Truths Learned After 3 Years in Stock Photography

Landscape photographer Rachel Lerch spent the past three years selling some of her photos through stock agencies. In this 20-minute video, Lerch shares all the truths she has learned about how the story photo industry works and whether it’s worth getting into.

“[H]ere is the truth that I’ve learned about making money, earnings amounts, best agencies, the real investment, images that sell, acceptances and rejections and my biggest objection to everything,” Lerch states. “No holding back, here are the pros and cons and my conclusions about whether or not it’s worth it.”

Here are the different subjects discussed and the timestamps at which they’re found in the video:

00:48: Investment
02:16: Acceptances/Rejections
04:03: Agencies
06:21: Money
09:16: My Biggest Objection
13:07: Ideas & Tips
15:35: Is it Worth It?

One thing Lerch learned about making money is that the algorithms being used by agencies generally reward contributors who upload small numbers of images on a consistent basis, as new photos sell better than older ones (which are buried).

In the end, Lerch concluded that the world of stock photography isn’t for her.

“Is it worth it for me? It’s not worth it at this time,” Lerch says, “because it takes a large time investment and I don’t have that right now.”