Introduction to Microstock Photography - More Examples
Table of contents for Microstock Photography
In this post we will continue the examples that we started yesterday.
Remember, the questions to consider for each image are
- Was it accepted?
- If accepted, was it accepted on all sites?
- Did it sell?
This photo was accepted on Shutterstock and rejected on IStockPhoto. The main reason it was rejected is the Key Arena logo in the lower right corner. This is very often a problem in city scenes. Shutterstock, though, had no issue with the photo and accepted it. It sells quite well and when I recently checked it, it was #10 out of 473 shot for the Seattle skyline. My only ask is that you do not flood the market more than it is already flooded with Seattle skyline pictures. 
This shot was accepted on Shutterstock and rejected on IStockPhoto. In truth, the focus of the shot is debatable. Given the texture of the dandelion seeds it is very difficult to tell whether they are properly in focus. IStockPhoto, when in doubt, generally rules the photos as out of focus. Shutterstock is usually a bit more lenient. This image has not been downloaded very often, but did receive an extended license. Note that this image has a number of emotional keywords - such as “freedom” - defined from the free flowing seeds. Always make sure to include the best set of keywords possible.
This picture was accepted on both sites and is my best selling insect picture. I think it sells well because it is of a desirable insect (ladybug) and it has a number of “emotional” keywords - such as predator, prey, life, death, etc. Interestingly, this shot sells much better on IStockPhoto than on Shutterstock. In general, the top shots usually do sell better on IStockPhoto because they earn more per download. You usually make more money on Shutterstock though because the lesser images also sell. This particularly image was used on the BBC web site.
This is also a good lesson for remembering the “other” English. Ladybugs are called “ladybirds” in England and I always include both words when keywording. Some microstock sites will do this logic for you, but this is not guaranteed so I make no bets on it.
This shot was rejected. As you can see in the image below the end of the beak is out of focus. While the rest of the photo is in focus, the drop constitutes a key part of the photo. In general, not all parts of your photo must be in focus. However, if that part is an important part of the photo, it must be in focus or your image will be rejected.
Even if this picture were accepted, I doubt it would sell well. There are just too many pictures of swans out there.
This particular shot was accepted on Shutterstock and rejected on IStockPhoto. The IStockPhoto rejection was for too much post processing. I rather like the processing here, but obviously the reviewer disagreed. I do wish that I had toned down the building in the center a bit. Still, the IStockPhoto reviewer was likely right as this shot has sold only moderately on Shutterstock. Skylines in general are good sellers but please don’t flood the market with Seattle shots!
This shot was accepted on both sites and is a decent seller. In general isolation shots do very well in stock because they allow the graphic designer a good deal of freedom. In this particular shot, it is not a true isolation as you can see the shadows underneath the legs. For this purpose, though, most graphic designers will accept that and still use it. For less complicated objects, you will usually earn more by doing a complete isolation. There are a number of techniques for isolation on the Internet. I find that different techniques work with different shots. For me, shooting the image slightly overexposed and then playing with levels has worked quite well.
One thing to keep in mind with isolation shots though is you must get the isolation right. When I first started these types of shots I would often receive rejections due to bad editing. In my case I found that practice makes perfect (OK, not perfect but you get what I mean).
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