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How to sell stock photos and make money

4 min read

How to sell stock photos and make money
As a beginner stock photographer, having the right mindset is very important if you want to make money 
While you can start making money from the start as a stock photographer, gaining the trust of your client is very important.
In this article, we shall be examining some of the best tips to sell stock photos and make money from it.

Avoid falling into the comparison trap

As a stock photographer, beginner or professional, one thing is necessary, and that is learning. You will have to continually learn about changing trends with stock photos and many of the things you will learn will come from other leading brands or photographers like DepositPhotos
However, while you learn, you should ensure that you do not fall into the comparison trap. The comparison trap doesn’t just make you feel inferior many times, it will also limit your creative and innovative capacity.
So, make sure you do not copy others, just learn from them, recreate what you learned and do something unique. This way, you can stand out and make a lot of money as your stock photos will not be the same as what exists in the market currently.

Pay attention to why stock photography is rejected

You should not be oblivious of the fact that stock photos are rejected in some places and by some people for different reasons. So, as a stock photographer, you have to sit back and study some of these reasons and understand them. 
Many times, you will find out that people probably reject these stock photos probably because of how they were presented. To some, it will be because of the image quality or quantity. 
Whatever the reasons maybe, you have to pay apt attention to why stock photos are being rejected. You can learn more about these reasons on Depositphotos Blog

Engage in proper research and development

Research will always be the basis for development in all fields of human endeavor. As a stock photographer, you have to know the importance of research and development if you want to make money from selling stock photos. 
Through proper research, you can know beforehand what a prospective client wants out of a stock photo. The Internet is not just a place for posting stock photos, it is also a place for research about them. 
Research and development aren’t limited to the people you are selling stock photos to, it also extends to you.
With proper research and self-development as a photographer, you can align yourself with changing trends and come up with something that is unique. What’s more? it gives you the right information on photography trends that work in today’s market and this will help set you apart from the competition. 

Ensure your stock images are unique and attractive

Images are one of the best ways to communicate with people in this technologically advanced age. Now, the danger to this is that images can be damaging to a brand or a person’s reputation if they lack quality. 
The competition in the stock market is too much for your stock photos to lack quality. Quality evaluation is to be done before you upload the photos online or put them up for sale. At the evaluation stage, constantly edit the photo to suit the expectation of your client and to pass the required image at all times. 
Depositphotos Blog has galleries of amazing stock photos that you can use as inspiration to give you an insight into just how unique your images should turn out. 
How long does it take to make money from stock photography?
It is no doubt that stock photos sell and will keep on selling. 
However, the budding question in the hearts of many stock photographers is how long it takes to start making money from stock photography. 
The goal, the motive and the expectation you bring into stock photography determine how fast you will make money, but most importantly how well. 
Now, you would not want to make money once from stock photos just once right? This is why it is important to look beyond how fast you make the money to how well you make the money. 
In focusing on how well you make the money, you have to set long term goals.
Long term goals help you to build a reputation, gain the trust of clients, get the experience of competitors and thrive. 
As a stock photographer who looks to make and keep making money, your first priority should be the quality and message of your image. You should always be looking to improve the quality and creativity of your stock photos to compete  in the space.  It’s worth investing in some workshops or creative photography weekends where you can learn new skills from other professional photographers and find some great locations for your stock photos.
Your images have to be at its very best at all times through a process of careful analysis. The Internet is a place where people hold on to memories whether good or bad. 
So, how much money you make from selling stock photos will depend on the quality of your photos and its ability to communicate a specific message.
Back to thinking long term, it is vital to note that competition exists in the field of selling stock photos. 
To make money amidst the competition, you have to develop a system that helps you look beyond the competition, thrive amidst the competition and become a dominant force. 
Creativity and innovation as a stock photographer is one good way that this can be achieved. 
So, when you think about how long it takes to make money from selling stock photos, you also need to think about how much money you want to make. 
When this is done, you can then decide to either set short term or long-term goals. From our own experience, the long-term goals are always the best for stock photographers.
Depositphotos Blog for example, is a leading brand in this industry with amazing visuals that cut across several areas of photography and videography. 
With a focus on quality service and excellent delivery, they set a pace in visual creation and serve as a great inspiration to starter stock photo photographers.
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