These microstock sites are highly recommended!

dreamstime

iStockphoto

fotolia

shutterstock

Microstock Site Reviews

Which microstock sites are worthy of your attention? We've provided our admittedly biased reviews to help guide you through the various options. The opinions expressed in this section are based upon our personal experiences, your mileage may vary.

iStockphoto- Like it or not, Bruce Livingstone changed the face of stock photography when he founded iStockphoto in May, 2000. iStockphoto simply sets the bar for all others to follow. This site features a generous and helpful community of iStockers that can be located in the forums section. Be sure to access this incredible resource. The reviewers are extremely fair, though review times do typically take a week or so to complete. Please note this has nothing to do with laziness, it's simply indicative of their incredible volume and popularity. The only gripe people tend to voice regarding iStockphoto is their royalty structure. The base 20% commission (for non-exclusive contributors) is one of the lowest in the industry. Trust us when we tell you that the volume of sales that iStockphoto generates will completely erase any concerns regarding the seemingly low royalty structure. Many contributors choose to be represented exclusively by iStockphoto, This option is available to all contributors who have recorded 500 downloads. Exclusivity enables the contributor to earn higher commissions, a greater amount of uploads per week, increased marketing opportunities, and better legal protection should a dispute arise over the use of an image. Even though we highly recommend playing the field before granting any stock site the right to exclusive representation, it has definitely worked for many iStockers. This is by far our favorite site, it's fun, informative, and profitable.

shutterstock- We've always enjoyed contributing images to shutterstock. This site was founded in 2003 and operates as a subscription based service. The royalty rate is low ($0.25), but the volume is high. From time to time you'll come across complaints from disgruntled contributors regarding the photo reviewers. Take these complaints with a grain of salt, most of the rejected images are because of noise or focusing issues. They do seem to subscribe to high technical standards. Historically this has been our second best performing site.

dreamstime- This fast growing site was founded in 2004. They offer a 50% commission rate, exclusivity programs, and an aggresive marketing team. We've had mixed results on this site but would not hesitate recommending their services. Be aware their policy requires your image to remain active on dreamstime for six months from the date it is approved by the inspectors.

fotolia- Launched in 2005, fotolia is a new kid on the block. They offer a 33% commission and extremely fast review times. We are not big fans of their keywording interface, it seems to take a lot longer than it should. Not a huge producer for us, but they are still in their infancy. Illustrators note, they do not currently sell vector images so you'll have to convert your files to bitmaps.

stockxpert- This is another fairly new player in the microstock arena. We love their lightning fast reviews and the 50% commission rate. New sites don't generally generate many sells so we'll have to wait awhile to fully evaluate our results. Illustrators note, they do not currently sell vector images so you'll have to convert your files to bitmaps.

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