how much can you make selling stock footage

Can you make money selling stock footage?

What should I charge for stock footage?

How do you make money shooting stock videos?

Can you make money on Pond5?

How much does a 30 second video cost?

How much should I sell my stock photos for?

Is selling stock footage worth it?

Where can I sell my video?

Where can I sell stock photos?

Should I let Pond5 set my price?

How do you make money on Vecteezy?

Is Pond5 exclusive?

How To Make Money Selling Stock Footage

My Stock Crash Course teaches you the steps you need to take to start earning an income off of any camera even the one in your smartphone.

You Can Shoot Stock with Any Camera!

If you have a camera that shoots 1080p footage then you can start uploading footage right now. I've sold shots from my iPhone for $100 a shot.

Meet Your Instructor

I am a Filmmaker, YouTuber and World Traveler. Together with my wife Rachel, we circle the globe to seek out the most unforgettable experiences. After graduating from Film School in Los Angeles I took what I learned to start a successful production company. From there I've discovered how Social Media has given creators new career opportunities.

Pssst!

Want to dive even deeper? If you’ve read my monthly income reports then you already know that I haven’t added a single clip or photo to my portfolio since January this year, and yet I’m still making hundreds of dollars each and every month from photo and video sales. It’s the easiest money I’ve ever made.

Total Income from Photo Sales (in 2019 so far)

I’ll get right to it. Here’s what I have made so far this year from stock photography sales alone.

Stock Photo Sales in 2019

In case it’s hard to see, here are the total numbers for the year so far from each site:

Strategies to sell more stock photos

The short answer is both! Obviously, the more photos you have available for download, the better your odds are for success. Especially when you consider how many millions of stock photos are already out there. And there are some pretty good ones, I might add.

Best Selling Stock Photos

I thought it could be interesting to share a few of my best selling photos and how much they’ve each earned over the long haul.

Stock photography : Is it worth it?

Now that we’ve taken a thorough look at exactly how much money I make selling stock photos, let’s talk about whether or not it’s worth the time and energy.

Conclusions

If you don’t have the capacity to take stock video clips or if you have an abundance of great photos to upload, I don’t want to discourage you in any way. It’s all about what makes the most sense for you! If you can upload 1000+ photos and are happy with an extra $100 bucks from it each month then I say go for it.

Why do we use stock footage?

The purpose of Stock Footage is to save time and money for video makers. Instead of filming a specific shot of say Machu Pichu, a travel agency from US can simply buy it from someone who has just made that shot thus saving them time and money.

What is a title in a video?

Every clip has to have a title that briefly describes what’s in the clip. This description serves as SEO (search engine optimization) when someone searches for a clip through outside searches, such as Google.

What is slow motion recording?

It is a great option to use in high speed environment such as sports or to easy your movement while shooting. Slow motion recording enables you get more clips from one shot, maximizing your shot count and earning potential.

Is stock footage high definition?

High definition stock footage is preferred, but if it's an extreme piece of well-composed aerial footage, or an impossible-to-duplicate piece of time lapse stock footage, the payoff might be higher, but anything the stock video companies need will pay off if your video footage has good composition and framing.

Is video footage royalty free?

Video footage is almost entirely sold as royalty free footage. What that means is that when a client purchases the footage, they are free to use it in any manner that they choose, for as long as they like, and in as many situations as they desire. It is theirs; they paid for it, and they are welcome to use it.#N#Daniel Hurst states, "one thing we never expected would be so great about working with iStock is the community of iStock staff and other stock shooters. We regularly stay in contact with other shooters, we have meetups – both official iStock events and just getting together on our own. Sometimes these meetups are to work together on shoots, and other times its just to share ideas and hang out. We've made some great friendships with people who live all over the world."

How Much Can I Make Selling Stock Footage?

Let’s get to the million-dollar question right away: how much can you realistically expect to earn from stock footage?

What Types of Stock Footage Sell Best?

This is honestly almost impossible to answer. Sure, there are main staples such as “lifestyle” shots to aerials and landscapes. But even these categories are extremely broad and it won’t exactly be productive to just list down every single type of stock footage that have ever sold in this article.

How Do I Shoot Stock Videos?

Unlike a commissioned project for one of your clients, there will be some key standards that should be considered and policies that’ll slightly reign in your creative license when shooting stock videos. Checkout our article on videography tips, and here are a few more tips and general guidelines to help you get started.

Which Platform Should You Use for Selling your Stock Footage?

When you’re starting, it’s too easy to overthink things which often leads to analysis paralysis. So to keep things simple, I suggest looking into the biggest stock footage platforms first like Shutterstock, AdobeStock, and Pond5.

Is stock photography a competitive business?

Stock photography is a very competitive business with its rules, requirements, and style, so you have to take it seriously if you want to be successful. You will have to use a variety of instruments like in any other business.

What is a model release?

A standard model release is a legally enforceable document that passes all rights to the images from the model to the photographer and also passes on the right to modify any images that s/he appears in during the shoot.

What is pond5 video?

Pond5. Pond5 became the largest video footage seller by offering outstanding features to both contributors and sellers, e.g. contributors can set their own price and the payout is always 50% (that’s a pretty good cut). Pond5 is a great option to start earning money with your photos (and videos).

What is rights free image?

Rights-free images denote images that are free to be downloaded from a micro-stock website and used in any form deemed fit by the buyer. These images, however, have a non-exclusivity claus e and usually does not have a time limit for use.

What is rights managed?

Rights-managed incorporates an exclusivity clause. These images are licensed based on a number of parameters, including but not limited to the type of use, geographical area, the number of print copies for the run and timeframe. These images are, however, not fit for unlimited usage.

What is photoworkout team?

The PhotoWorkout Team is always curious about the latest photography gear, post-processing software, up & coming photographers, and innovative ways to print your photos.

What is Michal's course?

This course helps you build a passive income with photos. Michal teaches you how to find profitable images and helps you navigate the dos and don’ts of selling photos online.

What is stock footage?

Stock footage is an excellent low-cost solution for self-employed individuals, small businesses, or others who operate on a tight budget to get high-quality video content in their productions. Stock footage can be anything — aerials, landscapes, time-lapses, lifestyle, cityscapes, etc.

How many stock images does Shutterstock have?

Shutterstock is one of the biggest stock media companies in the market as of today. It is enormous, having approximately 300 million stock images and 16 million stock footage in their library.

What is royalty free license?

A royalty-free license is what is typically being used in this day and age. The royalty-free license does not mean that the license is free. The word “free” refers to the license’s flexible usage rights. The royalty-free license allows multiple uses of footage in as many projects as the licensee wants.

What is a model release?

A model release is a document where the model can give written consent for the videographer to sell the footage for commercial use. Both the model and the videographer sign the model release. The videographer then includes the model release with the footage when uploading it into the stock platform.

What is the shutter speed of a video camera?

Firstly, when shooting any video, you should adopt the so-called 180-degree shutter rule. It states that your camera’s shutter speed should be a 2 x frame rate. For example, if you’re filming 25 fps video, your shutter speed should be 1/50th of a second. Similarly, if you’re shooting 30 fps video, the shutter speed should be set to 1/60th.

Is Adobe stock a media agency?

Adobe Stock is a relatively new stock media agency, but it is already gaining a lot of market share. Especially after they acquired Fotolia, they have become a serious player on the market.

How many stock clips does Pond5 have?

Pond5 is only one of these four agencies that are mainly focusing on stock video. They have over 17 million stock clips in their collection. They do offer also images, but with only 36 million images they are a very small player in the market. They also sell 3D models, music, sound effects, and AE templates.