Can you take good pictures with your mobile or digital camera? Do you enjoy doing it? Well, then there is more you can do with your pictures than upload them to Facebook and Instagram.
Creative people usually enjoy more than one creative pursuits. In fact it serves a very important purpose of boosting the overall creativity of an artist. Photography is one such popular hobby that many like to indulge in. But now there is something that will inspire you even more to pursue this favoured pastime.
There are websites, and phone apps, who ask people to submit images to them so that they can sell them further and give you a commission every time an image sells. A popular image can get sold numerous times to different people, and in this way make you a recurring income for a long time. These websites where you can upload your pictures and get paid whenever your work gets downloaded are called Stock Photography websites.
What Is Stock Photography
Photographs are a sought after commodity for so many purposes. People need high quality photographs for many reasons. For example, someone is doing a product shoot and needs a photograph of a woman eating health food. Now he in order to create an original copyrighted photograph this person will have to find a photographer, a model, a stylist, a location, makeup, etc.
But stock photography websites change all of this. There are hundreds of photographers contributing all kinds of images to these websites and some one who needs an image can choose from thousands of variations to find one that suits hime the best, at a fraction of what it would cost him to make that image himself.
Does this mean that only professional photographers can do this work? Not really.
Everyday pictures of everyday subjects are very much in demand as well. Not everyone is looking for images from a photoshoot. People are looking for images fro blog posts, flyers, poster, cards and so much more.
What You Need To Do…
“You need to take good quality and interesting pictures. While the images have to be of high quality, you will be surprised at how simple some of the most popular photographs are.”
They are everyday pictures that you could take yourself.
There are many interesting opportunities around you to take pictures. Some of the most sought after photographs belong in categories like food, people, nature, animals, tools, cars and you name it. In fact you might already home some pictures that you can upload right away.
Look at the collage below. These are some pretty straightforward but high quality images that have made quiet a bit of money online. The thing to remember is that you might not get paid much each time your image is downloaded. But since that image has the potential to be downloaded multiple times by different people, your earnings from that image will grow.
What kind of photos can you take?
Photo opportunities are everywhere. All kinds of photos sell because all kinds photos are required.
So whether you are taking pictures of snow-covered slopes on the Alps, or the tools in your garage, they are money making pictures. Following are some of the popular categories that can sell pictures in.
- Lifestyle Family – Couples – Pierced – Activities – Sporty – Ethnic.
- Holiday and Seasonal Themes A great demand all year round for picture on the subject of Halloween, Easter, Christmas, festivals, summer, fall and everything in between.
- People in Groups A family, a sports team, a group of girlfriends out for a night on the town.
- Concept Images Images that portray a concept or a human emotion such as fear, foreboding, teamwork, heartache, surprise, success.
- Sports Skateboarding, skating, skiing, cycling, hiking, golf, badminton, even camping. Get pictures of the activity itself or even just the gear!
- White-Collar Well dressed professionals like bankers, salespeople, accountants, CEOs, secretaries, teachers, lawyers.
- Blue-Collar Construction workers, electricians, utility workers, police officers, firefighters, machinists, Baker’s etc.
- Food and Beverages Pictures of food, dishes, food related items and ingredients are in high demand.
- Antiques One of the most popular categories of pictures selling online.
- Car Parts Bumpers, side mirrors, Windows, Tyres, Under the hood etc.
- Fashion A high moving category for stock photos with a large demand. And you have a lot of options. Click a great dress, a great pair of shoes, an interesting wardrobe, some one fashionable or funkily dressed.
- Zoo Shots Most zoos or require permission to take commercial photographs. But wild animal pictures are highly sought after.
How This Works…
You do not have to bother with ’selling’ your photos. All you have to do is click a picture and upload it. The rest happens by itself.
Photographs are the most popular commodity online today.They are the most downloaded and bought assets online. Millions of photographs like you are paid for their pictures every single day.
“Just ONE photograph can get downloaded hundreds of times and continue to make you money month after month…!”
There are several stock photography websites that encourage users to upload their pictures. There is an approval process where you are required to upload 3 – 5 images first before creating your account. Once these images meet the criteria of clarity and quality, you can start uploading other images. Every time you upload images they will have to go through an approval process.
Out favourite stock photography website is Shutterstock, although there are many more popular ones like:
- Fotolia,
- Dreamstime,
- Getty Images,
- iStock,
- Stocksy and
- ShutterPoint,
- 123RF.
How To Click The Right Pictures…
If you have not delved in stock photography before, the biggest challenge you will face is clicking pictures that get approved by the stock photography websites. We like to suggest starting with Shutterstock for 2 reasons.
One, they help you understand what is really required from your pictures. Not only do they have a comprehensive help section that helps you understand how to take stock worthy images, but whenever your upload pictures that have quality issues, they let you know what those issues are so you can fix them next time.
Second reason for choosing Shutterstock is that they see a lot of traffic, being a very popular stock photography website. So your approved images start seeing exposure fast getting downloaded.
They also have subscription download plans for their subscribers which encourages them to download more.
In summary, you have to watch out of the following things when submitting your pictures to stock photography websites:
1) Exposure. The subject and the picture must be properly lit. Dark, underexposed or over exposed pictures will not work.
2) Noise. Clicking in low light, using a mobile phone camera, not using a good quality camera, using a high ISO speed can all create noise in the pictures. Avoid this by using a good camera and shooting in good light.
3) Framing. Make a good frame. It shouldn’t be cropping objects on the fringes and the subject / scene you are photographing should be properly captured. Maintain the relevance of what you are clicking and avoid taking too many unrelated objects in the same frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does it cost anything to upload the pictures? No, it does not. You can upload all your pictures free of any cost.
- Can anyone join the websites? Yes. Some times you will have to submit 3 – 5 sample pictures during sign-up.
- What skills and information do I need? Some kinds of photographs are not accepted. There are other categories that do extremely well. The ‘Secret Images’ bonus is included in the “Paid To Take Pictures”.
- How many pictures do I need to upload? This is up to you. You can start with a handful. Even a single image can make you money. But you will have a better chance of greater success with a larger portfolio. Have a collection of hundred or more pictures online and you can earn a great recurring income every month.
- How much money can I earn? Subscription download can pay $0.10 per download. This amount will increase after you have sold a few picture. For regular downloads, you can earn anything between $1.5-$7. Premium and special downloads earn 10 times and more than that.
- Do I need professional knowledge? You don’t have to be a professional. You will need to take good quality pictures.
- Do I need a special equipment? No. Just your digital camera or even mobile phone. You can download the free apps for your Android, iOS and Windows devices, and you can click and upload your images directly from your mobile devices as well.
If this works interests you, check out this subscription based service. They have a free trial.
I have black & white and coloured pencil sketches and want to sell and get order so that make and give.