Traditionally stock photography companies sold photos for larger amounts of money, but the newer micro stock photography sites sell for a lot less. They sell many more photos for the photographer. The money is made from quantity at these sites. Selling stock photos this way makes it affordable for a larger audience of buyers.

This is a good opportunity for people who take pictures, but don’t have a high-resolution camera. A point-and-shoot camera will suffice to get started. The other needed tools are an Internet connection and a computer. Most micro photo sites, unlike traditional sites, don’t require a large portfolio to get started. A photographer can have a small portfolio and build upon it. With a microphotography site, the photographer doesn’t need his own site for the company to examine before he can put his portfolio at their site.  On the other hand, this is a requirement with a traditional site.

The stock images at microphotography sites can be 4 pixels in some cases, but other sites require 6-8 pixels. For touchups, a free editor will work to get started with a stock photography business. It is recommended to start out with at least a 5mp camera. The sensor’s quality helps make better photos, not necessarily more megapixels. A camera that allows lens changes is better to use, such as a digital SLR camera.

The buyers are endless; even many cereal boxes have a photo on them. Companies need photos for ads, brochures etc. The person that wants to get into this business needs to be able to invest a time to take, edit, and upload the pictures. They need to be able to capture images in more places than their town or city. Eventually they’ll need to put more money into better equipment. They also need an objective viewpoint about their own photos and should be willing to continue learning about photography.