Welcome to my December 2025 Brutally Honest Earnings Report. Will be a relatively short one as I’ll be soon publishing my comprehensive yearly review. Let’s get started!
✨Monthly Highlights
Just one post went live this month and it was a great one. Love Hugo’s work ethic and his positive results how he’s in a short term figured out this business. Expect great things from him in the coming years.
Beautiful engagement shoot
A poker couple friend of mine recently got engaged and hired me for a shoot on the beach. The pics and videos turned out great and instead invoicing them for my time, I asked them directly if they would be OK if I put them up at Arcangel for book covers. They agreed and everybody was happy. Here are the six images that were accepted from the shoot.
Met up with Captain Tono in Valencia
As you know I’ve become a cruise-addict…going on my third (super affordable) cruise of the year. I feel like I’ve hacked the system and will discuss it in my subsequent report.
This time, it was a relatively short one in the western Mediterranean for a total of 8 days. One of the stops was in Valencia and I was lucky enough to meet up with Captain Tono who was a super host and showed me around his great town and we captured some cool shots together.
You may recall that I interviewed two years ago.
If you’re reading this Tono, looking forward to welcoming you in Portugal!
Now, quickly onto my monthly earnings.
Monthly Earnings Breakdown
📸Image Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of Images in port (new images Dec) | Net Revenue Dec | Avg Return Per Download |
| Amazing Aerial | 19 (7) | – | – |
| Alamy | 17,173 (17) | 47 | 3.91 |
| Arcangel (RM-exclusive) | 6,038 (111) | TBD | TBD |
| Adobe Stock | 4,909 (2) | 69 | 0.62 |
| DepositPhotos | 8,826 (0) | 8 | 0.50 |
| Dreamstime | 9,830 (0) | 3 | 0.45 |
| Freekpik | 1,215 (1) | 4 | 0.06 |
| iStock (Nov 2025) | 9,379 (1) | 48 | 0.27 |
| MotionArray | 476 (0) | 6 | 0.16 |
| Robert Harding (Q3 2025 monthly average) – RM/RF exclusive | 695 (1) | 28 | 1.47 |
| Shutterstock | 12,809 (50) | 162 | 1 |
| Wirestock | 3,066 (0) | 53 | N/A |
| Total | 438 |
🎥Clip Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of clips in port (new clips Dec) | Net Revenue for Dec | Avg Return per Download |
| Amazing Aerial | 42 (38) | – | – |
| Adobe Stock | 1,570 (2) | 16 | 4 |
| Pond5 | 3,363 (12) | 67 Dataset | – |
| iStock (Nov 2025) | 1,220 (2) | 34 | 2.61 |
| Shutterstock | 2,704 (7) | 27 | 14 |
| Total | 144 |
Grand Total: $582
📈Best-Seller this month
Only one significant sale to show this month, captured in Madrid in 2019.
Will be back soon with the comprehensive year-end review.
About Alex
I’m Alex, eccentric, based in Lisbon, and on a mission to explore every corner of the globe while capturing stock images and footage along the way.
For the past 12 years, I’ve been grinding as a travel photographer/videographer and freelance writer. Along the way I’ve also written The Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography, a book packed with war stories and practical tips for anyone crazy enough to enter this business and more recently, The Brutally Honest Guide to Drone Laws in Europe.
Alexandre Rotenberg's Brutally Honest Guide to Stock Photography & Footage 
Thank You Alex, not bad for December. Thank You for sharing.
LikeLike