Putting your images online and trying to sell them can be rewarding, frustrating, profitable, disappointing, thrilling, tedious etc. Often people have the misconceived idea that they will get instant results when starting out, however for most, microstock photography is a marathon not a hundred metre sprint. So it is great to find a site which offers instant reward, for those who are willing to give it a go.
With some of the microstock agencies already racing towards the 10 million image mark, new agencies need to find ways to attract contributors or they run the risk of going unnoticed. So paying for your uploads seems like a good idea. It’s been tried before. At the beginning of the year Pixmac had an appealing payment offer for contributors, but the opportunity to take part in the offer only lasted a month. Also a few years ago Albumo offered $25 dollars for 250 uploads, but the payout was set at $75. Hardly worth uploading to really and most didn’t. The contributors who did were left frustrated, as sales never really took off. Consequently Albumo bowed out of the microstock industry in September 2009, without so much as an Arrivederci!
Deposit Photos has a much better bonus scheme which should see that those who send their images will actually get the bonus. They are paying $100 for 500 of your accepted images, that’s 20 cents an image and importantly you have the option of requesting payout when your balance reaches $50, so those with smaller portfolios can cash in too. The photo upload process is one of the easiest out there, so you can get photos online and up for sale in a jiffy. No hoops to jump through that some of the other agencies entertain us with! A more than decent acceptance ratio, I have so far sent them 141 images, with 7 being rejected. This currently leaves me with $28.12 in my account including 1 sale, which is a good sign.
Commissions depend on whether you are an exclusive or a non-exclusive contributor and also on how many images you sell. Non-exclusive commissions range from 44% to 52% (Update: now 34% to 42%).
To join Deposit Photos as a photographer or illustrator you must send them 5 images to be reviewed, they call it an exam (don’t let that scare you). Once accepted, login, click on ‘Promotion’, which is beside ‘Profile’, activate the promotion program, then start your uploading. Your balance automatically increases as your images are accepted, it usually takes a few days for your images to be reviewed.
This bonus scheme is nice for us, but as Albumo is testament to, doesn’t guarantee an agency’s success. However, Deposit Photos have made a tremendous start and although they are currently playing catch up, they have shown their intent to chase.
