Shutterstock photobank

Photobank Shutterstock (Shutterstock) is one of the main and most profitable photobanks for authors. If you are just planning to start making money by selling your photos or other content, then it is best to start with this microstock. If you’re looking to buy images from Shutterstock, that’s definitely a good solution for you.

You can familiarize yourself with the registration process on this page.

Benefits for shutterstock contributors

You can’t just get into this microstock. In order to get started, you need to pass a practical exam by sending 10 of your best works. If at least 7 out of 10 are accepted, you are accepted and can upload photos and vectors in any quantity.

You might think that having an exam makes it harder to work, and partly it is, but the lack of free access allows you to earn more in the end, and the desire to pass the exam will make you do good selling work. 

Some pluses

Since Shutterstock is one of the oldest and largest microstock photo banks, it has its own loyal customer base. Even mid-level works sell well.

In addition, Shutterstock gives new authors a nice bonus – if you pass the exam, all past works fall into the symbolic top sellers for a short time. As a rule, during this time you earn a very good amount of money, which gives a nice incentive to keep microstocking.

And the last interesting feature of the photo bank is its versatility. Shutterstock is focused not only on selling photos, you can become an author to sell through this photo bank in the same way:

  • 3D Illustrations and renderings
  • Vector graphics and illustrations
  • Videos and stories, including graphics

In addition, images and videos are available not only under the standard royalty free license (under which all microstocks work), but under editorial.

Yield indicators

All novice authors are primarily interested in how much they will earn on a particular photo bank. In the case of Shutterstock, opinions differ, but one thing is certain – this microstock is in the top three in terms of profitability for any creator.

Specific figures depend on the size of your portfolio and the need for stories. Having a huge portfolio of poorly selling works, even if they are of very high quality, you will not earn much.

Using the example of people I know who work with Shutterstock, I do not know a single person who would collect less than the minimum amount per month, i.e. Gets $100 and up. With a good portfolio, you can count on $600-900. per month, however, to achieve this bar, you need to work very, very hard. Since such a portfolio is not physically developed as a hobby in your free time.

If your plans include working for a couple of months, and then kicking the bucket – this option is also quite possible. One of my acquaintances has been photographing closely for stocks for about 3 months, but over the past year he has not posted a single new work on Shater’s website and simply receives money into his account.

His earnings chart on Shutterstock now looks like this:

Key Features

To register and start working with Shutterstock, you will need a scan of your passport. This is a necessary identity verification procedure, and the passport must be of international standard. “International” is the one where your name and surname are written in Latin.

Money can be withdrawn in various interesting ways, the best of which is skrill moneybookers – a British electronic payment system that works great with any local country banks. 

Money is withdrawn automatically if on the first day of the month your Shutterstock account has reached the minimum amount (you can set it, but you cannot make it less than $100).

In some countries and regions you will not be able to receive the earned money for the first 60 days after passing the Shutterstock exam (not registration, but passing). This is due to the fact that these countries have not signed any law on money laundering. But you will receive the money later in full, so there is no need to worry.

Photos in the nude style will require the release and permission of the model, as well as a scan of his/her passport. If you cannot provide this data, do not even try to sell such photos.

Free images from Shutterstock

Many designers are wondering if there is a way to download images hosted on Shutterstock for free? The answer to this question lies on the surface – this cannot be done. The system does not provide for free image downloads, and if promotions are held, it itself compensates the authors for “free” downloads.

If you still really want to find images from Shutterstock, you can search for collections on various warez sites and torrents.

These collections are usually made available for download by employees of companies and design studios that buy large volumes of images from photo banks for commercial use.

It is worth noting that without a license, you cannot use downloaded photos (even if you can find them for free), illustrations or anything else, so you can pay for commercial use in court.

Summarizing everything written above, it is imperative to work with Shutter and the sooner the better, and, of course, you should start with registration.

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