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.
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 been downloaded.
Diversify
It’s worth mentioning that to bring a decent monthly income by selling stock you should
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 micro stock 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.