How I sold my Instagram photo for $375 (plus some thoughts on stock photography)

[@billyreed2817]

Thanks Nicole. Since finding your KZbin, you are in my top 5 KZbinrs list! Keep the tips coming, us new photographers find them extremely useful.

[@NicoleGlass]

That means a lot, thank you so much! :)

[@Cloud_Owl]

Great tips Nicole and a breath of fresh air to see KZbinrs - especially ones as popular as yourself - responding to nearly every comment.

[@NicoleGlass]

Sure thing! And yes, I'll always do my best to reply :)

[@felipequeiroz6623]

Thank you for your work Nicole. I am Brazilian, and a few days ago I sent a message on your photo of the Instagram. Really thank you very much for the clarity of your work and for being so straight to the point.

[@NicoleGlass]

Thanks Felipe! My IG messages have gotten a little overwhelming lately but I appreciate the support! :)

[@jacobchristianglover3655]

I get the notification that Nicole has posted a video and I slam my school books shut, even if there's an exam or paper due. To my delight, I'm never disappointed. Thanks for another encouraging video Nicole... Be well and stay encouraged!!!

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Jacob! Oh my, I would NEVER want someone to stop studying to watch my videos. School is important, I hope you fiished your paper!! What are you studying by the way? :)

[@jacobchristianglover3655]

@@NicoleGlass Bachelor of Social Work and I'm set to graduate this fall from the University of South Florida. Love your channel, I get a break from my studies to learn more about something that I'm just as passionate about... Photography! Keep up the excellent work Nicole, I want to be around when you break 100K Subs!!!

[@lindadayhall338]

Love watching your videos. Have been doing stock for about 4 years. You motivate me to do more. Thanks

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Linda, I'm happy to hear that! Also happy to see a woman leaving comments, since more than 95% of the viewers of my stock videos are male, for some reason.

[@xhinfajanilan1504]

thankyou miss nicole for your tips in photography,. i want to start in stocks but idk how to start... any tips miss nicole?

[@donaldslaughter3951]

Nicole. Your videos on stock photography are great.

[@koolkutz7]

Good tips and advice Nicole. The only thing that worries me with posying on Instagram (or Facebook) is that they have permission to use your images as they wish, right? I just don't like the thought of them or insta/fb users stealing my images and claiming them as their own.

[@NicoleGlass]

Technically people could steal your photos but here's the thing: Instagram will compress your photos. So even if someone does somehow steal the image, they would have a low resolution version of it and I'm not sure there's much they could do with it. You could also consider adding a watermark to your images before uploading them.

[@koolkutz7]

Thanks Nicole. I will use watermarks if I do upload to Instagram :-)

[@oldgrumpyjim5003]

Great vlog as always! was just wondering if you ever used photomechanic for keyboarding and meta. I found Lightroom a nightmare to add data to these daft wee boxes that even when you expanded kept jumping around all over the place. OK might just be me as I'm an old scotsman with big hands and a wee brain!! but I took a week out from my stock stuff and learned how to use photomechanic and it saved the day. Just wondering if you ever tried it.

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Jim, Thank you! I actually haven't tried it but if you recommend it I'll definitely check it out!

[@oldgrumpyjim5003]

@@NicoleGlass Nicole its not for everyone and they admit that themselves with a 30 day free trial. Its a devil to get use to but while I had man flue (yep almost died) I took the time out to learn it. I only use it for adding data required for stock sites. It was originally made for photojournalists who need to cull and grade then upload images to news sites etc but I found it invaluable for meta data. I ingest (import) images straight from card into photomechanic then add meta data to each one using the copy and paste buttons then 'edit all images in Lightroom' command and they are opened in Lightroom. With my street editorial stuff when there is large numbers of images its now quicker in my workflow. It does take time to learn though

[@mobster7434]

Could you share some of your tips and techniques to keywording and, if you upload batches of photos, do you upload using a csv files? I find keywording and uploading the biggest challenges for me. Thanks!

[@tanalee229]

Search for stock photography keyword, and you'll find plenty of info.

[@NicoleGlass]

I actually filmed a video over the weekend on how I come up with keyword ideas. That should be coming out soon!

[@krookob169]

You were so lucky !!! Happy for you.

[@filmingfamily]

that's awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience, Nicole.

[@NicoleGlass]

No problem, thanks for watching:)

[@jagatic]

Thank you I just uploaded some photos to Shutterstock. I don't know if I will ever sell anything but thank you for your videos and the inspiration to try!

[@NicoleGlass]

You're welcome! Hope you find success on the platform :)

[@brianlogan685]

Two thumbs up! Another insightful video, thank you!

[@NicoleGlass]

Thank you!

[@rotaruciprian]

Good tips Nicole. Thaaaank you!!!

[@NicoleGlass]

You're very welcome!

[@KimcheeXGaming]

Good day, I was wondering if you drew up the contact or if the theater drew the contract, since this was for a limited time. Thank you, I just found your channel and I have been binging all day.

[@NicoleGlass]

Hi KimChee, in this case I drew up the contract myself. Glad you enjoy my channel :)

[@KimcheeXGaming]

@@NicoleGlass Thank you for the quick reply. Your videos are very informative.

[@FD-hl1cf]

Awesome video ! By the way , can you make a video about licensing photos through rights managed agencies ? I'm a stock photographer , and i think for many of us , it is really helpful your advice! Thanks

[@NicoleGlass]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll add it to my list :)

[@FD-hl1cf]

@@NicoleGlass thank you

[@MichaelPerssonSE]

Great video as always! How do you keep track of which photos to hold on to yourself and which to sell as stock? Do you tag them in Lightroom in special way, or you just keep them safely in a special folder on your hard drive? This is my main problem right now, that it feels a bit unorganized and would love some great tips on how to get on track with that.

[@NicoleGlass]

Honestly I’m not the most organized person myself. But whatever I choose to put up on stock, I export it into a STOCK folder. Everything else just goes into various other folders on my hard drive.

[@MichaelPerssonSE]

@@NicoleGlass Cool! So you have sort of a Stock library folder were all exported stock photos live? I'm trying out collections in Lightroom, one for each stock agency. Then I export, upload then just delete the exports again. I want to be organized, but I guess I shouldn't care too much. If it's uploaded to Shutterstock or whatever, it is and I don't need to keep track of it too much. I guess I'm afraid I will accidentally post duplicates.

[@NicoleGlass]

You wouldn’t be able to post duplicates because Shutterstock should be recognizing that.

[@MichaelPerssonSE]

@@NicoleGlass I did not know that! Good to know, and I guess it makes sense. They couldn't have their platform spammed with same photo over and over.

[@dazzlingdeb8427]

Great info! Did the theatre provide the contract for you to sign or did you provide them with the contract? I’d definitely like to know more about the business end of photography, especially in regards to contracts. Thnx!

[@NicoleGlass]

Hi Deb, in this particular case I provided the contract. In other situations, the client provided me with the contract. Honestly I prefer that because writing contracts can be a lot of work.

[@dazzlingdeb8427]

Nicole Glass Exactly! Contract writing sounds difficult. Do you use a boilerplate contract that you found online and then tailor it to meet your needs?

[@ajaydas9341]

Awesome video. Thanks

[@lorenbrand]

Great advice, thank you Nicole

[@NicoleGlass]

Anytime:)

[@kenpeterson3414]

Nicole great channel...I have one question about tax time with your pay from stock companies...Do they send you a 1099 at the end of the year for pay received? And is it necessary to have a business if you want to get started with selling to a stock photo company? I have taken photos for 40+ yrs & recently retired & looking for ways to generate some mad money..Thanks in advance, Ken

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Ken, yes - you will get a 1099 at the end of the year. I declare my stock earnings as part of overall photography business. You could also declare it as hobby income

[@AnnkurKumar]

Hi, csn you tell, what exactly text you put in photos uploaded to Instagram?

[@kylewhite3190]

Did you use any special hashtags in order for them to find it?

[@jhonathansaputra3072]

Love your spirits 😊😊, always inspiring .

[@NicoleGlass]

Thank you Jhonathan :)

[@smooth111012]

Nicola, a question regarding IG. Do you add a copyright watermark on your images that you post on social media etc?

[@NicoleGlass]

Hi Steve, I personally do not add watermarks on Instagram (usually on Facebook I do) because Instagram compresses the photos so much anyway. But if you are worried about it, then definitely add watermarks to your photos whenever you post them.

[@EXA054]

Another great story, thanks for sharing! :)

[@VCNickels]

On Keywords... People go ham on them in my opinion and I've heard tell of IG Shadow Banning some keywords though these tend to be a bit more in the risqué areas - I do recall hearing about them doing shenanigans with some pet related tags. So, when do you, personally, stop? Do you tag variations on keywords (DC, WDC, DMV , Washington) when is enough enough in your opinion?

[@NicoleGlass]

I personally never use the full 30. I typically use 15-25 hashtags or so. You'll find so many contradicting opinions on this on the internet, I don't know if anyone has the perfect answer on how many hashtags to use for IG. I do try to have a few different ones on each post though so that they're not all the same.

[@4CardsMan]

Asking your friends did help. They gave you the idea of the proper range.

[@hotwireman49]

How do you protect your work on Instagram? What stops people from just downloading it and using it? I had uploaded a few of my California poppies and a barn or two the other day and then my daughter told me they should be water marks so I took them all down. I really would like to do Instagram but ...

[@tanalee229]

In theory, the best you can do on Instagram is to make a screenshot of a gallery photo. As far as I know, there is no download or save/copy image option. I could be wrong. (It's happened once or twice before.)

[@NicoleGlass]

Keep in mind that if anyone does try to steal your photos from Instagram, those photos will be pretty low resolution, since the app compresses them. That's why I don't worry too much about it, because what could someone possibly do with a low res image that's cropped into a square? But if you're worried you can definitely add a watermark.

[@hotwireman49]

@@NicoleGlass cool! Thanks! I'll repost!

[@AltaVista-EP]

Michaela Cannon h

[@RichardOldroyd]

I use shooting for stock sites as practice and I make a few cents on the side. By looking at what sells and what doesn't I can learn slot about the hobby.

[@EXERtheGamer]

I 💯% agree with what you said in the video ,great advice

[@NicoleGlass]

Thank you :)

[@Vasim5420]

Hi Nicole, It's SKV again, here I have a question, are you saying that we should not upload same photos on Insta and Shutter stock, I got it that if it gets sold on shutter then y would one take it directly, but let's say I'm Ok to sell from shutter stock and not insta, but it's there on insta as well, then is it illegal or something like that ? Regards SKV

[@chariots8x230]

How is the pricing of photos determined in Shutterstock?

[@Vladimiradventurephotography]

Hi Nicole, just found your channel. Great stuff. Thanks for posting. Greetings from your DC neighbor. I subbed.

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey neighbor! I just checked out your channel as well (and subscribed) - great videos and fantastic advice. I had no idea there were other photography KZbinrs in DC. Nice to virtually meet you :)

[@Vladimiradventurephotography]

@@NicoleGlass I'm off on a trip to Europe in a few days, when I'm back maybe we can film something together. Please stay in touch. Good luck with your work.

[@NicoleGlass]

@@Vladimiradventurephotography That would be a great idea, I think we probably have similar audiences. I'll be going to Asia from mid-April to mid-May but after that we can certainly meet up :)

[@Vladimiradventurephotography]

Sounds good. I’ll be back at the end of June. In the meantime do you mind if I mention your channel with your image in one of my future videos? Thanks.

[@NicoleGlass]

Sure thing. :) Have fun on your travels!

[@baas3652]

I only have images on Flickr. On Flickr all my images are "All rights reserved". My images can not be used without asking me. I don't know much about Instagram, but I daily see newspapers using Instagram images. For me it seems like they can link to instagram images without permission? Thats the main reason why I don't use Instagram. Maybe I have misunderstood something? That being said Flickr are not a safe place for images either, but there I feel "safer". I'm not so afraid for my Shutterstock images. Those images are my B-images, and are only beeing sold for pennies anyway. The images I'm "afraid" of, are my best images which I sell sell through another agency. By the way... it's always look at your videos. You have given me a lot of ideas and inspiration :)

[@NicoleGlass]

I'm glad you're feeling inspired! I think what you're thinking of are Instagram "reposts". Yes, people often repost photos they like - but they need to credit the photographer. Reposts are a great way to gain more of an audience. But here's what makes me feel comfortable with the idea: when I upload images to Instagram, they are usually resized and compressed. So even if someone were to try to steal a photo, they would be super low resolution. Additionally, you can add your watermark to images. Flickr might not allow your images to be legally taken, but I guarantee you people can screenshot those as well if they wanted to. Nothing is safe, but keeping them hidden on your hard drive seems like a waste.

[@mariolavrador350]

Hi Nicole, greetings from Portugal. Thank you for another great video, i hope that you are aware of the importance of this videos for us. Best regards.

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Mário, thanks for the kind words! I'm happy to hear that :)

[@mikehartman7708]

Curious, were they able to contact you via the Instagram post or do you add metadata somehow? Love you work!

[@NicoleGlass]

Hey Mike, they sent me an email (I had my email address listed on IG). Thanks for the kind words!

[@mikehartman7708]

Thought as much. Thanks for reply.

[@steveteare3865]

Truly informative, thank you.

[@NicoleGlass]

You're welcome! 😊

[@cookiefavors]

Thank you, Nicole! Any tips on how to sell your Instagram photos requested through DM? Do you do it through PayPal? Do you email them your photos? Appreciate your help!

[@NicoleGlass]

In this case, the company e-mailed me (my IG had my contact information on it at that time). I believe they mailed me a check. And yes, I e-mailed them the high resolution photo.

[@jimhamilton8775]

Thank you for another excellent and informative video. I look forward to them all.

[@NicoleGlass]

No problem, thanks for the kind words!

[@craftedshutter]

Great video!

[@sarthak000]

Thank you so much :)

[@cichris]

Thank you!

[@NicoleGlass]

:)

[@ronalvey103]

The sound on this video is very nice.

[@NicoleGlass]

Thank you :)

[@mikeosinski50]

Wow thanks I didn't know you can do that on Instagram. More great things to check our.

[@NicoleGlass]

Like I said, this doesn't happen very often to me but the potential is there :)

[@mikeosinski50]

@@NicoleGlass yes if there's a chance I am there.🙂

[@tanalee229]

Spring has SPRUNG! Nice, bright outfit! Almost anyplace you post photos where they can be seen by the public will offer you potential for sales. I've had photos on flickr for ages ( flickr.com/photos/portaltotheworld ), but I stopped paying attention to flickr after I stopped shooting. I missed an opportunity for one of my photos to be used in a textbook, because I didn't pay attention to notifications. : ( Nothing I shoot wants to fit into a square for Instagram ( tana.ii ). I've only posted some of the hobby projects I've done. Another peppy, informative video. As the saying goes, "You go, grrl!" (There should be a hammer icon for morons who give thumbs down on your videos.)

[@NicoleGlass]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you like the pink, haha. Yes, it can be difficult turning your photos into squares. Something to keep in mind while you're out with your camera! I'll often take both vertical and horizontal photos so I can use them on various channels.

[@tanalee229]

@@NicoleGlass I like shooting tall buildings and long buildings downtown. I don't have an ultra-wide lens, so I don't think I have square options without making the buildings look tiny and squished. I was looking again at my flickr images. My insides get in a bunch when I think about "squaring" any of them. : ) Again, great videos! I appreciate them much. Thank you!

[@gerardferry3958]

think there are copyright issues

[@joseuribe1552]

cool story

[@dianad.5312]

This video is helpful because I mistakenly thought that if you put a photo on instagram, anyone can use it without consent because there is nothing to say images are protected.

[@4seasonbackpacking]

How many photos have you sold via Instagram ? Thanks Richard

[@NicoleGlass]

Just a handful, it is definitely a rare occurrence but has happened a couple of times

[@hafizurmahdi5284]

Can I upload the same image/s on both stock and my Instagram?

[@NicoleGlass]

Yes

[@BryanLa]

Nice!! 👍👍

[@SquareoftheyearFM]

I’m a bit wary about Instagram sometimes. A visitor attraction used one of my images but rather that buy my image and use it they ‘regrammed’ it. So in theory it was like a share of my Instagram rather than a fresh posting. I just felt a bit uncomfortable about it.

[@NicoleGlass]

Regrams are really popular on Instagram and many people want those regrams because it often brings more attention to you. Also just keep in mind that if someone regrams your photo, they only have a low resolution version of the photo that they can use for Instagram but would be pretty meaningless to use anywhere else. If you're worried about it you can always add a watermark to your images.

[@VCNickels]

When they regrammed it did your IG account get tagged or whatever at least? The rules, and if you want to get litigious - laws, are usually in your favor as the author but since it's a "place" and you likely didn't have a release and they weren't profiting directly off it it's the IG equivalent of a HuffPo article but bit more complimentary in my opinion. If they didn't tag you go back and say "Hey, can you tag me on my photo you regrammed."

[@NicoleGlass]

@@VCNickels Whenever someone has regrammed one of my photos, I have been credited. Never had a case where they didn't credit me. At least, not that I know of. I usually get a few followers out of a regram too.

[@VCNickels]

@@NicoleGlass I think most of the regramm apps do it by default and I know a number of people who enjoy an increase in followers from it. If for whatever reason they didn't there's nothing wrong with asking to be tagged. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with asking them to take it down either but that leads down a dark road of suffering in most cases.

[@emanuelgarcia7397]

how you sell it to them. did you just send the photo to them through dm

[@NicoleGlass]

Through e-mail :)

[@HobsNobs]

Interesting video and glad you made some $$ with instagram. I use windoze and does anyone know of a good instagram program to upload as I would not like to upload via phone though I do use a Huawei P9

[@NicoleGlass]

I sometimes use later.com to schedule Instagram posts 😊📱

[@HobsNobs]

Many thanks for quick reply, I will give that a go 😊

[@jerrybergquist]

You forgot to use your Subscribe pillow. 😀

[@NicoleGlass]

Lol, true. I always forget...

[@lifestyledonnagarden]

😲😳👍👍

[@dianad.5312]

It's really sad how little people are paid by these stock photography sites, it's pennies compared to what the sites are making off the photos.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

Perhaps in similar cases, photographers should give possible clients a short term offer of exclusive licence.

[@NicoleGlass]

Yes, photographers who regularly do this usually have multiple license options available.

[@GeneCrain]

What are the other platforms you sell on.

[@NicoleGlass]

Alamy and Adobe Stock

[@GeneCrain]

@@NicoleGlass Thank you

[@NicoleGlass]

And just starting out on Pond5. I'll speak about the other platforms once I have a little more credibility on them.

[@RobJorg]

instagram is facebook owned and its app harvests your privacy data on your phone.

[@NicoleGlass]

That's a different story... you don't think Google/KZbin does the same? 🤔

[@RobJorg]

@@NicoleGlass in a lessor form than facebook. atleast i can uninstall google chrome and youtube i can choose not to use.. i cant uninstall instagram or facebook from my phone and facebook does tracking of non facebook users.

[@BlizzardPeak]

$375, now if only you could sell one of this per day lol. $136,875 a year. If only

[@NicoleGlass]

Wouldn't that be nice...

[@arkoprobhopal5713]

I I wish I could 've Expert photographer friend like you :( NOone to discuss about this topic

[@NicoleGlass]

I am sure there's someone in your area. Maybe there's a photography meetup group!

[@dannyelam1631]

"InstaSpam" So many spam ads now on IG it isn't what it used to be.

[@NicoleGlass]

True... the ads bug me as well :(

[@shamar6681]

Have you ever made a photo sale through your referral link?

[@NicoleGlass]

I don't have referral links on Instagram. Instagram is just my own content

[@user-bw7de6se3g]

It's 7.00 am :)

[@NicoleGlass]

It was 7 am in your part of the world, but it was midnight in mine! :)

[@user-bw7de6se3g]

@@NicoleGlass haha I know😁

[@hautehussey]

I’m concerned over your definition of editorial. A product doesn’t have to be sold for it to be considered commercial use. I’m not saying this particular case was, just that it could’ve been.

[@fasterman3]

why do you push Shutterstock? These agencies are why photographers doing stock only get pennies now a days. They ruined the business.

[@NicoleGlass]

Shutterstock was there, and will continue to be there, regardless of whether or not I share my personal stories (I talk about cons too, not just pros). I talk about all things photography on my channel and this is one of many things I do.

[@CoryResilient]

your outfit is pimp llol #Fresh

[@NicoleGlass]

Lol thank you.

[@CoryResilient]

fkn that's my type of swag lol u look fresher then me lol :( frig lol