Brutally honest tips to turn your stock photos clips into cash
A few weeks ago, following my Dutch Sunday Roast with Hugo Kurk, I came away with several things to think about, one of them being his suggestion that I should apply to BlackBox as a stock footage contributor. So I did. Read on to the end and I’ll show you the result of my application.
Welcome to my July 2026 Brutally Honest Earnings Report, where the long-term goal remains unchanged: trying to cover all my gear and travel costs entirely through stock income.
Alamy is raising the threshold for its 40% Gold commission from $250 to $3,000, pushing many active contributors into the new 20% Silver tier. Using my own earnings, I examine what the change means in practice and why it feels like another turn of the microstock hamster wheel.
Hugo Kurk gave my stock photography portfolio the Dutch Sunday Roast treatment: direct, practical, and occasionally painful. Here are my thoughts on his advice, what I agree with, what I don’t, and the changes I’m already making.
Well, that was short-lived. The proposed Getty Images and Shutterstock mega-merger is dead, and the stock photography industry remains exactly where it was before: fragmented, under pressure, and staring nervously at the advancing AI army. So what happened, and more importantly, what does it mean for contributors?
Welcome to my June 2026 Brutally Honest Earnings Report, where the long-term goal remains unchanged: trying to cover my gear and travel costs entirely through stock income. I’ve just come back from six weeks in Rio de Janeiro on what I’d call a working holiday. It was a much-needed break: some winter sun, time with family, a bit of shooting, and plenty of World Cup atmosphere in the background.…
Microstock is not dead, but the old model is broken. My portfolio has grown substantially since 2019, yet sales volumes have fallen, average real returns are lower, and the effort required just to stand still has become absurd. The lesson is clear: uploading more generic content to low-value agencies is no longer a strategy. The future is more selective, niche subjects, premium agencies, stronger…
May 2026 brought another sluggish month in stock earnings, with a total of $519 excluding pending Amazing Aerial results. In this brutally honest report, I share new drone work from Rio’s Sugarloaf Mountain, explain why floating rubbish may outsell postcard-perfect views, break down agency-by-agency earnings, and look ahead to World Cup shooting opportunities on Copacabana Beach. Let's get…
A behind-the-scenes look at planning a sunrise stock photo shoot in Rio de Janeiro, using LightTrac, Google Maps and drone restriction checks to prepare for golden-hour shots of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio
Welcome to my April 2026 Brutally Honest Earnings Report, where the long-term goal remains the same: trying to cover my gear and travel costs solely through stock income. Speaking of travel, April was a rare month where I actually did not go anywhere and honestly it was quite nice to just chill out for a while. After months of movement, airport queues, hotel rooms, cruise ships, carrying heavy…