Is Stock Photography Worth It? I Submitted 1,200 Photos to Find Out...

Summary

Frankie, an amateur photographer, embarked on a 30-day challenge to test the viability of stock photography as a passive income source. With a goal of uploading 1,000 photos to Adobe Stock and Shutterstock, Frankie faced the reality of tedious editing and tagging. Despite only achieving 600 uploads, the experience was enjoyable and educational. Adobe Stock accepted a disappointing 32 photos with no sales, while Shutterstock accepted 260, resulting in modest earnings. Frankie recommends Shutterstock over Adobe for amateurs and suggests focusing on quality over quantity, especially with stock video, for better success in the stock photography market.

Takeaways

• 📸 Frankie, the video creator, embarked on a 30-day challenge to test the feasibility of earning passive income from stock photography as a complete beginner.
• 🌅 The project was inspired by a family vacation to Mexico, during which Frankie took 550 photos, later editing and selecting nearly 400 for potential upload.
• 🌄 Frankie's daily routine during the vacation involved early morning walks to capture photos without disrupting the vacation experience.
• 🖼️ Editing and uploading photos to stock sites proved to be a more time-consuming and tedious process than anticipated, particularly the task of tagging photos with up to 50 tags each.
• 🔑 Frankie set a goal to upload 1,000 unique photos to Adobe Stock and Shutterstock but later adjusted it to 600 due to the workload.
• 📐 Frankie's experience with Adobe Stock was disappointing, with only 32 out of 585 photos accepted and no earnings to show for it.
• 🎉 In contrast, Shutterstock was more successful, with a 45% acceptance rate and small earnings from photo downloads.
• 🚫 Key reasons for photo rejections included visible trademarks, missing model releases, and issues with focus, exposure, and titles.
• 🔒 Shutterstock provided valuable feedback on photo rejections, helping Frankie learn and improve.
• 📈 Frankie recommends stock photography with realistic expectations and suggests focusing on quality over quantity, as well as considering stock video as a potentially more lucrative avenue.
• 📈 Frankie's overall conclusion was positive, valuing the experience, skill development, and potential for long-term passive income, despite the initial challenges and modest earnings.

Q & A

What was Frankie's main goal for the 30-day challenge?

Frankie's main goal was to determine if a total amateur could earn passive income from stock photography.

What did Frankie do during the family vacation in Mexico?

Frankie took about 550 photos during the vacation and edited them down to around 400 worth uploading.

How did Frankie approach the photo-taking process during the vacation?

Frankie went on hour-long walkabouts each morning before the sun rose, covering various locations around the resort and nearby areas.

What were the two stock sites Frankie chose to upload photos to?

Frankie chose Adobe Stock and Shutterstock as the sites to upload photos.

What was the most tedious part of the process for Frankie?

Tagging was the most tedious part of the process, as it was time-consuming and required adding up to 50 tags per photo on each site.

What was Frankie's initial goal for uploading photos to the stock sites?

Frankie's initial goal was to upload 1,000 unique photos to both Adobe Stock and Shutterstock.

How many photos did Frankie actually manage to upload to the stock sites?

Frankie ended up uploading around 600 photos to the stock sites, not reaching the initial goal of 1,000.

What was the acceptance rate of Frankie's photos on Adobe Stock?

On Adobe Stock, only 32 out of 585 submitted photos were accepted, which is an acceptance rate of about 8%.

How did Shutterstock's photo review process compare to Adobe Stock's?

Shutterstock reviewed photos more quickly, usually within 24 hours, and provided feedback for each rejected photo, unlike Adobe Stock.

What was Frankie's experience with earnings from the uploaded photos?

Frankie earned 30 cents from one download on Adobe Stock and 40 cents from two downloads on Shutterstock, totaling 70 cents.

What advice does Frankie give for those interested in stock photography?

Frankie recommends having realistic expectations, focusing on gaining skills rather than money, and considering Shutterstock over Adobe for amateurs.

What did Frankie learn about the importance of video quality in stock photography?

Frankie learned that using a tripod is crucial for stock video to avoid shaky footage, and that there is high demand for stock video, especially with model releases.

What were the common reasons for photo rejections on Shutterstock?

Common reasons for rejection included visible trademarks or intellectual property, missing model releases, out-of-focus subjects, inconsistent exposure, and poor titles.

What was the upload limit Frankie encountered on Shutterstock?

Frankie encountered an upload cap of around 100 photos per day on Shutterstock, with a suggestion to submit less for best practice.

What is Frankie's next step after the stock photography challenge?

Frankie is moving on to a new passive income project and is seeking input from viewers on whether to focus on Etsy templates, Medium, or audiobooks.

Outlines

00:00

📸 Stock Photography Challenge: Amateur to Income Earner?

Frankie, an amateur photographer, embarked on a 30-day challenge to test the viability of stock photography as a passive income source. Despite having no prior experience, Frankie aimed to upload and sell photos to discover if it could be a lucrative venture. The script details Frankie's journey, from the excitement of taking photos during a family vacation in Mexico to the tedious process of editing and uploading over 600 photos to Adobe Stock and Shutterstock. The challenge involved early morning photo sessions, meticulous editing, and the strategic use of tags to increase discoverability. Frankie's goal was to upload 1,000 unique photos, but the process proved more time-consuming than anticipated, leading to a revised target of 600 photos. The summary also touches on the disappointment of not meeting the initial goal and the lessons learned about the importance of video content, which Frankie did not successfully incorporate due to quality issues.

05:05

🔍 The Reality of Stock Photo Acceptance and Earnings

In this paragraph, Frankie discusses the stark contrast between the number of photos submitted and those accepted on Adobe Stock and Shutterstock. Out of 585 photos submitted to Adobe Stock, a mere 32 were accepted, with many others still under review and no feedback provided. This was a significant disappointment, especially considering the time and effort invested. On the other hand, Shutterstock was more accommodating, with 260 out of 576 photos accepted, offering a 45% acceptance rate and prompt reviews within 24 hours. Shutterstock also provided valuable feedback on rejected photos, citing reasons such as visible trademarks, missing model releases, and issues with focus or exposure. Frankie earned a modest 40 cents from Shutterstock during the challenge, which, while not significant, validated the effort and potential of stock photography as a passive income stream. The paragraph concludes with a recommendation for those interested in stock photography to focus on quality over quantity and to consider Shutterstock over Adobe for a better experience.

10:06

🚀 Reflecting on the Experience and Looking Forward

Frankie concludes the video script by reflecting on the overall experience of the stock photography challenge. Despite not achieving the initial goal of earning a substantial passive income, Frankie considers the project a success due to the enjoyment derived from the process and the valuable skills acquired. The script highlights the importance of realistic expectations and the potential for long-term gains with platforms like Shutterstock. Frankie also suggests focusing on stock video as a more profitable avenue, emphasizing the need for quality footage and model releases. The paragraph ends with a call to action for viewers to participate in deciding the next passive income project, with options including Etsy templates, Medium as a writing platform, and creating audiobooks or capitalizing on audio content. Frankie expresses gratitude for the viewers' engagement and looks forward to embarking on a new project, hoping for greater success in the future.

Keywords

💡Stock Photography

Stock photography refers to the practice of taking and selling photos that can be used by others for various purposes such as advertising, websites, or publications. In the video, Frankie explores the potential of earning passive income from stock photography as an amateur, uploading photos to platforms like Adobe Stock and Shutterstock.

💡Passive Income

Passive income is money earned with little to no effort after an initial work investment. The video's theme revolves around Frankie's 30-day challenge to test the viability of stock photography as a source of passive income, aiming to see if it can generate revenue with minimal ongoing effort.

💡30-Day Challenge

A 30-day challenge is a commitment to a specific task or project for a month to achieve a goal or test an idea. Frankie undertakes a 30-day passive income challenge to evaluate if stock photography can be a successful venture for a beginner, documenting the process and outcomes.

💡Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is a platform where photographers can sell their work. Frankie chose Adobe Stock as one of the sites to upload his photos, but faced a low acceptance rate and a lack of feedback, which was a significant part of his stock photography experience.

💡Shutterstock

Shutterstock is another popular stock photography site where Frankie attempted to sell his photos. Unlike Adobe Stock, Shutterstock provided a higher acceptance rate and feedback on rejected photos, which was valuable for understanding the platform's requirements.

💡Editing

Editing in the context of photography involves adjusting and refining images to improve their quality or suitability for sale. Frankie mentions editing his photos before uploading them to stock sites, which was a crucial step in preparing his work for submission.

💡Categorization, Title, and Tagging

Categorizing, titling, and tagging photos are essential steps in making them discoverable on stock sites. Frankie describes the tedious process of individually categorizing, titling, and tagging each photo on the stock sites, which is critical for potential buyers to find his work.

💡Model Releases

A model release is a legal document signed by individuals in a photo, granting permission for its commercial use. Frankie learned the importance of model releases when some of his photos were rejected due to the presence of recognizable people without releases.

💡Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate is the percentage of submitted photos that are approved for sale on a stock platform. Frankie's experience with different acceptance rates on Adobe Stock and Shutterstock highlights the varying standards and success rates of photographers on these platforms.

💡Feedback

Feedback in this context refers to the comments or reasons provided by stock sites for accepting or rejecting photos. Frankie appreciated Shutterstock's feedback on rejected photos, which helped him understand what to improve for future submissions.

💡Quality vs. Quantity

The concept of focusing on the quality of submissions rather than the quantity is a key takeaway from Frankie's experience. He suggests that uploading a smaller number of high-quality photos might be more effective than uploading a large number of average ones, as it can lead to better acceptance rates and potential sales.

Highlights

Frankie, an amateur photographer, takes on a 30-day challenge to explore the potential of stock photography as a passive income source.

Despite no prior experience, Frankie aims to test the common claim that stock photography can provide substantial passive income.

Frankie's project involves taking, editing, and uploading photos to stock photography sites Adobe Stock and Shutterstock.

A family vacation to Mexico serves as the backdrop for Frankie's initial photography, resulting in 550 photos taken.

Frankie's morning walks contribute to a peaceful and productive routine during the vacation, yielding a significant number of photos.

The real challenge begins post-vacation with the time-consuming task of editing and uploading photos to stock sites.

Frankie's initial goal of uploading 1,000 unique photos is revised to 600 due to the complexity of the process.

Only 32 out of 585 photos submitted to Adobe Stock are accepted, a disappointing outcome for Frankie.

Shutterstock shows a more favorable response, accepting 260 out of 576 photos, a stark contrast to Adobe Stock's acceptance rate.

Shutterstock's quick review process and provision of feedback for rejected photos are appreciated by Frankie.

Frankie earns a modest 40 cents from Shutterstock downloads, validating the potential of stock photography for income.

Frankie recommends Shutterstock over Adobe Stock for amateur photographers due to better acceptance rates and feedback.

The importance of using a tripod for video submissions is highlighted, as Frankie's videos were rejected for being shaky.

Frankie suggests focusing on quality over quantity when uploading photos to stock sites for better results.

Stock video is identified as a potentially more lucrative avenue for passive income than photos.

Frankie's overall experience with stock photography is positive, despite not meeting initial financial expectations.

Frankie concludes the project with a call to action for viewers to vote on the next passive income challenge.

Transcripts

my name is Frankie and I spent the last

30 days trying my hand at taking

uploading and selling stock photography

I wanted to find out if a total amateur

with no experience could earn passive

income from stock photography because I

often see it mentioned as a top passive

income opportunity in fact I've actually

recommended stock photography a time or

two on my main channel the money

resolution I took on this 30 day

challenge to see if I could put my money

where my mouth is or was I guess today

I'll share it all how the photo taking

went my upload goal what sites I chose

to upload to what went right and wrong

what I would have done differently plus

of course did I make any money by the

way 30-day passive income challenges is

what I do here on the channel each month

I take on a new passive income project

from scratch and show you how it all

went so far I've taken on YouTube

investing online courses in now stock

photography stick around until the end

to see what I'm taking on for May 2023

And subscribe so you don't miss out out

how it all goes but let's dive in truth

be told I have always been interested in

trying my hand at photography over the

years I often find myself going on walks

just to take photos I'm also the one on

trips that probably takes way too many

photos I even love editing photos and

putting them into digital or physical

albums or at least posting them of

course on social media and I was

inspired to take on stock Photography in

April because we actually had a family

vacation planned for Mexico so I brought

my Canon M50 camera that I actually used

to film these videos with me and came

home with about 550 photos and after

editing I deemed close to 400 of those

worth uploading I didn't want my project

to be a distraction on vacation so each

morning I got up before the sun and went

on hour long walkabouts I went all over

the resort the nearby Beach the golf

club the town and more I looked forward

to this daily it was in no way a chore

since I wake up with or before the sun

most days anyway it was peaceful I got

steps in I saw amazing sunrise is so

zero complaints by April 10th when I got

home I was off to a great start and

feeling super motivated but then I

quickly realized the fun part was mostly

over the real work was ahead of me I

won't cover all the process details here

but if you do want more watch my

mid-month update but long story short I

had to edit each photo individually then

upload photos to two different stock

sites and I chose Adobe stock and

Shutterstock then I had to categorize

title and tag every photo individually

twice because of course they were on two

different sites tagging was easily the

most tedious part of the process you can

add up to 50 tags on each site per photo

so I figured it was best to add 50 tags

for each photo luckily you can add and

edit tags in bulk plus there are some AI

tools for help but it's still very

tedious and extremely time consuming in

my mid-month video I said my goal was 1

000 unique photos uploaded to both sites

well I lost steam after I spent almost a

week in the edit and upload process and

my new goal became 600 on both sites

next I ended up shooting around 100

photos in and around where I live in

Tacoma Washington and in nearby Seattle

then I remembered I had 100 or so great

photos from our honeymoon in Aruba so

that is how I got to 600 or at least

pretty close now I didn't hit my goal of

1 000 photos uploaded but I was really

proud of the effort overall and I did

hit some other challenges and I also

failed to upload any stock video I

learned video is actually where the

biggest opportunity is to make money but

it just didn't work out I shot 30 plus

15 second videos on my trip and back

home but none of them felt good enough

to submit my mistake was not using a

mini or a full tripod so all my videos

were really shaky and I didn't want to

edit and submit these low quality videos

just not worth it I said I submitted

close to 600 photos those twice but how

many actually got approved and accepted

onto each of the sites I'll start with

Adobe stock this was a challenge of the

585 photos I submitted only 32 got

accepted yes 32

ouch Adobe also took longer than

Shutterstock to actually review so

184 at the time of recording are still

being reviewed in process and have been

for over a week and a half plus Adobe

doesn't provide any feedback so I don't

know what I was doing wrong most of the

time so technically eight percent of my

photos that have been reviewed got

accepted that means I should end up with

close to or around 50 listed when the

final batch is reviewed some entire

batches by the way of 50 plus were fully

rejected early on in the process so that

was pretty demoralizing and part of the

reason I decided not to submit 1000

photos did I make money with my 32

photos on Adobe nope zero zip zilch here

are the photos I'll scan through that

were accepted on screen it has only been

a couple of weeks so there's still a

chance I'll earn some money over time

but I can't imagine I'll be earning more

than a few bucks a year based on my

experience I cannot recommend that you

upload to Adobe at least not as an

amateur you may have better luck but as

you can see I didn't but what about

Shutterstock I had a lot more success

with Shutterstock I apparently uploaded

slightly less photos at 576 of those 260

were accepted that is five times as many

as Adobe a 45 acceptance rate and I am

very happy with that I also really

appreciated how quickly Shutterstock

reviewed the images usually within 24

hours instead of five or six days or so

on average with Adobe best of all

Shutterstock actually provides feedback

for each photo that got rejected and I

want to share some of that feedback so

that you can learn and avoid my mistakes

first of all you can't have any kind of

trademark or intellectual property

whatsoever this photo got rejected for a

visible brand name or logo which I still

haven't found though I'm sure they're

right and graffiti I learned is

considered intellectual property which

okay respect I guess it should be I was

also told I was missing model releases

from people in landmarks Sometimes some

photos got rejected for the main subject

being out of focus even though I thought

it was intentional and artsy in my very

amateur opinion some photos were flagged

for needing an English translation

though I wasn't sure where you actually

submit that somewhere under over or

inconsistently exposed and I'm not

really sure what that last part means

some photos were rejected for noise or

artifacts in them and finally this is

one of my favorite photos that I took

last month but it was rejected because I

gave it a bad title apparently vacation

travel in Loreto Mexico wasn't

descriptive enough which I guess is fair

most were only rejected for one reason

but a few bad apples reminded me how

amateur I really am with three or more

rejection Flags so in terms of

Shutterstock the only downside I see to

uploading to the site is that I did

frequently hit an upload cap but I

simply needed to wait 24 hours to submit

more I think it's around 100 uploads a

day or so and after I submitted my first

100 or so I did see this message saying

I should submit less as a best practice

so that's just something to keep in mind

but did I make money on Shutterstock

during my 30-day passive income project

I actually did I was so excited when I

logged in on April 24th and saw that I

had one download that was going to pay

me 30 cents I had one additional

download in early May for 10 cents and

here are the two photos on screen you

can see I'm owed a whopping 40 cents

which isn't bad at least not a complete

and utter failure over problem but

honestly even if I made zero dollars it

wasn't a failure because I had a ton of

fun plus I have a ton of amazing photos

from our trip it got me out of the house

when I got back home I got exercise I

definitely improved and learned and

gained some skills and who knows it

might actually work out long term with

Shutterstock do I recommend stock

photography yes but only if you have

realistic expectations I also suggest

that you consider Shutterstock and

potentially some other sites but not

Adobe as I've said have fun with it

focus on gaining skills not money and

stick with quality not quantity perhaps

upload 20 or 25 of your very best photos

to four or five sites and see what you

learn and go from there if you do want

to actually earn money from stock maybe

avoid all the hassle that I just

described and stick with stock video

only I think video is where you could

really succeed use a tripod especially

if you have people in them that are are

willing to sign model release forms as

someone who is always looking for a sock

video for my YouTube channel like this

extremely random one on screen I can

tell you there's definitely high demand

for stock video now that is a quick

summary of a very long project there is

so much more that I could say and share

but I wanted to keep this tight and semi

short and to the point if you are

looking for more do check out my last

video I mentioned at the top it was my

mid-month update where I shared more

about the project background micro

versus macro stock sites why I chose the

sites that I chose my strategy my

process and most importantly I included

seven tips that I recommend that will

save you time and energy if you take on

the same project so let me know what you

think about my April passive income

project what did I do right what did I

do wrong what did you learn what are

your thoughts on stock Photography in

general for passive income after

watching this and if you have succeeded

in the stock space please share a tip or

two I'd really appreciate it because I

can definitely see myself uploading more

in the future but not in May and that's

because I'm on to a new passive income

project but here's the truth I need your

help I can't decide between three

options Etsy templates medium which is a

writing site and creating audiobooks or

money from audio in general so give me

your Vote or idea in the comments and

subscribe so that you see what I take on

next you are the best for watching until

the end my name is Frankie and I

appreciate your time and attention on to

the next one hopefully it's a little bit

more successful I hope to see you soon