Is Stock Photography Worth It in 2021?
photo by andresr via iStock
If you aren’t already doing stock photography, then you may be wondering whether it will be worth your time to start doing it at all. After all, isn’t the stock photography market already absolutely flooded with photographers? Is it realistic to expect to make money with stock photography in 2021?
Nicole GlassNicole Glass, a photographer who has been doing stock photography for years, thinks that it is. In this video about how to make money in stock photography, Nicole goes over some stock photography tips that will help you to stay on the forefront of this rapidly changing market.
Stock Photography Isn’t “Passive Income”
photo by evgenyatamanenko via iStock
The first problem that Nicole sees with the way people discuss stock photography is the fact that they often refer to it as “passive income.” She thinks this is a huge issue because it could cause people to think that it doesn’t take continuous effort.
Nicole notes that, if you’re serious about stock photography, then you should be spending time every week coming up with stock photography ideas, creating keywords and captions for your photos, and, of course, actually taking and editing photos.
As an example, Nicole notes that she has been participating in stock photography since 2017 and is still only doing it as a part-time job. At her pace, it could take well over a decade before your portfolio is bringing in enough money on its own to really be considered “passive.”
Spend More Time Creating Videos
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Nicole also points out that her stock photography business really took off when she started spending more time taking videos, instead of photos. She says that when she had a few thousand images in her portfolio, she was still taking newsworthy images that followed all of the stock photography trends, and even then she was only bringing in a few hundred dollars a month.
However, when she started taking videos, this number jumped to over $1,000. She doesn’t recommend that photographers looking to get into stock photography in 2021 completely forego still photos, rather that they spend more of their time taking videos instead since this part of the market is newer.
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Use as Many Stock Photography Sites as Possible
photo by Yuri_Arcurs via iStock
Nicole also notes that a lot of photographers make the mistake of only trying to sell their stock photography on one or two microstock websites.
This is a huge mistake for a number of reasons. The first is that, by doing this, you are missing out on a huge potential client pool. Many marketers have their favorite stock photography website that they use on a regular basis and if that website is working for them, then why would they feel the need to go browse other websites? The answer is that they wouldn’t. So, you have to go to them.
Another reason why you should use more than one or two stock photography websites is that it will enable you to keep better track of the stock photography trends, which change daily. Some microstock websites are newer. This means that the photographers on that site are also newer. You’ll likely find more trendy images on these sites, since all of the photographers on them need to keep up to date with the latest and greatest.
Use Your Predictions
photo by BartekSzewczyk via iStock
In a lot of ways, photographers who are participating in stock photography are acting as psychics. You are trying to predict what the next year is going to look like. This could mean that you are taking photos and videos about climate change, senior living, or the housing market.
You basically want to figure out what trends are happening so that you can take photos and videos of them before anyone else.
If you live in a large city, you definitely have a far better chance of succeeding at stock photography because you can go to large events in your area. Political rallies and concerts both provide great footage.
In summary, if you’re really serious about getting into stock photography in 2021, then you need to know that it won’t be an easy way to earn passive income. You’ll still need to keep working at it for years to come. You should also know that you should be spending more of your time focusing on creating video clips, instead of creating still photography.
Finally, you should know that everything you’re creating should be newsworthy since these are the images that are going to be most likely to make you money.
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