Microstock Photography
You don't have to be a great photographer or have an expensive camera to earn money from your hobby. By submitting your photos to microstock photography websites you can create a regular income. Microstock photo sites sell your images to advertising agencies, film makers, web designers, graphic artists and other organisations for use in their creative assignments. Having tried various stock photo sites, the one I've had most success with is
Shutterstock. This photo of a simple bookcase taken at Leeds Castle in Kent has been my biggest seller to date, with hundreds of downloads. Each time one of your images is downloaded, you receive a small payment. These soon mount up as you upload more photos and improve your photography skills at the same time.
What sort of photographs?
Microstock photo websites are not really interested in your holiday snaps, or photos of the family pet. Suitable (or "stockworthy") images are the sort of things you see in magazine advertising or on websites. A mortgage broker would probably have a photo of a nice home on their website, or a set of house keys. A magazine advert for a washing powder might use a photo of washing on a line, an electrical engineering company may use a photo of a domestic plug, or a pylon, or a light bulb. A computer repair company might want images of the inside of a PC, a computer keyboard or mouse etc.
Keywords are the key
How do agencies, designers etc. find your images? The same way you find things with Google - keywords. when you upload a photo to Shutterstock, you must assign keywords that describe it, the more the better. Not just words that describe the content of the photo, but also emotions, ideas or concepts associated with it. For example an image of the front door of a house might have the keywords door, entrance, enter, house, housing, home, property etc. as well as mortgage, estate agent, buy to let, gazumping, repossession, caller, visitor, salesman etc. Use your imagination.
What sort of camera?
Most of the images I've uploaded to Shutterstock were taken with a fairly basic "point and click" digital camera. Shutterstock require that submitted images are a minimum of 4 megapixels in size, so the camera you already use is probably suitable.
Click here to begin with Shutterstock.
