Stock Photography

[Captain Slack]

I have, once again, found myself unemployed. Taking my last job was a mistake in hindsight and it ended yesterday by mutual agreement. At this point in my life, I need to find a new career path. Something that I actually enjoy doing and that makes me happy instead of miserable. The IT industry is not that career path any longer.

So, I'm looking for a part-time job to get some cash coming in but I'm thinking of setting up a side business in stock photography. Has anyone here ever done or does this currently? Any advice for getting started or places to host my pictures at?

[LarryD]

I made $35.00 on it last year. Not the way to go for me.

[Bennybee]

I'm sorry to hear about your job loss. I wish you the best of success for the future, but as Larry indicates, I fear that photography in general is a hard business to earn money. I think it's not what it used to be anymore.

Which is why I've resisted doing this as a career in the past.

I'm not planning to get rich doing this, but I figured it might provide some extra cash. We'll see!!

[LarryD]

Yep. I though did make a bunch of money for charity. I guess it is not what you have but how you sell it. I figure I built up riches in Heaven.

[Captain Slack]

I'm not planning to get rich or even comfortable doing stock. Hopefully just get some extra cash and built up a portfolio.

[Philip]

A few times a year, without trying, I get requests to use photos, usually ones people have found on Flickr. I think I make about $250 on average a year. Sometimes I get "paid" a copy of the publication. I suspect that I could do better, selling more pictures, if I actively went after publishers/websites/newspapers and tried to make pictures they would want. But I doubt I could make anything close to a living without totally changing my style of photography. Having a day job, I am lucky enough to allow my photography to be entirely self-indulgent, and I'm happy with the $250 income. I figure if I became less self-indulgent in the photography, I'd end up working for a few cents an hour. And I'd be taking pictures I don't like.

Most recently, this year, I sold a picture to a local ad agency who wanted something retro-looking for a campaign against garbage-dumping on country paths. Earlier this year, I sold a picture of a man who, ten years after his death, featured in a book someone was writing. They were both film pictures, one in an slr (Olympus OM1) and the other in a vfr (Olympus 35EC). Both of these were (lucky) direct sales, rather than through a stock agency, so my bargaining position was stronger.


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