What should I look for when choosing a stock photography site to sell through?
Asked 8/23/2010
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I’m considering selling photos through a stock agency. What factors matter most when comparing stock photo sites, such as contributor features, submission rules and QA, licensing options, customer reach, ease of use, payment structure, and feedback? Also, is it better to upload the same images to multiple agencies or focus on one service?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
13
This is hugely subjective. The 'best' for one person may be anathema to another. Personally, I would avoid micro-stock sites, that have vast collections of images from amateur photographers selling at a couple of quid each. You'd have to submit hundreds of images just to appear in searches, let alone make any sales.
I use Alamy for my photos, though I don't make regular sales. When I have sold a photo, it's usually been for about £100 or more. They will take any photo that is technically excellent (i.e. they don't filter by percieved artistic merit) and you specify when you upload the image whether you want to sell royalty-free or licenced.
A lot of newspapers get their images from Alamy - one of mine ended up in the Guardian. They do appear to have a significant customer base, however most of the time you won't know who has purchased an image. The only reason I knew of the one in the Guardian was because I came across it by accident - that was a nice surprise!
Anyway, they do pay well - they take 40% commission (though that increases to 50% for 'Novel Use', and 60% for distributor sales), meaning you get more than half of the sale price for the majority of sales, and they allow you to see views, zooms and purchases of all your images on a day by day basis, including the keywords that were used when finding your photos, which helps in getting your keywords right. You can change photo details at any point after uploading (except the licence type), and you can indicate whether you have model and/or property release on photos that require it.
Check the BAPLA website for a comprehensive list of photo libraries in the UK.
Originally by user456. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user456
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
When comparing stock photo agencies, the main things to check are their licensing terms, submission/quality-control process, customer base, and payout model. Licensing matters because there is no universal standard, and some agencies may require exclusivity. If an agency wants exclusive rights, that can strongly affect whether you can upload the same images elsewhere.
Also review how they handle submissions: some sites accept technically strong images without judging artistic style, while others have stricter filtering or a formal QA sample process before accepting contributors.
Customer reach and market position matter too. Larger agencies can offer access to more buyers and may cover both traditional licensing and lower-priced web/microstock use. Microstock can be harder to earn from because prices are low and competition is high, so you may need a very large portfolio to be visible and generate sales.
A practical approach is to research a few well-reviewed agencies, compare their terms carefully, and choose the one whose licensing and workflow fit your goals.
As for posting the same images to multiple sites: that can be fine only if the licenses allow it. Otherwise, sticking with one service can simplify rights management and avoid conflicts.
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