It’s a rare photographer who doesn’t want to monetize their talent. After all, the number of downloads and the size of rewards your works receive are the best indicators of your overall success as an artist.
Some artists look for clients on their own, while others prefer to cooperate with media organizations on a regular basis. And one of the ways professional and amateur photographers make money these days is by selling their stock content online. They simply upload their content to dedicated platforms distributing free stock photos. There are also other places where other people can purchase media and use them for their own projects. Try cooperating with different online resources and get your money once your work is sold or downloaded.
As the stock photography market is becoming more competitive and saturated, photographers need to adopt new strategies and techniques to stay ahead of their competitors. If you also want to try your hand at the stock media market, you’re on the right track. Selling your photo and video content can still be a profitable side hustle in 2023 if you go into it with the right mindset and strategies. And today’s quick guide will get you covered.
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Focus on Video
Even if you’re passionate about photography and tend to express your artistic talent exactly through this art form, you still want to give video content a shot. It might be more profitable to upload short video footage to your preferred stock video platforms. Truth is, the earning potential of videos is more impressive than that of photography. So, a good rule of thumb is to always devote some time to creating a video clip of the same concept you’re taking a photo of.
Be in Rare Places
As a photographer, you want to hit the places that other people don’t frequent.
Editorial stock media can be a really lucrative niche. Selling photos and videos of, say, protests, festivals, parades, or political news events can help you earn considerably more. All you need is your equipment and being in the right place at the right time. Lots of organizations, news agencies, bloggers, and website owners need footage of important events they can’t attend themselves. So, if you live or visit the city where something major is going on, don’t hesitate to grab your camera and document it.
Find a New Perspective
It’s easy to visit a popular landmark and create a quick video clip panning left to right. But chances are there might already be plenty of videos and images of that landmark for sale. So, how will you stand out? Sometimes, a little shift in perspective is all you need. If you have a drone and you’re legally allowed to use it in your chosen place, you definitely want to create some nice aerial footage of that landmark. Alternatively, set up your tripod and create a cinematic time lapse of some beautiful location.
Predict the Future
What’s happening in the news next month? If you’re psychic, you have an advantage! But even if you’re not, anyone can do a little bit of predicting just by staying up to date with world affairs. If you can create stock media around something that’s on everyone’s lips, you’re already ahead of your competitors, and your content is likely to have downloads.
Diversify
It’s worth mentioning that to bring a decent monthly income by selling stock you should definitely sign up for a few different platforms. This way, you’ll be able to sell your photos and footage across various places that are frequented by users hungry for exclusive, quality content. By relying on just one or two stock photo websites, you may miss out on a great opportunity to earn more and gain the recognition you deserve. Make sure to spread up content across a variety of different macro-, medium-, and microstock websites that buy and sell images and videos. This will help you establish or boost your web visibility as a photographer and start earning more money.
There is no universal recipe that can help you earn thousands of dollars selling your footage, pictures, or illustrations on stock marketplaces. Still, with these easy recommendations you’ll have more chances of getting coveted downloads and financial reward.
