I am trying the "big thing".. I have registered in some stock photos sites to try and make some money out of my photographs. I never tried stock photography (and haven't got a very good camera), but in the forums there you can find many interesting howtos and suggestions to create good stock photos, so maybe I will soon leave my boring IT consultant job ;)

If you want to try yourself, have a look here (NOTE: it's also possible to sell illustrations, not only photos..):

ShutterStock (requires

to send ID to join, and you have to upload 10 photos which are checked by the

admins, if 7 on 10 are not good the account is suspended for 1 month. The

approval team is quite strict. Minimum 5Mp. I am sending 10s of photos, and can't get in. I am not skilled enough... BUT the sales fee are HIGH, I can tell from a guy whom I referred who's earning about 100$/month with about 200 photographs in his gallery! Oh, and it's also possible to sell footage)

Dreamstime (you can immediately upload photos. The approval time is not very short but you have an estimate near each photo. minimum 3Mp. This is the one I see most views on my photos, now also three sales! Sales are slow, though, even if they pay 1$ each.) Minimum payout 100$

Fotolia (you can immediately upload photos. The approval team is not very strict and quite quick. Minimum 2Mp. In this I have a good % of approval, not many views, but is doing well, the biggest number of sales here). No minimum payout but you have a paypal payout fee

123RF (You have to submit 10 test photos. Minimum 4Mp. My % of approval is good, but you can't see how many views your photos have. Not many sales, though.) Minimum payout 100$

IStockPhotos Minimum 2Mp; minimum payout 100$. You have to send ID and pass an approval of 3 test photos (that you have to resubmit later). I am trying with the approval phase now. I'll let you know :)

BigStockPhotos: accepts photos "at least 600px high or wide"

Instead, if you want to join to BUY photographs, here are the links:

Shutterstock

Fotolia

Dreamstime

123rf

Istockphoto

BigStockPhotos

And now some HOWTOs about free software and photography:

To manage keywords: How to edit EXIF data under GNU/Linux

To isolate on white: Bezier Selection with Gimp