About Bigstock (ex-Bigstockphoto)

For a long time, I’ve been planning to write a few words about this relatively small stock photo site, known as Bigstockphoto or simply Bigstock since its rebranding back in 2010. I’m not sure why the name was shortened, perhaps just to simplify branding. Along with that came a redesign of the stock photo platform itself, and later its acquisition by the industry giant Shutterstock.
So, Bigstock. This is a relatively small but quite promising stock photography agency. I would classify it as a second-tier microstock when it comes to sales potential. These days, the future of Bigstock is largely tied to its ownership. In case you didn’t know, it is currently owned by Jon Oringer and his Shutterstock. Now you see why Bigstock has potential?

Earnings on Bigstockphoto are not very high compared to market leaders, but still above most small microstock platforms. The agency continues to grow steadily, gradually increasing sales of contributors’ photos and illustrations. However, to achieve noticeable results here, you’ll need to have a fairly large portfolio.

For beginners, Bigstock is attractive because there is no entry exam during registration. You only need to complete a very simple theoretical test. No documents are required to sign up on Bigstockphoto.

Bigstockphoto Features

Here is an overview of the key features of this stock photo site:

• official website: [http://www.bigstockphoto.com](http://www.bigstockphoto.com);
• image collection size – 5,272,000;
• no entry exam, only a theoretical test is required;
• no documents needed for account creation;
• license types: sRF, extRF, editorial;
• no exclusivity;
• Bigstock accepts photos, illustrations, 3D and vector graphics;
• minimum file size accepted is 600 pixels on any side, with a maximum file size of 10MB;
• supports IPTC metadata;
• images can be uploaded via browser or FTP;
• Bigstock accepts vector graphics in EPS or AI with optional JPEG preview, with at least 3000 pixels on one side;
  – image resolution does not affect the selling price;
• Bigstockphoto uses only a pay-per-download model;
• contributors earn from $0.50 to $3 per download under a standard Royalty-Free license, and from $2.50 up to $80 for an extended license;
• the minimum payout threshold is $50. Payments are processed upon request via Moneybookers, PayPal (5–10 business days), or bank check (1.5–2 months);
• all transactions are in US dollars;
• interface language – English.

Bigstock Pros and Cons

From my perspective, the main advantages of Bigstock are:

• a very convenient image keywording and attribution system. When uploading a new file, categories are automatically assigned, but you can edit them as you wish;
• relatively low requirements for image quality;
• no exams and no documents required at registration.

But, like all agencies, Bigstock also has notable drawbacks:

• weak sales performance for a collection of over 5 million files;
• upload limits. There’s a daily quota for how many files you can submit, and it depends on your overall acceptance rate;
• selling price does not depend on image resolution.

So that’s Bigstock – not bad, though not exceptional either. Still, I believe it deserves a place in your stock photography portfolio, since it can contribute a steady stream of small earnings. In the next article, I’ll describe the registration process on Bigstock and how to upload your files there. It’s pretty straightforward, especially if this is not your first stock agency account.