iStockPhoto: Creative and Passive Income Stream

iStockPhoto

http://www.istockphoto.com

Digital photography has been a casual hobby of mine for a while now and sites like iStockPhoto are a great way to turn some good photos into a few extra bucks.


What is it? iStockPhoto is a stock photography site which houses and sells both amateur and professional photographer's uploaded photos to everyone from web designers, book publishers, to people just wanting a cool background on their computer.


How does it work? Simply create an account and choose to upload your high resolution photos that meet certain requirements such as focus, lighting, and noise. Be sure your photos are free of copyrighted imagery such as company logos and if it contains a visible face, make sure to have that person submit a model release form. You can read more about exactly what can and cannot be submitted at the upload portion of your account. Your work is screened by a human, and acceptable images are made searchable on the site.

iStock sells images, video, audio, vector illustrations and uses a credit system for transactions. Buyers purchase credits which can be used to purchase any of these media types and at different size and license options.

How much am I paid? The royalty structure on iStockphoto is 20%, thus the amount depends on the size of your image, type of media, licensing options that the buyers choose, etc.

Any luck making money? Yes, a little. I have been a pretty inactive member since 2002 with only around 26 photos uploaded (I am working on expanding that now). 672 people have paid to download my work for a profit of $151. The main advantage here is that it becomes a passive source of income after your upload.

Bonus note: iStock currently has a referral program where I can email 10 people each month and can give them 3 free credits at sign-up. If this is something that may interest you, send me an email.

Do you have experience with iStockPhoto? Please share your experiences and opinions in the comments below.