congrats ,i like this picture
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-10464309-pile-of-piglets.php
it deserves more DLS ^^

Sorry, $1000/month? Or $1000 total?

Edit:  Sorry, I see you said total in the OP now.  So, no, not semi-professional by U.S. standards, maybe by some other country.

Well..... it took me about 1 1/2 years to do it but I finally got to a total sales of about $1000.... Yea!  So do you think I can call myself a semi-professional photographer now??

I am on all of the top and middle tier sites with about 200-900 images on each.   Shutterstock represents about 45% of the sales, istock and dreamstime each about 15% and the others split the difference.

I figured out when I spread my earnings out over all of the hours that I have put into this.....I am making about $1/hr and my ROI from my camera and lens investment is in the very high negative numbers.

BUT.... I am having fun and learning a lot.... and probably becoming a better  photographer.

Next milestone.... have total sales that equal the value of my photography equipment.... I think I can get there before I die  

Well Bob, I don't know when you're planning to die, but looking at your portfolio I'd say that unless it's very soon then yes, you can certainly make your next milestone!

Looks good.  See if you can find some subjects that are less over subscribed and you'll see the downloads rack up...  and keep having fun, that's the way to do it.

Hi I'd love to know what your "income" curve was - I've been loading up images to some sites for about a month and think I've learn't a lot already but waiting for that first sale. How long was it to first sale, first $100 say. I'd like to think I could have about $300 towards a lens by April but thinking I'm being optimistic!?

Sure.

First I have to say... I still consider myself a newbie.   I am getting better at understanding what gets accepted and what sells but I still have a ways to go to get to "how to make consistently sale-able images". 

Anyhow.  Here is my curve.

Week 2 - first sales
Week 20 - $100
Week 51 - $500
Week 80 - $1000

I thought for a moment I was on the Dreamstime forum. 

^ LOL

Quote from: FD-regular on September 26, 2010, 20:59

I thought for a moment I was on the Dreamstime forum. 

yes it does eheh but actually these kind of milestones are important to keep the motivation UP

I'm more worried about my last 1000$. 

gosh.


no offense but I find that kinda depressing. your work is very good but if this is the norm then that is a concern for me. A thousand hours for a hundred bucks is, well, a waste of time unless you are just doing it for fun -- as a hobby. and considering that you may never even recover your equipment cost... one has to wonder if this is all worth it.

I've been uploading for 3.5 months to SS and IS with about 100 images and have earned $175.87 combined. my initial images were not as marketable as i feel my newer work is so hopefully my DLs will increase. i want to go exclusive at IS (only 67 DLs as of today) and hope to make "worthwhile" money in a few years with a few thousand images posted.

The problem as i see it is that the good shooters who started with IS around 2004-2005 are exclusive and have thousands of high ranked images under "downloaded" searches. Those top-feeders get the lion share of sales and makes it harder for newbies like me to get part of that.. unless i find unsaturated categories and have a style of work that cuts through that ceiling.

Here is my SS portfolio
http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-602779p1.html