Taking Stock: Make Money in Microstock Creating Photos That Sell

The ultimate insider guide to creating stock shots that sell from a veteran iStockphoto inspector

An iStockphoto inspector since 2002, author Rob Sylvan has spent nearly a decade as part of the team that decides which photos get sold on one of the largest, most popular microstock sites in existence. He’s also made tens of thousands of dollars off of his own microstock photography. As a result, no one knows better than he does what it takes to get your photos accepted to stock sites—and what to do to make those photos sell. In Taking Stock, Rob shares his hard-earned insider knowledge on how to shoot, edit, and tag photos so you can earn while you learn, regardless of which microstock agency you’re using.

In this book, you’ll learn how to look at the world through the eyes of designers, photo editors, and stock photographers. You’ll also learn the importance of focusing your energy on creating stock content that resonates with your passion for photography. But we all know time is money, which is why Rob explains how to set up an effective digital workflow—the real key to making money in the high-volume, low-cost microstock market. By the end of this book, you’ll look at your work with new eyes, enabling you to make more money doing exactly what you love: shooting photos that sell.

You will learn:

• How to license photos as stock
• What photos are in demand
• The components of a successful digital workflow
• How to use titles, descriptions, and keywords to give yourself an edge
• Specific tips for shooting food, people, places, nature, objects, animals, and more
• Editing techniques that will make your shots sell

Rob Sylvan started contributing photos to iStockphoto in 2002. In December 2002, he became the sixth photo inspector (the people who review all new submissions to the site) to be hired. Over the last seven years he has inspected thousands upon thousands of photos and is in the process of re-writing iStock's photo contributor manual. Beyond his experience with iStockphoto, Rob has been one of three people serving on the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) Help Desk answering Photoshop and Lightroom questions for all NAPP members. He is also the author of Lightroom 2 for Dummies.