May 16, 2008, Newsletter Issue #64: Submitting Stock Photos to Web Sites

Tip of the Week

So you think you're a fairly good photographer. Your family and friends are always asking for copies of your pictures because you get the best expressions, the prettiest sunsets and the cutest baby shots. It is true that all these types of photos have potential to be sold on stock photo sites, but keep in mind that a lot of people are good at taking pictures of babies and sunsets, so submitting the shots your family and friends think are good may not prove successful on a stock site. Here are some tips for submitting photos to stock sites:

*Don't get nostalgic. Pick photos that offer a new perspective of a typical shot. Or, better yet, study some successful stock photographers (you can do this online) and see what images they tend to shoot. Make notes of which ones sell.

*Don't just copy what you see on other stock photo websites. Many photographers, desperate to get stock photos accepted, do just this.

*Consider what makes you and your life unique. What locations do you have access to that many others don't? What are your hobbies? What about the hobbies of those close to you?

*Are you familiar with any type of special equipment? Interesting angles of such subjects may be just the photo nobody else has.

*Finally, don't be put off by rejection. Read carefully the rejections you get from stock photography sites. They will offer clues as to what you are missing in your stock photo portfolio.

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