MicroStock Photography

Photo buyers that would shy away from the traditional stock photo costing hundreds of dollars for limited use in the past are now prime customers of microstock agencies. Microstock has also opened the door for many photographers to enter the stock photography market.

In the past, getting into a high profile stock photography agency was very tough relative to microstock.  Many agencies limited who could sell through them and what they could sell.  With micro stock, it’s the other way around.  Microstock agencies are asking photographers for their photos and allowing many amateur and hobbyist photographers to make a good income.

Benefits of MicroStock Photography

1. Improves Overall Quality  of Your Images

The reason for this is simple: Microstock agencies have strict guidelines for accepting submitted photos, in order to maintain quality. Meaning you will have to actually put some efforts into taking those photos.

Every microstock agency is different, but generally speaking, things like noise, bad composition, bad lighting, wrong White Balance, out of focus, and blurry are pretty common reasons of rejection. This will definitely keep you on your toes as a photographer, and will force you to pixel peep your images carefully before submitting them.

2. Makes use of Unused Photos

While some shots you will need to purposely take for stock, others are just what you can find in your archives. Most photographers will probably have hundreds, if not thousands, of unused photos laying around, taking up more disk space, let alone backup drives and cloud services. While these extra hard drives and backup services are becoming cheaper every day, the cost still adds up with time.

3. It is as Demanding as you Want it to be

Selling your photos as microstock is, well, almost like running your own mini-business, minus all the struggles that come with a full-blown business, while keeping some of the advantages. As is the case with running your own business, it’s up to you how much time and effort you want to pour into it, and subsequently, how much return you will get. The good news is, you can speed up or slow down as conveniently as you want. You are in complete control of the process, especially when this is not your main income. You are your own boss.

4. It Gives You an Almost Indefinite Source of Cash

I kept this for last for two reasons:

To put things in perspective, if those few extra bucks at least pay for internet subscriptions or some mini bills here and there instead of draining you, or give you some extra cash to buy some accessories online, then this whole thing is very much worth it. Another good news is your portfolio will continue to grow over time and with that, your photos will continue to bring you cash during your sleep almost indefinitely.

Why almost, you ask? Well, because some photos may go out of style, or will be overused by so many designers, blogs, and publications, so you will need to keep updating and adding more photos to your portfolio to keep it fresh. This should keep the income flow somewhat steady, if not improve it over time, especially when you start to analyze and learn the ins and outs and what sells more than others.

This brings me to where I’ll tell you guys about the microstock platform in Africa.

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A new service by RDM - Ringier digital marketing, is Africa’s stock photography community.

We provide, African stock creative and editorial content, specializing in photos, footage, audio and illustrations. Showcasing on one platform, all related creative works, from an African perceptive that embodies all aspects of the continent.

Feel free to check the site out and send us feedback.

Written by Jeff Davies

This is a feature by RDM