comments (1)
For what I’ve seen of their site (yes, I’ve registered), at PhotoShelter Collection, it is my feeling they try to distance themselves from the “regular” microstock sites. Although the more personal touch feels good (they make it sound so familiar), the general guidelines are those of a microstock agency. No word yet as for how tough their reviewing procedure is. From their guidelines, I got the impression that PhotoShelter Collection wants to explore a certain niche inside stock photography, turning it more casual.
This is where PhotoShelter Collection distance themselves from the crowd: the photographer’s revenue is 70% (85% for photos submitted before November 5th and up to six months) and the minimum price set for a photo is $50. The price is only a recommendation and you are allowed to price your own work. At least, you’ll be getting $35 for each sale minimum. The payout is set at $100 if you choose to be paid by check but they also offer PayPal or ACH as other payment methods (no word on payout here).
I have mixed feelings about PhotoShelter Collection from what I’ve read so far. I haven’t tried to submit any work so I can’t say for now how successful it can be.
Nonetheless, the high revenue percentage, low payout amount and relatively high price per photo make of PhotoShelter Collection something to seriously consider if you want to try selling your images. Also, it’s free to join.
On the other hand, competing with all the microstock sites out there is not going to be easy (is this even their aim?). Although many companies still go for the established (and much more expensive) stock agencies like Getty, the accessibility and affordability of microstock sites is hard to beat and only time will tell how PhotoShelter Collection will establish themselves in the photo market business.
Overall, I was surprised with PhotoShelter Collection. Maybe this is just a feature to increase sales on their main business (backups) and maybe not. Anyway, I’ll seriously consider uploading some work there and see how it turns out.
If you are already into stock photography and you’re not exclusive to any site, maybe you should also consider at least looking into it.
Although I just gave a very brief and positive review of PhotoShelter Collection, I’m in no way associated with them (besides having a user account at their site) and this is NOT a paid post. Truly, there aren’t even affiliate links on this post.
