Writers who supply photographs with their articles can earn extra dollars by submitting some of their photographs to Internet stock photography agencies. Payment for a photograph will be fifty cents to five dollars but each one can be sold numerous times and you can work at it when time permits. Photographs can be taken in your home, your community or on vacation.

While working at your stock photography or just shooting photographs for the enjoyment, photographs can also be marketed locally as fine art. The more effort you put into your photography, the more outlets are available for sales. Give a hundred per cent to your work and you can create a pliable business with your digital camera.

Step 1: Equipment required:

"The camera should be capable of at least 6 megapixels-- 8 is better-- preferably a DSLR capable of delivering technically good and noise free images. This will save a lot of headache and frustration when you images are up for review," states Jostein Hauge, aka Joss (www.incredipix.com).

Step 2: Study stock photography websites to learn what is in demand!

When shooting for the stock photography market, you want photographs graphic designers can use for backgrounds, to illustrate magazine articles, company brochures, space ads, websites, and more. Stock photography is very diverse in the subjects buyers' want, from barn board to people. If people are identifiable in the photograph you must submit a signed model release form. Carry one with your camera at all times and do not be afraid to ask people to sign them. Adding the human element to your photographs adds to their sale-ability.

Regularly study the photographs that are downloaded from stock photography websites and it will give you an idea of what sells.

"Stock photography is different than just any regular hobby photography. You'll have to read up on what stock photography is and what is in high demand to be successful. Just pointing your camera at anything you found interesting and submitting it for sale is over. The competition is getting harder and harder and you have to be focused on what you are doing and what the market wants. Read books about the subject as well as articles on the Internet and in magazines," states Josh. Your local library is a good source of books.

Step 3: Locate viable stock companies.

"Microstock" agencies were started on the web and deal with digital files. Search the Internet for stock photography agencies. Two I'm familiar with are: www.canstockphoto.com and www.bigstockphoto.com. For other stock photography companies, be sure to read their requirements before up loading photographs. All agencies have different rules regarding uploads and payment for photographs they sell for you. Some agencies pay when you have sold $30 worth of photographs, others after $50 if you use PayPal, or by cheque if you have more than $100 in sales when you cash out. Also visit: http://istockphoto.com, www.dreamstime.com, www.123royaltyfree.com, www.shutterstock.com, www.fotolia.com.

Step 4: Check quality of photograph required.

In stock photography, the most common rejections are for basic technical reasons like the file size is too small. Minimum 2000 x 1500 pixel images are required. That's a 3 mp file. Images that contain copyrighted logos and protected material are probably the most common reason for rejections. Following that, soft focus issues and compression artifacts are other reasons.

Photographers could protect their upload ratios a great deal simply by checking their file size and inspecting the entire image at hundred percent actual pixels. "It is unfortunate that so many photographers miss this important post-processing step before submitting images to stock sites such as www.canstockphoto.com," commented Kerry of Canstockphoto. Canstockphoto has a list of ten very detailed ways to avoid rejections. Study magazines, looking at ads and articles; the majority of these photos will have come from stock agencies.

Step 5: Submit your best photographs.

"When you submit your application to join the chosen site, make sure you send your very best images for the initial review. Have someone more experienced look at them and give you some advice before submitting. If you are not careful, you might get rejected and will not be able to submit another application for quite some time," commented Josh.

Step 6: Ways to expand your photography sales.

You need a portfolio of professional quality photos of local scenes to sell fine art. Subjects they can cover are scenic compositions of lakes, bridges, mountains, historic buildings, parks, churches, local restaurants, etc. Sometimes local libraries or businesses are willing to display your photography for a percent of sales. Love what you do, it will show in your work.

"Be open to critique. I find that as photographers we are quite sensitive about our work-- at least I was when I started out and probably still am! Having someone more experienced look at your work is very valuable. Also after being accepted on a stock photo site you will learn lots from your rejected images-- and believe me-- you will get rejections. Don't let this discourage you-- keep learning from it and go foreword from there. Some rejections you won't understand till later and some you will never understand. Use your imagination: create interesting and original images with a clear message," says Jostein Hauge (www.incredipix.com).

Joan Airey is a freelance writer and photographer from Rivers, Manitoba, Canada.

Sponsored links

Ring binders

 

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!

How to find a book publisher

Home

Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007 Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
Please contact the authors if you'd like to reprint articles on this site.  All copyrights are retained by original authors.  And plagiarizers will be rounded up, handcuffed, and stuck into a very small and humid room wherein they must listen to Barney sing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song over and over again.

writers writing software