My 3 tips for creating stock photos that sell

One area I've also focused on as a photographer has been stock photography (you can see my portfolio here.) I wanted to share with you my best tips to make and sell your stock content. 

I got into stock photography because I had so many "in between shots" - hands holding things, pieces of fruit, landscapes. I wanted to create a space to honor them as well as put them to good commercial use.

1) Use what you have

That brings me to my first point, several shots in my stock portfolio were often just images that I got between takes for my old social media account.

They were often photos of food that I thought looked nice, but it turns out they had commercial viability (one of the grapefruit images in that series sold.) Go through your current portfolio, and take a look at what you have that hasn't been used. You might find that a stock upload gives it new life. 

Note: For any images involving people I've found in my experience on Shutterstock that you'll need a model release.

2) Create a simple, usable concept

This is my best selling stock photo right here. It's sold more than my other images. It's a sideways dollop of yogurt on a spoon. I photographed it with a white sheet of paper behind it, in my room, with the window right across from it as the key light and a reflector as the fill. I used a wide aperture and kept the ISO low (this is important to avoid grain.) I think it sells really well because it's simple and can be used for a wide variety of things.

3) Make a series

Try to create a series out of each concept you photograph. Here's a guide for pretty much any object:

-Object up close

-Object from above

-Multiples of the object together

-Plain background

-Outdoor bokeh background

-Environmental background (like a kitchen table for food)

-Hand holding object

-Extreme close up if it makes sense

-Object straight on

Variety gives buyers options if they want to license more of your work.

I hope this helps you and happy photographing!

-Kayleigh