I keep mentioning iStockPhoto. There's a link to it in my signature. But what exactly IS iStockPhoto?

There's a thorough explanation on Wikipedia (iStockPhoto), but the short answer is this. iStockPhoto is a website where you sell your photos real cheap, which makes tons of people who are used to paying hundreds of dollars per image go crazy buying them. The result is - happier designers, and happier you.

It's tough to get in, and iStock tends to have higher quality requirements than the high-end, expensive stock image companies (go figure) but it's worth it. This is all part of that mystical "crowd-sourcing" thing, where you, yes you, rule the world. And make money. Informal surveys show that iStock tends to earn you more than selling the same portfolio of images on a $500-a-pop site like Getty or Veer. It's a more for less thing.

I make a few hundred dollars per month minimum. $500 in a good month. I'm not normally this open with my figures, but I want to give you guys a realistic estimation. In my total time there, I've earned over $7k, and sold nearly 15,000 images.

My profile is available through my signature. Disclaimer: if you click that, and end up signing up for an account and buying something, I get $5. Yipee.

It took me a loooong time to get to this point. Above all, be patient. My first month, I made 15¢. That was back before images cost $1 minimum, when they were 25¢. At first, the inspectors will basically tell you that you suck at life, and photography. You won't be able to believe how bad they think your photos are. They'll complain about noise, grain, blur, and stuff you can't even see.

Stick with it. Keep trying. Eventually, you'll develop a keener ability to see image quality, and you'll start getting images in. Then the fun starts. Build your portfolio. Flourish. Prosper. I learned so much about photography just from browsing other people's portfolios.

Check it out. It rocks.

I feel so special, TD.

Do you still retain the rights for your images?

Yup.

(I'm going to start feeling like an iStock rep here)

You retain all rights, and you license the images in a non-exclusive, non-transferrable royalty-free license to the buyers.

If you choose to become exclusive to iStockPhoto (this doesn't let people buy your images exclusively, and you still retain rights. It can also be canceled at any time) than you can't sell photographs of any kind through any other RF agency. You're still the owner of your stuff though, and you can sell other kinds of imagery, such as rights managed, through other agents.

Can black and white (shot on film) photos be submitted or only digital photos?

Could you clean dust or artifacts in post and then submit it?

Yep and yep. They've recently added a film queue to the process, so that it is evaluated under different criteria. Lots of post work is normal for iStock, as long as it's good Photoshopping, and not bad. Also, if you're shooting film, you need damn good scans.

TD: You're a good artist...thatz some skillz u got

I checked out your portfolio and you got some pretty good designs going on. I was just wondering what software do you use ??? I've always liked graphic designs but i've never been able to know how they're made. I always cut out good designs & pics from magazines and post 'em up on my wall. I never thought bout the people who made them till like a month ago.

So, i'd be interested in istock...I'd just like some names of softwares to start experimentin' on !!!??!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ALEX~~~~~

Photoshop all the way my friend!

Check out the links to Steel Cage battles from my iStock profile. Down on the lower-right. Those are some hardcore design competitions

It takes days to learn Photoshop, and years to learn graphic art, but it's so much fun. Just dive right in!