Advice for starting stock footage / library images.

Hey all,

I've been working professionally as a videographer for several years now, primarily commercial work, drone footage, branded content, and video production through my own media company. I shoot a lot of varied content across different locations and scenarios, and I've been thinking it might be worth building out a stock/library footage side to the business.

I'm looking at platforms like Getty, Pond5, and Shutterstock, but I'm still getting my head around how the whole thing works from a contributor standpoint.

In terms of content, I'm torn between two directions: sports footage (action, movement, high-energy stuff) or iconic landmarks and travel locations that have consistent search demand.

A few things I'd love to get input on from people who've actually done this:

1. How do you actually get started as a contributor? Is the approval process difficult, and are there meaningful differences between platforms?
2. Exclusivity vs. non-exclusivity — is it worth going exclusive with one platform, or spreading across multiple?
3. Is there a minimum viable library size before it starts generating meaningful income?
4. Sports vs. landmarks — which has better ROI in your experience, or is there a third angle I'm not considering?
5. Any gotchas to know about regarding model releases, property releases, and editorial vs. commercial licensing?