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The idea that you can sell your images digitally multiple times in itself is a revolutionary side hustle, or so I thought at the time.
I first came across the stock photography side hustles through a video published on Youtube by Nicole Glass, a photographer who has been successfully selling her images since 2017.
Although she made only 0.25c in her first month, she did not give up until she was making 3 figures monthly on the site only a year later.
She has a series of videos talking about everything that you need to know regarding selecting, uploading, and marketing your images and videos to make consistent passive income.
Whatever side hustle you want to pursue if you do not have the budget to hire a coach, find free inspiration from youtube, where successful people can serve as your ‘mentors’ without the extra expense.
Comment on their videos and ask questions. Lots of YouTubers are lovely and will respond to you and give you advice.
When and Why Did I Start Stock Photography?
I joined Shutterstock on the 27th of December 2018. I had just recently come back from a 3-year stay in Australia.
I was motivated to get back into online work, where I worked on my herbal business during the day and juggled face-to-face tutoring primary school students in the afternoon. You can imagine how busy it was.
I was craving a peaceful and gentle transition to online work, and what better way than uploading the images from Australia at the comfort of my home while getting paid to do so.
After binging on hours of youtube videos by Nicole as well as many others, I decided to dive in by submitting my application to Shutterstock.
Takeaway:
Take your time to research the platforms that you can join.
Make a realistic goal before you get started. Create mini-goals and hold yourself accountable. This is something that I did not do, which I know now would have made a significant difference in my overall success on the platform.
Why Shutterstock?
Although there were other platforms such as iStock (formally known as GettyImages), Adobe Stock, and Dreamstime, Shutterstock was easy to use and has other benefits, including:
Active for over 15 years
Allowed for the sale of images, music, and stock videos
Paid over $500 million to their sellers.
Allows the sellers to keep their copyright protected.
Gives credit to the photographer, even after the purchase.
Maximizes efficiency and productivity: allows for multiple uploads of up to 50 images at the same time. This is a must when you are working with a large number of photos.
Uploaded images can stay for up to one week in the drafts which gives you a chance to edit them before submitting them for approval.
Great keyword suggestion which helps you filter out the best keywords to use to help your image get found. Uses AI to identify what your image or video is about and suggests keywords that can be added at a click of a button.
Has an app to be used for sellers which allows them to review their earnings and upload images and videos from the phone.
I did try uploading the same images to Dreamstime and iStockPhoto and had no sales, confirming to me that I made the right decision by focusing on Shutterstock.
Takeaway:
Focus on one platform at a time for a minimum of 3 months.
Don’t spread yourself too thin uploading on many platforms and expecting great results.
The Results
In one sitting, I uploaded 75 pictures to the platform. Pictures included some Finnish nature scenery taken during summer trips, herbs, and random pictures of Australia.
44 images got approved while 31 images got declined because of angle, lighting, and sizing issues.
I used a regular camera on my phone and resized my images to make sure they are all 5000px x 5000px. I resized using Canva premium, which I use for my other side hustles.
I made my first sale within one month. To my surprise, I sold two digital downloads of the elderberry syrup herb mixture (pictured first in the image below) I made as part of my herbal business in Australia. I had randomly taken this image to showcase it on the Facebook account and show it behind the scenes to customers. This has become my bestseller since I posted it on the platform.
I made a total of 12 sales during my first 4 months on the platform.
I started on Shutterstock on a casual basis and was juggling other platforms including wordpress, youtube and etsy at the time. It was more like a guessing game to see if it will bring actual sales. I wasn't expecting a lot since I invested minimal time.
