iStock Photography
 

Anyone familiar with the iStock system? I understand the fundamentals like receiving a portion of what you sell, but are there downsides to them?

Im wondering about ownership and what not. If i apply a photo to iStock.com, do they now own the rights to my photo/logo/design/illustration/ect.?

Also, they boast about trying to make you contribute and earn a lot of money but can this be true? For example, once you sell a photo, do you now need to replace your stock -- put up another photo to sell in place of that one? Im assuming 2 companies can purchase the same photo for their use, but im unsure.

Im just worried about writing off my rights to my work and getting into something im not fully understanding.

Read whatever agreement they make you check off.
I'm not too familiar with iStock, but generally the idea is that you'll get a fraction of the profit. The same image can be sold an infinite number of times, you dont need to replace it or anything... the point is that people will have a library of hundreds of images that get bought over and over again. That's how people make a living off of stock.
And no, you dont own any sort of rights to the image if they're selling it. That's the point, that the company buys rights to that image.

My personal opinion is it's not worth the time unless you're experienced with shooting and selling stock photography, in which case you probably would look elsewhere.

I ended up giving it a try. I applied, had to take a quiz about photography and their rules. Passed that. I had to send in 3 samples of my Stock work. I didnt pass that :\ i have a period of 3 days i have to wait to shoot new photos or upload new samples if i am still interested. It seemed interesting but i didnt think it would be as picky as it was to be honest.