How does registration on Bigstock work?

In my previous note, I provided a brief overview of the photo bank BigStockPhoto, now known as BigStock, and promised to discuss the registration process for this photo bank and how to upload images to it. So, let’s get started!

First, go to the BigStockPhoto website by clicking on the banner above. After you land on the photo bank’s site, look for Sign in or register to begin downloading at the top of the page and click on it. This will open the registration page for BigStock. You will need to fill out the registration form. In general, it’s not complicated, but let’s go through the fields to avoid any difficulties for you. Please note that fields marked with a red asterisk are mandatory:

Username – enter your desired login;
Password – create a password;
Verify Password – re-enter your password;
Email Address – provide your contact email address. It is strongly recommended not to use email addresses registered with free mail servers with strict spam filters, as your confirmation email might get caught by these filters. Try registering with an email from your provider or a reputable mail server. Why emphasize this? Because a confirmation email with a link to validate your registration will be sent to the specified email address;
Verify Email Address – re-enter your contact email address;
Profile Name / Public Alias – here you enter your author pseudonym or simply the nickname that will be displayed to all visitors of the BigStock site;

First Name – enter your first name;
Last Name – enter your last name;
Street Address – provide your street, house number, and apartment;
City – city;
State/Province – state or province;
Zip/Postal code – postal code;
Country – select your country from the list;
Home Phone – provide your contact phone number in international format;

Job Description – your profession, choose from the list;
Company Name – company name (optional);
Company Type – industry of the company, select from the list (optional);
Company Phone – company phone in international format (optional);
Company Website – company website (optional);

How did you find our site? – How did you discover BigStock? Choose from the list the source of information about BigStock;
Promo Code (optional) – leave this blank (this field is for entering a discount code for customers);
I agree to the Terms of Service – make sure to check this box. By doing so, you agree to the rules and conditions of BigStock.

After entering your details, review them again for accuracy. If everything is correct, click the create account button. Basically, that’s it — the registration on BigStock is almost complete. Now, you just need to wait for an email from BigStock with a confirmation link sent to the email address you provided during registration. By clicking this link, you will confirm your registration on the BigStock photo bank.

Now, you have a small theoretical test to complete. Don’t worry; it’s super easy. Log into your BigStock account using your username and password. Then, click on the Upload/Submit Images button. If you didn’t enter some required profile information during registration, you will be prompted to provide the missing details on the opened page.

If all data is in order, you will go directly to the BigStock page where you will be asked to complete a brief training on photo quality, copyright, keywords. Examples of quality and non-quality photos will be provided. I recommend reading this carefully and taking it into account for your future work on BigStock. This way, you can avoid problems with the acceptance of your images by the BigStock inspectors in the future.

After this training, you will be asked to take a short test. The majority of the test questions relate to copyright and image quality requirements. Even if you happen to answer incorrectly, a message with the correct answer will immediately appear on the page, which you can simply remember. After selecting the correct answers, click the Complete Test button. Most authors pass this test on their first try. If you don’t pass the test on your first attempt, don’t get discouraged; try again.

Once you successfully complete the BigStock test, you can start uploading your photos and illustrations for sale on the BigStock photo bank.

For browser uploads of images to BigStock, use the Upload tab. Then click the Upload Images button. In the window that opens, you need to agree to BigStock’s terms by clicking the check all and agree buttons. Now, the upload process begins. Select the required photos and illustrations and upload them in the upload table. By the way, you can upload no more than 10 images simultaneously. After that, click on upload images. All the images you upload will be displayed in your account under Edit and Submit. You just need to attribute them.

If you have a large number of images to upload, I recommend using the FTP protocol to upload your works to BigStock. One of the most convenient FTP clients for this upload is FileZilla. Add a new FTP connection. Host address – ftp.bigstockphoto.com. Use the same login and password that you use to access your BigStock account. Connect to the BigStock server and start uploading the necessary images.

After the upload is complete, all your photos and illustrations will appear in the Edit and Submit section, and you will just need to finish attributing them and send them for review by the photo bank inspectors.

Oh, one more important point I forgot to mention. Before uploading your works, it is advisable to first upload any model releases you need for your works (photos and illustrations) in the Release Manager tab.

Attribution on BigStock

I would also like to mention a bit about attribution on BigStock. As I said earlier, after uploading, all your images will go to the Edit and Submit section. Click on the thumbnail of the required image, and you will see the fields that need to be filled out. If you have previously filled in the Title, Description, and Keywords fields in the image file, this information will already appear in the form. If you haven’t done this, you will need to enter this information on the BigStock site. Leave the Editorial Usage field empty if your photos are not editorial. Click on Choose categories and select the necessary categories and subcategories.

By the way, if you used pre-signing Title, Description, and Keywords for your photo or illustration, the categories will be automatically assigned, and you will only need to check and correct them if you notice any inaccuracies.

If your image requires a model release, you can link the necessary model release to the image through the Model/Property Releases section.

If you check the After applying changes, move to the next image box, your next image will automatically be displayed for editing after the current image is submitted for review by the photo bank inspectors.

Click Submit for approval and move on to the next image.
Overall, that’s all the information I wanted to share today. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

Good luck with your work and I hope you earn well on the BigStock photo bank.