Earn Money With Photography

Almost any kind of photograph is salable, but some much more so than others. Take scenics for instance: many photographers really love scenic photography, but they are hard to sell because the market is flooded. Websites such as istock.com state very clearly that they don't want scenics. Some stock agencies will accept them, but it's best not to submit them unless they're really dynamite photos.

istock has 2 lists for photographers, photos they don't want, photos they want. Their list for photos they don't want is done humorously, it's worth going to their site for that alone. On their list of don't wants is fireplaces. Their reason? "It's for your own protection."

It's not surprising that the photographs really in demand are the ones people don't want to do. Example: a boardroom meeting, a dozen people or so, all suits. You need permission of course to take the photos and you need a model release from each person. So you see what I mean - I'm going to pass on that one, and everyone else says the same thing.

You no doubt have one or two things that you really like to photograph - let's just hope they're not scenics, fireplaces, or sunsets. Oh those sunsets; all of a sudden I don't feel so well. I'll go out on a limb and say: don't ever submit a sunset pic to a stock photo website. Who knows, they may bar you for life.

Photos of people doing things, all ages, are always in demand. This is partly because of the difficulty in getting model releases, and also because photographers don't like asking people to sign a release. And one more thing, maybe the most difficult of all: asking people to be in your photographs, usually for no pay, and the photos can be used for just about anything. Not easy.

These 2 photos, "computer rage" and "notta nice guy" are self portraits - and yes, I still have to sign a model release before sending them to the stock photo sites. The computer rage photo has been done many times; if you want to do one you should try a fresh approach. You can create a lot of salable photos of yourself, and you don't have to worry about someone not signing a model release.

We won't spend too long talking about cameras and such - they're just tools, right? I don't think people who do oil painting get into long discussions about the brushes they use. Actually, I'm not a techie, I spend as little time as possible reading about technical stuff.

Almost any kind of camera will do for this kind of photography - ie stock photos. I use Nikon, but I would have bought Canon by flipping a coin. Okay, so what about Pentax, Olympus, etc? Not a thing wrong with them that I know of. Why didn't I buy one of them and save a bunch of money? You know, I really never thought about it, that means I must have bought it for the prestige value.

Somewhat like a car - if a person can afford a BMW, they might just buy that instead of a Honda. Don't get me wrong, I think Hondas are one helluva car


Talking about cameras, you could buy a Hassleblad for around $15,000, but hey, they throw in a lens! If possible, purchase fast lenses. Your photos will be better, you can shoot at higher shutter speeds, and eliminate a lot of frustration. And oh yes, they cost quite a bit more.

You can even use a point and shoot camera, you know, the ones you hold at arms length to take a pic. The optics are fine, you will just be very limited in what you can do. The image of the woman and child in the swimming pool is a good example of photos that are in demand. This is the only image on this web page that's not mine, I purchased it from istock.com. Costs two or three dollars, something like that.

You know, it's hard to think of anything better than being a photographer for the stock photo websites. If you already have a camera and lenses, then there aren't any start-up costs, no over-head, no inventory, and if you have a digital camera, no film or processing costs.

I almost forgot the most important thing: you are doing something you love, which is extremely important. If you're at all like me, you have spent years photographing for no pay, just because you love doing it.


There's no doubt that there is a learning curve in this, just like anything that is worthwhile, and a fairly steep one too. You can be quite sure that people who are earning a significant income from stock photography have been at it a while, and most likely are specializing in a certain area.

There's a married couple who specialize in photography of insects, frogs, all the creatures that are found in a swamp. Instead of commuting down town to an office job, they drive to a swamp, and that's how they spend their day. You can get awfully good at something if that's all you do.

I haven't submitted photos to stock photography websites (they're called microstock) myself, but I know of someone who has. His name is Malcolm Marc, and he has been making money online for years with his digital camera.

He has a system worked out for people who want to get into this business, and I am very impressed at how much he's offering for such a low price ($47.) As a photographer myself I can see that he's not holding anything back, AND he knows what he's talking about.

Some of the topics:
*In-demand photographs
*How to get faster results
*What is legal to shoot
*Editing your photos
*A long list of resources
*Secrets to taking salable photographs
*Step by step action plan

If you want to get into stock photography this is a really good, low-cost way to do it. I'm going to sign up with Malcolm as soon as I can wind down on some other commitments. Just click on the link to go to his website The Photo Cash Machine, and learn HOW TO EARN MONEY WITH PHOTOGRAPHY
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