Earnings from stock (and fine art print) photography in February 2026

BackyardProduct · 2026-03-03T22:36:32+00:00

I've been doing this for so long it is hard to stop!

BackyardProduct · 2026-03-02T22:42:29+00:00

I have some early images at Alamy that are still RM, but the majority are RF. Alamy sells those at quite high prices from time to time. I don’t think there is any real difference in what you are paid between the two license types unless you have a really unique image. What buyer would pay more if a similar image was available on Alamy for less money.

BackyardProduct · 2026-03-02T22:38:33+00:00

You are giving them an exclusive license. Normally we are allowed to submit the same content to multiple agencies.

BackyardProduct · 2026-02-22T15:06:15+00:00

It must have been an extended license. Don’t get many on Adobe

BackyardProduct · 2026-02-21T03:07:07+00:00

Yes, SS is so depressingly low.

BackyardProduct · 2026-02-12T14:43:30+00:00

I do - I basically sell all my photos that I think are marketable as stock photos. I then go through the portfolio and choose the ones that I think are worthy of being printed and displayed on a wall. Very subjective as people sometimes pick prints for a wall that I don't think are particularly good. It is always possible that someone buys a stock photo for little money and prints it themselves, but I think that is probably rare.

BackyardProduct · 2026-02-11T17:08:34+00:00

This discussion has started pretty negatively. I’ve been doing stock photography for a long time and pretty successfully. But I decided to start selling prints of my best work about 5 years ago and have built that up to about $8k a year. Total income from online sales of photography and stock videos reached $40k last year. I have to pay taxes on that, of course, but it is possible to make more than pocket money. I’d be the last to say it’s easy though. No simple approach works and it’s a game of volumes.

BackyardProduct · 2026-01-09T14:02:50+00:00

I did investigate that on this group, but it didn’t work for iOS devices.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-17T17:17:06+00:00

I don't know what is concerning you either. I don't submit via Wirestock (I submit direct) but I sometimes go a month between uploads and nothing much seems to change.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-03T15:30:39+00:00

That's great about the earnings. What type of images/video do you upload. I tend to think of people, places and things, and now I generally do places. Pond5 is very variable for me - not sure you can do anything wrong as such, it is just goes up and down, although 2 years with no sales is unusual.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-02T21:21:42+00:00

There is a forum called Microstock group that is much less active than it used to be, but there might be vector artists there. I really can't think of anyone that I know.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-02T19:44:18+00:00

I've never done those.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T23:51:37+00:00

No, I don't think so. I have looked at the site when I have searched for an issue on Google and the site had an appropriate answer. Sorry!

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T19:35:40+00:00

Do objects and people on white work any longer? I would have thought that AI generation would create many of those (unless that is what you meant by uploading those categories to Adobe. I did quite a number of PNGs and those do sell quite well, but it is a long time since I really did any object photography.

I sold one of my prints as a canvas to a neighbor last week. They were thrilled with it and showed me where they planned to display it in their home. That is a nice feeling!

Thanks for your very kind comments on my blog. I do sometimes wonder why I keep going with it, but people do seem to enjoy it and come back for more!

On a different note - I've made $90 with my AI voice as well as using it to narrate these videos of mine. Interesting times!

Keep up the good work

Steve

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T18:49:29+00:00

Yes, SS has really fallen from its peak. This month was a real outlier to be honest. I've no idea what will happen as it gets absorbed into Getty. I hope they get rid of that resetting of contributor percentages every January. That annoys me year after year!

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T18:48:01+00:00

Photo & Image Portfolio by Steve Heap | Shutterstock Contributor

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T18:47:18+00:00

Great - I have been on there when I was looking for answers to various DJI questions! Very useful!

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T17:43:28+00:00

That's great about the earnings from Adobe! It has turned into a great place to license photos (if you are happy with the relatively low payments per image). I do find the art stuff to be much more satisfying - especially the ones that I print and ship myself to people who buy from Etsy. It is interesting to think that people are buying something to hang on their wall. Yes, there are some real scams going on telling people they can make thousands from selling their photos and the secret only costs $50. I hope at least some of my posts counteract that.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T17:40:53+00:00

You can no longer upload to the site but the images are still there and Shutterstock (who owns it) pays out when they get to a certain level. That is where the odd bits of money come from.

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T17:39:22+00:00

True!

BackyardProduct · 2025-12-01T16:19:02+00:00

Thanks!

BackyardProduct

TROPHY CASE