Interesting topic at SS forum

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well i must say - well done.  having the top selling image on shutterstock for nature, is also a feat in itself.

[helix7]

More odd to me than this guy talking about his success is the fact that so many people regard $30k a year on microstock as a lot. It is more than do-able, part-time, in less than a year. Full time? You should be able to pull more than that.

Not sure it matters, but this is coming from the perspective of someone who sells vectors, which I think tend to be more profitable. It may be harder to hit those numbers within a year as a photographer. Not sure, though.

[leaf]

well if it WAS so easy i think there would be more people doing this full time.

If it was 'easy' to make 30K on microstock doing it part time, then full time you should be able to get 60K.  After two years of full time microtsock you should be earning 120K

Why would anyone NOT do microstock photography full time if a 120K job was waiting for them after 2 simple years of full time work?

[helix7]

well if it WAS so easy i think there would be more people doing this full time.

If it was 'easy' to make 30K on microstock doing it part time, then full time you should be able to get 60K.  After two years of full time microtsock you should be earning 120K

Why would anyone NOT do microstock photography full time if a 120K job was waiting for them after 2 simple years of full time work?

Quite true. It's probably not quite as easy as I'd like to believe. But I do think it's more feasible than the doom-and-gloom threads at some of the other forums make it out to be. People act like making $10 a day at SS is a big deal, when really I bet $30/day is much more common than anyone knows. There are just way more people talking about $10/day in the forums than $30/day, or $50/day, etc, etc...

[kosmikkreeper]

I can tell you that not many microstockers make more than $30000/yr.  When I hit roughly $30K/yr I was in the top 0.05% of all contributors on IS and FT (so probably most others as well) based on rankings and downloads. FT says they have 80000 contributors and IS says 50000.

But I can tell you that it wasn't too hard to hit $30K and $60K shouldn't be hard either. 

[hatman12]

FT doesn't have 80,000 contributors.  As usual they've exaggerated their numbers (and how anyone can actually believe a word they say is beyond me, but there you are).

I reckon they have 25,000.  Mwp1969 is the last person on this forum to join FT and he recently said he's position 22,000 with his first two downloads.  So either FT's 80,000 is completely wrong (once again) or there are 68,000 contributors with zero sales.

I had hoped that FT would become more 'honest' over time, but they just shove out any old numbers and statistics.  The 80,000 was probably chosen so they could claim to be the same as Shutterstock.

The last official number from IS was 38,000.

[graficallyminded]

duplicate post due to connectivity issues.

[graficallyminded]

I agree with Elnor - I work part time at this, as I have a full-time dayjob that I need in order for a reliable way to pay the bills.  This year I'm up to 13 sites, have a total of about 850 photos and illustrations, and still continue to work at this for 3-4 hours a week.  30k would be an easy goal for me, if I switched to doing this full time for at least 5-6 months I think I would definitely be able to do it by the end of the year.  I don't have any models in my portfolio, but I will soon.  I use a point and shoot, and sometimes I'm able to borrow the "entry level DSLR" Nikon D40x from work. 

I really am tired of working in the corporate world, and would love to be my own boss.  Full creative freedom also appeals to me.  You have to be a motivated self starter to keep yourself on task, however - just as in any home based business.  Someday I'll make the switch, but for now I am trying to increase my stock income in order to make the transition sooner, when it finally comes. 

Oh look, I'm wasting too much time on forums again   Time to get my butt in gear and start keywording again.

My boy "The MIZ" is right though - this isn't all just about the money.  It's about doing what you love, and getting the thrill in seeing that other people like your work, and can use it in their design work!  At least stock lets us get something back from the time it takes out of our lives to produce it.

[Jimi King]

I agree. I look at microstock as a bonus (and hopefully a pension) that I enjoy doing.

And if I were making $30k plus a year at it I wouldn't be on forums telling everybody about it.

[vikavalter]

Im doing almost 8hr/7days and I still can't pay my bills, what I am doing wrong?

[helix7]

...And if I were making $30k plus a year at it I wouldn't be on forums telling everybody about it.

Exactly what I have been thinking. The people that make decent money really don't talk about it, so we really don't know how many of them there are. Aside from Yuri talking about his earnings, and a few others just slightly hinting at what they've made in the past, I think that most high-earners remain pretty quiet about it, and I would do the same if I were them.

[Elnur]

I think that most high-earners remain pretty quiet about it, and I would do the same if I were them.

come on, you're !!

[helix7]

I think that most high-earners remain pretty quiet about it, and I would do the same if I were them.

come on, you're !!

Actually I make $250,000 a year from microstock. I just pretend to be a low earner to confuse everyone and mask my wealthy lifestyle.



More relevant here, I do think that $30k is not only doable but rather easy. Is he doing it? Probably not. But many people are. I'd be more inpressed if the guy was saying he made a 6-figure income from microstock alone.

[rinderart]

I asked around. I think hes full of crap. But who cares, what matters is what I make.

[DanP68]

Is this including your stand up act too?   

[anonymous]

budda - bing...3 shows nightly!

[lisafx]

well if it WAS so easy i think there would be more people doing this full time.

If it was 'easy' to make 30K on microstock doing it part time, then full time you should be able to get 60K.  After two years of full time microtsock you should be earning 120K

Why would anyone NOT do microstock photography full time if a 120K job was waiting for them after 2 simple years of full time work?

LOL!  Boy do I feel like a slacker!  I am about to cross the three year mark in doing this and I don't make anywhere near six figures.  That will teach me to squeeze in a real life around my shooting and uploading

How many people would you estimate are actually making six figures from microstock alone?  Maybe 20 or so?  Doubt its much more than that...

[DanP68]

budda - bing...3 shows nightly!

Take my wife, please!  You can catch me all week at the Tropicana, and don't forget to spay and neuter your pets.