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Useful Stock Photo Statistics And Trend Information

By Jim Pickerell | 112 Words | Posted 2/20/2011 | Comments
This story provides links to a series of articles that include the results of a photographer income survey, analysis of the sales of microstock photographers, the size of the market for stock photography and other data useful to understanding stock photo industry trends.

Changing Textbook Industry

By Jim Pickerell | 543 Words | Posted 2/10/2011 | Comments
If you license rights to your photos for textbook use then here are a few articles you should read.

Top Stories In 2010

By Jim Pickerell | 4127 Words | Posted 1/19/2011 | Comments
Readers new to this site want to know what they should read to get an understanding of the stock photo industry. Sometimes regular readers miss important stories due to the demands of their busy schedules. Consequently, we’ve put together this list of 52 stories published in the last eighteen months that outline what has been happening in the stock photo industry, where things stand at the beginning of 2011, and how the industry is changing. We hope you’ll find this list helpful.

Going Pro: Photography as a Career

By Jim Pickerell | 982 Words | Posted 7/21/2010 | Comments
More and more people are producing pictures of a quality sufficient to satisfy the needs of many who want to use pictures. Thanks to the Internet—and to a great extent microstock—it is now much easier than in the past for people to earn a little money from the images they have produced and to make contact with customers who might want to use them. The “Going Pro” series of articles targets not the successful professional but the person just starting out, or the microstock photographer who has had some success producing images that sell and believes it is time to quit his or her day job and go into photography full time. What are the things they need to be aware of before taking the big plunge of trying to turn something that is a fun hobby into a career?

Stock Photo Market Size, Worldwide

By Jim Pickerell | 384 Words | Posted 7/18/2010 | Comments
For several years I have estimated that the size of worldwide market for still stock images and illustrations at about $1.8 billion. I’ve also claimed that overall stock photography has been a no-growth business despite the fact that some companies and individuals could point to growth. Now, at the end of 2009 I believe gross revenue for the industry is no more than $1.45 billion and it will probably continue to decline. The stories here break out various segments of the market and explain the overall trends.l

Looking Ahead: Operating A Stock Photography Business

By Jim Pickerell | 812 Words | Posted 7/15/2010 | Comments
This story provides links to a five part series of articles designed to help photographers understand the major trends impacting the industry in 2010 and help them plan for the future. We outline some of the issues to consider, new business models to explore and things to focus on in order to have a profitable business. Following the first five stories are links to some additional articles on the business of stock photography that may be of interest.

How Successful Photographers Do It

By Jim Pickerell | 1112 Words | Posted 7/14/2010 | Comments
Looking for some vacation reading material? Here are some suggestions. If you want to know how successful stock photographers do it, here are links to a series of interviews done over the last couple years. There are lots of different strategies. Some of these photographers are among the world’s most successful. Other’s like Todd Klassy and Holger Mette are relatively new to the business, and have adopted unconventional strategies that may be the wave of the future.

Market Information Every Stock Photographer Needs To Know

By Jim Pickerell | 1744 Words | Posted 6/15/2010 | Comments
This story provides a list of useful articles that will provide the reader with a good background on the current state of the stock photography business and where it is headed.

Getting Started In Stock Photography

By Jim Pickerell | 914 Words | Posted 5/5/2010 | Comments
This story provides links to some of the stories on this site that may be of interest to someone new to the stock photography business, or someone who might to have a brief refresher course on some of the things that have been happening in the last few years. Many of these stories will also give you some idea of developing trends and what the future might hold.

Of Interest To Microstockers

By Jim Pickerell | 1100 Words | Posted 5/4/2010 | Comments
This is a list of 14 articles that will provide microstock photographers, or those considering contributing to microstock sites, some useful background and insights into the industry.