I learned of stock photography at one of the first get togethers of the Shutterbug Excursions that I attended... I didn't even know that such thing existed. The thought of taking photos that could possibly earn me a few dollars without any pressure to perform (i.e. doing portraits) really appeals to me, so I became to pursue the stock photography route. Being a total neophyte to the stock photography business I applied to the biggest and most well known on-line stock photography agency, iStockPhoto. Well, that was a rocky ride for a long while! It took me several months to get approved as a contributor. After finally being approved, then came the roller coaster ride of elation and frustration every time I got an email with the subject line either "iStockphoto: acceptance notice for file #12124..." or "iStockphoto: Notice for File #12102...". When it doesn't say "acceptance" as the second word - it isn't good news! I'm happy to say that six months after my first photo was accepted into the iStock collection, that roller coaster has smoothed out considerably. I now have over 100 files accepted to the iStock collection and over 60 downloads. I still have a lot of learning and room for improvement - but there is hope!
If you would like to learn more about the stock photography business, Yuri Arcurs blog (http://www.arcurs.com/microstock-agencies-an-overview-for-beginners) is an excellent resource. I wish I would have found it back in April of 2009 instead of just a week ago! Also, check out his YouTube video of his studio! It's AWESOME! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYkNKP96b84)
If you'd like to see my iStockPhoto portfolio, you'll find it here: http://www.istockphoto.com/1morephoto
