These microstock sites are highly recommended!

dreamstime

www.istockphoto.com">iStockphoto

fotolia

shutterstock

Good Stock/Bad Stock

Photographs that sell are what defines an image as good stock. Certain images will always generate income. Photographs of people capturing emotion are steady earners. Cliche type images (business handshakes and gorgeous sunsets) can also generate consistent sales, though it's important to remember that these types of images face stiff competition from similar images (that's why they are considered cliches). Checking the top seller lists on the microstock sites is a great way to begin to develop a sense of which types of images are in the greatest demand. Keep in mind that your images don't need to conform to these formulas, many top sellers create their own niches.

Cluttered backgrounds, awkward compositions, poor lighting, all these factors contribute to an image being considered bad stock. Most importantly if there is no need for the image it will not sell. The typical portfolio may have 15% of the images earning 90% of the commissions. This means that everybody shoots bad stock. Don't worry about those images that do not sell, learn from them and move on. While the reviewers on the sites may reject a photograph for technical reasons, they usually do not reject photographs as being unsuitable for stock. Eventually you will be able to judge if your image is worth editing, uploading, and keywording.

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