EPISODE 19 - Selling historical footage earning 1000 euros per month
The story of a video enthusiast who sells stock footage in microstocks such as Pond5 and Shutterstock by digitizing old super 8 and 8mm films
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EPISODE 18 - Earning $69 for a single stock image sale
A photographer and microstock contributor earned $69 on Shutterstock from a single sale of a stock image of a buffalo.
EPISODE 17 - Photographing people without... people
Unreal Engine is a free software that allows you to generate images of people without the viewer noticing that they are not real.
EPISODE 16 - From office worker to professional photographer
Gianni was an employee who changed his job, becoming a professional photographer, video maker and microstock contributor.
EPISODE 15 - The photographer who has made 4200 dollars with an 8 seconds video
Andrea Delbò is a professional photographer who became a microstock contributor a few months ago and has had great sales results, starting with a video he shot inside his house.
EPISODE 14 - From microstock producer to bitcoin miner
The story of a video maker who started with the digital business by selling stock footage and then became a Bitcoin miner and a podcast producer, exploiting what the microstock business has taught him.
Or listen to the other episodes of my podcast:
EPISODE 13 - Stock photographers are the new rappers
Being a stock photographer is the greatest job in the world, but it's hard to make money selling photos and videos online.
For this reason most photographers and video makers who contribute to agencies are just people who are wasting their time because they don't want to learn what microstock buyers want.
EPISODE 12 - STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY: THE REASONS WHY YOU MUST START YOUR BUSINESS TODAY
Being a producer of stock images and stock footage is the business of the future for many photographers and film makers.
In that market competition rises day by day and only talented people can make money with stock photography.
EPISODE 11: WHY YOU'RE NOT SELLING PHOTOS ONLINE ANYMORE
By selling stock images and stock footage on Shutterstock and Istockphoto thousands of photographers and video makers toured the world and did what they loved to do.
Competition now is stronger, but I found a strategy to make money even today.
EPISODE 10: PAYING FOR THE HOTEL WITH YOUR STOCK FOOTAGE SALES
Some years ago, I booked a weekend for two people, and for a couple of reasons they moved me into a five-stars hotel. After that, as a stock footage producer:
- I opened my trolley
- put my tripod and reflex camera in
- turned a weekend of relaxation into a weekend of relax with half an hour dedicated to the creation of stock footage.
EPISODE 9: DON'T UPLOAD TO PEXELS AND UNSPLASH
I don't know how people decide to spend their money. Everyone pays 10 dollars to go watch a movie at the cinema. But if for watching the same movie, a few months later, there is a website that asks for $5, many consider it unacceptable, probably because they illegally download content for the last 15 years, and they believe that everything on the internet must be free.
I will always ask for money for the job I do...
EPISODE 8: WHEN PRODUCING MICROSTOCK WAS LIKE TOURISM
In 2008, I went to Valencia, which is a great city and easily accessible via low-cost flights.
I recommend you go there as soon you can, if you like to visit the world. In that period, I had just started my business as a producer of stock footage, but a week before my girlfriend and I left, my camera broke and there was no time to fix it.
EPISODE 7: SMALL TOWNS MICROSTOCK
Microstock is a slow business. In 2015 I shot Paris and London.
It took me five days, creating content only of the most famous parts, including Greenwich, which is not really downtown, and La Defense.
Two and a half years later I can say that to see the first sales I had to wait a couple of months...
EPISODE 6: THE TRIPOD THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Producing stock images is more pleasant than producing stock footage, at least if you don't care about money.
I say this because most agencies forbid stock footages recorded without a tripod, so if you send your handheld videos, even if you are a genius of software stabilization, in the 99% of times reviewers will reject your content.
EPISODE 5: FROM FOTOLIA TO ADOBE STOCK
In 2014, Adobe the software house of Photoshop, and also that of After Effects, which is the software I will suggest you use in creating time-lapses, bought Fotolia, one of the most important microstocks, but for sure not the biggest one. The cost of the operation should tell you many important things: $800 million cash.
This was in 2014; but...
EPISODE 4: FROM AMATEUR TO PROFESSIONAL MINDSET
If you talk to an old-school photographer, you explain to him what stock images are and ask him to create photos to sell online, I'm sure this person will put his soul and body trying to create the best pictures he could.
He will certainly produce perfect shots, but... let me tell you something: he won't sell anything on microstocks.
EPISODE 3: FULL FRAME VS APS-C CAMERAS
If you are deciding to start producing microstock today, and you never had a DSLR, I recommend you to buy: Nikon or Canon, not because Sony or Panasonic are not good, but because reflex cameras have specific lens that does not fit in other brands, at least without an adapter that can give you some issues.
EPISODE 2: DSLR OR SMARTPHONE?
I use to make about $3.000 per month selling my photos and videos online, even if in the last two years I created other digital projects, and unfortunately today I can spend just a few hours a week producing microstock.
The collections of agencies, today are not contributed by large production companies, but they are made by content created by people like me...
EPISODE 1: WHAT IS MICROSTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY?
If you are listening to this podcast since the title is self-explanatory, you are probably among the millions of people who have a camera to photograph, be it
- a professional SLR
- a smartphone.
Why don't you share this page on Social Networks to help your friends who love photography to make money?