Many individuals, businesses, organizations, websites and print publications are in constant need of a wide variety of quality photographs for their websites, sales letters, brochures, magazines, videos and newspapers. These entities regularly turn to stock photography websites to buy the photographs that they need.
You can submit your digital photographs to websites like iStock and Shutterstock. You don't need to be a professional photographer. You just need a digital camera (with extra memory cards) and internet access. Signing up for these websites is free. Each time one of your pictures is downloaded you'll get paid a percentage of the cost of the photograph, which generally comes to twenty-five cents to several dollars.
Just about any type of digital picture is accepted as long as it is of high quality. Your pictures need to be in JPG/JPEG and for most stock websites they should be 1600 x 1200 pixels or larger. New photographers for Shutterstock need to submit photographs that are 4.0 Megapixels or Million Pixels (MP).
You can calculate the number of pixels in a photograph by multiplying the width by the height. A picture that is 1600x1200 is 1.92 million pixels.
In photographs that depict a minor, or where an identifiable human face is visible, you will need to send a model release with the picture to the website. You need to submit original work and make sure that you do not include copyrighted material or logos in your images. Do not submit photographs that have been increased in size from their original file size. You should read the submission guidelines from each website before you start posting your pictures.
Once you have uploaded a picture to a stock photography website, it stays there for as long as you like (even for years). Every time it gets downloaded you earn money. You can upload your pictures to several different websites as long as the websites allow the submission of non-exclusive photographs.
For example: let's say that you have accumulated 1,000 high quality photographs for stock photography websites. You upload each image to ten different websites. So each site now has 1,000 different pictures. You have a total of 10,000 images uploaded on the various sites. If each of your pictures get downloaded just twice every thirty days, and your commission is only $0.25 cents for each download, you'll be making $5,000 a month!
You can take ten pictures a day and upload each one to ten different stock photography websites. In just three months you'll have about 900 photographs uploaded 9,000 times.
What is really cool about this is that once your pictures are uploaded they continue to make money for you with no additional work on your part. If you continuously upload pictures to the stock websites you can earn even more. There are several people that do this full-time and make $5,000, even $8,000 a month.
Most of the stock websites pay you once a month through PayPal, MoneyBookers, paper check or direct deposit.
You can start by taking pictures in your area, or travel anywhere and make a very healthy living by taking stock photographs. The more pictures you upload, the more earning potential you have. You can make great money from this "job" from just about anywhere in the world.
After paying for your roundtrip plane tickets, there are other expenses you will need to face. The hard fact is that Europe can get really expensive if you don't plan your trip well. It is really difficult to slum it out in Europe unless you're prepared to sleep in train stations and parks every night and face the dangers that come with them. You need to preserve your sanity and health as much as your money and you will have a better time if you choose your spending battles wisely. It is not a good idea to live entirely on crumbs while you're on vacation, so always bring a little extra cash for an occasional treat.
If you intend to cross the continent, you will need to set aside money for bus and train passes. Eurail and Busabout tickets can save you a lot of money and hassle in the long run and will cost anywhere between $400 and $700, depending on the area you want to cover.
You will need travel insurance and most veteran travelers will never travel without it. If you get sick or in trouble abroad, the payment for the premium will pale into insignificance compared with the medical bills or expenses you will incur later on. Basic travel insurance costs depend on how long you will be abroad and the coverage you choose can range from $35 to almost $500.
You will also have to shell out money for a Schengen (European) visa so you can travel in most European countries without having fear of immigration officials. If your passport is about to expire, you will need to get a new one which can cost you about $60.
Many people worry about getting immunizations, but they're really not necessary when traveling to Europe. There are recommended vaccinations which you may have already had, like vaccines against polio or tetanus. You may consider booster shots for Hepatitis A and B, as well as anti-rabies shots. A round of vaccines can cost you between $50 to a hundred dollars.
The amount you will spend on equipment will depend on what you want to take with you. Experts recommend forking out more money for a sturdy and decent backpack or suitcase, as well as buying good-quality walking shoes. Beware of poor quality gear that will fall apart in unexpected temperatures or stuff that is too sensitive for rough travel (some digital cameras). Expect to pay for a good camera, a pair of hiking shoes/boots, pocketknife/Swiss knife, flashlight, a jacket and medicines. You can expect your expenses for gear, tickets, passes, passport and visas and insurance to easily amount to $1800.
The countries that you will visit have their own standards of living, which can affect the prices of their accommodation, food and transportation. It is a good idea to research in the various Europe guides to survey the prices that you will be expected to pay once you're there. In general, the cheapest European countries to visit and stay in are generally still those in the Eastern bloc but they include Turkey, parts of Spain, Slovenia, Romania, the Netherlands, Macedonia, Croatia and Bulgaria. You can spend between $35 to $50 a day and still have a good time. In contrast, the most expensive countries (more than $70 a day) would be Switzerland, Norway, France, Germany, Britain, Denmark, Austria, Estonia and Iceland. The major cities in any country are expected to be more expensive than the rural areas. Staying in one place a little longer is a good idea if you want to save money. You can usually get discounts for stays that last a week or more and weekly transport passes are cheaper than the daily ones.
It's very important to keep a running track of your budget and resist the urge to depend on your credit card. The good news is, if you have prepared and researched enough, you will most likely end up saving a lot of money and still get a really good European experience!
Both Thomas Carroll & Michael Russell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Thomas Carroll has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fishing, Vacation and Family Travel. Thomas Carroll was born in California and now lives in Lima, Peru. He enjoys making money while traveling and shows others how to do it too on his website