What Sells? What works? How do I get started? All questions that must be running through your head if you are here reading this.
First let's dispel a myth.
Are you likely to get filthy rich with stock photography? No! But it can turn into a good hobby and you could make some money. Maybe even one day you could make a decent living. The trick is to keep at it.
What do you need to do?
Go out and take pictures of EVERYTHING! Random, pretty, ugly, wildlife, scenery, and whatever else you see. It is better to have more than less. And take pictures of the same thing at least 5 times. You want to get at least one good picture out of it.
Next. You signup for a stock photography site and start submitting. I have found Shutterstock to be the best.
No matter where you sign up, next comes the uploading.
Then:
Description! Category! Keywords!
Submit!
Now you hurry up and wait. They approve or deny and you once again hurry up and wait for a sale. Much like anything else it can take days or months to get a sale. So how do you up your odds? You submit stuff that sells. What sells? I'll help you with that.
BUNNIES! Bunnies sell. At least that I have found. Although you want clear shots. You see this one? It will get denied for things like film grain and focus. Get a good in-focus bunny shot and I find they sell.
FENCES AND SIGNS! Yeah. I cheated and doubled up. But I've had signs and fences sell. Not sure why people want a fence, but I suppose it is cheaper than putting up an actual fence. Those things are super expensive.
DUCKS! Ducks seem to sell. Not this one as they denied it approval due to focus, yeah they are strict at times, but I've had duck ones sell. A good tip for focus is if you zoom in a bit and it starts to get grainy, then you will probably get denied.
SCENERY! Now this one could take a long while. I've had scenery pics up for months with nothing and then suddenly a few sell here and there. So why not? It helps fill your portfolio and they aren't so hard to get, unless you live in a smoggy city or something.
RANDOM! That is right. If you want to sell on Shutterstock find the most random stuff and slap it up there. You never know what people want. Lots of times they won't buy the pretty pictures. They'll buy a glove on a pipe or...
POOP! Yep. You may look like a crazy person taking shots of dog crap as you walk, but guess what? They sell. I've actually sold literal crap. How many people can say that? I guess farmers and such. Don't burst my bubble.
LOO! Are you sensing a pattern here? Yeah. Humans seemed to be obsessed with potty stuff. I've sold pics of bathrooms too. Not this one as it got denied. Want to guess why? Because you can vaguely see a logo on one. Anything with logos you either have to submit as editorial or they get denied. Good FYI tip there.
FIRE! If things are burning then take pictures. Not if your house is burning down though. Get everyone out first and then take pictures. Hey. You may need them for insurance purposes too. Double win. But yeah, people sure like fire.
TICKS! It is a good idea to take pics of things that cause stuff. Like ticks that cause lyme disease and co-infections. Why? Because people are looking for pictures to use when they write articles about them. Stuff like needles, ticks, fleas, etc. are universal. The more avenues they have to write about them, the more you may sell a picture of such things on Shutterstock or elsewhere.
There is no one stop shop. If there were then everyone would be doing it. It takes lots of time and dedication. If you want to make a huge income, which is possible but not highly probable, then you have to work at it like any other job. But if you are just looking for a hobby on the side that isn't super complicated and may help pay your monthly fee for Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, or whatever other streaming service you use, then stock photography may be for you.
And Shutterstock is a great place to start.
What are you waiting for? Maybe pay that streaming service bill, put good use to your pics, create a hobby, and maybe even make a good chunk of change one day if you keep at it.