Exploring My iStock Data Through DeepMeta 4
- Joe from Vivid Auto
- Aug 14
- 4 min read
Over 1,100 downloads across 24 months have earned me $484.05 in royalties on iStock. This article explores my journey and what the data reveals in DeepMeta 4.
Prologue
I have created a case study on my stock photography journey, detailing why I started, my key takeaways, and how my stock photography earnings scaled from October 2022 to June 2025.
Why did I start importing my iStock earnings data to DeepMeta 4?
In January 2024, I found navigating my iStock data text files to be unintuitive, especially when compared to using my Shutterstock and Adobe Stock dashboards.
iStock had dashboards, but they felt outdated and uncompetitive compared to its competitors. With a Google search, I discovered I could upload my iStock txt data to DeepMeta 4, where it presented my datasets in a presentable, intuitive and informative manner.
Trends over time on my iStock Account via DeepMeta 4
For the first twelve months of my iStock account (March 2023 - March 2024), I had a few hundred photos on my page; however, this wasn't a conclusive amount of data for me to draw meaningful conclusions or act upon the information.
Shutterstock was a different situation, where I had 4,000 images on that platform. Evergreen content, such as photos of MoT signs, pictures indicating roadworks, and generic images of car showrooms, tends to be licensed regularly.
Between January 2024 and March 2024, I uploaded hundreds of my Shutterstock photos to my iStock account, aiming to increase sales and gather more data.
Early trends, I spotted on my iStock account, were:
Car showroom pictures
Photos of the high street
Images of closed shops in town
What connects the subjects is these niches that publications and individuals use for their work. For example, a row of cars picture could be used on a website as a hero image for a dealership. Or even a shop with sale signs could be licensed in an article about the UK high street.
Top 25 Photos | 2023 To 2025
In 2023, most of my sales came from car images, followed by photos of the high street and tractors.
2024 was a more consistent year, marked by the dominance of car auction/dealership images and high street pictures, alongside the insurgence of landmark photos.
2025 followed a similar trajectory to the previous years, with me doubling down on cars and photos of the UK high street.
Breakdown of iStock earnings
In 2023, my royalties were $23.35, and royalties per Download (RPD) were $0.69.
In 2024, my royalties were $241.01, and royalties per Download (RPD) were $0.41.
Between 2025 and June 2025, my royalties totalled $219.67, with a royalties per Download (RPD) of $0.46.
Top 3 Countries where my photos sold
United Kingdom – $183.77
The reason the United Kingdom is first is that I took my photos in the UK, making my images of shops like WHSmith more relevant to companies like The Daily Express for licensing in their articles.
United States – $112.38
The United States would be my second-largest audience. My photos of cars and pictures of sale signs in shop windows are relevant to users in the US, who can license them for articles about their economy and automotive culture.
Australia – $98.28
Australia is third, thanks to my visit to Sydney, where I captured architecture, shops, and landmarks. These images resonated with users and were licensed in articles about Sydney and Australian culture.
Key takeaways
What I learned from exploring my iStock data through DeepMeta 4 is:
How to double down on photos that sell well
How to segment pictures into categories and licence types
Discover how and why my photos get used (through Google Image Search)
Reading through the charts and finding out which months had the most revenue and why
These key takeaways help me find and ask the right questions when looking at the charts and monthly statements from my iStock photography portfolio.
Part 1 — Why I Started Selling Stock Photography (And How You Can Too)
Why I Turned Photos into Semi-Passive Income. And how you can start right now.
Part 2 — My Stock Photography Breakthrough (2023–2024) What finally worked after months of slow sales — and how it changed everything.
Part 3 — From $2.36 to $1,166: My Real Stock Photography Income Growth Story. From pocket change to four figures — my real income story.
Part 4 — Stock Photography Lessons And Applications What stock taught me about making content that actually pays off.
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What were your key takeaways from seeing and exploring my iStock data through Deepmeta 4? Let me know in the comments below, and let's spark a conversation.
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