Choosing subjects for your microstock images is an important step. How could I have visibility among thousands of photographers ad millions of images?
You have a beautiful ‘red rose' picture and you want to sell it in the microstock market… before try to see how many similar images are already in the stock agencies:
Shutterstock
Red Rose Stock Photos, Illustrations, and Vector Art Returned 36884 results.
Dreamstime Search results: 26810 images.
Fotolia Search results: 27805 files
and then try the Rob Davis picniche.com tool for assessing the supply and demand of online stock photography images from microstock sites.
Here the likelihood of making a sale for a ‘red rose' keyword phrase image:
PicNiche Rating (all): 0.93 (Rating < 10 is BAD)
If you have a stunning image maybe the chance of making a sale is higher, but generally it's better to find something else with more appeal for the buyers, find your NICHE photography.
Wood pellets for stoves, alternative energy related subject, is my niche. Here some numbers:
Shutterstock
Wood Pellets Stock Photos, Illustrations, and Vector Art Returned 41 results.
Dreamstime Search results: 31 images.
Fotolia Search results: 94 files
PicNiche Rating (all): 1560.60 (Rating > 100 is a NICHE) Awesome!! 😉
My best seller wood pellets image at Dreamstime
See also ThePrint‘s post 10 Tips for Serious Microstock Wannabes
and 36clicks Hugo de Wolf post Find your niche in (micro)stock
Let me know if you have a winning niche or if you are “flower and mountain landscape” best seller photographers.
10 Comments
The best selling microstock photos are people or items isolated against white, simple compositions, rural scenes and crowd shots with releases and the old standbys business and family images. PicNiche and LookStat can refine the research.-Photomavin
Hi Ellen,
I agree that the best microstock subjects are people and isolated still-life… and the good niches of course 🙂
Thanks for your contribution, I will follow you on twitter.
roberto
Hi Roberto,
Thanks for the link, very interesting addition to the quest to find niches in stock. I will include your findings, if you don’t mind, as well as add a link to your article.
Cheers,
36clicks
I’ll be glad if you add my findings and link to your site. Thanks for your consideration.
Dear Roberto, Thanks for this very interesting post.
Actually Picniche tools are very helpful, the “Image request to contributors” feature it’s a great idea. Now I hope that also buyers starts to use it .
Dear Ale,
thanks for your comment, I’ve just tested FTP upload via picniche contributors toolbar… awesome 😉
r.m.’s last blog post..microstock niche subjects
Microstock Image-Contributor Toolbar (picNiche), Version 1.0.16 released
Hi Roberto!
Thanks for your visit and comment!
I'm looking around in your site and I find it realy interesting!
Ciao! Cristina
Hi Cristina, welcome! Hope you can find something useful
Ciao ciao
Thanks for the nice stuff. I have some of my collection too as wedding photographer I hope you will like this. Thanks.