Selling photos and illustrations online – the how-to guide

204/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Why Sell Images Online?

Why should I sell images online?Do you fancy making money from your photos or illustrations?

Microstock photography has grown to a huge industry worldwide as publishers use ‘crowdsourcing’ – accessing stocks produced by masses of people and made accessible online – to buy stock images and photographs at cost effective prices.

Microstocking presents opportunities to amateur and professional photographers and artists alike. Via sites such as Polylooks, you can upload your images and let them earn you money! You just need to follow a few simple rules to do it right, and it helps if you have large quantities to make serious money. Microstockists such as Polylooks have guidelines to follow to ensure they provide a high-quality service.

Once you’ve got a few shots up there you can start earning money. Depending what the buyer wants to use the image for, on Polylooks.co.uk this can be up to 50p per photo per purchase. If you sell an image which a purchaser wants to use for merchandise – for example, to print on t-shirts or mugs – you can earn up to £25.

Just two images from Polylooks’ data base of more than 500,000 stock photos and illustrations.

304/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

What you need to be a microstock star

Dust down your camera…

Before you dig out your camera or delve into your hard drive to look for images you might think of selling, take a look at microstock sites such as Polylooks.co.uk and see what images are up there already. Note the style, focus and subject matter. Think about what sells. Groups of people in a professional or leisure environment, for example, are popular with microstock buyers.

These are the sorts of images which publishers demand and microstock sites provide. You also need a good eye to be a microstock contributor.

Think about colours, composition, and look and feel. Once you’ve got your images up there you’ll need to tag them wisely so they can be found by shoppers. Again, think about your audience – how would they search for images?

People shots are popular

404/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Microstocking Fact Check

Getting started in microstock – things to remember

In a nutshell, here are some other must-know facts to help you get going in microstocking:

• Use a 6MP (six mega-pixel) camera. 6MP is the minimum image quality microstockists will typically accept• Make sure your shots are in focus and do not contain anomalies, such as blurs or obstructions• Check out regulations on ‘model releases’. If you’re taking photos of people or property you’ll need signed permission from that individual or property owner• You’ll need a minimum of ten keywords to describe each image. Accurate keywording increases the chances of an image being found and purchased• Don’t even think of uploading anything immoral or illegal – it won’t be accepted!

Illustrations also sell well, depending on the subject

504/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Selling Your Images on Polylooks

A Guide for Photographers and Illustrators

Polylooks provides a direct online sales platform for digital photography and illustration, and is used by both professional and skilled amateur photographers, as well as illustrators.

Customers typically include advertising and PR agencies, publishers, companies and private individuals who require specific images with a fresh European look.

Both buyers and sellers benefit from fair pricing structures and clear licensing conditions. The whole process from registration to the uploading of images to success monitoring and invoice control is very simple thanks to the easy-to-use functions of the portal.

Registration is simple and free of charge.

All transferred data is encrypted in accordance with the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) standard.

604/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Photographic Test

Passing the Photographic Test

Before images can be uploaded for sale, image sellers must complete an online assessment to prove their photographic know-how. The test guarantees a high-quality service, which benefits both contributors and buyers.

The online questionnaire consists of ten questions. At least nine questions must be answered correctly. The order and content of the questions are randomly generated for each test and photographers have the option to retake the test if they wish. Once the test has been completed, Polylooks advises the contributor on incorrect answers, highlighting the correct choice.

704/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Uploading and Managing Images

Upload your imagesUploading single or multiple photos is easy and can be done

directly within the browser or a FTP client server, straight from the desktop. Polylooks offers assistance to photographers who wish to upload more than 500 images at once upon request.

Uploaded images can be comprehensively managed. In addition to an accurate image title, contributors can also describe their images using free text. The specification of keywords is important for successful sales and Polylooks requires at least ten keywords per image.

Polylooks also requires the selection of a category and an associated sub-category. This combination of information helps ensure that potential buyers are able to find the relevant image and the seller gets high ranking search results.

804/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

Overseeing Results

Contributors can obtain an overview of the status and sales success of their images at any time via the ‘My Profile’ area. Polylooks also provides information to image vendors about the amount of commission obtained and provides account statements in PDF format for download.

For more information on how to sell images on Polylooks and to register on the site, visit: http://uk.polylooks.com/microstock-global-show_sell_pictures.php

904/12/23Copyright Polylooks UK 2010 www.polylooks.co.uk

About Polylooks

About PolylooksPolylooks is the online photo agency owned by Deutsche Telekom, providing royalty free images for use in print and online media. Microstock buyers in the main are PR and ad agencies, publishers, bloggers, corporate communications departments and individuals. Polylooks’ customers benefit from a transparent licensing model and competitive pricing structures, and can also purchase licences to use images on merchandise. The platform allows both amateur and professional photographers and illustrators to showcase their images and sell them based on a fair fee structure.

Polylooks has more than 500,000 images available to download.

For more visit www.polylooks.co.ukRead the Polylooks blogJoin our Facebook groupEmail: press@polylooks.com

Get ready to tee-off with Polylooks