Did you ever wonder where editors and designers get the photographs they use in their publications? Some are taken by their own staff photographers, others come from photographers hired for a specific assignment.
A huge supply of images for this type of use comes from stock photography, and the good news is that anyone with a decent camera and some talent can be a stock photographer! Getting Started First of all you should spend time visiting some of the major stock photography agencies on the internet.
The two I submit my work to are iStockPhoto and Shutterstock.
Each has their own criteria for membership and image submission.
Browse the sites in order to get a feel for what makes a good, marketable stock image in terms of subject matter, composition, image quality, etc.
Submit only your best work, and do not submit pictures of your pets, the neighbors flower bed, and other subjects that will have limited commercial use.
Too many rejected photos can result in your account being closed by the agency.
A digital camera (preferably a DSLR) that can produce photographs of 8 megapixels or more is highly recommended.
Also image editing software such as Photoshop is essential in order to make your digital photos ready for submission.
Take the time to learn your camera and software thoroughly before you begin submitting images to the stock agency.
How It Works Here's an example of how I made $174 so far on a single stock photo.
A while back I made a photograph of a single piece of coal isolated on a white background, and I submitted this image to iStockPhoto.
Each time this image is purchased and downloaded I am paid a commission, the amount of which varies with the size of the image downloaded.
So far this picture has sold over 100 times.
It is absolutely critical that you keep your submission pipeline filled with fresh material constantly! Selling stock photos is a numbers game.
A portfolio of 25 pictures is not going to generate much income, but imagine how much extra cash you could earn if you had 500 images for sale and a good many of them were selling like my single piece of coal.
You will soon discover that you won't get rich selling stock photos, but you can generate a nice supplemental income if you are willing to do the work.
Finding your niche When you first get started in stock photography you might be tempted to submit just about everything that you shoot in terms of subject matter.
That shotgun approach might work in the beginning, but the key to selling stock in my opinion is to find a niche or two and concentrate your efforts there.
For example, when I first began I concentrated on studio lit still life images such as apples, vegetables, kitchen ware, and the like.
I quickly realized that although my images were being regularly accepted by my stock agencies of choice I was seeing very few sales.
There are thousands of images already available of the very same subjects I was shooting, so I decided to go a different way.
I chose three particular subject categories on which I would concentrate my efforts.
These are railroads, ships that sail the Great Lakes, and cityscapes of my home town of Cleveland, Ohio.
My sales have increased and my work load has decreased since I became much more selective in terms of what I photograph and submit.
Between the two agencies I work with I have around 220 images available for sale.
Some have never sold, others sell quite well.
My goal is to have 1000 stock photos in my portfolio at a minimum.
You can view my portfolios at iStockPhoto and Shutterstock by clicking these links.
Also, you can view the single piece of coal referenced above here.
Another way to go You might find a market for your low commercial value photographs among general retail buyers by offering you work through an online agency such as Fine Art America.
Here you can offer any of your images for sale, and the company can provide framing, matting, everything required to fulfill your orders and deliver a ready to hang product to your buyers.
Best of all, you can get started for free if you want to take a test drive.
In conclusion Success in stock photography takes commitment and effort.
Generally there is not a lot of monetary return on any single photograph, but a large, well structured stock portfolio can bring a pretty nice supplemental income if you are willing to do the work.
A huge supply of images for this type of use comes from stock photography, and the good news is that anyone with a decent camera and some talent can be a stock photographer! Getting Started First of all you should spend time visiting some of the major stock photography agencies on the internet.
The two I submit my work to are iStockPhoto and Shutterstock.
Each has their own criteria for membership and image submission.
Browse the sites in order to get a feel for what makes a good, marketable stock image in terms of subject matter, composition, image quality, etc.
Submit only your best work, and do not submit pictures of your pets, the neighbors flower bed, and other subjects that will have limited commercial use.
Too many rejected photos can result in your account being closed by the agency.
A digital camera (preferably a DSLR) that can produce photographs of 8 megapixels or more is highly recommended.
Also image editing software such as Photoshop is essential in order to make your digital photos ready for submission.
Take the time to learn your camera and software thoroughly before you begin submitting images to the stock agency.
How It Works Here's an example of how I made $174 so far on a single stock photo.
A while back I made a photograph of a single piece of coal isolated on a white background, and I submitted this image to iStockPhoto.
Each time this image is purchased and downloaded I am paid a commission, the amount of which varies with the size of the image downloaded.
So far this picture has sold over 100 times.
It is absolutely critical that you keep your submission pipeline filled with fresh material constantly! Selling stock photos is a numbers game.
A portfolio of 25 pictures is not going to generate much income, but imagine how much extra cash you could earn if you had 500 images for sale and a good many of them were selling like my single piece of coal.
You will soon discover that you won't get rich selling stock photos, but you can generate a nice supplemental income if you are willing to do the work.
Finding your niche When you first get started in stock photography you might be tempted to submit just about everything that you shoot in terms of subject matter.
That shotgun approach might work in the beginning, but the key to selling stock in my opinion is to find a niche or two and concentrate your efforts there.
For example, when I first began I concentrated on studio lit still life images such as apples, vegetables, kitchen ware, and the like.
I quickly realized that although my images were being regularly accepted by my stock agencies of choice I was seeing very few sales.
There are thousands of images already available of the very same subjects I was shooting, so I decided to go a different way.
I chose three particular subject categories on which I would concentrate my efforts.
These are railroads, ships that sail the Great Lakes, and cityscapes of my home town of Cleveland, Ohio.
My sales have increased and my work load has decreased since I became much more selective in terms of what I photograph and submit.
Between the two agencies I work with I have around 220 images available for sale.
Some have never sold, others sell quite well.
My goal is to have 1000 stock photos in my portfolio at a minimum.
You can view my portfolios at iStockPhoto and Shutterstock by clicking these links.
Also, you can view the single piece of coal referenced above here.
Another way to go You might find a market for your low commercial value photographs among general retail buyers by offering you work through an online agency such as Fine Art America.
Here you can offer any of your images for sale, and the company can provide framing, matting, everything required to fulfill your orders and deliver a ready to hang product to your buyers.
Best of all, you can get started for free if you want to take a test drive.
In conclusion Success in stock photography takes commitment and effort.
Generally there is not a lot of monetary return on any single photograph, but a large, well structured stock portfolio can bring a pretty nice supplemental income if you are willing to do the work.
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