Making money through stock photography begins with understanding the fundamental details of the stock photography business. Nowadays, people from different parts of the world with different levels of photography skills, including experts, stock agencies, hobbyist fans, and even people who take photos with their iPhones, are all jumping into this interesting world.
If you’re new and want to earn some bucks while fulfilling your hobby, here are some tips for you on how to sell photos online.
1. Pick Your Subjects Wisely
Consider who might like your photos and choose subjects matching their interests. It’s best to go for photos many people like and want.
A good way to learn what people want is to look into what kinds of photos are trendy. You can check how often certain photography styles are searched for. Some examples of things to take pictures of are people, food, buildings, and nature. Consider who might enjoy your pictures.
2. Pay Attention to How You Use Light and Arrange Things
Learn basic photography tricks to make your pictures look clear, focused, and nice. Think about the light and the arrangement of things that can make your subject look even better.
When arranging things, remove anything that doesn’t matter so your subject stands out. You can do this by getting closer to the subject or making the background blurry. Also, you can follow the “rule of thirds” to put your subject in a good spot.
3. Make Your Website
The best spot to sell photos online is your website. With your own website, you have total control over your pictures and sales. You can decide how much to charge, how your pictures are shown, and set any terms and conditions around your work. The most important factor is – You keep 100% of the money you make from selling your pictures.
When you create a WordPress website, you can customize your site with various plugins like FooGallery, which enhance the look and feel of your gallery. It attracts a wide audience with features like Lightbox, Video support, multi-level filtering, and much more.
4. Pick the Right Keywords and Explain Well
Using the right words and explaining things is part of making your photos easy to find on search engines (like Google). Making your photos good for search engines will help them show up better when people look for them. They’ll also show up in the right categories or groups.
Choose a simple but clear title. Describe what the picture is all about and put the important keywords in the title and the description.
5. Share Your Photos on Social Media
Social media is a good way to show your pictures to people and get them to buy. Make a profile on social media to show off your best pictures. Use hashtags to help more people see them, and talk to your followers to get them interested. Make accounts on different social sites to reach more people and show your work to different groups.
Also, think about using sponsored posts to advertise your pictures. These are posts you pay for to show to certain groups of people. You can use programs like Instagram Ads and Pinterest Ads to do this.
6. Expand Your Collection
At first, it’s smart to concentrate on one main type of picture. But as time goes on, having various photos can help more people find your work and buy it. Trying out different types of photos can also make you better at taking pictures.
When you create pictures in different styles and types, more people who like different things will see your work. And here’s another idea: making videos can also add more variety to your work.
7. Add New Pictures Often
Adding new pictures to your collection regularly is a good way to ensure your portfolio stays updated and you get better at taking pictures.
When you keep giving people new pictures, more of them might want to buy your work. This is because they can see you always take good pictures. If you do this often, people might even begin to know your style and look for it on purpose.
8. Make Your Pictures Better
People who buy stock photos want them to be even better than the ones they take themselves. So, it’s a good plan to use special computer programs to make your photos look great. Sometimes, you might need to change your pictures to make them clear and high-quality.
9. Know Your Legal Rights and Duties
Make sure your pictures are allowed to be sold. For instance, it shouldn’t break any copyright rules. If your picture shows people or things that are easily recognizable, you need to get special permission before you sell it. Also, if you took the picture as part of your job or were paid by someone else, you might not own the rights to the picture.
Conclusion
That’s it! Now you know how to leverage your passion and earn from it. Considering these nine essential tips, you can easily start selling images online. And remember that you may face some problems in generating income from the very start, but don’t lose hope; keep hustling and keep clicking the best pictures and you can make a name for yourself.
