Stock photography

[Lesco]

Ive just been reading an interesting thread on here about stock photography, and a book that is out on the subject on Amazon, Im a little confused, so my question is:

What is your interpritation of "Stock Photography"? Is it just a memory card full of different photos about no subject what so ever, or is there a specific theme to them?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice

 

[Pookeyhead]

Buy the book then

Look at different stock libraries.. Alamy, iStock, Getty etc, see what stuff they sell. They all cater for different needs. Read their conditions of sale too. Some take a larger cut than others, and some demand exclusivity of rights, so you can't use them anywhere else once accepted.

Most demand very, very high quality in the images, so if you're a shoot random stuff and play with sliders in Lightroom kind of person... forget it.

You won't get rich... in fact, unless you have many many thousands of images in stock you won't even make a living out of it. If you have a few hundred in there, and they are commercially viable, and ageless, then you may get a a small sideline income from it.... beer money really.

Avoid shooting anything with brands, trademarks, or identifiable people/products, as they won't sell.. and in most cases, can't be sold.

Avoid shooting stuff that dates quickly... so fashions, cars (unless it's already something regarded as classic), especially computer gear and technology... it has limited life.

Do more research on the subject.

 

[Lesco]

Thanks David thats really intresting stuff, I will buy the Kindle book as its only a couple of quid and should be an interesting read, tbh I wasnt looking to make a living out of this as I have a good job that I would never give up but if I could do some "beer money" as you stated that would be cool.

Thanks again for your reply sir

 

[chris warren]

Buy the book then

Look at different stock libraries.. Alamy, iStock, Getty etc, see what stuff they sell. They all cater for different needs. Read their conditions of sale too. Some take a larger cut than others, and some demand exclusivity of rights, so you can't use them anywhere else once accepted.

Most demand very, very high quality in the images, so if you're a shoot random stuff and play with sliders in Lightroom kind of person... forget it.

You won't get rich... in fact, unless you have many many thousands of images in stock you won't even make a living out of it. If you have a few hundred in there, and they are commercially viable, and ageless, then you may get a a small sideline income from it.... beer money really.

Avoid shooting anything with brands, trademarks, or identifiable people/products, as they won't sell.. and in most cases, can't be sold.

Avoid shooting stuff that dates quickly... so fashions, cars (unless it's already something regarded as classic), especially computer gear and technology... it has limited life.

Do more research on the subject.

There is isn't the money in Stock as there was, there are better ways to "beer money" with less hassle, ie no keywording etc etc

The chances are, the author is making more from the book, rather than shooting Stock, - selling a dream ?

 

[Pookeyhead]

That's possibly true. There is still money to made from stock though. I know several people who do. You have to be very prolific though, and know the markets. It's not EASY money, no... you need to b able to make every image count, or you're wasting your time, and working for peanuts.

 

[HoppyUK]

A professional photographer once told me, that the easiest way to make money out of photography was to teach people how to make money out of photography. Everyone thinks it's easy. Hope that book isn't too expensive, because your new business will already be running at a loss