What's microstock?

So, you are a keen photographer with Internet connection. Not really a pro, but an enthusiast with good basic knowledge and a wide library of images taking up your hard drive space or piling up in boxes? If you think your work might be usable in publication or design, then maybe you should consider microstocking.
Microstock is still a relatively new industry, based on the traditional photography stocks but highly accessible to non-pro photographers. Rather than acting as a retail agency for a small number of professionals' portfolios, Microstocks re-sell millions of images for very small prices, on the "royalty free" basis. Everything is done via Internet and Paypal is the usual way of payment.
The first Microstock agency started in 2006, followed by many more. Currently there are 3-5 major players in this industry but there is still place for more and definetly, there is still place for new pictures.

What's in it for me?

Now, let's be realistic. It is not my goal to try and convince you that microstocking will easily make you pay your rent. Earning money on photography is actually a very difficult task, requiring skills, devotion and work, work, work. As I already mentioned, I'm not a pro. But I am nevertheless using this service to at least partially pay off my expenses, particularly those connected with my hobby.
I have a couple hundred pictures uploaded on various stocks. I'm adding new images weekly. I have not yet received any payment, but I'm aiming for around 100 $ per month. This way I might be able to pay for my prints and maybe buy some new lens or a studio strobe once every couple of months without pushing my family budget.
If you are in similar situation I guess microstocking might be a good idea for you. Plus, if you decide to apply using one of my links this might boost my galleries' exposition which will make me really happy, so please do.

How it works

Signing in for a Microstock is cost-free. After all it's you earning money for them, not the other way around. There is always an intake procedure screen out complete amateurs so prepare a few of your best pictures to evaluate. Depending on agency, you might find this stage of application relatively easy or really difficult, please see my comparison below for details. Once you go through it you will be free to upload your portfolio.
There is no limit for quantity and no time limit - once uploaded, your picture stays on the stock forever. ALL pictures are ROYALTY FREE, which means you retain all right for them. You may, for instance, upload the same picture to many different stocks and it can sell well on all of them. EVERY picture may be sold UNLIMITED number of times to many different clients. For every sale you will receive from 0.5 to around 3 $. Special licensing is usually also available, depending on the site.

What's hot, what's not

Keep in mind that not every good picture makes a good sale. Always check the "most popular" section if the site has one. Also, try to see the other side - your potential clients are designers and publishers, they like clean, noisefree, punchy images of certain kinds. What kinds these would be, is really not an easy question and the answer differs slightly from stock to stock. Generally, people in business situations and everything business-related sells well. Also, isolated images of small marketable objects and landscape shoots of popular landmarks. Still, nothing is really certain in this industry - while one site might refuse abstracts, they may sell like crazy on another. Try to guess if you dare, but most importantly - do not let refusals put you down.

Some more helpful tips:

- Keep good quality. Pictures should be clear, crisp, noisefree and high-resolution. Do not overfilter
- Upload regularly. Consider your portfolio big when it counts thousands rather than hundreds
- Use precise keywords, and a lot of them
- Shoot your turf and try to find your niche

Compare Microstock

I am currently listed on multiple Microstocks. Below you will find a short comparison of my favourites together with comments. Please keep in mind it's based on my personal experience and might not always apply to your situation, but still might give you something to begin with.

Name	Size (pics)	Description
Shutterstock	>3 mio	My number one earner and one of the strongest players on the Microstock arena, Shutterstock is widely renown for it's ability to generate sales. Very difficult to get inside due to extremely strict quality rules and one-month waiting period between consecutive applications. Also, it's the first site to promote subscription-only program, with massive sales at relatively low prices. Although strongly disapproved by some photographers, this system seems to bring decent profit, at least in my case.Strongly recommended.
Istockphoto	3 mio	Here's where everything started. The first genuine Microstock page still leads the market with their army of exclusive photographers. Advantages: strong brand to attract loyal buyers; reviewers' feedback during selection; sleek design. All this comes at a price: the newly-launched exclusivity program seems to give big advantage to those who decide to only upload at Istockphoto. Non-exclusive uploading is still allowed but at much smaller numbers. If you are about to decide, please follow appropriate threads on Microstock forum (see Links), and learn aboout pros and cons. Whatever your decision will be, you can not lose at Istock.
Dreamstime	>2 mio	This stock is currently fighting to play a major role on the market. It provides good design and a friendly community of users. It's slightly less difficult to build a portfolio here than on Istock or Shutterstock, and once established it makes your photos sell frequently and for a decent price. Reviewing pictures may be longish (my personal opinion), but an automated system gives you some estimate of the waiting time, which is a very nice solution. Worth recommending mostly due to many interesting features and extras.
Fotolia	almost 3 mio	One of the bigger stocks with a very strong position, although not so widely promoted. It has a great portfolio which may result in reviewers' being very picky sometimes, so you may expect a high refusal rate. On the other hand, they pay well and seem to be selling a lot of pictures. On top of that they have a very nice engine with lots of useful statistics.
123rf	>1,5 mio	This is a relatively new site, quickly growing. It boosts a very pleasant interface and is quite easy to use. Uploading there is lighting fast with no need to apply categories to pictures, only keywords. It's relatively easy to get pictures accepted here and they sale at a decent pace, however the photographer's margin could be higer (currently roughly 0,33 per picture in subscription).
Big Stock Photo	1,5 mio	This is the microstock I started with and I still have a lot of sympathy for them, especially thanks to the help I was given during my first days. A very nice tutorial for newcomers takes some time to follow but you will never regret if you do. The upload takes some time and the reviewing is also not particularly fast. It also took some time before I managed to get my first sells. Still I recommend this one especially for the beginners.
Lucky Oliver	1,5 mio	Relatively new and full of fresh ideas. So far my images are not selling too well on this stock but I do see some potential - being wasted, as many argue. Photographers with big portfolios receive great bonuses here, including guaranteed placement on the buyers' listings and very flexible pricing. I also experienced exceptionally good contact with image reviewers including even some simple tips from their side. It's a pity that so far there's almost no sales, but I've decided to give them another few months. Feel free to upload at your own risk.