Let me first start by explaining exactly what Stock Photography is. Photographers submit several photographs to a second party vendor who in turn (in exchange for a percentage) negotiate the selling of a particular photo to a third party vendor. These third party vendors could be magazines, postcard companies, greeting card companies, advertising agencies, or just about any company looking for a specific image and don't want to hire a photographer to go out and maybe get the shot they are looking for. These company can browse through the stock photography site photo library or image bank and find exactly what they are looking for. This saves the company time and money which in turn puts a money in your pocket.
Now that we know what Stock Photograph is, let us cover how you can actually make some money selling your photographs this way. There are many places you can submit your photographs online. The places are called microstock photography websites. Sites like Stock and Print or Shuttershock are just few where you can submit your photographs to. Do search for stock photography site and pick a few to research and you will be on your way.
The more photographs you submit to these sites the higher the chance you will sell some of your photographs. Don't get discouraged if you don't sell the first photograph you upload, or even the 50th photograph you submit. Remember to be persistent and keep submitting. Eventually you will start earning money from your photographs and your craft will keep improving as well.
A few things to remember when taking pictures to sell as Stock Photography is companies are looking for specifics. An advertising agency might be looking for a picture of a field full of pollen producing dandelions for an allergy medicine client. I wouldn't advise you to go out and start shooting fields with trees, buildings, birds or planes flying in the sky. When you look through your lens don't look through your shot. Look at it as if you were looking at a picture. Notice everything in your picture and if you have to wait for a bird to fly by then wait. You are looking for the money shots. Once you think you have taken the perfect picture...TAKE MORE!
A lot of companies or agencies are looking for universal concepts, such as love, admiration, friendship, or sympathy. If you see something that might capture these concepts make sure the whole scene illustrates the specific concept you are trying to capture. For example, you may have the perfect opportunity to show the love between a dog and it's owner but there is a homeless vagrant sitting on a park bench in the background...not too appealing for a company look for that warm fuzzy feeling. Either take the picture from another angle or use some editing software to remove the items you want out of the picture.
The most important thing for every freelance photographer to remember is to NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT A STANDARD RELEASE FORM. If you are photographing a person, that person must sign a release before you are allowed to sell that photograph. You can take a photograph of anything but you can not in any way, shape, or form make money from that photograph without a signed release of the people in your photo. The same thing applies when you are photographing someones personal property. You don't want to make money on your photographs, only to be sued later and have to pay more then you made from it. You can find standard release forms anywhere on the internet and I would suggest printing out a bunch to always carry with you.
I have been a freelance photographer for many years. If you would like to jump start your freelance career and start making money from your photos I suggest you visit
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