TF and Microstock

Jojo fashion
Fashion – Jojo on pedestrian overpass

Really, it’s just one sale today but one of many that add up over time..

A fashion image from the same set as the one pictured of friend and model Jo-Ann Carrington (Yoell) sold on DepositPhotos today. The image was created on 2010-11-29 in the late afternoon, on a pedestrian overpass on Huron Church Road in Windsor, ON during a TF shoot.

As I’m working on business today, I am reminded to give thanks to those who I have worked to create portfolios by way of TF or “trade for” shoots.  The “trade for” aspect is a barter of time for time and images for all parties.  What this means is no money changes hands.  Everyone typically gets some pretty nice images for donating their time for a collaborative photo shoot. As a commercial studio owner, I have rent, maintenance expenses and others associated costs so, I needed to find a way to do TF and still generate revenue. Some people refer to them as free but there is nothing “Free” about TF shoots.

Enter microstock. I have found a way to make these shoots work and garner a small return for equipment maintenance and studio costs by making select images available to microstock markets.  Making some images available to microstock image buyers, gives a small return (typically anywhere from $.20 to hundreds of dollars if the right buyer comes along).  Any profit after overhead is split 50/50 with the model based on number of sales and amount of commission at the time of payout by the agency.

If you would like to become a stock model for Akey Photography or would like to know more about microstock, let us know via our contact page.

Equipment used: Canon 5D, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8IS, off camera flash, no modifier.

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