Shutterstock is a pretty new micro stock site that started up about a year ago. As I'm revising my article now, they have a total collection of almost one million photographs and illustrations available for download! Popular Photography even ran an article about them.
Today, Shutterstock has expanded into stock footage as well and in my knowledge one of the first among the microstock sites to do so. My Shutterstock experience has been great and here where my portfolio is performing best. I highly recommend that you read on and check out Shutterstock if you are serious about microstock photography.
Shutterstock's subscription model
Designers who subscribes to ShutterStock pays a flat rate fee to be able to download 25 images a day for a number of months based on the package they choose (see diagram on the left). If you are wondering why, the 25 images per day limit was implemented to prevent leechers that used bots to download ALL the images at Shutterstock to resell them as pirated goods.
But anyways, as I was saying, effectively, it's almost unlimited downloads of images for the designers. Therefore all the submitted photographs (by us of course) have a decent chance of getting downloaded if they are good enough to catch the attention of the customers! And the default sorting of images at Shutterstock shows the newer photos and illustrations first.
In terms of numbers, let's see why a whole lot of designers are looking into microstock and perhaps Shutterstock in particular.
25 images per day in a month = 25 x 30 = 750 images for US$159. That's just 21 cents per download if they somehow manage to maximise their download limits. Even if they don't reach their limit and download only 50% of when they are allowed to. Each download only costs them 40 cents! Now tell me why designers aren't excited!
How do submitting photographers/illustrators earn then?
As I'm writing this, the payout rate for each download is 25 cents. Yes, 25 cents may be low compared to other microstock sites like Dreamstime which offers at least 50 cents payout per download. Then again, remember that the cost per download for Shutterstock customers is much lower compared to the other microstock sites as well. This don't just double but even quadruple the download rates at Shutterstock. And more downloads equals more earnings for us! You even earn an extra 5 cents if a customer backup your photo that they have already bought into a CD. This will effectively increase that particular sale to 30 cents. Talk about passive income!
In addition to the subscription based earning, your Shutterstock portfolio is also marketed through affliliates like PhotoSights where the stock photos are sold per photo basis. Here the royalties payable to you is 20% of the purchase price or licensing fee paid. But for video footages, the royalties payable to you is 30% of the purchase price paid to Shutterstock. Personally, I've not experimented on submitting stock footages yet becuase I don't own a digital camcorder myself.
Oh and just to add, Shutterstock pays you either by sending checks, PayPal or Moneybookers! Moneybookers, FYI, is great for us who live in countries where PayPal does not service.
Referral program
ShutterStock also runs a referral program to help expand their photographer base. Thus, on top of the 25 cents earning per download from your portfolio, you would also earn another 3 cents per download from you referred photographer! If you can earn some extra cash, why not? And yes, the links here will refer your registration under my account. That's all that I can ask for creating this site in the hope of sharing the goodness of the microstock industry. So why not register and find out how you can earn the same too!
Registration and submission process
To register as a new photographer, you now need to submit a batch of 10 photographs for approval. So, remember to submit only your best stock-oriented photographs. If you're not sure what I mean by stock-oriented photographs, then read this article here now! Although this process could seem annoying, it is actually a very important process to maintain the standards set by Shutterstock themselves. It may take a while before they process new applications. This is because submitting photographers are always on a higher priority queue. But do be patient, it's really worth the wait and effort. And once you're approved, then what are you waiting for anymore, upload and get your portfolio up and running!
But remember, try to refrain from uploading just about anything but only the best images and photographs that you have. And always remember: stock-oriented photos. This way, you will maximise the quality of your online portfolio and encourage more downloads. Also to note, they accept both raster (JPEGs) and vector(EPS) images. Yes. So if you're not so much into photography but a good illustrator instead, Shutterstock is still the place to be. And I must add, a good place to be too. Vector illustrations are very high in demand.
Shutterstock requires that the photos to be at 4MP. It used to be just 2.5MP when I started off. So, it looks like Shutterstock is bumping up it's standards to keep up with the industry. You can upload your JPEGs, TIFFs and EPS files either via their web interface or via FTP.
Personal Experiences
As of the writing of this article, there has been as much as 1900 downloads and with more coming! Today, I'm averaging at about 5-10 downloads per day. And seriously, this number is low. Really. The reason for this is that I've been busy with my new role at IBM and it's taking all my time off photography. Therefore, I'm sure you can do a lot better than me! I have recieved 4 payouts from them so far and they are 100% reliable as far as I'm concerned. In fact, my brother is also doing very well at ShutterStock submitting mainly vector designs. So if you aren't too good of a photographer but has wonderful skills in designing vector graphics, trust me, this is well worth your effort too.
My Verdict: Highly recommended
My latest images for sale at Shutterstock:
My most popular images for sale at Shutterstock:
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