Who Can Be A Microstock Contributor?
So you’ve heard about microstock, you’ve finally found some time to research it and now you’re probably thinking – Can I really make it in microstock? Do I have to be incredible to earn a living from doing what I love?
The simple answer is this…
You don’t have to be a pro to make money from your photos.
Who Can Be A Microstock Photographer?
Of course, the more you know about photography the better off you’ll be, but there are literally hundreds of success stories out there of people making a good living without any formal training. And without a $10,000 professional camera.
Microstock can seem daunting when you begin, but success is achievable. © Tim Hester / Microstock Man
Selling your photos online is a great way to earn money from a hobby, or to supplement your income as a photographer. It may sound daunting to begin with, but rest assured it’s not as hard to get started in as it looks.
Anyone can join an agency and then it’s up to the agency as to how they test your worth as a microstock contributor. After joining, some have a simple quiz you’ll need to pass to begin selling, while others have more rigorous initial inspections to pass on an initial image upload. Yet there are some (Mostphotos for example) with no approval process whatsoever.
The point is, there will be an agency that will accept your work, provided you can shoot sharp, interesting pictures and are willing to learn from critiques.
Microstock is a brilliant way to improve your skills and earn some money along the way. Is it a sure thing? No. And if anyone ever says otherwise, don’t believe them. But it certainly is an avenue that both amateur and professionals alike can pursue, confident that with a little ingenuity and a lot of patience your images just might have more worth in them than just sitting on your hard drive.
Note: You must be over 18 to join most libraries for legal reasons. However, if you are younger than that some agencies will accept a parent/guardians approval.
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