First of all, you will be challenged to create stock photos with only a D40 (especially if you are using the kit lens). I used one of those several years back and outgrew it in about 4 months. It simply does not have the necessary capabilties, especially when it comes to proper lighting (many strobes are not compatible with the D40). Also, it has a very limited amount of compatible lenses available for it.

Secondly, stock photography is a numbers game. Specifically, agencies being able to obtain 1000s of images while paying pennies for each. Stock agencies have taken advantage of the internet to lure suckers who are desperate for their work to be “validated” and “published.” Stock photography cheapens the entire profession –and pardon my crudeness, but stock photography is to photography as street walking is to sex.

Thirdly, stock photography is not fun. Look at a stock site… there is no creativity in the photos. They all have the same look. If you want to have fun and be creative, don’t do stock photography, just do photography for fun.

For some of your other questions, yes, the market is flooded. Everybody has a digital camera and everybody thinks that they can get published with it. (see my second point).

@Rohit – It sounds like you are doing really well with stock photography! I’m sure that a lot of faint-hearted people believe they can do just as you say shoot|upload|make money, but I’m just as sure that the process is more as you describe it. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head in terms of what it takes — commitment. As I said above, I’m just not sure with everything else I have going that I’ve got the time to make the kind of commitment it would require to make a go of this right now. I’m still considering, but I’m leaning toward just pursuing photography for pleasure and not profit.

@Karunesh – I’m might do as you suggest and upload a few photographs in a casual manner just for the learning process and the fun of getting some of my best photos published. If I make a little money off them, that would be gravy!

I truly appreciate your thoughtful and honest input!

I hope others will still chime in with their experience. Have you tried to sell your pictures? If so, what has your experience been? I’d love to hear it!

http://www.softprayog.in/links/links.shtml

Regards.

My portfolio is around 1200 images and I exceed the average figure of $1/image/month. But the best part is that regardless of whether I shoot each month or not, I still make that kind of money (give or take 10%). And I imagine my images will continue to make this for at least the next 5 years. This year, I plan to add another 500 images.

Look, it is hard at first, but you have to hone your craft. If you’re not willing to pay the price, this business isn’t for you.

Its not easy as most people think – shoot | upload | make easy money. Its more like shoot | process | upload | keyword | have most images rejected | learn | shoot more | upload | and so on.

But I’ll say this… if you’re committed, this is highly rewarding. Both my cars payments, insurance and the kids education contribution is funded by stock photography. Not too shabby for a hobby, I say. Even during the months when I dont upload a single image.

Hope this helps.

Ro
http://www.sethphotography.com

I don’t want to pee on your parade. I’m just sharing the results of my experience. I haven’t even touched on the issues of photo releases. If you shoot a photo with a recognizable face in it you need a signed photo release from that person. Same thing if you shoot recognizable property, you need a property photo release signed by the owner. This just adds to the difficulty and time that it takes and moves the income way down.

And uploading is a pain in the ass. No matter how automated it has become, it still requires a lot of manual intervention and time.

Making money from stock photography today can be done but in my humble opinion you’d have to devote ten hours a week and get a high acceptance rate over a couple of years to bring in $200 per month.

If you approached it as a occupation you might do what some other stock photographers do. You shoot full time and have assistants back in your office that would post-process your images, tag them and upload them, full time as well. These are the guys you are going up against.

As for post-processing, Adobe LightRoom is awesome. I love it better than photoshop.

It is absolutely possible to shoot a photo and make money off of it. I have. It is just more and more unlikely as the inventory expands at exponential rates.

A couple of related sites that I read with helpful information on them are:

http://blogs.photopreneur.com/
http://www.microstockdiaries.com/
http://peterphun.com/
http://digital-photography-school.com/

After all of this, go for it if it makes you happy. You have nothing to lose by trying. All you need is at hand right now and some good software for post-processing of images before uploading. Just don’t create any expectations in advance.

I’m here if I can help in any way.

Steve
@GetOutOfDebtGuy

The Internet has challenged many professions to evolve. As an example, look at what it is doing to the newspaper industry. I think it is a good thing that photography is no longer an exclusive club, but one where many more people can enjoy and profit from it. In addition, I’m sure those that buy and use photography appreciate the lower cost and wider selection of what’s available today.

I say that you have to change with the times to stay competitive! All professions face this from time-to-time. Photography is no exception.

Thanks for adding your thoughts!