How to Sell Your Photos as Stock Photography

Selling your photos as stock photography can be a great way to make money. Here is an overview of what stock photography is and how you can get started selling your photos.

What is Stock Photography?

Chances are, you’ve seen some form of stock photography in the last ten minutes. Advertising companies, magazines, and websites use photos to liven up and add content to their media. Most of these images were taken by freelance, amateur, or professional photographers who were not employees of the company.

How Companies Find Stock Photos

The company finds these photos by going to sites such as PhotoShelter.com, typing in the subject they are looking for, and choosing a photo that best fits their needs. They pay a fee to use the photo and the website gets a commission for helping the photographer sell the photo.

How to Sell Your Photos

First, you need to produce photos that will work well for stock photography. Here are some tips:

· Take photos that are “light and airy.” This means that your photos should be full of light and shouldn’t be too full of stuff.

· Keep the background uncluttered or blur the background.

· Keep the subject simple.

· Try to come up with a title for your photo before you take it to keep your focus tight. Some examples are, “Child Blowing Bubbles,” “Children Playing Jax,” or “Dog with Bone.”

· Notice how all of the titles above could be search terms? This is why your pictures need to focused and clear. A buyer will want a photo of exactly what he typed into the search box.

Next, you need to post your images on a well-recognized stock photography site. PhotoShelter.com and Stock.Xchng.com are two good ones. When you upload your photos, you will need to come up with a good caption and keywords to help your photo be found. Read the tips that the site provides because the rules can vary from site to site.

How Much Can You Make?

So, how much money can you make? Well, it depends on who buys the rights to use your photo. Here are some sales averages quoted by PhotoShelter.com:

· Magazine sale: between $150-500 per photo

· Advertising sale: $5,000-$50,000 per photo

· Web usage: around $50 per photo

As you can see, you can make a lot of money from your digital images. So, start taking photos with an eye towards selling them as stock!