The industry of commercial photography had been monopolized by few professionals who knew the right influential people in the business,acquired expensive equipment and special training.
The emergence of Stock photography which is all about exploiting online licensed stock images of common landmarks,places,nature,people or events supplied in searchable online databases to fulfill creative assignments delivered online after purchase has rendered the old traditional stock market obsolete.
Anyone with basic photography knowledge and a nice decent digital camera can earn money using their photos.However,in order to bung big bucks with stock photography there are important things you need to know.
Basic tips that will make you a pro in the micro stock industry
Know basics
A lot of people owning a DSLR don’t know how to efficiently use it beyond putting it at auto and using it there at all times.
A vast majority of them get a lucky shot on this mode and think they are good but the truth is this moments are far split between each other and are remarkably few.I can assure you there is more potential to be achieved and outlived in your DSLR if you’d get basic photography training.So seek knowledge in some way through online training,in books or take professional classes in photography and learn the fundamentals of exposure and light.
Inspect for imperfections
The reviewer in micro stock sites inspects every newly submitted image 100% for imperfections.
A photo void of artifacts or noise at a small resolution can have horrible focus when viewed in 100%. However,there is a remedy to prevent or minimize this by using a low ISO setting.more often 100 ISO is best.Also use a tripod for stationary shots to ensure no blurriness from camera shake.Lastly to ensure photo is in full focus choose proper shutter speed and aperture for the subject.It is important you keep in your mind that stock sites value crisp focus spread in the entire image.
Quality keywords and descriptions
Don’t use useless words and jargon the stock photography concept is about online searches and keywords are important in making the client experience better so create brief detailed descriptions review and remove any words that are not reasonably important. However,never use unrelated keywords to increase traffic to your images as sooner or later you might face stern warnings or even worse get banned from the money mint stock photography industry.
Example Use “manicure” / “nail polish” for stock photography of a lady’s hand getting nail polish instead of “femininity”
Consider donating free images
Donate your images to the free section temporarily or permanently as it receives a lot of traffic which might in the long run make your work noticed and highly appreciated
Focus on popular sites
Most of your uploading energy should be focused to popular sites and large networks.The micro stock business is really a number game as averagely a normal photographer earns between one(1) and two(2) dollars per image.so the larger you portfolio the larger the income you rake in
Research
Research and think about most stock photography customers and they want.In my experience the highest clientele are bloggers and designers so some fields and subjects are not commercially viable.hence before starting out,it wont cost a penny to look at what sells and is most downloaded
Stand out
Finally, curve a niche.competition is high in the micro stock business and if you are to make significant sales you need to be peculiar,find a subject to focus on and make a unique style in a niche that has demand.