Freelance photography is an exciting career and it is all about taking good photographs and selling them. If you want to be successful at selling stock photography then you must take time to carefully study which photos are more marketable and selling over and over again.
What is Stock Photography?
Stock photography is a term used to describe a stock of existing photographs that may be licensed for specific uses. Clients who purchase stock photography include publishers, magazines, advertising agencies, filmmakers, web designers, and graphic artists.
This is great if you are in the freelance photography business. When you take some photographs those photos become a part of your "stock", and as the copyright holder you can license your images over and over again.
Which Stock Photos Sell The Most?
If you want to sell your stock photos through stock agencies and microstock sites, or by approaching publishers and other users directly, then you need to know which photos are in demand and selling more.
Start by studying the portfolios of the top photographers at each of the major stock photography sites. Most microstock sites make it very easy to browse the most popular photos or the top portfolios.
Next, study the images in magazines, newspapers, and websites to find out what is currently being purchased by publishers.
There is always a good demand for stock photography in the following categories:
- Business related, e.g. businessmen, businesswomen, businesspeople, sales performance charts.
- People enjoying life: a family at the beach or on vacation.
- Gadgets: computers, keyboards, Mp3 players, cameras.
- Children.
- Unique locations and destinations.
Stock photos that sell well often show how things would be in an ideal world. Shots of happy, attractive people sell better. Images full of color that portray some beautiful aspect of world will outperform others.
Now go out and take some high-quality photographs that match those buying patterns. While you don't want to copy another photographer's images, you can of course be inspired by them!
Working as a Freelance Photographer
If you love photography and have not yet started working as a freelance photographer, this is a great time to get started.
One week you might be shooting some new images to build up your collection of stock photography. The next you might be working on assignment for a large corporation. And on another time you might be shooting photos for a magazine article or travel publication.
The freelance photography industry is booming. Not only is there good money in photography, but working as a freelancer offers you incredible flexibility and a great lifestyle.
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