Currently, people need more and more unique stock photos. In fact, nowadays, visual communication becomes quite common in digital environment for companies, webpages, and social networks to talk to the audience. Hence, the market calls for special images to capture the audience’s attention and deliver the message of a business organization. Selling stock photos can become a great source of revenue for photographers who have talent and skills in this field. In order to earn more money, photographers should examine the market of stock photos, find a proper stock photo website, create a good portfolio, and use various ways of sales.
Selecting a Suitable Stock Photo Website
To start with, it is crucial for photographers to know that not every stock photo website is profitable. Therefore, one needs to perform a detailed examination to find a website which will suit him or her. At the moment, the following stock photo websites are popular: Shutterstock, iStock, Adobe Stock, and 500px. Each website has its own benefits and shortcomings which should be known.
Shutterstock is one of the biggest online databases for stock photos and it contains more than 200 million images. Moreover, it offers different types of images such as stock photos, vectors, and illustrations. Shutterstock operates with a per-image pricing model that means that every image is sold separately. The minimum payment one receives for Shutterstock images equals $30 that means that ten images should be sold at least to earn this amount of money.
iStock is another stock photo website which offers to sell one’s images for earning money. It uses another type of pricing system that implies tiered payment depending on the quantity of sold images. In addition, it provides users with an opportunity to set flexible prices.
Preparing Your Portfolio
Once a photographer finds a suitable stock photo website, he or she will have to prepare a portfolio and upload the images to sell them. First of all, photographers should upload pictures meeting the requirements of the website and appealing to potential buyers. Generally, photographers should consider the following factors while choosing images:
Composition: Images should be nicely composed;
Quality: Photographers should choose high-resolution images which are free from any artifacts;
Relevance: Photographers should use images which are relevant to the category of the specific website;
Originality: Photographers should use unique images which are very different from other ones.
There are several ways that allow photographers to make a portfolio stand out. First of all, they can edit pictures for enhancement by adding more contrast, color correction, and saturation. In addition, photographers can make their images search-friendly in terms of keywords and description. Photographers can also use their specific aesthetic and style in a portfolio. Finally, they should regularly update their portfolio.
Understanding Stock Photo Licensing
It is essential for photographers to learn more about different stock photo licenses. In general, the majority of stock photo websites offer three types of licenses: royalty-free, rights-managed, and exclusive.
Royalty-free license means that once customers purchase an image, they have a right to use it unlimited times. On the contrary, rights-managed license means that customers purchase a license only for a particular purpose. Although it brings more money for photographers, they significantly limit the usage of their images. Finally, exclusive license implies that photographers retain all rights of a picture. They have an opportunity to sell their pictures for higher prices. However, they cannot sell these images on other websites because they are exclusive.
Photographers need to consider the following tactics to earn more money:
License images via different websites in order to reach more customers;
Competitive pricing
Customized licensing for high-end clients and special purposes;
Negotiations for additional sources of income.
Marketing and Promotion of Stock Photos
While uploading their stock photos to websites, photographers should promote their images. There are several marketing techniques that allow stock photo sellers to promote their pictures. For example, they can promote their images using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Additionally, they can post their articles on blogs and websites where photographs are used. Moreover, photographers can send emails to their audience in order to inform about their promotions. Photogrpahers may also collaborate with other people in order to produce some content using their images. Below there are several recommendations for successful stock photo promotion:
Photographers should optimize their images for search purposes;
Develop a unique brand identity and aesthetic;
Interact with followers actively
Make some promotions and discounts.
Pricing and Revenue Strategy for Maximum Income
In order to increase their incomes, photographers should consider pricing and revenue strategies. The main elements of stock photos’ pricing strategy are the following:
Pricing: Images are competitively priced by photographers according to their value and demand;
Volume: Large volume of sold images;
Diversification: Various revenue sources;
Commission rates: Commission of stock photo website.
Some recommendations which help photographers to improve their pricing and revenue strategies:
Photographers should conduct a market analysis in order to evaluate how much buyers are ready to pay;
Photographers should utilize price explorer to check competitive prices for example, Shutterstock’s Price Explorer;
Set some money aside for expenses;
Regularly change prices.
