Photography is a wonderfully creative hobby. One simple picture can send a powerful message and help us to share our thoughts and emotions. With the press of a button, a moment in time is captured that needs no words of explanation.
You may display your photos, share them with family and friends or, if you're lucky, exhibit some of them. However, there is now a way of being recognised and paid for your creative flair in the form of Microstock photography.
Microstock photography is an industry whereby royalty free images are sold at low prices through stock agencies. The images are available for commercial use which makes them particularly appealing to small businesses as well as to individuals. If you give the microstock agencies what they are looking for you, they will display your work on online galleries for customers to view, buy and download. You are paid for each download made. They can be a wonderful outlet for your job, and it gives you the opportunity to enter a market which was once only for professional photographers.
Make a start by researching the market. Some of the big names like Shutterstock, Fotolia, Dreamstime have vast libraries of pictures. Look at what they have to offer. Take note of what themes and ideas have been downloaded the most? Pick a category you're interested in and see what pictures stand out to you? Finding a niche within a genre, you're interested in photographing will hold your enthusiasm and passion.
Five Tips for Success
Two of the most popular themes are business and lifestyle. However, these areas can get saturated, and a lot of what's presently available can be regarded as cliché, so you need to be able to approach it from an original angle.
Revisit all of your photographs and think if and how they could fit into any of the agency categories. What you already have compared with what you find online might spark inspiration.
Start practising using what you've learnt from the results of your research. Think generic - decide what you're going to shoot and see how many categories it could fit into.
Many photographs have a plain background. This makes them popular with some buyers because they want to drop their background or add the copy to your image.
Keep it simple so that it stands out from the rest. Test yourself by scrolling through a list of thumbnail images in the agency galleries. What makes you want to stop and view individual pictures? Is it the colours, the simplicity, the original content ...
If you want to take your hobby to a new level microstock photography can offer you a new challenge which can be rewarding and fulfilling. Why not give it a go?
Christine Ord
See how you can order my ebook, packed full of advice and tips on how to get started in microstock photography at www.howtodothat.co.uk
I've always been interested in how some people create their success by turning their hobbies, skills and talents into earning a healthy living or a better life for themselves. I figure that if you're making money doing what you enjoy it's half the battle and it gives you the drive and energy to learn more
No comments:
Post a Comment