The first time I used a camera was back in 2002 and it was not even mine. My passion for photography grew when I was using my colleague's camera in 2005. I got my first camera in 2007 as a gift, a Nikon Coolpix S10 with that funny fancy swivel lens design. In 2012, I got my first DSLR and I though I was starting to take nice pictures. The idea of earning some money with something I like to do started to anchor in my mind.

I entered the world of stock photography in 2014 after a long thought (1.5 years) between Alamy and microstock sites. Back then, to my knowledge, Alamy pays decent amount of money while microstock gives you 30 to 50 cents per image. Come on, what the heck 30 cents! Of course, I was aware of those reviews about microstock sites saying that the number of downloads would outweigh the "good pay" at Alamy but I was not convinced. I decided to upload my images on Alamy. I was uploading and uploading and waiting and waiting for some sells but nothing happened. I uploaded about 200 pictures but did not sell any. You can view my Alamy portfolio here and have a laugh at it!

This year, 2016, in January, I sold my first picture on Alamy. It was one of those photos that made people laugh and said come on, you are joking right? You will not upload that piece of ..., will you? Anyway, that first sale earned me $48 which is about 140 000 MGA (I am from Madagascar). It was still below the minimum payout threshold ($75) but anyway, that first sale woke me up after 2 years of silence. I started to upload pictures to Alamy again.

However, I also did some simple maths. I have been with Alamy for 2 years and I got $47, which is about 6 cents a day or 24 cents/photo if each picture was sold once. What the … 6 cents a day, 24 cents/photo! OK, I decided to upload photo to microstock sites as well! I know my portfolio is not a typical stock shot, the Alamy experience seems to tell soo, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I signed up to become a contributor at Shutterstock, Depositphotos, Istock, Dreamstime, Canstock and Fotolia and was accepted right away. I was quite surprised, but let say I uploaded my very best shots. So I started to upload photo at those 6 microstock sites as well.

My first microstock sell was at Shutterstock. Then I sold a picture every 2nd day. On the other hand, despite the same amount of uploaded pictures, the other sites did not give me anything yet! I felt like … and start to think that my work must suck. Despite such disappointment, I kept uploading but my earning was not increasing at all. A month after I sold about 1 a day at Shutterstock while having a portfolio of 50 pictures. By the time, I sold one picture, respectively, at Dreamstime, Depositphotos and Istock. Canstock and Fotolia were still at big 0.

The situation pissed me off. With all the time I spent manipulating, uploading and keywording those photos I’ve got $7 (All microstock sites combined). I decided to withdraw all my photos at Canstock and Fotolia and cancelled my account. I was also trying to withdraw all my photo at Dreamstime but it did not allow me to delete all of them. So I still have some photos there. I also thought maybe it is not bad to have some photos hanging around there. I had a feeling that some people find my picture at Dreamstime, Depositphotos or Istock then went to buy them at Shutterstock because the files I sold at Shutterstock were the most viewed at the other stock sites. This is a pure speculation though. Anyway, I kept uploading photos at Shutterstock, my portfolio was around 200 photos when I got my first payment, 3 months after I joined in. It was not a big earning, just at the minimum payment threshold.

Back at Alamy, I sold my second picture in May. It was a big sale of $280 which should bring me $140 once minus the 50% commission. Before I continue, I want to clarify something about Alamy earning. Like any other stock agencies, they have a minimum payment threshold which is $75. What makes Alamy "special" is that they have what they call uncleared balanced and cleared balanced. Uncleared balanced is the money you may get "if ever" Alamy get payment from the "buyer". So basically they give away your picture for free with just promises from the so called buyer. Once Alamy receives real payment, not a "fake one", then the money will arrive safely, at last, in you cleared balance. For my first sale, it takes 45 days until it was cleared. To my surprise, my "big sale" was refunded in June then re-bought (probably by the same person) immediately at $300. Alamy sent me a congratulation email and suggested me to tweet about it but I did not. I will not be happy until that money lays safely in my paypal account! It has been 2 months now and still that "big sale" is laying safely in my uncleared balance. Some Alamy contributor made a joke at the Alamy forum that the $75 is an impossible to reach threshold as any so call "big sale" will be just refunded. Other contributors complained that their "big sales" keep being refunded and bought back … just google Alamy uncleared cleared balance refund" if you want to read more. I just hope it will arrive into my paypal account at some point. For now that $198 in the air is not better than $35 in my paypal account from Shutterstock!

So now, so far I have:

• 300 pictures online at Shutterstock. I sell about 2 pictures a day.
• 240 pictures at Depositphotos here which gave me $2.13 since I signed up in end April
• 30 pictures at Dreamstime which gave me $0.70 so far
• 96 pictures at Istock which gave me $4.6 so far
• 391 pictures at Alamy which gave me $47 of cleared balance and $150 of uncleared balanced which may never clear out!

So was it worth it? Well, my stock experience is not that great I agree. However, as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I do not have a typical microstock portfolio. In addition, people say that you need a fat portfolio of thousand of pictures to make significant earning out of it. In my case, I would sell about 7 pictures a day with 1000 pictures uploaded at Shutterstock and I think I do not have time for that yet! Uploading one file cost me 25 cents (internet bandwidth) and the keywording is just a pain. However, bad keywording will degrade your file’s performance. Even great photo will not sell if buyer does not find it. Remember, there are almost 100 million of photos at Shutterstock alone!

For me microstock is the place were you want to kill spare time (I would rather go out and enjoy my spare time instead). But anyway, the only way to find out if microstock is for you is to try it your self. My recommendation (feel free to ignore them completely, I am a failed microstocker after all) is to upload your file at Shutterstock. It is the site for beginner and if you do not sell anything there, very likely the other sites will not be better!

To try selling your file at Shutterstock, register here. It is free, and quick, nothing to lose, except your time ;-)
If you want to check the other microstock sites, you can register at Depositphotos here OR
Dreamstime here OR
Istock here OR
Alamy here.
People said as well that Fotolia is getting better and catching up. If you want to register at Fotolia then click here
There are also plenty of other stock sites out there!

Good luck and may the camera be with you!