Unlike other micro stock agencies, Fotolia doesn’t technically have a submission process to see if they’ll carry you as a photographer. Instead, anyone can submit photos and they’ll just decide whether or not they will host the photos. This makes them without question the least stressful micro stock agency to submit to.

Fotolia accepts images as small as 4 MP. Fotolia has one of the simplest and easiest submission processes.

1. Go to http://us.fotolia.com/Info/HowToSell
2. Create an account. You’ll have the option to go exclusive with Fotolia, which I do not recommend.
3. Click the “Sell Files” link in the upper right corner.
4. Start uploading images!
5. Fotolia has an option that if your file is rejected by the editors, you can have it moved to the “free” section. I recommend against this — no point in giving your work away!
6. Note that while you can start uploading images right away you will get an email with a link you have to click on to validate your account — your images won’t be reviewed until you do so!

Unlike other stock agency submission processes, there is no special number of photos you need to upload. After all, they are not evaluating you as a contributor, but instead are just evaluating each photo on a case by case basis.

Once you’ve got your photos uploaded, you’ll be able to view a list with little color-coded icons showing the current status of your photos (which will be “awaiting validation” at this time).

This is a breakdown of the submission process to sell your stock photography to Shutterstock. Like all micro-stock agencies, they won’t put up photos from just any photographer. You must go through their submission process to see if they’ll carry you.

Shutterstock images must be at  least 4 MP. You are required to upload 10 images. At least 7 of them must be accepted in order to be carried by Shutterstock. But no pressure!

1. Go to Shutterstock Submission Page
2. Sign up for an account
3. You will then need to enter a credit card number and get charged $0.01 to verify that you’re a real person
4. You can now log in.
5. In the lower left under the “Make Money” header, click on “submit photos.” (see image below)
6. Click on the “via HTTP” header. This will let you upload straight from your browser.
7. Upload your 10 best photos!
8. You’ll then need to enter descriptions and keywords for them. You will need a minimum of 7 keywords for each photo (something I found surprisingly difficult to do, without keyword stuffing, which they don’t like).

Shutterstock says their photographer review could take as long as 7-10 days. Once your in photos are reviewed within 3 days.