This is a primer for new microstock photographers. Sometimes you have to understand where you can’t make money to know where you can.

I reviewed for an agency for awhile and learned some things.  Here are some observations from the inside.

How NOT to make money at microstock

1) Shoot temples, Buddhas, generic landscapes, farmland, flowers, fields, and did I mention Temples and Buddhas … oh and statues.

I’m sorry but these images are done. They’re done again. And then a few thousand more times. I don’t care what angle you stand at – it’s been done.  Why would someone pay their businesses money for images they can also so easily acquire? if you have that many options, you can find a cheap, cheap image.  On a subscription site, they can get fresh, new temple images every single day.

2) Shoot stuff within 10 feet of your computer, your computer, someone holding a computer or an isolated person on white.

Just for fun one day search isolated man on Shutterstock or iStock.  Record the number of images.  Do that same search for a week.  When you get the point, you’ll get the point.  You are NOT going to make serious money shooting the same images as everyone else.

3) Make sure you upload everything at once.

As long as you upload everything at once you’ll dominate ONE page of a search result. That’s great for … a few days. Then what?  Uploading everything at once is a bad strategy for maximizing a shoot.  Although you dominate “most recent” for a moment, the effect goes away and your own photos bury your own photos, creating less chance of any one image gaining traction/sales.

4) Upload EVERYTHING from a shoot.

Definitely do this if you do NOT want to make a lot of money in stock.  I know – you want a lot of images online.  Right.  However… think about this scenario:

• You upload 2 images and they sell 20 times.  They reaches higher levels of income on some sites for you.  This produces more income.
• You upload 10 images and they all sell 2 times. They all always sell for the minimum.  Even if they all sell 3 times, the income is lower than above. Even if they all sell FIVE times the income is lower.  Get the idea?

5) Never test out a microstock site for what works and what doesn’t.

It’s a really good idea to just shoot, upload and forget it .  If you don’t want to make money, I mean.  If your approval percent helps search results on one site and not another, wouldn’t it make sense to increase it where possible?  If categorizing helps you on a site, never do that … that’s the sure way to get more exposure.

6) Whatever you do, don’t learn about the industry.  No MicrostockGroup for you.

Education is really bad for you if you want to not make money. The easiest way to not make money is to stay in the dark about how others are successfully earning a living at this career.

7) Under no circumstances are you to upload regularly and create momentum.

Momentum is the bane of microstock photographers. It can make or break you, especially at sites like Shutterstock (which gain momentum) or Dreamstime (where new images take awhile to season in and consistently uploading means consistently selling.)  Momentum can help you make the most money in micro so absolutely do not gain any momentum or you’re going to make more than you want.

There you have it – the top tips for NOT making money at microstock.  Have fun and remember not to shoot anything today!