Welcome to my April 2026 Brutally Honest Earnings Report, where the long-term goal remains the same: trying to cover my gear and travel costs solely through stock income.
Speaking of travel, April was a rare month where I actually did not go anywhere and honestly it was quite nice to just chill out for a while.
After months of movement, airport queues, hotel rooms, cruise ships, carrying heavy gear, I stayed close to home in Cascais and got back into something dangerously underrated: a normal routine.
The unexpected bonus of staying put was that I finally had time to schedule more commissioned client work, which is starting to pick up nicely. I’ll get into that shortly, because it may actually be the most important development of the month, not the royalties earned. Let’s get started.
Client Work Is Finally Coming Thick and Fast
I’ll admit something that may sound obvious in hindsight: in this business I probably put the cart before the horse, let me explain.
For years, I focused heavily on uploading stock, trying to grow passive income and hoping the occasional client job would appear on the side. That worked OK when times were better and contributors were paid, on average, much better. But now client work is fundamental to make it in this business in order to supplement depressed stock incomes.
Nevertheless, what I probably should have done from the beginning was the opposite: build a reliable base of direct clients first, then use suitable content from those shoots to feed the stock portfolio where possible.
Ironically, right before things finally took off, in March, I wrote about some of the frustrations of dealing with clients, especially the cheap ones who want champagne results on a tap-water budget:
Well, in April, my optimism paid off as I consolidated work with existing clients, picked up some new ones and had a varied mix of small but useful and fun job, which I’ll discuss below. How much I charged? I’ll leave this discussion for a next time but suffice to say it was between $60-80/hour.
Barber shoot
One of the shoots was at my local barbershop, partly in exchange for services and partly for cash.
Not every job needs to be a glamorous five-figure campaign. Sometimes a useful local client relationship, a few hours of work, some social media content and a fresh haircut can be a perfectly respectable result. Special thanks to the hairdresser client who was super patient during the three-hour shoot.
Vineyard shoot
I also photographed a vineyard near Setúbal with my drone. This was one of those quick assignments as I was only there for one hour, but the stock potential is probably much more valuable over time. Vineyards, wine tourism, agriculture, lifestyle, food culture, Portuguese landscapes. All of these themes have long-term commercial potential.
In other words, the client paid me to create content that may continue earning later.
Teenager Rock shoot
Word of mouth also helped bring in a teenager’s rock concert towards the end of the month.
This was a fun one. Loud, messy energetic, and full of the kind of authentic atmosphere that is difficult to fake. Loved the lights, smoke, guitars. Great stock content.
Market shoot with a Private Chef
One recurring client is a high-end private chef. Bruno hired me for a few hours to photograph him choosing local products at a municipal market, including fish and fresh ingredients.
This was exactly the kind of small assignment I enjoy: real people, real location, natural light, strong visual storytelling and plenty of useful documentary-style material. Lots of the clips were uploaded as editorial.
Half-marathon shoot coming up
In early May, I’ll be shooting a private half-marathon in Lisbon, starting at Praça do Comércio and heading west along the Tagus towards Cascais.
That should be another strong opportunity for event, lifestyle, fitness, Lisbon, and tourism-related content. Might ask for model releases, not sure yet.
Hope to pick up where I’ve left off upon my return from Rio
Hopefully, when I return from Rio sometime in late-June, I’ll be able to offer a broader range of services locally. Even if many of these shoots are only a few hours each, I enjoy the variety. I’m also staying well clear of real-estate photography which is something that I’m no longer really interested in pursuing. I do enjoy shooting lifestyle and events the most and of course anything related to using my drone. I’m excited what the next few months will bring.
Now let’s move on to the monthly earnings.
Monthly Earnings Breakdown
📸Image Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of images (new images Mar) | Net Revenue Mar | Avg Return Per Download |
| Amazing Aerial (photos and videos) | 333 | TBD as they are upgrading their portal | TBD |
| Alamy | 17,324 (79) | 58 | 4.83 |
| Arcangel (RM-exclusive) | 6,361 (70) | 0 | 0 |
| Adobe Stock | 4,921 (14) | 107 | 0.74 |
| DepositPhotos | 8,860 (13) | 8 | 0.50 |
| Dreamstime | 9,869 (53) | 7 | 0.37 |
| Freekpik (now Magnific wtf) | 1,219 (2) | 12 | 0.06 |
| iStock (Feb) | 9,350 (7) | 91 | 0.88 |
| MotionArray | 476 (0) | 15 | 0.31 |
| Robert Harding (Q3 2025 monthly average) – RM/RF exclusive | 735 (4) | 52 | 3 |
| Shutterstock | 12,836 (6) | 78 | 0.70 |
| Wirestock | Discontinued from May 2026 to focus on AI | 8 | N/A |
| Total | 437 |
🎥Clip Earnings (USD)
| Agency | Number of clips (new clips Mar) | Net Revenue for Mar | Avg Return per Download |
| Adobe Stock | 1,611 (17) | 74 | 5.70 |
| Pond5 | 3,428 (25) | 41 | 20.50 |
| iStock (Feb) | 1,250 (35) | 7 | 1 |
| Shutterstock | 2,793 (37) | 120 | 40 |
| Total | 242 |
Grand Total: $679
📈Best-Sellers
After a few quiet months on the footage side, Shutterstock delivered a nice surprise: a $116 sale for a drone clip of an empty Copacabana Beach in Rio.
I captured that clip two years ago after getting up at 5am to shoot the beach before the crowds arrived. Early bird gets the worm as they say.
That early-morning shoot lasted only about an hour, but it has already earned over $300 in total after two years.
Sticking with Rio, my New Year’s Eve fireworks footage from Copacabana, I believe from 2017/2018, continues to sell, including on Pond5, which I had almost started to consider dead.
Visit Rio!
While I’m on the Rio theme, the city has been very good to me over the years. Between stills and footage, I’ve earned enough from Rio content to cover flights, expenses, and probably a few caipirinhas along the way.
And yes, before someone jumps in with the usual “but Rio is dangerous” comments, of course you need to be careful especially at night. It’s not a place to wander around cluelessly with expensive gear hanging off both shoulders. Or fly your drone above favelas.
I’ve been shooting there for years and, touch wood, I’ve never had anything stolen. In fact, I felt more on edge in Barcelona over Christmas than I often do in Rio.
Other best-sellers
On the photo side, I may be hurting myself by saying this publicly, but my images of US supermarket shelves, which were extremely easy to shoot back in November last year, continue to sell almost every day.
It is a good reminder that stock photography is not always about epic landscapes, exotic destinations, or dramatic drone footage.
Boring stuff often sells, especially if it’s useful to feature in articles about health, inflation, consumer trends, etc. The trick is recognising these types of trends instead of being busy chasing sunsets which rarely sell.
Arcangel book cover
No sales in April but doesn’t take away the full-circle moment with my dear model who appeared on the cover of “Just Between Us”.
✈️Upcoming Travel Plans
| Month | Location |
| May | Brazil |
| June | Brazil |
| July | No plans yet |
| August | No plans yet |
| September | No plans yet |
| October | Brazil (Grandfather turning 100) |
| November | USA and Canada (arrive on cruise) |
| December | USA and Canada |
| 2027 | Asia and Poland |
I’m a big believer in planning travel early, especially as geopolitical tensions are causing inflationary pressures, while clients are increasingly devaluing photography work.
Until next time and stay safe!
P.S I saw the Gentle Giant!
Oh and perhaps the true highlight of the month was hanging out with Gentle Giant in Lisbon!
Looking forward to seeing you in Toronto towards the end of the year!
Thanks for reading and until next time.
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 
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