Simon Bergström (photo), a Swedish photography student wants to know what it takes to make it in stock photography. He has allotted 100 days to find out and is documenting his journey and sales on MostPhotos. This is an interesting test that is to show photographers how they can succeed in stock photography, how easy it is to build a profitable portfolio in stock photography and what it really takes to be a successful stock photographer.
100 days to make it in stock photography is the journal of Simon, online, so current stock photographers and new stock photographers can follow his steps in the business, or not. Simon has obtained industry experts and mentors to help him in his pursuit of profitability, professionalism and a digital brand.
The stock photographers journey is more than just photos
“Can you give me 3 concrete tips to think of when tagging images?1. Always start with considering the buyers perspective and try to think of what words they use when searching for an image!2. The more (relevant) keywords, the merrier! If you have similar images you can mark them and multi-tag them with the same tags on Mostphotos.3. Don’t just look at the image and what it contains. For example, if there is an image of a lake the keywords could be harmony, peacefulness and so on.””What photos sell? … Lesson learned: Think backwards! What appeals to clients and how can I take advantage of that in my photography? I might not be able to take photos in an office environment everyday, but I can play with photoshop to cut out product images and I can create situations that would benefit my photography.”
“Can you actually make it in stock photo? To be honest, I don’t know! I’m sure most people can take photos that they can get some cash from. But actually starting to earn sort of an income? This blog is a lot about this question and I for one am pretty excited to find out!””Where you go from just snapping photos randomly to making sales on your photography. The real-life, how-to stuff is what’s left to yourself to figure out. The feeling I get in general is that a lot of photographers aren't really aware of the possibilities there is with stock photography, or aware of the industry at all. Just face it, the photo industry is changing and I think there is a lot of folks who, like me, have a great passion for photography and who, also like me, don’t have a clue about the opportunities with stock photography and know even less about how to make money on stock photo sites. Anyone would probably tell you it’s all about hard work, dedication, talent, luck. But there’s always a secret sauce. This blog is about that secret sauce.”en't
Follow Simon and learn something new or confirm that your stock photo sales strategy is right!
Whether you are a seasoned stock photo professional or thinking about how to make money as a contributor in stock photography, following Simon will be a good investment of your time and energy. Confirm what you know, learn new industry updates or follow along as new photographer and watch your earnings grow.
Check out Simon's blog at MostPhotos and follow him as he learns more and more.
