It has been 9 months since I hesitantly decided to upload a total of 100 images and some clips to free-download sites, Pexels and Pixabay. Here’s the original blog post. Today I’ll update you with some results from this experiment and conclusions. Let’s get started!
Original Experiment Goals
- “I’ll upload eventually 100 generic quite generic (non-editorial) images with some commercial value I’ve recently captured in Brazil to both Unsplash and Pexels, will show you wish shortly;
- These images will be also spread around all non-exclusive microstock agencies;
- I’ll track the number of donations received, if any, from Unsplash and Pexels;
- I’ll also track if putting such images on free-download sites may affect the sales of paid-sites. In other words, do “buyers” shop around.
- Will report back in 6 months time with results. Perhaps a bit longer if there’s no movement…”
So, here’s a summary of the damn experiment:
| Agency | Assets uploaded | Views | Downloads | Donations |
| Pixabay | 88 pics and 4 videos | 83,205 | 78,459 | 0 |
| Pexels | 102 images | 353,495 | 260 | 0 |
Note: I didn’t upload to Unsplash as they made it quite difficult to donate as the button was well hidden.
Speaking of donations, I did try…
Most Popular downloads
No donations but plenty of headaches from thieves
Not only did I completely waste my time with this experiment but predictably some of the images that I uploaded were downloaded and attempted to be re-sold by thieves. Depressing.
| Agency | DCMA Notices |
| Shutterstock | 6 |
| Adobe Stock | 3 |
These are just from the ones I managed to track down, I’m sure there are dozens more.
Did having the same image affect sales on paid-sites?
Again, this is difficult to assess but it seems that having images on there didn’t affect sales on the paid sites. For instance, the Progress Flag has sold quite well, especially leading up to Pride month in July.
What I did notice a few times when doing a Google Reverse image search is that some publications that may have otherwise paid for a license have used my images for free such as these three.
However, worse of all is my image on a book cover.
Conclusions
I’m super pleased that this experiment has come to an end. The original idea was for it to go on for a year but the results would almost certainly be the same. These are some of my conclusions:
- Even though my initial images were pretty poor, I tried to improve the offerings with images that have actually sold regularly on micros. Nevertheless, the fact that I received ZERO in donations is depressing considering the 78,000+ downloads. I could have waited for the full year or 10 years but I don’t think I’d ever get donations and not gonna risk it by uploading more content than the original number. This is especially true that even though I’ll delete my accounts on there, it’s a nightmare to actually remove those images from the servers and the dark web;
- There is apparently zero benefit to uploading to these sites and I’ll use all my energy in the future to advocate against uploading to them and shame those that do. I’m also now completely against giving away images for free at paid sites for the same reasons that those buyers are the greediest and most selfish individuals around; and
- This is a detrimental business model for professional photographers/videographers and we should all fight tooth and nail against this practice.
With the above conclusions in mind I’m super happy to finally flush these turds down the toilet!
Now this feels great, it’s like dumping that toxic girlfriend / friend forever.
For those that do use free-download sites, here’s an example of what is possible…
SEPT 21 UPDATE: Cool, this post has been featured at Petapixel, check out the article with this link!
About Alex
I’m an eccentric guy, currently based in Lisbon, Portugal, on a quest to visit all corners of the world and capture stock images & footage. I’ve devoted eight years to making it as a travel photographer / videographer and freelance writer. I hope to inspire others by showing an unique insight into a fascinating business model.
Most recently I’ve gone all in on submitting book cover images to Arcangel Images. Oh and also recently purchased a DJI Mavic 2s drone and taking full advantage and perhaps a Mavic 3 soon.
I’m proud to have written a book about my adventures which includes tips on making it as a stock travel photographer – Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography
Alexandre Rotenberg's Brutally Honest Guide to Stock Photography & Footage 
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