Micro Stock Photo business from my view

While I don't claim to be an expert in the micro stock photo industry I do consider myself to be very observant and I tend to be able to figure out what is going on, on both sides of the fence where as most people tend to see things from one perspective only.

While I have about 1,000 images across 4 micro stock sites I am most passionate about Fotolia.com and since I see a lot of new users there having trouble getting files accepted and getting down right mad about it I thought I would explain a little bit about why it's getting harder and harder to get images accepted.

First off micro stock sites are fairly new to the industry and in the beginning there were not enough images to go around, stock sites need to have lots of images to attract buyers so in desperation they would accept most any half way descent image to build their library up.

Well the amateur photographers got the message that they could sell their images for money and they flocked to these site by the thousands. Pretty soon the sites were getting flooded with images and realized they needed to be a little more choosey.

After this it seems the flood of images was still getting bigger and they decided to start accepting only the cream of the crop so to speak. This would allow them to better their library and get more buyers. To the hobby photographer this seemed like the end as they could not get many pictures accepted.

Some saw it more as a challenge to hone their skills but most tend to see it as them against us when in reality if Fotolia (and other sites) can get a better library of images to offer then they will draw more customers and the photographers will sell more images. It's better for everybody all the way around.

However this also means that some people that lack talent may get left out. I am sorry but this is a good thing, not every person with a camera should be shooting photos for the advertising industry. Lets face it if a designer is looking for a photo and he has to wade through thousands of so-so photos to find the one great one he needs he will be less likely to come back.

In the end I think people that want to submit to stock sites need to either suck it up and hone their skills or leave it to those that will. If you are considering stock as a new source of income, please spend a few hours a week (yes I said it) looking through the top selling photos. Determine what subject matter sells and look at what the top sellers look like in quality. Then pick a subject and shoot until it looks as good or better than what you found in the top sales and submit it. If you can't get your images to look that great then maybe you should not consider getting into stock.

To see my Fotolia images go here: http://www.fotolia.com/p/199552

A word about me 6/26/09

My name is Terry Morris age 45. I have been an electronics guy since age 6. I got into computers at about age 19 and have been a technology geek ever since.

For a living I started out fixing electronics and have worked in the coin-op industry for most of my life. I have repaired everything from arcade games to slot machines & juke boxes.

I got my first business license at age 10 and had a hard time convincing the license clerk I was "not lost" when I was applying.

I have also been into computer generated graphics since my early 20s. And recently got into 'stock photography' for the advertising industry.

I work from home and am very diversified in what I currently do to earn a living. My main focus is my company UltraDome.com where I produce epoxy doming equipment that sells all over the world.

Each time I blog here I will focus on subjects that I know and try to be a resource for those wanting to know more about these subjects.

Since this is my first blog ever it is more of an introduction and me trying to get my feet wet. My next blog will be a little about my view on the micro stock industry.

Thanks for reading!