Rich Legg is a full-time microstock photographer. He has a business plan, and works hard to make a living one microstock download at a time. A gold-level exclusive contributor for iStockPhoto, Legg has has over 70,000 images downloaded. Rich and I have a candid conversation on the professional preconceptions about, media misrepresentations of, and realities behind being a full-time microstock photographer.
Regardless of your current position on the microstock model, every photographer should give a listen to this informative chat with Rich Legg.
We discuss the informercialesque vibe of mainstream media stories about "converting your hobby into a revenue stream," such as this USA Today piece from March about iStockPhoto's top performer Nick Monu or this week's piece on Good Morning America . We discuss Legg's business plan, business model, and business practices, along with the realities of the of overall number of microstock contributors versus the very small percentage making a viable income solely via microstock. During the podcast Rich mentions this publicly viewable chart, which tracks metrics for iStockPhoto contributors, which is very enlightening.
Rich Legg is also a founding member of Photowalking Utah, an active blogger, and offers free clinics in and around the Salt Lake City area. Sharing is a big part of Legg's philosophy, as you will hear. And you can also keep up with his activities via his Twitter stream, as well.
3 things Rich Legg always keeps in his camera bag are model releases, a silver reflector, and a Sekonic light meter.
2 Photographers he suggest we check out right now are Ann Torrence and Kenneth Linge.
1 dream shoot for Rich Legg would be a large commercial location shoot with a big budget and a full team to work with.
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