Photodune – Complete Review
Photodune is one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing Microstock agencies in recent years. It is part of Envato, an agency that brings together many marketplaces for the sale of digital and multimedia content. Besides Photodune for royalty-free images, other prominent marketplaces for Envato group are Graphicriver (for vector graphic files) Audiohive (for music files) Videoforest (for videos). The Envato group is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and it was established in 2006.
The Photodune website is very attractive and besides being a very functional experience for the contributor, it was also created as a community of authors, which can follow one another by sharing their work and their experiences. The site also allows you to see the rankings of the brightest contributors and the best selling works on the marketplace: I find this option very useful because it makes you understand what types of images are the most successful and best suited to be accepted on the website. Especially at the beginning of the path of a microstocker, such a kind of comparison is undoubtedly disadvantageous, but also very instructive.
To become a contributor at Photodune you need to register on the site and to submit an easy admission test focused on a short “tutorial for authors” that can be studied previously. But this is a mere formality. After passing the test, you need to submit 5 to 15 of your best works, which will be used by reviewers only to evaluate your application as a contributor and will not be automatically available for sale in case of approval. Only after approval, you can start sending files for sale, without any limit (well, there is a limit, but it is 5000 images a day … I challenge anyone to find it restrictive).
The process of uploading files can be done either via webform or via FTP. In case you choose uploading via FTP, for example using the software Filezilla, you better remember to place the files in specific subfolder on the server (/bulk_import/photos/), as advised by Photodune. If you upload the files in the general folder, then you will need an extra step of importing files on the site one by one, wasting a lot of time. By using the subfolder /bulk_import/photos/, the submission process becomes almost instantaneous, being enough a simple confirmation for all the uploaded files. 
Furthermore it is not necessary to select categories for the files and of course all the keywords and other IPTC data are automatically recognized by the site. A special feature: Photodune does not use the “title” tag to name your files, but only the “description” tag. Therefore it is highly recommendable to feel this tag before uploading files via FTP (for more info please read my post about keywording in my personal tutorial).
The revision of the files is a quite long process and usually takes about 7-10 days to get the final feedback on the approval. Reviewers are quite demanding, as much as those of Fotolia and Shutterstock. Editorial images are not accepted.
Talking about earnings, these are among the highest of all agencies: for non-exclusivist contributors, commissions start from 33% for each image sold (there is no subscription plan available for customers). To make an example: on a download with standard license in a Large format (which costs $ 5 for the customer) the commission for the author is $ 1.65.
Exclusivists are admitted in Photodune, with commissions ranging from 50% to 70% depending on the level of the contributor, according to this schedule.
Although the popularity of Photodune is not yet at the highest level (but rapidly growing), there are many reasons for becoming contributor with this agency: high per-download earnings, a very dynamic community, great connection with other digital marketplaces, which is a great source of ispiration for all members.
Below is the table with the main informations about Photodune:
| Logo |  |
| Website | www.photodune.net |
| Social Links/Blog | Facebook, Twitter, Envato Blog |
| Headquarters |  Melbourne, AUSTRALIA |
| Portfolio | 7.254.344 (updated to March 2015) |
| Website Traffic Rank | by  |
| Admission Test | You need to send 5 to 15 among your best images to be admitted as a contributor |
| Image Size | Minimum 2 Megapixel |
| Accepted File Types | Photos, other digital media are accepted on other marketplaces of Envato Group. |
| Severity of the Reviewers | Very high |
| Editorial Images | Not accepted |
| Types of Licences | Standard License, Extended License |
| Price of the Images | From $ 1 to $ 7 for standard licenses (depending on file size) and from $ 8 to $ 56 for extended licenses |
| Earnings for Contributors | 33% per download |
| Payout Minimum Threshold | $50 ($500 in case of SWIFT Bank Transfer ) |
| Payment Mode | Monthly, upon request or automatic once thresold exceeded, via PayPal, Skrill, Payoneer, SWIFT Bank Transfer (minimum threshold $500) |
| Exclusivity | from 50% for each download and up to 70% (according to this schedule) |
| Referral Program | 30% of the first purchase or deposit of each referred customer |
| Uploading Mode | Webform, FTP |
| Recognition IPTC data from file | Automatic |
| Currency | $ US Dollar (USD) |
| Supported Languages | English |
| Tools | Access to all Envato marketplaces with a single account |
| Download Release Forms | Adult Model Release Minor Model Release Property Release |
Related Pages:
- Check the list of the Top Microstock Agencies
- Check my Microstock Agencies Evaluation Criteria
- Check the Earnings Comparison
- Check the Payout Comparison
- Check the Referral/Affiliate Programs Comparison
- Check the Exclusivity Comparison
- Check the Editorial Images Management Comparison
- Download the Model Releases Forms for Each Microstock Agency
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