how to make a stock image

^{Create Your Own Stock Photos}

1. Go through the photos you already have. It's likely you already have a ton of amazing pictures from past vacations, holidays and family events.
2. Keep your camera on you at all times. Since most of us have smart phones with good quality cameras built right in, it's easy to take pictures wherever and ...
3. Create your own still life photos. Still life photos are very easy to set-up and take at home. ...
4. Include pictures of yourself. Make sure to have some go-to pictures of yourself. ...
5. Add your art. Another great visual for your blog may include art you've created. ...
6. Save them. Once you've gathered up your pictures, move them to your Stock Photos file. ...

Full Answer

What makes a great stock photo?

To make things even easier, why not create your own stock photos to save time? To get started, create a file folder on your computer and name is something like Stock Photos. This will make it easier to find your pictures when you're in a pinch. Then head over to the BeFunky Photo Editor to get the party started. 1. Go through the photos you ...

How to make money with stock photography?

 · If you want to build a year-round stock portfolio, make friends with some farmers in your area. As the seasons change, so will the fruits and vegetables that they have growing in their fields. You could shoot the produce in the flowering stage, and as the fruit grows — capture its progression. These are shots that you can only get at a ...

What stock photos sell best?

 · This means that you pay for the image once, and you get to use it however you want, wherever you want, and for as long as you want. The best is that as the images can be licensed over and over, the license price tends to be very low, within $1 to $15 on average, and even less than $1 each with subscription plans.

How much money can you make selling stock photos?

 · Here’s an unusual way to obtain the simple stock photo you need: Photo Creator is a web app that lets you build your own realistic stock photos. The site features thousands of models, objects, and...

What makes a good stock image?

Your stock photo should be clear and easy to understand, as they will only glance at it. Consider taking photos that allow for text or design treatment. So a designer can use it for a brochure, an online ad, or a website cover photo.

Are stock photos illegal?

It simply means that under Fair Use, you are legally allowed and protected to use someone else's work without the need for you to ask permission or pay the image creator.

What is the format of stock image?

The Jpeg file format uses the lossy compression methods, meaning that not every piece of information is preserved when saving the photo, and it cripples the quality too, but stock agencies usually prefer this file format.

What makes a stock photo a stock photo?

Stock photography is existing photos –already created– made available for license by paying a fee to both the artists that produced them and the stock agencies managing them, acquiring the right to use them legally in different ways, while the author retains the copyright of their work.

Can you get sued for using stock photos?

Most stock websites charge a premium for indemnification. This is imperative in case either the creator of the asset or the people in the asset (say a photo or video) decided to sue you because they never authorized use of the image.

Can I sell free stock photos?

“Do whatever you want” as in “use photos for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Unsplash.” Just by looking at that bit of the Unsplash license, one can be led to think that any image on Unsplash can be used for commercial purposes.

What percentage does Shutterstock take?

Shutterstock Contributor Earnings As a Shutterstock contributor, you receive 15%–40% of the image price. Your percentage depends on the image (or video) tiers, which are based on the number of downloads of your content.

Is a PNG a RAW file?

RAW. DNG (Digital Negative Format) PNG (Portable Network Graphics) GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

What type of photos sell best on Shutterstock?

Stock Photo Secrets Shop Most Downloaded Photos in 2018#1 – Business Meeting in Open Plan Office. ... #2 – Office Table with Four People Hands Working. ... #3 – Happy Mother and Baby Laying on a Meadow. ... #4 – Businesswoman Holding a Plant Crop. ... #5 – Wood Board Texture. ... #6 – Businesspeople Smiling in Open Plan Office.More items...

Why you shouldnt use stock images?

Stock images are not only generic, but they can be expensive in the long run. Stock images often have licensing fees, and restrictions on where they can be used, and for what purpose.

Can I put my logo on a stock photo?

You can even add your logo manually on stock photos, but we'll explain that later. Tie all the photos together with a visual theme. This could be a dominant color, or something more abstract, like people smiling.

Are stock photos copyrighted?

Royalty-free images are copyrighted, meaning the author of the image retains its ownership. When you buy a license from a stock photo agency, you get Royalty-free copyrights, that enable you as a buyer to use the photo but under certain conditions.

What is Photo Creator?

Photo Creator includes a collection of thousands of elements – models, backgrounds and objects – that you can mix, match, and layer to create the perfect image. It’s a tool that allows you to create customized stock photos.

How Does It Work?

All it takes to create an image with Photo Creator is a little imagination. What is the scene you want to show?

What Can I Do With It?

Images can be downloaded in PSD or JPG formats, depending on your needs.

Pricing

Anyone can play around with Photo Creator for free. (You’ll have fun for sure!)

Conclusion

If you need photography for a design project and can’t quite find the stock images you need, try Photo Creator.

Good, Simple Stock Photography

What we’re going to cover today is how to create a simple high-key photograph. High key, means a photography of a subject on a predominantly white background. Why do we want the subject on a predominantly white background?

Step 1

So the first thing we’re going to do is set up our backdrop. Essentially you want the sheet to be partially on the floor, then curve up and hang from something vertically. This means when we place the subject on top of the sheet it will be white underneath and white behind.

Step 2

Now we’re going to to arrange the lights, ideally you want to have two lights but three would be even better. Set the brightest light which you have to point at the backdrop.

Step 3

Next we’re going to place our subject. You want to put the subject as close to the center of the backdrop as possible and in line with the light sources. This step was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Let’s move on!

Step 4

Now it’s time to do some test shots, so grab your camera and get snapping. You can experiment with using the built in flash on your camera as well as the other lights but the chances are that it will create a nasty dark shadow around the subject – we don’t want that!

Step 5

In order to get the best out of the setup which we’ve created, try photographing from different angles, move the lights around a little and adjust the backdrop for smoothness.

Step 6

Now that you’ve got everything working at peak performance (which is very much a relative term), it’s time to take your full set of shots. Feel free to swap several subjects in and out, preferably of things which you think might come in handy as stock photographs later.

What are Stock Photos?

Stock photos are photographs that are already taken, edited, and ready to be used. But are stock images free to use?

What are Royalty-Free Stock Photos?

You probably guessed this one. They are photos under a Royalty Free license. This license is one of the most popular in the stock photography industry, because of its flexibility and low cost.

Where Can I Buy Stock Photos? Are there any Free Trials?

The best place to buy stock photos is at stock photo agencies, online. The most popular ones have digital stock photo libraries with millions of images to choose from, all high quality and ready to be downloaded in a few simple clicks.

How Can I Use Stock Photos?

When you buy Royalty Free stock photos from reliable agencies, there are very few restrictions on what you can do with them. Here's how to use stock photos legally:

What's In for Me in Using Stock Photos?

What is not in for you, should be the question! By using stock photos you can solve a lot of your graphic design needs at once, in a very efficient and low-cost solution.

12. What to Shoot

Before starting any stock photography business, you need to decide what you are going to be photographing. Is it going to be lifestyle stock photos? Are you going to specialise in travel stock photography? Or are you going take stock photos of everyday objects? The more you specialise in one area, the better and more consistent you will become. One of the most common questions people ask me is how to take stock photos that sell? My response is usually for them to focus on one thing. This doesn’t mean you have to be tied to that photography genre for life, but like anything, the more you do it, the better you will become. Start by focusing on one area and expand when you feel that you are earning a decent amount from it..

10. Use a Shot List to Add Variety to Your Portfolio

So, you have a genre of stock photography that you want to specialise in. That’s a big part of the decision making over. But now, you might be thinking of how to shoot for stock photography? The simple answer is that no matter what you are planning to photograph you need to have some parameters. Or in other words a shot list.

9. Keep Up With Market Trends to Always Know What Sells

Like any industry or business, it always helps if you know the market you are trying to sell to. So spend time researching your potential clients and the type of photos that are already out there. Look at the type of photos that are selling. Keep up with trends and read trade publications to be up-to-date with the latest news and developments.

8. Set a Budget to Minimise Time and Investment Lost

The downside of stock photography these days is that anyone can do it. In fact, there are various stock photos sites that will even accept smart phone photos. This has led to stock photography prices dropping in the last few years. So, ensuring that you set a budget for each shoot has become even more vital.

7. Only Buy Essential Photography Equipment at First

As easy as stock photography is to get into, you still will need some basic photography equipment to get started. A camera and lens are essential. But depending on what genre you specialise in you may need more specialist stock photography equipment. For example, if you want to get into taking stock photos of insects you’ll need a macro lens.

6. Get a Light Tent for White Background Product Photos

A great tip for selling stock photos for beginners is to get yourself a light tent. These are cheap fabric (or Perspex boxes) where you can place objects into to photograph.

5. Capture a Variety of Angles to Increase Chances of Selling Stock Images

Shooting for stock photography is a numbers game and the more photos you have for sale the more chance you have of earning an income.

So, What are the Bestselling Stock Photos?

When it comes to selling stock photos, what are the bestselling stock photos? Let’s take a look at which stock pictures are worth big money.

How To Start a Stock Photography Business

If you are looking to start a stock photography business, there are five key steps that you should take first:

How Do I Price My Stock Photography?

Now that you’ve got the rundown on creating stock photography, the next step is learning what to charge for your stock images. Check out our detailed guide on how to price stock photography.

How to Sell Stock Photos (and Use Them as an Advertising Tool)

Now we get to the good part: making that money! Here are a few tips on where and how to sell stock photography and how to use stock photos to drive potential clients to your online portfolio website —and become clients.

Ranking of Microstock Earnings

Before deciding to apply to a microstock website you need to look at some selection parameters:

How Long Does It Take to Make Money Selling Stock Photography?

Let’s get right down to the business. Stock photography can be a frustrating endeavor if you enter it with a short-term goal.

Mykyta Starychenko (Nick)

Another example is that of Mykyta Starychenko, who is popularly known as Nick. Nick is a NY-based photographer who is into fashion, product, lifestyle, wedding, and stock photography.

1. Yuri Arcurs

Mr. Microstock & the best-selling microstock photographer of all time started in 2005.

Brand Names, Showcasing Logos, Likeness

Brand names, logos, and likeness are the major reason why your images can be rejected.

Model & Property Releases

As a photographer shooting stock you will come to hear about releases and more specifically model and property releases. What are these and how do they impact you and your work?

What Is a Property Release?

Property release, just like a model release, absolves the rights of the owner of the property. Images of certain properties, monuments, and architecture cannot be licensed without the prior written permission of the society or organization that is in charge of it.

What Is Photo Creator?

• Photo Creatorincludes a collection of thousands of elements – models, backgrounds and objects – that you can mix, match, and layer to create the perfect image. It’s a tool that allows you to create customized stock photos. You can use it to make something serious to help showcase a product or service or have fun and do something silly. Some of the ...

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How Does It Work?

What Can I Do with It?

Pricing

Conclusion