August 29, 2008, Newsletter Issue #79: Photographers Earn Residual Income on Stock Shots

Tip of the Week

If you are a professional photographer, you are well aware of how the stock photography market works. If you've taken pictures for lots of clients for many years, you probably have thousands of shots that are not being used.

Should you try to sell them online? And, if you do, should you make them available for as low as $1 to $40 each? The answer is, maybe. The stock photography market is literally exploding, allowing more photographers to sell more photos to more potential clients than ever before. Low-cost and royalty free sites are popping up everywhere. Perhaps you think your work is too valuable to be sold so cheaply and that is a valid point. But consider these facts as well:

*Some stock photographers earn considerable residual income on their '"leftover" stock shots. That means, while you are out in the field shooting photos, you're making money online as people download your lower-cost stock shots, available to the world 24/7.

*The market for buying stock photography has grown by leaps and bounds and will continue to do so. That means your shots have the potential to be purchased by a seemingly infinite number of buyers for a multitude of purposes.

*Low-cost stock photography can still be protected under certain copyright laws and field of use rules, so you are not "giving your creative work away" just because you sell photos cheaply online.

*Someone who buys your photo online might like it so much they are willing to pay more money for another shot you have in your collection. Stock photography sites get you noticed.

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