Taking Stock

Discover how to thrive in the booming photo microstock market with expert insights from a seasoned iStock inspector. With seven years of experience and a role in rewriting iStock's contributor manual, Rob Sylvan offers a friendly guide filled with tips for enhancing shooting and postproduction techniques to create successful stock images. The book features interviews with successful iStock contributors who share their secrets for achieving microstock success. As affordable microstock agencies like iStockphoto, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, and Fotolia gain popularity, more photographers are exploring ways to earn money online by selling images at lower prices. Sylvan, who has earned over $40K from his own microstock collection, provides essential advice on shooting, editing, and tagging photos for maximum sales potential across various agencies. He covers the use of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Adobe Camera Raw, and Lightroom for photo preparation, emphasizing the importance of a solid digital workflow in the competitive microstock landscape. Additionally, he highlights in-demand subjects and offers specific shooting and editing tips for food, people, nature, and more. By the end, readers will gain a fresh perspective on their photography, understanding how to capture images that appeal to buyers.