Getty for Easter

This week I have been doing a fair bit of work around the house. If I've not mentioned it before, in order to live the way I want as a photographer (my wife too, doing her thing) we are looking to sell up and more or less pay up the mortgage. So with the competition to find a buyer ever escalating, I've sorted the bedroom and am now dealing with the bathroom.

This, and the weather, has played a little havoc with my work schedule this week. The shooting stock photos day has become 'a laying the bathroom floor day' and I've also fitted in painting and other stuff....

So, not going away at Easter, I have turned to the little job that I have been putting off, getting in a submission to Getty Images 'Lifesize' collection. "Paying to play" will cost me $250 (half price for the first ten images!) so, with Getty's 70% grab on the proceeds I have to sell $833 of images to get my money back.

Can it be done? The images are sold as 'rights ready', an allegedly easy to understand for the photo buyer rights managed concept. $833 will require about 4-6 editorial uses or one commercial use. Money back in year one is what I want - anything more is a failure because I have to make money.

To test things I'm submitting ten images which cover a broad range of subjects - nothing special about them, ultra low budget productions in and around this house and a few shots of London. I suppose the common feature is that I took them on the Canon EOS5D because Getty turn their nose up at Pentax.

Getty sell lots of images. Many images sell many times each year. While some organisations have buyers who take hours to find a cheap image, many send their buyers to Getty because they know that they will find something quickly. It may be lazy but it is also cost effective.

And I am lazy too. I'd much rather prepare a few images than hundreds to see a return. The shear time effort of making money elsewhere in stock is now not justifiable other than as a sideshow or hobby. Getty does make money despite recent turmoil. Lots of it. Can I get a slice of it? We'll find out.

If they have me.