Succeeding with Adobe Stock

I'm new like you too.  I've been doing stock photography for about 5 months and so far have about 170 approved images and only a dire 28 sales!  I'm not a photographer by trade, but have always liked photography and wanted to give stock photography a go.  The amount you earn from stock photography compared to how much your assets sell for is extremely low and often I have wondered if it's actually worth it.  I don't regret trying stock photography, as I have enjoyed learning new skills, but for anyone who has seen posts on social media trying to sell courses and telling you how they are making a passive income so big that they were able to quit their job in a few months of starting, I would say take it with a pinch of salt, as my reality at least, has been very different.  Creating images is enjoyable, but the reality is that a lot of what you produce might never get seen, let alone bought.

I’m 66 years old and I keep hearing I will need ten to twenty thousand images to make enough money to be able to eat at a decent restaurant once a month.

By @BDFloraPhotography

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Thank goodness for Early Bird Specials & Senior Discounts.  😁

You said: "but it appears that contributors to Adobe Stock do this because they enjoy taking and editing photographs; and if they earn a little side income from their hobby, that’s an added bonus."

This is exactly how I regard my contributions to Adobe Stock. When I retired I finally had time to invest in both my photography skills and in editing the thousands of images that I was capturing on my travels around the world. I learned about Adobe's seamless integration of Adobe Stock with Lightroom Classic during a Lightroom course taught by Ben Willmore. I thought it would be an easy way to get some of my images out in the world and generate a bit of income. It's a hobby, and I never intended to be able to supplement my income. It's just fun taking and sharing photographs that others find useful. 

I'll share with you my experience and my take on how I see this. I started 8 months ago, but more about later.

I strongly suggest you watch YouTube videos on Photoshop and Lightroom new features using AI to edit,

from removing objects to fixing issues, you will be blown away how seamless and easy to use it's become.

The only thing you need to be aware is that you need computer power so that the process doesn't bore you down. 
On my personal metrics, I have uploaded about 2000 still photos and 150 videos. At a rate of about 200 per month, but about 1/2 photos I already had shot for clients. All I've had to do is remove branding so that photos get approved.

I think it's a fallacy to say you need to have... say 25k images to make good sales. While that is true, I bet there's are contributors with 5k images selling the same volume as someone with 25k 

All I care about my current sales is that they are trending up. Today, 100% of my sales come from 85% of my work, which tells me I need to focus on what is selling more for me.  So it truly doesn't matter how much I'm selling right now, more importantly is what I'm projecting to be doing in the future.  Today I'm selling at a pace of 50 per

month. My goal is to have a total of 2500 assets by 12/31

and hopefully the kind of work that is doing best for me. 

Set goals! Mine is to be selling 100 assets per month by 12/31/25

which means I could be making $100 per month average 

And if I stick to it, I can see myself with an additional 2500 assets in two more years, and if by then I'm making $300 per month average, I'd be happy.

Here is the best part, I'm a life time professional photographer, and I am having as much fun as ever shooting stock for me.  I take cameras or drone anywhere, in fact I just shot some awesome aerial construction videos at the beach I know will sell.

I encourage everyone to at least give it a good try

best of luck to you

I have a question about succeeding with Adobe Stock. When it comes to new contributors, from what I’ve seen on this website or experienced personally, it appears that making a few bucks with Adobe Stock is extremely difficult; it takes a LOT of work without any guarantee you’ll make a thing. I’m 66 years old and I keep hearing I will need ten to twenty thousand images to make enough money to be able to eat at a decent restaurant once a month. Well, I've got a good start, cuz I'm clear up to 13 images! I’m slow at editing and I would need another lifetime to accumulate that many images, lol. I know that when I had an image rejected, I took the time to do a thorough re-edit. It ended up that version was passable and would have been accepted, except for the fact that it was, "too similar to other images in Adobe's stock" (something I've experienced a few times).  So, correct me if I’m wrong, but it appears that contributors to Adobe Stock do this because they enjoy taking and editing photographs; and if they earn a little side income from their hobby, that’s an added bonus. Would you say that is a reasonable outlook for anyone who is considering becoming an Adobe Stock contributor?

By @BDFloraPhotography

Welcome to Adobe Stock. If someone ever tells you that stock is "passive income," run away in the opposite direction. 🙂