Top Stock Photography Sites

Your digital camera doesn't use film right? So, you can snap,click and shoot away as many pictures as you want till you get the right ones! In due course you will learn about lighting, backgrounds and staging your digital photos for better effect.

Few Pointers to be aware of before you submit your photos to photo stock sites:

• When you submit your application, you will have to submit a few sample images. Your photos will be gauged for quality.

• Shoot some sample images with bright light and preferably inside a photo light box.

• Always, always upload only the best images.

• Use relevant keywords. No matter how good your image is, if the keywords are bad, your image will not sell or be seen.

• Learn about the most in-demand image subjects and avoid wasting your time uploading the least requested photos.

The 5 top stock photography sites where you can exhibit your photography skill are:

1.Fotolia
Fotolia demand a minimum of 1600 x 1200 pixels for web use and 2272 x 1704 pixels or greater for print use. The ideal files should be at least 2000 x 3000 pixels.

2. Dreamstime

Dreamstime entail that the image be at least 3MP in size or more, it must in RGB JPG format only.

3. BigStockPhoto

They require you to take a Photographer Test after studying their Tutorial pages. If you pass you, then you can upload photos, which will be reviewed by the editors.

4. iStockPhoto

iStockPhoto stipulate that the images be in RGB JPG format and a large file. 300 dpi 5″ x 7″ is optimal. All files should be 1200 x 1600 pixels minimum - anything smaller will be automatically discarded.

5. ShutterStock

This site has a referral program that users can also earn from. Images must be at least 2.5 megapixel to be accepted. But new photographers’ minimum size is 4.0MP.

Two other great websites to consider are crestock.com and StockAndPrints.com.

When customers purchase and download your photos, you earn about 50% to 80%per photo as royalty.Payments are usually made via bank check, Paypal, and MoneyBookers.

Before submitting your photographs , improve their quality by using a good photo-editing program. You can crop. color, sharpen and so on, to tweak your images. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements are good programs for editing photos. GIMP is also a really good free software, which is compactable with both Windows and Mac.

Remember that your digital camera is a money making machine.

Good luck to your creative skill in the world of stock photography and reap in the money!

Copyright © 2008 Laila Rajaratnam. All Rights Reserved