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Stock Photography Agencies

To be successful in stock, you have to get your head around the various stock photography agencies: how to choose an agency, how to get accepted and ultimately, what kind of images will make you money.

Changes in Stock Photography

The business of stock is ever-changing and mostly because the number of images available in the marketplace is huge. As more and more royalty free photos become available, the competition is getting more fierce. The images are getting better and better too!

If you're interested in selling stock photography, consider the following:

What is a Stock Photography Agency?

Stock photography agencies are repositories of photographs, much like a library of photographs. Designers browse the available stock using keywords and then pay a usage fee for the right to use a particular image for purposes as diverse as advertising, editorial layouts, book and CD-covers, trade show displays, t-shirt designs, or anything else. The photographer and the agency enter into a contractual agreement to split the fee.

What is the Best Way of Choosing a Stock Agency?

Stock photography agencies examine your images in great detail to make a determination on whether to accept you. That goes both ways. Not all stock agencies are the same, so it's advisable that you do your research and weigh up the pros and cons of the ones that you're interested in approaching.

When choosing an agency, I recommend you consider the following:

* Does the agency have a good name in the industry? Do they have a large website where clients can download images?

* Is the agency willing to give you direction in terms of trends in the industry and do they provide constructive feedback when you submit photos?

* Are you satisfied with the commission structure for royalty free and traditional licensing sales?

* How long does it take from the time a submission is made before the pictures are available to designers and photo buyers?

* Does the agency charge an upfront fee to accept your photos? If so, I don't recommend that you join them.

What do Stock Agencies Expect of You?

Generally stock photography agencies require you to be an active particpant, which means uploading high quality, saleable photos on a regular basis. Remember that trends change all the time, and outdated photos won't sell.

If you sign up with an agency, listen to their needs rather than persisting with supplying them with photos that are no longer in demand. This will maximize your income too.

Make sure to read my page on what sells in stock to gain an understanding of what kind of images stock agencies require.

Where to Start?

I recommend that you start with the following microstock agencies...

* Dreamstime

* Bigstockphoto

* Shutterstock

* iStock

* Alamy

* Fotolia

* StockXpert

To double your income, upload the same images to two or more agencies. Just make sure they're all royalty free!

Also remember that some photos may be rejected by one agency and accepted by another. Don't give up!

Dreamstime has recently revamped their pricing system meaning a pay rise for all photographers. Earnings for each image go up the more they get downloaded and popular they become.

Fotolia are offering all photographers a great rate of between $.30c and $1 per download of your images. You also get up to $10 on extended licence sales. The more you sell, the higher your commission rate goes.

Your income can really add up if you upload a couple of hundred images and simply leave them there. Before you know it, you have enough money to pay the mortgage. Try it... you can thank me later!