Photographers – Make Extra Money With Stock Photos

Making money with your camera can happen in a number of ways. Most people think of a professional photographer and the first thing that comes to mind is taking pictures of people, such as portraits. Another way to make money is through event photography, the most common of which is weddings. But you can also make money with stock photography. You just have to follow a few simple guidelines, find a place to submit your photos, and start collecting your paychecks. Of course, that is a bit oversimplified, but you can make money in stock photography even if you have a cheap DSLR camera.Rule #1: Take pictures that sell.The reason this is rule number one is because it is the most important points about selling stock photography. Think about it. Would you pay for a basic snapshot? Of course not. This is true for just about all folks who buy pictures from stock photo websites. You have to think like a photo buyer.People who search stock photos are looking for specific concepts. Men and women in business situations generally sell very well. Pictures of individuals in successful postures and with recognizable props also are very popular. There is one photo that has shown up everywhere on the Internet. It is a simple picture of a young woman sitting on the floor with her legs crossed in front of her laptop computer. Her hands are raised as if in victory, and she has a huge smile on her face. If you had taken that picture and submitted it to some stock photography websites, you would be cashing checks on a weekly basis.

Other images that do well are pictures of travel. Recognizable places such as the White House in Washington DC, the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and any number of other such famous places can do very well if your picture is a little bit different than all the others. Find a way to stand out from the crowd, whether it is a different perspective or a unique composition.Rule #2: Get the keywords right.You cannot sell a photograph if no one sees it, no matter how good it is. When people look for stock photography they generally type in certain keywords to find pictures that fill a very specific purpose. Therefore, when you upload your photos, make sure that you have a number of keywords that are relevant to your pictures. A good rule of thumb is to use six simple questions: who? What? Why? When? Where? How?Rule #3: No noise.Even though you can make lots of money with stock photography, competition is definitely tough. Your images must be technically correct. One of the things that will cause your picture to be denied is too much image noise. Before submitting any photographs, make sure you check each image at 100% magnification or even higher. Look for digital image noise. In most cases if there is a little bit of noise, you can correct it with some image processing software. If the noise is excessive, discard the picture.

Rule #4: Know the legal pitfalls.If you submit pictures of people, and their faces are recognizable, you must have a model release from each person in the picture. Stock photography companies are extremely strict about this rule. You also cannot submit pictures that have trademarks and logos in them. For legal purposes it is better to err on the side of caution.Since people are one of the most popular subjects in stock photography, you will definitely want to include them in some of your pictures. You must get them to sign a model release and keep that in your files. Street photography is a big seller, but without the model release, no stock photography company will accept your photo.Carry your digital camera with you everywhere. The best pictures often come at surprising times. However, if you are planning to be a stock photographer, you will also want to orchestrate your photos in addition to capturing those surprise photo opportunities.