A billion photos are taken every day. That means that in the time it took you to read the last sentence, over 10,000 photos were snatched—and, presumably, most of them were taken on cell phone cameras. They are selfies, food images, pet photos, sunset images, and shots to document car accidents. They are taken at the Great Wall of China, on the way to work, and in bathrooms. They are shared on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more.
“Are these photos destined only to be posted on social media, liked a dozen times, and then forgotten forever?”
While these photos seem to serve lots of purposes and go lots of places, there is one thing they mostly do not do: make money.
Is the new cell phone–toting generation hopelessly locked in a spiral of mass consumption, without any productivity? Are these photos destined only to be posted on social media, liked a dozen times, and then forgotten forever? Are they just taking up space on your micro SD card, doomed to be erased when more selfies demand to be squeezed into the limited memory?
If you are one of the few exceptions who wants to break the mold, this book provides you with a powerful answer: stock photography.
In a nutshell, stock photography is literally photos in an inventory. Contrary to photos produced for assignments (say, for a wedding, for a new building, or to showcase a specific product, etc.) these photos are made by photographers who presume their usefulness to someone who might later buy them. For example, the photographer might think, “If I take an image of that light beam coming down from the clouds, churches might use it as an image to show spiritual inspiration.” Likewise, an image of a nice bowl of salad might be used to promote healthy eating, or a headshot of a pretty girl might be a good image to promote a dating web site. These images are then put together in a database, ready to be searched by their potential buyers.
You can sell stock photography yourself, through your own web site. However, in this age of mass information shared in a global marketplace called the Internet, it is unlikely that your web site could attract as much attention as the site of a stock photography agency—a one-stop shopping site where buyers can find cataloged images by thousands of photographers. iStock, Shutterstock, Getty Images, and Fotolia are examples of stock photography agencies. The process for getting on-board at one of these agencies ranges widely. For some, you simply sign up. Some require a review of sample images. Others are by invitation only.
Image P–1. KEYWORDS: Bay Area; Bay Bridge; beak; claw; feather; gull; Laridae; San Francisco; San Francisco Bay; seagull; wing. (More on keywords in chapter 2)
Stock photography is used by advertising agencies, bloggers, churches, students, and everyone else in the world who needs to use photos in any medium of presentation—magazines, posters, web sites, PowerPoint projections, etc. Whether or not they are a trained professional, the person who searches for the stock photo is considered a graphic designer.
What is graphic design? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect; also: a product of this art.” Imagine that a graphic designer is charged to design something. This process often requires the use of one or more images. Assuming she does not have this image, and that producing it would not be feasible (or efficient, or cost-effective), that’s when she turns to a stock photo agency. She provides the agency the criteria for the image and that information is used to determine a list of candidates. She sees an ideal image among all the candidates, pays the agency, and obtains a right to use that image.
Cell phone cameras have come a long way since the days of Nokias and Ericssons. Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy series produce images that easily beat point-and-shoot cameras—even if the camera model is just a few years old.
The amazement is doubled when we consider that the cell phone camera is just one aspect of the function offered by these hand-held devices, which are literally small computers. And—oh, yes—they do make phone calls, too. The compactness is required, but it also comes with a price. The lens and the sensors have to be very, very small. These characteristics affect how we use cell phone cameras and how we can bring out the best in them. In other words, there is some skill required to use the camera in its sweet spot.
As a stock photographer, you should pay close attention to graphic design and designers. Knowing how projects are designed (and how designers think) is essential for success.
“As a stock photographer, you should pay close attention to graphic design and designers.”
How Do Stock Photographers Get Paid?
Each agency has its own pay schedule designed to give the contributing photographer their cut of the money from each image sale.
This is one of the first advantages of stock photography as a profession: the pay is residual. If money has inertia, most of the income in the world has low inertia. When you start working, the pay starts to flow; when you stop working, the pay stops. Stock photography, on the other hand, does not start paying immediately when a rookie starts to shoot and upload images. It picks up the pace gradually and the pay starts to pour in as the photographer continues to expand her presence in the stock photo world and more graphic designers choose her work for their projects.
This kind of income has high inertia. It might feel like a drag at the beginning, but its true advantage kicks in when you want to slow down or take a break—because the money’s momentum is maintained by this inertia. The stock photos continue to sell and the photographer continues to get paid, even when he is attending to his other business or relaxing on a cruise ship (where he might be taking some more great stock images to be uploaded when he is back on land).
Stock photography can be a career, a side job, or a hobby. The money it generates can range from the major source of household income, to a secondary income, to pocket money that barely covers the cost of a cell phone. It all depends on the quality of your images and the effort you put into it.
Image P–2. KEYWORDS: Battery Park; boat; cloud; ferry; New York; sky; Statue of Liberty; tourism. (More on keywords in chapter 2)
Image P–3. KEYWORDS: Bay Area; Bay Bridge; bicycle; bike; fence; fish; fishing; leisure; San Francisco; San Francisco Bay; sports; umbrella. (More on keywords in chapter 2)