Making Money With Microstock and Customizable Photo Product Sites

Guest blogger Dee Golden has had a wonderful experience selling her images on several microstock and customizable photo product sites. While she only contributes to these sites as a hobby, the income earned allows her to invest in new photo gear that she otherwise wouldn’t purchase. Hopefully her article will inspire you to do the same…I know I would love a few new lenses!

I always thought it would be fun to sell my photos, but I didn’t have the camera equipment or the connections to do stock photography. When microstock became the rage around 2005 I saw it an an opportunity to see if some of my photos would sell.

I submitted my test photos and was accepted by two microstock sites but was rejected by one because my camera wasn’t high end enough for them. My first two sales in March, 2005, were of a seagull and an orange tabby cat. I sold 49 images and earned $9.80 that first month; not a lot of money for all the hours and hours of work required but it was a start.

In order to exist in the world of microstock photography, I had to learn a few new digital skills including cloning, selecting areas to blur for excessive noise, how to downsize the file so it looked sharp and the all important keywording. Then I set up a do-it-yourself light tent with some shop lights on a stand and I was in “business.”

From the beginning, I decided to keep my very best images out of microstock. That turned out to be a good decision because later that year I then joined Zazzle, a popular site where you can place your photos on anything from tee-shirts to mugs, mousepads, posters, greeting cards and more. My first check came in February, 2006, and my best seller was a Mavica 1.1 megapixel image of some jelly beans, which I made into a stamp. Stamps have consistently been best sellers for me on Zazzle and two of my most popular products are of calla lilly and of sea shells.

Zazzle has changed quite a bit since I first joined them to the point where they even offer customizable Ked shoes. My husband and children laughed at me when I designed some shoes…they didn’t laugh so hard when I actually sold some!

I enjoy creating new products from my images for Zazzle because I get to pick and chose my photos, my products and my prices! I can also see the location of people who purchase my items and that’s a lot of fun to see them going to Germany, the U.K., Canada and different states in the USA. My two best selling items on Zazzle are

Besides microstock and Zazzle, I also have galleries on Smugmug and Flickr.

Shutterstock brings me the most income, followed by Zazzle then Big Stock Photo.

I use my earnings for camera equipment I wouldn’t ordinarily buy, such as filters, close up lenses, a remote shutter release, a flash, etc. Next on my list are some light stands. I’m sure if I applied myself some more, I’d earn more – but I enjoy working when the spirit moves me!

Background: I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was 10 years old. I worked as a graphic designer/production artist. On the side I photographed weddings and decided it was way too much work, took portraits and took photos for a local newspaper in New Jersey for several years. We moved to California in 1986.