,000 in referrals over the senior season, which varies by region but normally peeks over a 3-5 month period.

Oh come on.  Some one shooting high school seniors isn't going to make half a million in 4 months.  I think you're imagining things.  Regardless of the location.

Yes that income is not only possible it's quite common. Ok let me put it this way .. it's common in the US. I don't feel that I can speak for other countries because I have not ran a studio outside of the US. However, if you are in the US and serious about a career in photography you should start digging deeper.

Actually Lisa, there isn't much time for microstock in the studio. It does justify a profit though and that is why we include it. However, it's priority is placed last and done just to keep busy or a way of taking a break and doing something different. I also use it as part of my apprenticeship program. You can train an apprentice in photography and allow them to earn money .. since an apprentice works for free. and no I do not take any money from that  or include their images in my port .. I simply guide them.