How much you can earn from stock photography will depend upon a number of factors including…

• how many photos you submit and to how many stock photography sites.
• how well you do your research into the types of photographs that are selling, and
• your ability to take high-quality photographs that match those buying patterns.

As a rough indication stock photos typically sell at microstock photography sites for between $0.25 to $2.00 and some of the better portfolios experience 30,000 to 40,000 downloads per year.

You can earn much more per “photo sale” if you sell an image through a traditional stock agency, but you would probably have a much lower volume of sales.

On the other hand if you sell your stock photographs directly to popular magazines you would typically earn up to $700 for a photo used on a cover, or around $75 to $300 for a full page shot inside the magazine. Smaller pictures pay less. These rates are just approximate as the fees paid are often influenced by the size and circulation of the magazine.

A survey undertaken by MicrostockGroup.com in early 2011 revealed some interesting figures.

Of the initial 606 artists who took part in the survey, 150 considered microstock to be their primary source of income. Of these 150 photographers:

• The average income from microstock (annually) was $35,487.
• The average time spent per week was 27.5 hours.
• 27% of these photographers were exclusive, i.e. selling photos exclusively through one agency resulting in higher fees per photo download).

So what is the secret to a winning stock portfolio?

If you want to sell more stock photography then you must regularly take time to research which photos are more marketable and in demand.

Study the portfolios of the top photographers at each of the major stock photography sites.

Study the images in magazines, newspapers, and websites to find out what is being bought and published.

Now go out and take some high-quality photographs that match those buying patterns.

Check out our 201-page guide to freelance photography.