Microstock Photographer’s Guide
Update: If you are looking for a brief introduction to microstock, take a peek at this article I wrote for Photography Review. In it you’ll find some very basic pointers, to help you decide whether microstock is the right outlet for your photos.
This guide is aimed at amateur and semi-pro photographers who want to get into stock photography, specifically microstock. I focus on iStockphoto.com in particular, where I sell my own work exclusively and work as an image inspector and admin, though I do aim to give advice, usable on any microstock site. Luckily, iStockphoto has some of the strictest standards of all the microstock agencies, so if you can make it there, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem elsewhere.
Each part of the series was published as I wrote them, making them appear in reverse order on the blog. This page lists the series in order, hopefully making the series more accessible to newcomers (welcome).
If you would like to get in touch with me about stock photography, this series or just because, feel free to send an e-mail to rasmus [at] theprint [dot] dk. Donations are both encouraged and highly appreciated. You can show your support by throwing me a treat via PayPal.
Microstock Photographer’s Guide
- Stumbling into Photography
- The Microstock Photographer in You
- How Microstock is Used
- Picking the Right Camera
- Get Your Props On
- What is Good Stock Photography
- Two Types of Stock Imagery
- Composing for Stock
- Lighting Your Stock Images
- 10 Common Mistakes by New Stock Photographers
- Building a Microstock Portfolio
- 5 Sessions to get Started on Microstock
- Leaving Out the People
- Working With Models
- Post-Processing for Stock Photos
- Getting Started on iStockphoto
Comments, suggestions and examples of work, inspired by these articles, are more than welcome.
If you prefer, you can also download the entire series in one print-friendly pdf-document.
I would like to thank everyone who have shown their support in one form or another, including my fellow iStockers, the admin and inspector team and all those who were kind enough to help out with comments and ideas along the way.
