ISTOCKPHOTO
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.istockphoto.com
- Istockphoto was founded by Bruce Livingstone in 2000.
First and foremost, Istock comes highly recommended. It accounts for roughly a third of my microstock income. Istock offers its members the chance to become exclusive. The site is well designed for buying and selling. Uploading to Istock requires more time and effort than other microstock sites due to manual control on keywording and category control. In my experience reviewers are the toughest in the industry but if you feel your image is perfect you do have the opportunity to have the image reevaluated. If you are planning on supplying your images to the microstock industry Istock is a very good starting point and will probably be one of your top earning sites. Register with Istockphoto here or visit my gallery on Istock.
FOTOLIA
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.fotolia.com
- Fotolia was created in 2005.
Fotolia has grown since 2006 to become my second largest earner in the microstock field. It’s a well designed site for both buyers and sellers. I enjoy quick review times on both vectors and photographs and uploading is a quick, streamlined process. If you are not planning on becoming exclusive with another agency, I highly recommend using Fotolia.
Register with Fotolia here or visit my gallery on Fotolia.
SHUTTERSTOCK
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.shutterstock.com
- Shutterstock was founded in 2005.
- In 2009, Shutterstock acquired BigStockPhoto
My third earner is Shutterstock. Shutterstock has a pretty quick uploading and reviewing system, which I like! It has a great subscription model in place for buyers. New images uploaded to Shuttertstock enjoy good exposure, as it seems Shutterstock favors new images on its searches. This is good news for contributors, as their new content is rewarded in the search engine. Shutterstock also provides good statistics for it contributors. If you’re submitting to multiple microstock sites, make sure you include Shutterstock.
Register with Shutterstock here or visit my gallery on Shutterstock.
STOCKXPERT
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.stockxpert.com
- Sister site www.sxc.hu.
- Stockxpert’s parent company, Jupiterimages, was bought by Getty images in 2009. All advertising related to Stockxpert on SXC was replaced with Istockphoto advertising.
Stockxpert was the very first site I uploaded images to back in 2006. It helped me gather my pace in the world of microstock, and for over two years I have been at the top of Stockxpert’s most popular user list. Uploading is a pretty straight forward process and I find my images are review within 24 hours. Stockxpert is a good solid microstock site with a strong customer base. It’s worth mentioning that in 2009 things changed for Stockxpert with the acquisition of Jupiterimages by Getty. However, Stockxpert continues to operate as a separate website.
Register with Stockxpert here or visit my gallery on Stockxpert.
DREAMSTIME
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.dreamstime.com
Dreamstime are in my top five, sales wise. They are at the top end of the market and have a large customer base. Dreamstime offers its contributors the opportunity to ‘sell the rights’ to their images to customers for a buyout price of your choice. Dreamstime are a rock solid microstock site that’s been around since near the beginning. I’ve seen steady growth over the last three years and I recommend them as a platform for selling your images.
Register with Dreamstime here or visit my gallery on Dreamstime.
CRESTOCK
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.crestock.com
- Online since 2005
Crestock orbits outside of my top five earning sites. I’ve been with them since 2006 and have seen slow but steady growth. Crestock are by far the easiest site to upload work to, with a very fast and streamlined approach. I literally FTP my images, click process and that’s it (taking into account all my images carry IPTC data). From this perspective, Crestock are in my favourite sites.
Register with Crestock here or visit my gallery on Crestock.
123RF
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.123rf.com
- part of Inmagine.
123RF come recommended offering good services for both buyers and contributors alike. Uploading is a quick process for me. Review times are good. Register with 123RF here or visit my gallery on 123RF.
VEER MARKETPLACE
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.veer.com
- Veer Marketplace used to be Snap Village.
Snap Village. It didn’t really do anything for me. Even though they where empowered by Corbis. I kept my distance and watched. So when I heard they were moving the whole thing over to Veer I got excited. Veer Marketplace is what I wanted Snap Village to be from the beginning. It’s creative, interesting, well designed and shows great promise for both buyers and contributors.
Register with Veer here or visit my growing gallery on Veer Marketplace.
BIG STOCK PHOTO
QUICK FACTS
- Web Address www.bigstockphoto.com
- Acquired in 2009 by Shutterstock.
Big Stock Photo is a friendly site with lots to offer. The uploading process, especially for vectors, has got much more user friendly. The website is a bit busy and traffic isn’t as impressive as the big five, however with Shutterstock now at the helm, This place is one to watch.
Register with Big Stock Photo here or visit my gallery on Big Stock Photo.
Copyright James Thew 2009