My Stock Photography Journey

[Redgum]

It's not just photography, the commercial world as a whole is dog eat dog, so to speak. Running a corporate enterprise it is my responsibility to the shareholders to acquire assets at the lowest possible price (and not be caught with duds). That's the name of the game but it's a two way street. When I started making documentary films, TV stations were happy to air them for my benefit (in other words - no or little pay). That changed overtime as I developed a reputation (or understood the market better) and more often than not I'm now on the winning side, making money.
Making 25c per photo is not going to earn you a reputation, the price needs to be meaningful, so don't prostitute yourself as a photographer for the sake of a few cents. Networking on this site and others will get you more rewards than you can imagine, if you want them, but telling people you're happy to make 25c per photo won't improve your esteem or that of others.

[Steve Axford]

Running a corporate enterprise it is my responsibility to the shareholders to acquire assets at the lowest possible price (and not be caught with duds).

I'd have to agree that investing shareholder money in stock photography is probably not wise when running a corporate enterprise. However, I don't recall any mention of shareholders, so that probably isn't relevant. Personally, I think there are better ways of getting your photos out there, but they don't pay anything, at least not directly.