stock photos

Posted past & filed nether Travel Photography.

What is Stock Photography?

Stock photography (sometimes called "microstock") is one of the quickest means to get into selling your photos.

It requires no previous feel, and the all-time role is you don't have to exercise any of the actual selling. You upload your photos to agency websites, and they sell them for you, giving you a cut of the sale.

Readers ofttimes write in to ask if information technology's ok to submit the same photo to multiple agencies. And the answer is a large YES.

In fact, information technology's a great idea to "play the field," submitting photos to multiple agencies at the aforementioned time. Doing so can not only increase your sales, simply in the beginning, it will give you a improve idea of which agencies piece of work best for you. Also, this way yous won't have all of your eggs in ane basket, so to speak. Then if i agency changes its payout structure or ceases to be… you still have the other agencies to lean on.

Commencement Steps to Selling Stock Photos

The fox to selling stock photos is knowing what kinds of images will sell. While yous tin sell photos of just most any subject field, from nutrient to health to your daily hobbies and activities… the best-selling photos tend to share certain traits.

The start thing to do when you're just starting out is to take a wait at a few stock agencies and basically act equally a heir-apparent – running a few prototype searches. Call up about the kinds of things you could photo in your life. Maybe that's horses… boats… knitting… whatever it is, search for that thing. Then, sort the photos that come upward by "best-selling" or "most pop" to encounter what they have in mutual.

Take some notes. Usually, photos that sell well equally stock are vivid, simple, iconic, colorful… you'll get a better idea when you have a await.

Side by side, go through your images and cull up to 50 that yous recall would work for stock.

Finally, sign up to a few agencies. I recommend Adobestock, Shutterstock, iStock, and Dreamstime. Signing up is free, and just takes a few minutes. One time you practice, you're set up to laissez passer the test to arrive.

Building a Portfolio

The more than quality images you add to your stock photo portfolios, the better adventure you'll have of making regular sales.

At beginning, while you're learning how to upload your photos and add keywords, building your portfolio can feel slow. But take information technology one step at a time, and keep going. As yous get used to it, information technology gets faster.

Some of your images will be rejected. That's totally normal! It happens to everyone. The best matter yous tin do is to plough it into a learning opportunity. Read the rejection reasons, take an honest look at your photo, and either fix what's wrong, or if you can't fix information technology, brand sure to shoot with that thing in heed next time. The more you pay attention to what the inspectors are telling you, the better your photos skills will go.

The Best Sites for Beginners

Over again, my favorite stock agencies are Adobestock, Shutterstock, iStock, and Dreamstime. These are reputable agencies with a HUGE customer base.

For beginners, I also like to recommend Bigstock. This agency tends to take slightly fewer sales than some of the to a higher place agencies, but it's easier to get into and it'southward a bang-up way to "get your feet wet," learning how everything works.

If y'all outset at Bigstock, you can build a portfolio at that place… and then have the images that are the most pop at Bigstock and apply them to apply to the other agencies in a higher place.

Potential Earnings

People ofttimes say stock photography is more of a marathon than a sprint. And I agree. Little past little, yous build upwardly your portfolios, standing to upload photos as you take them. And as fourth dimension goes past, if you've been paying attention to what sells, adding the right keywords, and fixing any errors that the inspectors brought to your attention, yous should see your earnings increment with time.

How much you make depends on how closely you pay attending to what sells, and how often yous upload images. Information technology could be a simple trickle of a few hundred dollars a calendar month… or a few m. Information technology'south actually upwards to you.

Sending Stock Photos to Multiple Agencies

Here are some mutual reader questions about submitting to multiple agencies, and answers to assist if you lot'd like to showtime doing the same…

Q. Practice you have to get accepted to agencies, offset?

A. Yes. To submit photos to an online stock photograph agency, you usually have to get accustomed equally a contributor, first. Depending on the agency, this can mean passing a test, sending in sample images, or both. Remember that it's normal to get rejected on your starting time — or even second — try. Don't go discouraged. (iStock rejected me three times, and Shutterstock rejected me one time!) Read through the rejection reasons, correct your photos or choose new ones, and try again. Equally professional person stock photographer Shelly Perry says, virtually everyone gets rejected on their first endeavour. Don't surrender!

Q. Can you lot use the same username in different agencies?

A. Yes. I merely utilise my name equally my username in all of my agencies. You don't have to use your name — some people brand upwards nicknames to go with their business relationship. Y'all volition need to sign up for an account under your real proper noun, merely so y'all can cull a name which may exist the same or different across different sites. It's upward to you.

Q. Can yous send the aforementioned exact photos to different sites?

A. Yes. I send the aforementioned exact photos to all of my agencies. Yet, some agencies may differ, and so cheque the contract earlier you sign upward. Likewise, different agencies will accept different photos. I may have ten photos that have already been accustomed into iStock and submit all of them to the rest of my agencies. However, information technology'southward rare that all of the agencies will take all of the photos. Each one has different standards and preferences. On the other hand, if a photo is rejected at iStock, maybe Bigstock, Dreamstime, or some other agency will take it. As long as information technology conforms to their guidelines, information technology's worth a try!

Q. As a beginner, can you actually brand coin at this?

A. Yes. As a Breakfast Stock Club member, your first goal is only $twenty/week. Information technology sounds easy (and when yous compare it to most other professions, it really is) merely when you lot're just starting out, it takes time. In the start you don't accept many photos out there working for you lot, so earnings are typically small. Only continue to build your portfolios, and things get easier. 1 week you'll only have v images out there earning y'all royalties but the next week it'll be x to 15 and the next information technology'll be 20 to thirty. Aim for over 300 in your starting time twelvemonth. You'll selection up speed as your portfolio grows. A few resources, to assistance with the first steps:

Go monthly Challenges, photo reviews, video lessons, and stride-by-step instructions on submitting to agencies, with weekly tips from our Breakfast Stock Club.

Dreamstime's "Stock Rank" game — You lot have to sign up as a member to play and information technology's a great mode to start identifying what'southward saleable. Scout out — it's addicting.

Great Escape Publishing's Plow Your Pictures Into Cash program — Amend your overall picture-taking skills and learn to sell your shots as stock, too as in other markets similar fine art and editorial.

Keep up the momentum — if yous haven't started yet, scope out some agencies… if y'all're just getting started, attempt applying to a few… and if you're already going, keep submitting!

Why? Because traveling and taking photos is what we love to exercise! And when there's an opportunity to make a living doing something we love, those of us who become for it are the ones who will be successful.