Stock photography is often considered a form of “passive income” for photographers with low barriers to entry. But just because it’s like that doesn’t mean it’s easy. A seasoned stock photographer shares some of the mistakes she made when she started out.
Stock photographer and YouTuber Nicole Glass shares her tips on what worked and didn’t work for her over the years of stock photography. Some of the most important tips she shares extend beyond the pre-existing world of photography, such as photographing interesting things. In her video, she shares that the first photo she ever uploaded to a stock photography website was of a flower – a lily to be exact. There are tons of lily pictures out there just do a Google search, and so perhaps the number one thing that gets you noticed is to find something other photographers don’t take or think twice about. content that creators will enjoy. that you can focus on creating and staging a photo to explain a subject or concept instead of just capturing what’s available, says Glass.
Glass shares that she also thinks about stock videos, and while it’s not as popular as stock photography, to her, at least, there seems to be more money in the trade. Especially with the explosion of video content over the past few years, people are paying more for this content than they would for still photography.
Regardless of what you’re doing, it’s important to remember that it’s a hosting photography site. People will buy photos and videos to do their own thing, so watch out for editing, especially in a business where editing (and staging) are big ethical issues, such as newspapers.
Glass shares some other tips that have helped her persevere in the world of stock photography. Click on the video above to hear some more tips on what has kept her going even during difficult pandemic times and in a time when some photos only make a few cents per purchase.
Do you have any photography tips to share? Leave them in the comments below.
