Dreamstime

Details:

URL: http://www.dreamstime.com

Industry: Microstock Agency

What are they looking for: Royalty Free Stock photos, Editorial Stock Photos, Royalty Free Illustrations

Pay: Commission

Alexa rating: 976

I would suggest, to anyone who wants to get into the microstock game, to start with Shutterstock, Fotolia, StockXpert and Dreamstime. Dreamstime, in my opinion, is the most important of this group. There are a few reasons for this: they sell well, they are not as picky as some other sites when reviewing photos, and they have a lot of site features to help you get exposure.

Dreamstime First Submission

Your first submission with Dreamstime, like any microstock agency, should be your best work only. Good first impressions are, well, good! One of the reasons I suggest starting with Dreamstime is, unlike many of the other big microstock agencies, there is no real screening process for new submitters. Many other agencies want you to only submit a certain amount of photos to be reviewed, if those are accepted then you can continue. Dreamstime has no such stipulations, and as a first time submitter, this will work to your advantage. You can upload up to 50 photos per day, even as a new member. Dreamstime, in my opinion, is a more lenient microstock agency in terms of reviewing. This is easier on the ego when just starting out. The microstock industry can be pretty frustrating at first. First off, microstock sites are well known, in the photography world, for their inconsistency to one another when approving photos. Secondly they are also well known for rejecting photos for what seems like ridiculous rejection reasons. I’m not saying that Dreamstime isn’t guilty of these things too, I’m just saying, in my experience, they do this less often then any of the other larger micros.

Cool Dreamstime Features

I’m going to list off a few things that make Dreamstime one of the best microstock agencies out there:

• They have a very high daily upload limit compared to some other microstock agencies even though each submitter’s upload limit is based off their photo acceptance ratio.

• Dreamstime holds a monthly assignment competition. By entering you guarantee your photo some time on the Dreamstime main page. This will really help you generate sales. Please be advised, if you enter a photo in the assignment, it must then be exclusive to Dreamstime. It is not allowed to be on any other microstock site.

• Some photos are also chosen on Dreamstime to be a part of the Editor’s Choice gallery, which is also featured on the main page.

• Once you become established with Dreamstime and have a decent sized portfolio of quality images, there is a chance you will be chosen as a Dreamstime feature photographer. If this happens your photos will be plastered all over the main page, giving your portfolio a huge boost.

• Extra money can be made via the Dreamstime Affiliate Program which gives bonuses for new members and buyers you bring to Dreamstime.

If you’ve found this article helpful and you plan on checking out Dreamstime, it would be much appreciated if you use my referral banner below.