How Much Money Can You Make as a Stock Photographer?

There are typically three reasons people are attracted to the idea of selling their photos to online stock photo agencies:
** 1. The money — as your portfolio builds, so do your royalties. Photographer Shelly Perry makes more money in stock photography than she ever did at her social services job. And Lise Gagne makes a nice six-figure income taking photos full-time and uploading them to a single agency.
** 2. It’s fun — you shoot what you like. Your hobbies. Your interests. Your friends and family. Photo projects that inspire and uplift you. It’s something to do. It gives you an excuse to get outside and do something with your day.
** 3. It’s easy to get started. As with everything, there’s a learning curve. You have to learn how to get in, what and how to submit, how to edit your photos, and so on. But it’s not brain surgery. Once you know what you’re looking for, it’s a matter of getting it right and consistently uploading new images for sale. That’s how your portfolio and your income grow.
This week, I’d like to talk more about the money side of stock photography. Tomorrow, I’ll send you a breakdown of the top three stock photo sites and how you can make money from each.
Then, the rest of the week, we’ll talk to different photographers about how they made their first $10,000. Why they may or may not have decided to send their photos to one or multiple agencies. And how much money you can expect from your images when you’re just starting out.
Stay tuned for all of that.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.  Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]