Mon - March 17, 2008

What Sells in Microstock? My List of Picture Bestsellers



Probably, every microstock agency displays their most popular pictures - see e.g., iStockPhoto, Shutterstock, Fotolia, or Dreamstime. Their submission guidelines specify what to submit and what not to as discussed by Microstock Diaries.

You can find more helpful articles on this subject, e.g., What sells and what does not? and Good selling subject in "Microstocks: Curse or Blessing" at Perrush.be or What Makes Best Selling Photo? by Ellen Boughn from Dreamstime. Generally speaking, good selling subjects in microstock industry are:

  • people
  • business
  • people and business
  • illustrations/vectors
  • isolated objects
  • simple pictures

Some photographers, like Lorraine from Microstock Junction or Laurent from Microstock Experiment, are blogging about their bestselling images. So, let's look at some popular pictures from my microstock portfolio.

I don't shoot sexy business women, good looking businessmen and happy families. I have some simple pictures though. My stock experience is still very limited (70+ downloads at iStock, 50+ at ShutterStock, 26 at Fotolia and 20 at Dreamstime), but it is always fun to talk about pictures. I wonder if my microstock bestseller list will change significantly in the next few months.

South Platte River irrigation dam from iStock microstock portfolio Cryptex

My most popular shot on iStockPhoto - 15 out of 70 downloads; single sales on other sites. My second top picture at iStock has only 5 downloads.

I have submitted some other versions of this picture to iStock (not at the same time), but they were rejected because "we could not find a clear center focal point for this file" ...

excavator arm and scoop from iStock microstock portfolio Excavator arm and scoop

A leader in my earnings due to one enhanced license from ShutterStock and some solid sales on iStock. Motivated by microstock I have started to visit and photograph construction and industrial sites. I have found working machinery quite fascinating, but not so easy too photograph. There is also plenty of postprocessing work due to all logos and brand names on them.

cedar wood fence A new cedar wood fence

My sale leader in a number of downloads on ShutterStock, single sales on other sites. Of course, the situation in Shutterstock is changing quite rapidly.

This picture was shot rather accidentally without a tripod when I was inline skating on a bike trail in Loveland, Colorado. For outdoor activities like skating or biking I am carrying my camera in LowePro SlingShot backpack, sometimes, with an attached mini tripod.

computer gibberish printout Computer gibberish printout.

A top seller on DreamsTime, also popular on ShutterStock, refused by Fotolia due "type of photo" and by iStock as "overfiltered". The original printer page was scanned, and then manipulated in PhotoShop - a creative use of junk from my desk.

tablespoon Tablespoon of olive oil

My top picture on Fotolia. Several sales on other sites, unfortunately, mostly in X-small size. That old aluminum spoon appears quite often in my table studio - see nuts, grain and beans lightbox at iStock.

All pictures above (except gibberish illustration) were shot with Canon EOS 40d camera and Canon EF-s 60 mm macro lens. That lens stays attached to the camera and has been definitely my favorite one during recent months.

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