Stock Photography?

[◄ Jess ►]

Has anyone ever tried stock photography? I'm thinking about trying it out, but it's so intimidating! You really have to know exactly what you're doing, it seems like. I'm trying to get accepted at shutterstock, but I don't know if my photos are technically up to standard. We'll see, I guess! I was just curious about anyone else's experiences.

[Valmore Daniels]

I've just been a purchaser in the past, but I like to see a wide variety of styles. You might also try fotalia.com (where I get most of my stuff).

[◄ Jess ►]

Thanks for the suggestion, I may check that out.

[Monique]

You might also look into iStockphoto. From what I understand, it's a pretty competitive field. Some sites list the types of photos (people, people in office settings, etc) that they're looking for and what they're not. It takes some digging around to find.

If you have a passion for it, make it happen!

[911jason]

You should definitely go for it Jessica! If you want to ease into it just to test the waters, try www.sxc.hu which is a free Stock Photo site that was recently purchased by Getty Images. Don't put any of your best work up since it's not going to make you any money, but maybe it will give you an idea of the types of feedback and comments you'll get.

I also stumbled across www.ClusterShot.com the other day while researching artwork for a book cover and it looks like they play middleman for you to sell your images to end users. You set the prices (including free, I think).

[ReeseReed]

It seems like it could be a very lucrative field.  I read up on it back when I still had my photo equipment but never tried it.  Seems like I remember there being talk of a constant need for business industry stock photos - briefcases, computers, stuff like that.  Then again, that was several years ago, and the needs have probably changed since then.