Hello, fellow readers of this blog! I’m excited to share my February 2025 guest-earnings report on here.

Brief Introduction

My name is Nelson Antoine and I’m a Brazilian photojournalist who spent 16 years in São Paulo freelancing for news agencies and newspapers. Throughout my career, I covered everything from Brazilian presidential elections and diplomatic visits to Formula One races, the Olympics, violent protests, and urban crime. In 2020, I transitioned into a nomadic freelance lifestyle, focusing on travel, conceptual, documentary, lifestyle, and gastronomy photography and videography.

Since then, I’ve been producing content for Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Pond5 (footage only) while traveling across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Before leaving Brazil, I uploaded a selection of my extensive photojournalism archive to stock agencies. However, the industry has changed dramatically due to market shifts and new technologies. Today, I dedicate 99% of my efforts to shooting video, mostly in a minimalistic style using my iPhone.

February 2025 Earnings Overview

Historically, February is one of the worst months for earnings, but this year, it was the weakest February in the past four years, primarily due to a worryingly poor performance from Shutterstock. Here are my results below.

Image Earnings (USD)

Agency	Portfolio Size (New in Feb)	Net Revenue	Avg Return Per Download
Shutterstock (Portfolio)	3967 (5)	$53	$0.25
Adobe Stock (Portfolio)	778 (49)	$38	$1.22
Alamy (Portfolio)	342 (27)	$10	$5
Total		$101

Clip Earnings (USD)

Agency	Portfolio Size (New in Feb)	Net Revenue	Avg Return Per Download
Shutterstock	1565 (30)	$24	$4
Adobe Stock	336 (8)	$44	$7
Pond5 (Portfolio)	1730 (30)	$42	$21
Total		$110

Grand Total: $211

Top Performers & Major Sales

Shutterstock – A Historic Low

Once my most reliable agency, Shutterstock delivered its worst February ever, generating under $100 for the first time, even when I had fewer than 1,000 photos in my portfolio. This is alarming, especially considering my February earnings in previous years:

• 2024: $155 (photos + videos)
• 2023: $208

A notable sale this month was a $7.33 video from Bangkok:

For stills, unfortunately, nothing notable worth reporting.

Adobe Stock – A Positive Shift

Adobe Stock overtook Shutterstock in earnings for the first time, likely due to its higher per-download pricing. Two sales worth discussing:

Pond5 – Steady & Unpredictable

Pond5 has shown more consistency in recent months, possibly benefiting from the Shutterstock merger. This month’s highlight:

Alamy – A Small Start

With fewer than 400 images, Alamy is still new territory for me, but it provided a decent sale:

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Market Insights & Strategies

This month’s performance highlights an industry in flux. While Shutterstock’s earnings plummeted, Adobe Stock’s growth suggests a shift in market dominance. Something we are also seeing in Alex’s port who has reported that Adobe Stock is now outperforming Shutterstock for the past two months.

My Strategy:

1. Supply vs. Demand: I analyze media trends, breaking news, and emerging topics to decide what to shoot in the most informative, aesthetic and useful (editorial and commercial) way possible, obviously
2. Global Impact: I focus on subjects with long-term international relevance, environmental issues, social movements, political leaders, and human-interest stories. Everything “human interest” that can be published not just locally but globally and specially not just tomorrow but in a big period of time in the future, on a regular basis.
3. Editorial Top-Sellers:
   • Photo: Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women’s March

• Video: Food distribution in São Paulo

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Workflow & Challenges

I maintain a manual, keyword-driven workflow using PhotoMechanic for organizing, captioning, and keywording. Uploading is done manually to ensure accuracy.

Challenges Facing Stock Photography

The future of stock photography remains uncertain due to:

• Falling compensation rates across agencies
• The rise of AI-generated images
• Industry consolidation leading to unpredictable trends

Of course, as a side hustle can be a positive activity to spent time if you really love what you do, know how the industry works, how to identify topics in demand and specially shoot in the most TRUE REALISTIC way in this new world of fake-AI images.

“Shoot what AI can’t and Focus on quality and excellence, not just quantity.”

Final Thoughts

While February was discouraging, shifting strategies and adapting to market trends is key to staying competitive. I hope this report provided useful insights!

Thanks again for the opportunity, Alex!

Cheers, Nelson Antoine