The Complete Guide To Stock Photography

AUTHOR: Admin POSTED: 16th February 2022

Stock Photography- Licensing and Business Opportunity for Professional Photographers

Have you ever wanted to use a picture for a marketing purpose or in advertising material or for website and social media, but don’t want to create one yourself? Stock photography provides a variety of quality photographs to use when needed. Stock Photography Licenses are designed for commercial purposes, with free and paid licensing options available.


What is Stock Photography?

Stock photography means creating images to license to other people for their use. Stock photos can be illustrations, captured photos, icons, logos, and much more. This type of photography is created or captured without prompt intent. As stock photos are used by many individuals and organizations for a variety of purposes, they make an excellent addition to any branding package.


What are the Different Types of Stock Photography?

Primarily, there are three stock photography types, read about them here:

1. Macrostock Stock Photography

Macrostock is traditional stock photography, including photography agencies that produce high-quality images and sell them at a higher licensing fee. An example of this type of agency is Getty Images. All photographers who contribute to the agency earn royalties in the form of income.

2. Microstock Stock Photography

This type of photography includes images that are sold for a fraction of the price. Photographers earn per download and do not get any royalties. Example agencies include iStockphoto, Shutterstock, Bigstock, Fotolia, CanStockPhoto etc.

3. Midstock Stock Photography

Midstock photography is another type of photography that falls between Macrostock and Microstock. They are often found in the middle tier of prices, and are usually sold as exclusive or non-exclusive licenses. The most common and used type of stock photography is Midstock, which attracts the majority of photographers to contribute their work.


Stock Photography – Perfect Business Opportunity for Professional Photographers

Stock photography is a great way of making money for those who are passionate about capturing images and have expertise behind the camera. Whether taken up as a side hustles or full-time, stock photography is a great way to make some cash, without fail. You simply have to capture beautiful photographs and have them properly edited so the audience knows the value of your images.


The Popularity of Stock Photography

Photos in stock photography is a lot more popular today when compared to photos from before, which can be divided into two aspects. Firstly, visual elements that are used on a daily basis is not captured or created by individuals themselves. These publications use traits from stock photography. In addition, when individuals add their own personal touch, these images don’t look like stock images again and is an excellent use of images for personal touches with photographs.


Types of Stock License

1. Rights Managed

A photographer’s work will be protected at the copyright level with the majority of it being a Rights managed image. Rights managed images are charged per use, come with un-negotiable rates, and are licensed depending on their period of time, geographic location, or project basis.

2. Royalty-Free

A royalty-free license means that you are permitted to use the image any number of times without charge. Typically, these licenses are nonrevenue-sharing in return for a lower purchase price. Royalty-free licenses have become standard in the stock photography industry largely because they allow for broad, lawful use without sacrificing authorization needs or preventing other uses.

3. Extended License

Extended Licenses come with additional permissions like multiple use of photos or re-sale, at an extra cost. When you want to use photos on your commercial blog, social media platform, sales page, etc., the photos you need come with copyright. Stock photography comes with different licensing conditions depending on which type the user wants. Extended licenses offer additional features, like multiple use of images or re-sale. When buying stock photographs, even for “standard” licensing schemes, there are additional attributes including attribution requirements, derivatives clauses, commercial use clauses, and more.


Why Stock Photography Could be a Great Option for You?

If you’re considering stock photography, there are some steps to take before diving in:

It doesn’t matter what your photography skills are, if they match the style of people in search, you can create content. Stock photography platforms offer intriguing options for visual creators that would like to license their photos.

Having a distinctive touch can differentiate your images from others. To have a distinctive touch, you need to be creative and have an imaginative flair that gives your pictures a distinctive touch and uniqueness.

You have full control over the creative process because there are no pre-defined objectives or rules about your images. You can spend as much time on developing images as you want.

You have the freedom to take this activity as a full-time job or as a side gig.

A stock photo profile can be used to market your photography portfolio in different categories of the stock photo industry.


Find Out How to Make Money With Stock Photography

Stock photography serves as a great method of earning money from creative and enthusiast photographers for those who are skilled. However, the profession is generally passion-based income instead of consistent. The amount of money you make will depend on your photos, your skills, how aware you are of the industry, and what type of license your photos have – but figure anywhere from $50-$1,000 per month. Currently some of the most popular stock photographers are making over six-figure salaries.


What You Must Do to be a Successful Stock Photographer?

When taking pictures, make sure you are able to capture or create images that are distinguished, creative, and attractive. Distinguishing your photos will distinguish your stock photography business. A single photo can be worth thousands of words when capturing the right emotion.

Always cater to your customer. Preparing stock photography with high probability of being used by the end-user will provide you with higher rates of success.

Include real people, people of various races, clothing styles, and personality types. Include picturesque backgrounds even better if they are free. The more genuine the photo, the greater probability of it being re-usable by different audiences.

When you upload your images to stock photography platforms, be sure to follow the keywords and phrases that are popular so that users can find your content.

Regularly upload your images, both to increase your success rate for earning money steadily and to develop your brand. According to Wix there are four things that will help you generate more types of revenue; Images that are strategic, well-composed, unique to market needs, and clicked by the right target group.


Ready to start working as a stock photographer? Stock photography can be a great way to earn money and cover your living expenses. Work slow and steady and learn with time and always assess how your competitors operate. 

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