Helicopters, cruises, campervans. Sydneysider Olga Kashubin, 34, has ticked all the travel adventure boxes and along the way she's taken photos. Hundreds of them.
When they started picking up lots of likes on social media she wondered how she could make some money out of her passion for travel, outdoor activities, and photography.
Enter the burgeoning number of micro stock agencies. As with other elements of the gig economy micro stock agencies such as iStock.com; Bigstock.com; Fotolia; and Dreamstime, offer contributors the opportunity to make some extra cash on the side. They license content (photographic images; videos and music), paying contributors per download and creating a market for amateurs to sell their work.
Kashubin, who makes clothing for her day job and takes photos for fun, started uploading her work on Shutterstock.com about two years ago. Now she is on the cusp of cracking its top lifetime earnings level of more than $10,000. And it is only one of the agencies where she uploads her photos, illustrations and vectors.
"I work with about 10 micro stock agencies," she says, adding they often have different audiences and different targets.
Usually the money she earns is enough to pay for an annual overseas holiday with her husband, including flights and accommodation.
The couple is just back from Vietnam and Kashubin can't help raving about the scenes she captured with her camera. "The nature there is absolutely gorgeous."
Micro stock agencies offer plenty of options for people wanting to showcase their photographic talent.
Potential contributors to the sites may be required to submit samples of their work before they are allowed to begin uploading. Some charge photographers a fee before they will sell their images.
Payment is generally per download. Shutterstock operates a tiered system; the higher the contributor's lifetime earnings, the higher the payment per download. The payment per download starts at $0.25 for a monthly subscriber image when the contributor's lifetime earnings are $0-$500 and rises to $0.38 when lifetime earnings are above $10,000.
Some expect their contributors to be exclusive, or offer higher rewards for exclusivity. iStock.com, for example, has a base royalty rate of 15 per cent for photos while exclusive contributors can earn up to 45 per cent.
Uploading your own content isn't the only way to make money. Shutterstock, for instance, has a referral system with contributors receiving additional rewards if they refer another contributor or a customer to the site.
As content has evolved contributors who look beyond photography can make some decent dollars. Paul Brennan, vice president, content operations, Shutterstock, says: "We see a continuous growing demand for video and music as customers extend their storytelling into new areas."
But to make money involves more than just uploading a great image or clip. As Kashubin points out contributors have to pay attention to the "time-consuming" behind-the-scenes work of keywording and writing descriptions and captions for photos.
New contributors also have to learn to negotiate other areas. "One area that new contributors particularly appreciate guidance on is when a model or a property release may be required for an image or video," says Brennan.
"We also emphasise the importance of understanding our copyright requirements. It can be challenging for a new contributor to fully identify all trademarks and intellectual properties included within an image or video."
Those who want to make profit out of their passion need to approach it like a business, keeping a sharp eye on spending on travel, equipment, software and models.
Still, Kashubin's No. 1 tip for others: have fun. "It should be a balance between enjoying it and making money from it."
Do's and don'ts
- Keep it real: think genuine, true-to-life look and feel when shooting
- Rent or borrow, rather than buy, some equipment such as studio lighting
- Shoot stills and video at the same time
- Don't neglect keywords and captions
- Learn when releases might be needed and be aware of trademarks and intellectual property
- Declare your income and talk to your accountant about allowable expenses
