Can you really make passive income with stock photography in 2025?

ByJohn Dawson Updated on
Reading Time: 23 minutes

Can you really make passive income by uploading photos to stock image sites? Inspired by viral success stories, I gave it a try, and quickly ran into reality. In this article, I share my firsthand experience and in-depth research on leading stock photo platforms like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, and Dreamstime. We’ll explore what it actually takes to earn money through stock photography, what the odds are for beginners, and how to optimize your content if you still want to give it a shot.

Close-up of a camera lens held to take a shot, with the street lights reflecting in it.

Expectations vs reality

Truth, myths and real numbers

How big are the major stock image libraries?

Effort, portfolio size, and earnings

What are your earnings per download?

Best practices for stock photo contributors in 2025

My take

Stock photography FAQ

Disclaimer: All pricing, royalty tiers, thresholds, and policy details cited here were last verified in March 2025. Platforms update terms frequently. Readers should confirm current pricing, royalties, license types, payout thresholds, and usage policies on the official contributor pages. If you find a discrepancy, please let me know and I will update this page.

Expectations vs reality

It was back in January or February 2025. Like many people, I was intrigued by the idea that a few casual smartphone photos could bring in meaningful income on stock marketplaces.

For years I told myself I didn’t have enough quality, volume, or niche expertise to succeed with stock. Yet after 25+ years in visual production, I watched TikTok creators claim serious money from casual snapshots. And now, with AI tools at hand, new ways to create high-quality imagery were within reach.

So I thought, “Let’s catch up.”

I dug up some of my best photos and lined up Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, and Dreamstime, platforms I’d been using as a customer for years. Now, it was time to see the other side.

If you’ve never uploaded to a stock site before, it takes work! Most photos need retouching. Every single one requires a unique title, a well-written description, a full list of SEO-friendly keywords, and accurate categorization. Get any of it wrong, and your image gets rejected.

Over the weekend, I managed to upload 70 images to Dreamstime, and just a handful to the other platforms. Still, I felt a spark of excitement: if I earned even a single dollar from this, it would be passive income. Something I could build on over time.

A few weeks passed and I hadn’t earned a cent. Something felt off, so I did what I should have done from the start: I fact-checked the viral claims and started researching the stock photo business.

It turns out, from my perspective at least, I had been wasting my time.

Now, it is possible to make money uploading photos. But it often takes years of consistent effort and thousands of images… all for what typically amounts to a modest return.

Unless, perhaps, you make this your specialty, and get very good at it.

This article looks at the viral claims and breaks down what works: best practices, SEO tips, content strategy, platform selection, and realistic planning.

Truth, myths and real numbers

A woman in a crowded urban street, raises her hands holding an iPhone to take a photo.

Viral claims: the $20K/month stock photo myth

Sensational claims made on TikTok, like that of a student named Jade, touting she earns $20K+ per month from casual iPhone photos, have fueled a surge of interest in passive income through stock image sites.

Top of Jade's face and in the background her alleged earnings.

In her videos, Jade even shows a single scenic photo netting $26,000 over two years (4,000+ downloads), attributing it to smart tagging and keywording. This narrative has led many to believe they’re sitting on a goldmine of images on their phones.

However, industry veterans and community members are highly skeptical of these rosy claims. On a Reddit forum, experienced contributors flatly labeled Jade’s $20K/month story as fake and a scam.

Alex, from Brutally Honest Microstock, published this article debunking her claims, showing how influencers like her prey on new stock photographers. 

In reality, seasoned contributors with tens of thousands of high-quality images rarely come close to that kind of monthly income. The consensus is that such viral success stories are outliers (if not outright exaggerations) and not representative of typical results.

In fact, Jade’s real monetisation might be coming from selling her how-to guide to followers, rather than from stock photo royalties alone. The harsh truth is that for the vast majority of contributors, stock photography is not a quick path to riches but a slow burn that requires patience, volume, and strategy.

How big are the major stock image libraries?

Hands of a person operating a laptop computer on a desktop, where we can see a range of images filling the screen.

To understand the landscape, let’s look at the major stock content platforms and their library sizes. The stock photography market is huge and competitive, dominated by a few big players hosting hundreds of millions of images (and increasingly, videos and illustrations). 

Here’s a summary of the approximate content volumes on popular platforms as of 2023–2024:

  • Shutterstock  || ~757 million images; ~52 million videos.
  • Adobe Stock  || ~520 million assets (photos, illustrations, etc.), includes a large influx of AI-generated images in recent years.
  • Getty Images  || ~465 million images (including a 135 million analog archival collection). Plus millions of videos and editorial photos via iStock/Getty.
  • Alamy  || ~350 million images & vectors; ~10 million clips. (Known for its diverse editorial content and higher-res files.)
  • Dreamstime  || ~282 million images (plus a growing footage and audio library).
  • Depositphotos  || ~265 million images and media files.
  • 123RF  || ~210 million images, illustrations, and clips.
  • EyeEm  || ~160 million images (user-generated photography).

These numbers illustrate just how saturated the market is. For example, Shutterstock alone adds hundreds of thousands of new images each week to its library of three-quarters of a billion files. 

Adobe Stock’s collection has exploded, thanks in part to contributors uploading AI-generated art, over 313 million AI images AI images were noted in its library as of 2025. 

Getty Images (including iStock) also boasts hundreds of millions of assets, spanning historic archival photos to contemporary digital shots. Even mid-tier players like Alamy and Dreamstime host a few hundred million images each.

What do these figures mean for a newcomer? In short: immense competition. When you upload a photo, it enters a sea of similar content (Shutterstock’s library, for instance, is growing toward 500+ million images by 2025).

Your image is a needle in a haystack, and discoverability becomes a real challenge. This is why optimising metadata (titles/keywords) and targeting niche subjects (where there might be relatively less supply) is crucial. More on that in the best practices section. 

But first, let’s look at what it actually takes for contributors to earn money in this crowded marketplace.

Effort, portfolio size, and earnings

A photography studio with on a desk a camer, a laptop, and in the background active people.

How many images do you need to make regular income? Stock veterans will say: a lot.

Successful earners usually have built up portfolios in the thousands over multiple years. They treat stock like a part-time job or serious hobby, continually shooting, editing, and uploading. 

Let’s break down what contributors report in terms of portfolio size, time invested, and earnings:

If you start with a few hundred decent photos, be prepared for modest results. It’s common to go weeks or months without a single sale when you only have e.g. 100 images online. One Reddit user shared that after 3 months of uploading ~400 photos across Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy, and Pond5, their total revenue was about $110 (across all sites)​. That was after a solid 40+ hours of effort preparing and keywording those files. In other words, a few dollars a month, if anything, is a realistic outcome for a small starter portfolio.

Once you accumulate on the order of thousands of images, some regular sales may trickle in. An old rule of thumb was that an image might earn about $1 per year on average. Due to market saturation and lowered royalties, the current reality is closer to $0.10 per image per month in a decent portfolio. In practice, contributors say 1,000 images might yield around $100 per month in 2025. Hitting that level typically takes a couple of years of steady uploading. Keep in mind this assumes your images meet market needs; if your portfolio is 1,000 random snapshots of very common subjects, the income could be far less. But with 1k+ diverse, quality images, you might start seeing payouts in the tens or low hundreds of dollars monthly.

Contributors who stick with it long-term and build large portfolios can indeed generate a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month, depending on content and quality. For example, some full-time microstock shooters with 20,000+ images (plus videos) spread across agencies report earnings on the order of $2,000–$3,000 in a month​ during good months, though this can fluctuate. Another stock photographer shared making $1,181 in one month from a mix of agencies (Adobe, iStock, Shutterstock, Alamy, etc.) with a sizeable portfolio and years of experience​. And Alex, mentioned above (who debunked the Jade story), about $750/month. These are meaningful sums, but note that reaching this tier took them 5–10 years of consistent effort. And even for these dedicated contributors, income has been declining in recent years.

On rare occasions, an individual image or a niche portfolio can greatly outperform the averages. If true, Jade’s case of one photo earning $26k in 2 years would be one such outlier (likely buoyed by unusually broad appeal or search exposure). Some contributors have a handful of images that, due to being in high demand and low supply niches, bring in disproportionate revenue (for instance, an exclusive editorial image that sells repeatedly worldwide). But these are the exception. Generally, to approach even a four-figure monthly income, a contributor needs tens of thousands of assets or a very specialized catalog. One community member bluntly estimated that to make $10k per month on Shutterstock alone, you’d need 30,000–50,000 images in your portfolio – an unrealistic target for most individuals. In practice, the median contributor earns very little: Shutterstock has paid out $1 billion to over 1 million contributors over its lifetime, which averages to only about $1,000 total per contributor (lifetime). Clearly, the distribution is heavily skewed, with a tiny percentage of top earners making decent money and a long tail of contributors earning pocket change.

Bottom line: The odds are stacked such that a beginner with a small portfolio has a low chance of substantial income. Uploading a dozen photos and waiting for passive income will almost certainly lead to disappointment. To even reach the modest milestone of, say, $100 per month, you likely need on the order of a thousand high-quality, marketable images online (and that assumes diligent keywording and some time for sales to accumulate). 

Many contributors don’t hit the minimum payout thresholds for months or years, if ever. Patience is key: stock photography is a slow earner that builds gradually. It’s more like accruing royalties over time rather than striking it rich with any single upload.

What are your earnings per download?

An iPhone with a range of photos, with in the background an open laptop.

It’s also important to understand how stock agencies pay contributors, as this affects the effort-to-reward ratio. Most microstock platforms operate on a royalty or subscription model that yields only small fractions per download for the photographer:

Uses a tiered royalty system. New contributors start at a 15% royalty (approximately $0.10–$0.25 per image download on a subscriber plan). As you achieve more sales, your commission rate can rise up to 40%, but even then most subscription downloads might pay under $1. Premium licenses (on-demand or extended licenses) pay more, but are less common. In mid-2020, Shutterstock infamously cut its rates (e.g. many downloads now pay only $0.10 to well under $1), prompting contributor backlash.

Offers a flat 33% royalty on photos for standard licenses. In practice, a subscription download on Adobe might net you around $0.33. Adobe occasionally sells credit packs or custom licenses that can give higher dollar payouts, but the majority of sales are subscription-based. Notably, Adobe runs a bonus program (free Creative Cloud subscription for the year) if you achieve a high number of downloads (e.g. 500+ downloads in a year), which is a nice perk for active contributors.

Getty Images (and its microstock arm iStock) have lower base royalties for non-exclusives, often 15%–20% of the license price. This is why you’ll see some iStock sales as low as $0.02–$0.10 in your reports (e.g. when a customer on a cheap subscription downloads your photo). On the higher end, an extended license or a large resolution sale on Getty could net $50+ for the photographer, but those are rare. Getty does offer higher royalty (up to 45%) for exclusive contributors, but then you’re restricted to their platform. The average Getty sale for one contributor was $2.27 in 2023, with the highest around $75 and many in the cents range​, illustrating how widely payouts can vary.

Unlike microstock sites, Alamy historically offered a 50% royalty to contributors (recently adjusted to 40% for non-exclusives). Each sale on Alamy is often an individual purchase (not subscriptions), so prices are higher per sale. A single photo might sell for ~$50 and you’d get $20–$25. However, sales are infrequent for most (especially for new contributors). Many Alamy contributors go months without a sale, though a lucky few make hundreds per sale on specialty images. The trade-off is volume: Shutterstock might sell your image 100 times for $0.25 each, whereas Alamy might sell it once for $25.

Most other agencies fall somewhere in between. Dreamstime has a complex level system: images earn 25-50% depending on how many times they’ve sold (they increase in “level”) and whether you’re exclusive. 123RF and Depositphotos have tiered systems similar to Shutterstock’s. In general, expect around $0.20–$0.50 per subscription download on these sites in the beginning. Video clips, where applicable, pay higher absolute amounts (a 4K video might earn you $5-$20 per sale on Shutterstock or Adobe, for instance), but of course videos are harder to produce than photos.

The key point is that royalties per download are small on microstock. Earning $100 in a month might mean your content was downloaded a few hundred times across various sites. That in turn requires a sufficiently large and attractive portfolio. 

The days of a single photo netting you big bucks regularly are mostly gone (except in the rights-managed or exclusive macro stock world, which is a tough club to break into). The microstock model is about selling lots of images at low prices. As a contributor, you’re playing a high-volume game of pennies that hopefully add up. 

Now that we’ve covered the gritty stats and payout structure, if you’re still interested in pursuing stock photography, let’s talk about best practices to maximize your chances of success in today’s market.

Best practices for stock photo contributors in 2025

A camera mounted on a tripod, set to take a professional photo of the landscape ahead.

Even though it’s challenging, it’s not impossible to earn some side income from stock photography if you go in with a smart strategy. Here are some best practices and tips, covering SEO, content strategy, platform selection, and realistic planning, to improve your effort-to-reward ratio:

1. Master SEO for images: titles, keywords and descriptions

With millions of files competing for attention, how you keyword and title your images heavily influences whether buyers ever find them. Here’s how to optimize your submissions:

Use a concise title that describes exactly what’s in the image (and maybe the concept it illustrates). e.g. “Smiling female entrepreneur working on laptop in cafe”. Include strong nouns and adjectives; this title will often become the default search caption.

Most platforms allow a generous number of keywords – use them wisely. Think like a buyer: what words would someone search to find this image? Include synonyms and specific terms. For the above example: “business woman, remote work, freelancer, cafe, laptop, casual office, entrepreneur, small business, modern workspace,” etc. Avoid spam or irrelevant keywords. Irrelevant tags can actually demote your image in search algorithms. Use only words that truly relate to the image’s content or theme.

Some sites (Adobe Stock, for instance) suggest keywords via AI. These can be a helpful starting point but always review and refine. Add missing specific terms and remove any incorrect ones. Accuracy matters.

Not all sites use descriptions, but if they do (Dreamstime, Alamy, etc., often have a description field), use it to provide additional context or details that keywords/titles didn’t cover. This can include location info, the concept or emotion behind the image, or technical details if relevant (e.g. “long exposure night shot of city traffic blur”). Descriptions can improve searchability on some platforms and also aid buyers in understanding the image.

When your photo contains recognizable people or trademarked property, you should have releases and tag the image accordingly as “model released” or “property released.” Buyers often filter searches to only show released images for legal reasons. If your image is suitable for commercial use, make sure it’s marked as such with the proper releases; if not (editorial only), label it appropriately. This isn’t SEO per se, but it affects whether your image shows up in certain buyer filters.

Good keywording can significantly boost an image’s downloads over time. It’s often said that 20% of your images will get 80% of the sales: those tend to be the ones that hit the sweet spot of being in-demand content with great keywords. Spend the extra few minutes per image to really maximize the metadata; it can pay off with more visibility.

2. Shoot what sells: content trends and demand in 2025

In such a saturated market, content selection is crucial. You want to produce images that buyers need, but also find niches that aren’t completely over-served. 

Here are tips on what to shoot (and what not to shoot):

There is an ongoing trend toward authenticity. Businesses and advertisers seek photos that feel candid, real, and relatable, not the obviously staged, overly polished stock of yesteryear. This means you don’t necessarily need models posing stiffly in a studio. Instead, think of capturing real moments (friends at a picnic, a family cooking in a real kitchen, an unedited travel snapshot with natural lighting). Brands often want to connect with audiences via authenticity.

Images with people tend to sell better than landscapes or objects, especially in categories like business, education, healthcare, and lifestyle. If you have access to models (or willing friends/family), create scenarios that depict real-life situations: eg. diverse coworkers in a meeting, a senior couple exercising, a mom playing with her kids. Authentic diversity is very sought after: buyers want different ethnicities, ages, body types, etc., represented in authentic ways. Ensure you get model releases for any recognizable individuals so the images can be used commercially.

There’s perennial demand for fresh takes on business, technology, and finance concepts. In 2025, think about illustrating ideas like remote work, virtual meetings, cybersecurity, AI, online learning, e-commerce, and startup culture. For instance, a photo of a person using a smartphone with holographic AR graphics added (you can create composite images digitally) might cater to tech concept needs. Conceptual stock (images that represent an idea or trend) can do well if done cleverly.

Especially since 2020, anything related to health (both physical and mental) is in demand. This ranges from medical imagery (doctors, patients, telehealth scenes) to wellness (yoga, meditation, healthy eating, self-care). If you have access to healthcare settings or props, those can be valuable. Just remember privacy and get releases for identifiable people or facilities.

Beautiful travel photos can sell, but it’s a hit or miss category. There’s enormous volume of landscapes and cityscapes on stock sites, so only truly exceptional or unique views get significant traction. Niche travel subjects (lesser-known locations, or topical travel images like “socially distanced travel”, etc.) might stand out. If you have high-quality images from unique angles or off-the-beaten-path destinations, those could find a market. Just be mindful that famous landmarks are oversaturated (a million Eiffel Tower shots out there), and drone photography may require permits in certain locations.

Keep an eye on emerging cultural and technological trends. For example, the rise of electric vehicles and green energy: there’s demand for images of EV charging stations, wind turbines, people installing solar panels, etc. Another example is remote work/hybrid office setups: home office images boomed in demand recently. Social media and influencer lifestyle themes (people creating content, ring lights, phone vlogging) are also contemporary subjects agencies seek. Each year agencies publish trend forecasts (see Adobe’s 2024 Creative Trends blog​) which can inspire shoot ideas.

Some subjects are so overdone that adding more won’t benefit you. Examples: generic skyline shots, portraits of exotic animals, isolated white background photos of common objects (unless you do it much better than existing ones). Before shooting or uploading a subject, do a quick search on the stock site: if there are tens of thousands of very similar images, ask yourself what new thing your image brings. If nothing, consider focusing elsewhere or putting a creative twist to differentiate it.

If you have the capability, try shooting video clips for stock. As one contributor pointed out, “video makes a lot more (per sale) than stills; I’d suggest targeting B-roll” footage​. Short, generic B-roll clips (e.g. 10-20 second clips of a busy street, nature scenes, people performing tasks) can fetch $10-$50 per license. There’s less competition in video than photos. Also, be aware of AI-generated content: Adobe Stock and others now accept AI images (with proper labeling). While this is a separate skillset, some contributors are using AI tools (like Midjourney or Adobe Firefly) to create stock illustrations or backgrounds. It’s an evolving space; if you have graphic skills, it’s another avenue (though also getting crowded). Traditional photographers should focus on what AI can’t easily do: authentic human moments and real photos, since AI art often struggles with that.

In summary, to choose content wisely: balance your passion with market needs. Shoot subjects you know well or have access to, but frame them in ways that are useful to buyers (storytelling elements, clear copy space for text, etc.). And always keep quality high, sharp focus, good lighting, and composition are still must-haves to pass agency inspections and attract buyers.

3. Choose your platforms strategically

Not all stock agencies are equal, and you don’t have to contribute to every single one. It’s often better to focus on a few of the top platforms that generate the most sales, rather than spreading yourself too thin. Each site has its pros and cons:

Still the volume leader in the industry. It has a huge customer base, meaning your images have a good chance of being seen by buyers worldwide. Shutterstock’s review process is relatively fast (often 1-3 days for approval), so you get quick feedback. The downside: the payouts per download are low and got worse after their 2020 royalty cut. Expect a lot of $0.10–$0.30 sales. Nonetheless, many contributors report Shutterstock yields the highest number of total downloads for them (even if each pays little). For a beginner, Shutterstock is a must-try for the sheer exposure – just temper expectations on earnings per sale.

Rapidly becoming a favorite among contributors for its fairer royalty and integration with the Adobe ecosystem. Adobe Stock’s 33% royalty and contributor perks (like the Creative Cloud subscription bonus) make it attractive. Buyers who use Adobe products can license images directly within apps, which is a selling point. On the flip side, Adobe’s review times have grown long in late 2023 (some contributors wait several weeks or more for approvals) due to the influx of content (especially AI images). Adobe Stock has also been somewhat selective; they might reject more for technical issues compared to others. Still, it’s highly recommended to upload here: many report that Adobe Stock and Shutterstock are their top earners among microstock sites.

If you apply and get accepted to Getty (or via iStock), you gain access to a large, enterprise-level market (major publishers, advertisers, etc.). Getty’s segment often yields higher-value sales (a single sale can be significant), but as a newbie you’d likely start on iStock (their microstock platform). iStock can be frustrating with very low royalties and a cumbersome submission process. Some contributors choose to go exclusive with iStock/Getty if they want higher royalties and to simplify distribution. Going exclusive might make sense if you have very niche editorial content that Getty clients specifically need. Otherwise, as a non-exclusive, iStock is just another outlet and typically not as lucrative as Shutterstock/Adobe for many. It can still contribute incremental sales, though. If you use a multi-distributor like Wirestock, you can include iStock without too much extra effort.

Alamy is worth considering, especially for photographers with a lot of editorial, travel, or unique images. Its upload process is straightforward, and it accepts a wide range of subjects. The big draw is the 50% commission (if exclusive) and the possibility of larger sales. If you capture newsworthy images or have a specialized archive, Alamy’s clients might pay a premium. As mentioned, the frequency of sales on Alamy is low for most. It can be seen as a more passive outlet: upload there and forget, and maybe you get a pleasant surprise sale once in a while. Given it doesn’t require exclusivity (unless you opt in), you can upload the same images to Alamy and microstock sites concurrently.

These can provide extra pocket change. They generally have lower traffic. For instance, Dreamstime is an old player with a decent user base and might yield some sales, but it’s usually a fraction of what Shutterstock yields for the same portfolio. Depositphotos and 123RF similarly might give you smaller trickles. The effort to upload to each vs the return is something to consider. Many contributors use tools or intermediaries (like FTP uploading or a service that distributes to multiple agencies) to reduce the incremental effort. If you can batch distribute without much hassle, it’s worth having your content on all major sites. But if you’re manually uploading and keywording each site, prioritize the big three (Adobe, Shutterstock, iStock) first, then add others as time allows.

EyeEm was a mobile-focused marketplace that at one point seemed promising, but it was acquired in 2023 after bankruptcy and pivoted to an AI-training licensing model. Many contributors soured on it due to low sales and the company’s move to license photos for AI without clear contributor benefit. At this point, EyeEm isn’t a major revenue source for stock contributors and can likely be skipped. Other sites like Wirestock have emerged, not as agencies, but as platforms where you upload once and they distribute to multiple agencies for you (they take a small cut). For newcomers who don’t want to manage many accounts, something like Wirestock can simplify the process – you submit your photos there, they handle keywording (to some extent) and submission to Adobe, Alamy, Dreamstime, etc. Just note, with Wirestock you won’t get into Shutterstock (they lost access) and you relinquish some control. It’s an option if time is limited.

In summary, to maximise earnings in 2025, focus on Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Getty/iStock as your primary outlets: these collectively command the bulk of the market and will likely make up the majority of your sales. Use others as supplemental. And always track your time vs return on each platform; you might find, for example, that spending time to upload to a site that yields only $5 a month isn’t worth it, and you could invest that time in creating new content instead.

4. Be realistic: time investment, patience and strategy

Lastly, set realistic expectations and approach stock photography strategically rather than emotionally. Given everything we’ve covered, here are some final pieces of advice for aspiring stock photographers in 2025:

Stock income accrues over time. The first few months (or year) will likely yield little. Don’t get discouraged by a slow start: almost everyone starts at $0. It can take dozens of uploads before your first sale. Some contributors report getting their first sale after 100+ images and a few months in; for others it took a year​. Keep uploading consistently (even just a few images a week) so your portfolio and exposure grow. The sales, when they come, often follow a power-law – your early trickle might suddenly turn into a small stream once you cross a certain portfolio size or hit a niche market.

Producing stock images can be surprisingly time-consuming, from shooting to editing to keywording and uploading. Many photographers will spend a lot of time doing this, especially in the beginning. Try to streamline your workflow. For example, use batch editing and keyword presets when possible, and learn the requirements of each platform to avoid rejections. But also, don’t let stock eat up all your creative time if the returns aren’t justifying it. It’s easy to burn out if you invest hundreds of hours for pennies. Aim for a sustainable pace. This is a side income, after all.

Pay attention to which of your images sell and which don’t. This can inform your strategy. If you notice, say, that your photos of people in business settings outsell your artistic landscapes 5:1, then it makes sense to focus more on the former for stock. Agencies often provide some data on downloads per image. Adapt to the market feedback. Also, stay updated with any changes the agencies make (royalty structures, new content types like 3D or audio, etc. that you could tap into).

Each platform has its payout threshold (often $25 or $50). It can take a while to hit those on smaller sites. Plan which payment method you’ll use (PayPal, Payoneer, etc.) and be mindful of fees or currency conversion. It’s a small thing, but part of treating this professionally is keeping track of your earnings. Some contributors keep a spreadsheet of monthly earnings by site. This can help you see trends and decide where to focus.

Stock photo income is not steady or guaranteed. It can fluctuate with seasons (e.g. you might see summer travel images spike mid-year). Also, the entire industry has headwinds. The rise of AI image generators is a double-edged sword: while some agencies have embraced them, buyers might eventually use AI to get custom images rather than buying stock, especially for generic needs. One insider commented that the largest stock companies themselves foresee “it’s [the industry] disappearing within the next five years because AI is replacing their business model”. That might be pessimistic, but it highlights that passive income can dry up if the market shifts. Already, many photographers have seen earnings drop significantly compared to a decade ago​. Go in with eyes open that this is side income, not something to bank your livelihood on.

Last but not least, try to enjoy the process of creating and curating stock images. If you view it purely as a grind for money, it can be frustrating given the low ROI early on. But if you see it as a way to improve your photography, challenge yourself with new subjects, and potentially earn a little on images that would otherwise sit idle on your hard drive, it can be rewarding beyond just the cash. There’s a small thrill in knowing an image you took is being used out there in a magazine or website. Focus on those positives. Over time, if you stick with it, the catalog you build can indeed become a nice “passive” trickle of income. Just remember the upfront work that goes into making it “passive.”

My take

A photographer aiming his camera towards us, with in the background an art exhibition.

The popular notion of uploading a bunch of photos and kicking back to collect thousands in passive income is, for most, a fantasy.

Stock photography in 2025 may still offer some opportunities, but only for the most committed and astute professionals: those capable of consistently producing high-quality content and identifying niches not already flooded with competition.

The data and contributor feedback show a clear picture: it takes a substantial portfolio (often several thousand images) and consistent effort over years to generate meaningful, regular earnings. Even then, the income is usually modest: a supplemental side hustle rather than a windfall.

Keep in mind, if you’re starting today, factors like the rise of AI-generated images may reshape the stock image market entirely, potentially accelerating its decline in the near future.

That said, for creatives who enjoy photography and are willing to put in the work, stock agencies still offer a global marketplace for your visuals. You can make money while you sleep, just expect cents per night, not dollars.

Over time, that passive income can grow, just don’t quit your day job based on a viral TikTok.

🎧

Prefer to listen? This topic is also explored in one of my podcast episodes:

Stock photography FAQ

You’ll likely need at least 1,000 quality images before you see consistent payouts. Beginners with just a few hundred may go months without a sale. Regular income usually requires thousands of well-tagged, searchable images.

Yes, but not the way viral TikToks suggest. Most contributors earn just a few dollars a month unless they’ve built up a large portfolio over time. Stock photography is more of a slow-building side hustle than an easy income stream.

Adobe Stock generally offers better royalties (33%) than Shutterstock or iStock, though Shutterstock tends to have more total downloads. Alamy pays more per sale but sells less frequently. A multi-platform approach is best.

Authentic lifestyle shots, diverse people, business/tech scenes, and wellness themes perform well. Over-saturated subjects like sunsets, coffee cups, and generic landmarks are unlikely to gain traction unless highly unique.

It’s everything. Good titles, keywords, and descriptions make or break your discoverability. Think like a buyer. Without solid metadata, your image might as well be invisible in the stock library ocean.

Sources:

  • Brutally Honest Microstock (Alex Rotenberg): TikTok Stock Scam Exposé (Mar 27, 2025)
    Alex’s blog post debunking Jade’s $20K/month claim. (Details Jade’s identical script with another influencer, lack of proof, likely income from selling courses.)
  • Reddit: r/stockphotography Discussions (2023–2024):
    Community threads reacting to viral claims and sharing real earnings. e.g.:
    “Claims to earn $20k/month – is this legit?” (2024, Alex, see above). Users label Jade a fraud and note her course sales;
    “My microstock journey so far”: A new contributor (Reve1981) reports ~$100 after starting in 2023;
    Various comments by “cobaltstock” and others: Estimate income ranges (e.g. 50–400 USD/month for 12k–20k files) and the huge portfolio needed for $1K+ months.
  • Brutally Honest Microstock (Alex Rotenberg, 2025):
    Firsthand accounts of stock income. e.g.:
    “Nelson Antoine’s Feb 2025 Report”: Longtime journalist earned $211 on ~4k photos/1.7k videos that month.
    Alex’s own note: 20k photos/4k videos yielding ~$750/mo. These illustrate typical earnings for large, established portfolios.
  • Shutterstock Official Press Releases: Q3 2023 Financial Results (Oct 31, 2023)
    States 757 million images and 52 million clips in the collection.
    Contributor Milestone Release (Dec 2019): Over $1 billion paid out to 1+ million contributors (average ~$1k each).
  • Shutterstock Press: Library Growth/Weekly Uploads
    Press releases via PR Newswire (Jan 17, 2023): “…over 2 million contributors… adds hundreds of thousands of images each week… more than 424 million images [at that time]”. Confirms the massive influx of new content continuously.
  • Adobe Stock Stats: StatsUp (Analyzify)
    Aggregated Adobe stats (updated 2025) noting “over 520 million assets on Adobe Stock”.
    Also, Adobe’s official Fast Facts 2023 list 450+ million assets (246M photos, 166M vectors/ills, 31M videos), reflecting rapid growth with AI imagery by 2024–25.
  • AI Content Surge: Adobe Stock: PetaPixel (May 22, 2025)
    Article “Almost Half of Adobe Stock Images Are AI” reports 313 million AI images on Adobe Stock by April 2025 (vs 342M real photos). Cites Robert Kneschke’s tracking data, showing explosive AI growth from only ~8.5M AI images in mid-2023. Illustrates how generative AI flooded the collection within 2 years.
  • Getty Images: Library Size: FOCAL International 2023 report
    States Getty’s archive at 520 million assets, including 135M analog archival images, plus over 23M video clips. Confirms Getty’s scale (via a Getty archival highlights blurb).
  • Alamy: Collection Size & Commission: Alamy FAQ/Help
    “…over 350 million stock photos, 10 million footage clips, 60,000+ contributors worldwide”.
    PetaPixel (Dec 2018): “Alamy cutting commission from 50% to 40% for stock photographers” – documents Alamy’s royalty change (non-exclusives now 40%).
  • StockPhotoSecrets: Dreamstime site (2025)
    Homepage counter “312 million stock photos…world’s largest stock community”. Noted “over 270 million images” at that time. Shows Dreamstime’s growth into the 200+ million range.
  • Depositphotos: Collection Size: Depositphotos Blog
    “300M+ Files” announcement (Dec 2024) celebrates crossing 300 million files in the library. Earlier post (Dec 2022) marked 250M files milestone. Demonstrates the rapid expansion (driven by contributor uploads and perhaps AI content).
  • 123RF: GreatBigPhotographyWorld.com – “33 Best Stock Sites” (2025)
    Notes 123RF has ~210 million royalty-free images, illustrations and videos in its catalog. Confirms the figure used for 123RF.
  • EyeEm: Collection Size & Sale: TechCrunch (Oct 12, 2023)
    Article on Freepik acquiring EyeEm, stating EyeEm’s photo library totaled about 160 million images and ~150k photographers at acquisition. This source verifies EyeEm’s scale mentioned in the article.
  • Shutterstock Royalty Cut Backlash: Inside Imaging (June 5, 2020)
    “Shutterstock shares middle finger with contributors” – details Shutterstock’s new earnings structure in 2020, with $0.10 payouts per download under some subscriptions (down from $0.25–$0.38) and universal reset to the lowest tier each year. Shows the “mid-2020 pay cut” referenced in the article and the contributor backlash that ensued.
  • Adobe Stock Royalty Info: Xpiks (Contributor tips site)
    Confirms Adobe Stock’s flat 33% royalty rate for photos (and 35% for videos), translating to minimum ~$0.33 per standard photo download for contributors. Reflects the article’s statement on Adobe’s payouts.
  • Microstock Forum: $10k/Month Estimate: MicrostockGroup thread
    Discussion on “how many images to earn $10k/month.” A senior member bluntly says “to make $10K on Shutterstock alone, you’d need at least 30–50k images”. Backs up the article’s point that such income requires a huge portfolio.
  • Payout Averages: Shutterstock Contributor Earnings Report 2019 (via PRNewsWire)
    Marked the $1B payout milestone and noted over 1 million contributors on the platform. From this, the average lifetime earning per contributor (~$1,000) was derived, illustrating how skewed the earnings distribution is (few make a lot, most make little).
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