Microstock Photography

As an administrator for one of the largest microstock photo agencies in the world, I see a lot of photographers work, up close and personal. Everyday I’m forced with making the final call on if a photographers images make it into the microstock library or if they’re rejected. You can plan on finding lots of microstock tips and secrets on this blog that help you get more images approved, which leads to more image sales. Here’s my tip for today. Take a look at this photo of a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

Microstock photographers have one goal when uploading new photos. You want to sell your photos online to as many buyers as possible. This means you want your microstock photos seen by as many buyers as possible. What comes to mind? That’s right, let’s spam the keywords and categories to achieve the most profitable search results we can. If you’re ready to get started keep reading.

If you are new to microstock photography and don’t know what I’m talking about when I say IPTC, this will help you save an enormous amount of time. When you upload photos to an agency you must provide specific information along with each photo so that buyers can find it within the system. Each photo must have a Title, Description and Keywords that help describe the image and are used by the search engine.

Some people get right down to business at the snap of a finger. Unfortunately, most people fall under the “I’ll do that tomorrow.” category. If you want to be successful in microstock photography you need to set some goals. More importantly you need to work at reaching the goals that you’ve set for yourself. So, let’s set some basic milestones to get you going.