Do you like taking pictures? How would you like to be able to learn how to make money from photography? Stock photos can be big sellers if you know how to take a great photo.
You don’t have to have an expensive camera to enter this passive income route. People use not only regular cameras but also their smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices.
We’ll show you how to make money from photography and turn your hobby into a source of passive income.
All it takes is a little understanding about what people are looking for and what the artist needs to do. The best part is that you can do all your work from the comfort of your home!
How to make money from photography with Stock House
So how can you make money from your photography? basic:
There is a whole niche demand in the world looking to quickly find images and license them for advertising purposes or for their own use.
Just look at the images of any brochure, product, advertisement or website. Most likely almost none of them were captured by traditional professional photographers.
Alternatively, it may have been taken by amateurs or semi-professionals with a hobby of photography, and then licensed as a stock image.
A “stock image” or “Small stock photos“ It is a photo that is taken and then used for multiple purposes.
While a magazine might hire a photographer to take specific photos of a model or clothing for one of their features, a stock photo does the opposite.
People are already buying what you’ve created
The artist takes the photo (of a beautiful sunset, for example). That image is then uploaded to a stock photo house that then acts as an intermediary for potential customers to use that image.
As you can imagine, an image can be used once, ten times, or perhaps thousands of times. As the photographer of that photo, you can get paid every time your photo is used.
What you need to do to get started with your photo gallery
The first thing you need to do to start making money with stock photography is take some pictures!
Most stock photo companies want examples of great photos from potential contributors. They will want to see your work before they accept you as a contributor.
Get out and take some great shots. Read a Great article on photography for beginners If you feel you need to.
When determining technical requirements for photographs, read the requirements in the submission guidelines of the sites you want to submit to. We’ll talk more about that later.
But for now, just focus on taking great photos.
Tip: You don’t necessarily need an expensive camera to take stock photos. If you already have one, great! But if you have a good phone camera, this may solve the problem as well.
Check out some of the photo sites listed here for camera requirements.
What kind of photos should you take?
Stock photography companies typically sell mostly pictures of things that happen in real life:
- Man working on his computer
- Friends having dinner
- A parent playing with a child
- Woman in doctor’s office
- Great shots of weather and nature
- Home and living shots
- Sports shots
Stock photo buyers are often people who have websites that talk about real-life things like people, business, lifestyle, education, etc.
Landscape photos can also work, but they usually sell better if there are people in the shot. The exception: Great landscape shots can make great sales.
Note: If you submit photos of people, most photography companies will want those people to sign releases allowing those photos to be used. Keep this in mind when submitting images for consideration.
If you use your minor children in your photos, you are responsible for signing a lease.
Where you should shoot
Where should you take these photos? Anywhere people go regularly. Picnics, festivals, holiday destinations and parks.
Take pictures at the doctor’s office while your child’s height and weight are being evaluated. Or measure their blood pressure.
Take pictures of your child exercising. Or watch a butterfly. Swimming at the beach.
Or anywhere you can get a great shot of nature or weather.
You get the picture (pun intended). As I mentioned earlier, photographing real people in real places translates into images that tend to get the most sales.
Where should you send your photos (most popular photo companies)
There are some companies that are more popular than others when it comes to people buying stock photos. Some companies will offer your stock photos for free.
But you’re in this to make money, so you want companies that will pay you. Here are some of the most popular stock photography companies.
Remember to take a look at each site’s terms and conditions before signing up. This is important so you know what the application requirements are and how you will get your money.
Make sure to compare payment rates and terms between companies. Don’t sign up to be an exclusive contributor unless you’re absolutely sure you want to license images from only one of these sites.
You may find it more profitable to partner with several and distribute your work across different channels.
How much can you expect to do?
How much money you make selling photographs depends on a few different things.
- How amazing are your shots
- The number of snaps you send (the more, the better)
- How attractive/defining your shots are.
People who buy stock photos want photos that their readers can recognize. The more snaps you send, the more chance you have of people buying your photos. Of course, quality is important.
After all, people will use these images on business websites.
You, the photographer and the stock house, earn income every time a client licenses the image.
Depending on the fees and rates negotiated between all parties involved, you will likely be able to generate a very good residual income.
In fact, Shutterstock paid shareholders a total of $115 million in 2016 alone.
This is proof that good photographers can make passive income through stock photography.
Make money while you sleep
The really cool part about this whole strategy is that once the image is uploaded to the stock, anyone can view or download it at any time of the day or night.
So, in theory, if your portfolio is really good and you have a great selection of images to choose from, You could wake up one morning with an extra $10, $100, or even $1000+ in your bank account. The possibilities are there!
This is true passive income at its best. You put in a little work up front, and with the right steps the money starts flowing.
Remember these tips
Before you go ahead and upload your entire digital photo library into a vault for the world to use, there are a few things you should know.
Not every image will be cropped
Stock houses will only want to put the best of the best in front of their clients.
Therefore, the images must be of the highest quality and contain some useful aspect from the client’s point of view; Not necessarily because you think it’s “good.”
Stock photography companies have the power to control which photos are accepted and which ones are not. However, they are usually great at providing feedback to contributors.
As a contributor, take note of the feedback you get. Use it to take better photos next time.
Over time, you’ll discover which types of photos you post get sales, and which ones don’t.
This will help you learn more and more about the types of images that sell best. You can use this information to post more attractive photos.
Pay attention to copyright agreements
Not all stock houses will offer the same terms for your collection of photographs.
Before registering, make sure you read the fine print and understand the rights you will have as an artist in relation to the images.
You don’t want to get into a situation where you personally aren’t allowed to use the image for your own use just because you uploaded it to the site. Make sure you understand the legalities before committing.
A common mistake is to photograph scenes that contain other company logos, such as Cola cans, etc.
You will not have control over the image
It is important to understand that you will not be able to control how the image is used.
Let’s say you are a man who uploads a gorgeous snapshot of his beautiful wife. There is nothing preventing an advertiser from licensing the image for use in a domestic violence advertising campaign.
This may cause you some embarrassment when your neighbor sees your wife’s picture on the cover of an advertisement about domestic violence.
The point? Know and expect that your photos can be used anywhere. Stock photo companies have strict rules about what images can be used for.
They usually don’t allow images to be used for anything inappropriate. However, this does not mean that everyone will necessarily follow these rules.
As in the scenario above, your photo may be used appropriately, but in a way that may embarrass you.
summary
If you have a knack for taking great photos, you can make some money through stock photography.
And face it; It wouldn’t hurt to try. If your photos are rejected by companies, you will only have time left.
But if they are accepted, you could find yourself earning some serious passive income.
Have you ever tried selling stock photographs? If so, what is your experience? Feel free to share it in the comments section.
