With so many questionable and fraudulent opportunities appearing online every day, it can be difficult to find ways to legitimately make money online. Sure, you can make a few dollars here and there if you're selling stuff on an auction site, but how do you make a real income? If you have an artistic edge and you like photography, one of the ways that you can make money online is by shooting stock photography. Here's a look at the basics of stock photography and what you need to know to produce images that will sell.
What is Stock Photography?
Maybe you've never heard the term, or you've heard of it but aren't quite sure what stock photography really is. Essentially, stock photography is generic photography that is sold at an affordable rate for use in virtually any creative context.
For example, you might shoot food for stock photography that can be used by food bloggers and marketers. If a food blogger is posting a recipe of a specific dish and doesn't have the skills to take the pictures on their own, the blogger might turn to a stock photography agency to buy an image of that dish to use on the blog. The person who buys the image is paying for the right to use that picture for their marketing materials, website, presentations or any other application that they may need it for.
Stock food photography can include anything from basic images of products to staged pictures of people doing specific actions. Office settings, home activities and even basic family interactions can all be used as stock photography options for various applications.
How Do You Earn Money?
When the picture sells on a stock photography platform, the photographer will make a set rate for commission. The rate is usually a percentage of the sale price or a flat rate for certain subscription sales. Most stock photography sites have a set amount of earnings that you must reach before you will receive payment, but the payment terms are clearly defined when you sign up.
What Do You Need to Get Started?
You'll need a quality camera for shooting stock photography. There are a few sites that will accept stock images taken on smartphones, but they must be a specific size and quality. In most cases, there are specific standards set by each stock company to define the image size and the type of camera that they require for images to pass their quality assurance review. Look at a few stock photography sites and review their submission requirements. This will give you an idea of the type of equipment you need to get started. You'll also want to have a few inexpensive light stands, as one of the keys to stock photography that sells is clear, bright pictures.
What Do You Shoot?
The subject matter you shoot for stock photography will greatly depend on the sites where you sell your images. Every stock photography site has specific guidelines detailing the images that they do and do not accept. For example, most stock photography sites no longer accept images of flowers, birds and similar nature pictures because they were overwhelmed with those types of pictures when stock photography first took off.
Think about where your skills are and the types of images people might want. This can mean anything from daily life situations to people in a café or even animals. Any image that could fit a general purpose would qualify as a stock picture.
With the tips presented here, you have a good foundation to understand the basics of stock photography. If you're looking for a way to make money online, this may be a good opportunity for you.
Share2 April 2015
Adoption is a beautiful thing. Raising a child someone else had is a completely unselfish act of love. Do you want to adopt a newborn in the near future but are afraid you won’t have the necessary funds to do so? Consider meeting with an experienced financial adviser. This professional can sit down with you and recommend viable fundraising options. For instance, you might want to take out a loan. Or you may wish to sign up for a grant. Obtaining a tax credit is also an alternative. On this blog, I hope you will discover effective tips to help you raise money for an upcoming adoption.