What kind of photography sells best

This is not a subject I can impart a great deal of knowledge on as I have little experience, apart from a few surprise sales from a non-vector illustration I put together in Photoshop in five minutes. The only thing I can say is that there is the potential for illustrations to sell very well due to being fresh, stylish and usable where photos are not suitable; but also look very dated a few years down the line. Stock sites are currently full of XP style icon sets and web elements, a couple of years back it was all OSX style icons with reflections.

True that ageing is the same for some types of photos where hair styles or technology goes out of date, but every time I think of illustrations at the moment with those floral leaf patterns I then imagine how that will look ten years down the line, will I have the same feeling about those as the now dated looking airbrush or pastel business characters in triangular suits that were everywhere less than ten years ago? Everywhere 20 years ago - Nowhere Now.

Icons and sets of web navigation buttons also seem to have high download rates, but their creation is obviously quite time consuming compared to a photo, of course vector illustrations command a higher payout when downloaded as the original vector file. Are these a stock image fad that will go out of fashion? If you have the skills with 3D software then do it, no problems with being rejected for noise or compression artefacts.

I have noticed that I'm seeing a few less silver or gold 3D stick figures with big heads gracing shareholder reports and corporate newsletters, so the boat might have already sailed? There are plenty of microstock portfolios full of thousands of rendered images like this so it's clearly something worth investigating if you are talented in 3D modelling.

Here are a few links to pages where microstock agencies have listed images in demand or images that sell well, almost all the agencies have some photographer guides like this listed somewhere on their site:.

Shutterstock Top requires you to be logged into contributor account Take a look at the Shutterstock top images, you'll see that yes, flowers are there, despite being told 'no more flowers please' they still sell the best, because of the popularity of them as a photography subject the quality of the photos need to be nothing less than stunning.

Also keep an eye on Shutterstocks top search's of the last month and week to keep up with current trends, at time of writing I noticed a lot of Spanish keywords are cropping up in the top searches. I guess these are translated from the English ones and you can go to Shutterstock. Crestock: Top 10 best Sellers , and their 10 worst submissions bizarre! Make what you will of these stats from panthermedia and explain them to me if you know what they mean!

Beginners to microstock are the ones who take and upload the simple photos that make other photographers say "wow, that sky with fluffy clouds has been downloaded times! There seems to be no penalty for being 'obvious' with subjects and concepts in micro.

It looks to me that while the big agencies seem to be also accepting more 'grungy and edgy' images perhaps a sign of saturation in some subjects it appears that the 'inoffensive' simple photos are the ones that sell in volume - given that microstock is about quick and easy solutions to image needs this makes sense, 'non-professional buyers' will opt for a safe choice when buying. Finally a link to our post about picniche , a keyword evaluation tool which compares search popularity with the number of images online; this helps to evaluate potential sales of a concept shoot you might be considering.

Microstock style compared with traditional stock photography. Not quite too sure what random photos are - but probably not, microstock images almost always cover a sepcific topic. Thanks for the article. Formatting is not great, but here is the translation. This was done using Google Translate, using Google chrome.

Category Percent Office 4. Category Percent Nature and environment There is stiff competition in the latter category and work has to be nothing short of superb.

The others hmmm, well they seem a lack of styling and concept technically things look okay in most pictures. Microstock Blogs and Links. Microstock Community. Subscribe to Microstock Insider by feedburner Email. Privacy Policy. What kind of Images sell best? Three key features of all stock photos A good stock photo can be broken down into three main components, all of which must be correct to make a high selling image.

Portrait Photography Images of people sell well, several of the celebrity microstock photographers have made their portfolios predominantly from people pictures. Celebrity photos will often rise and fall in popularity, depending on the media cycle. The trick here is to have a large library, to ensure that there's always something selling. Looking at the Shutterstock top contributors list, alongside their popular image bundle categories, there's a large number of seasonal themes.

The World Cup is a good example, as when it's held every four years there's great demand and supply for soccer-related images. National and international laws, events, and news may also feature here. Big changes such as the the GDPR regulation, or weather-related events such as a lunar eclipse often feature here, but the hype may not last long.

You could be onto a winner if you can spot a potential upcoming event, and prepare photos in advance. What people are searching for is a great place to see what images are selling.

Search trends can also be impacted by seasonal events, and may not reflect popular local or national changes. The overwhelming majority of popular searches feature nature, animals, Christmas, or cars.

There are a few exceptions, such as "cool backgrounds", but the vast majority of these searches will always be in demand. It doesn't make sense to focus heavily on Christmas in summer, but it may be worthwhile taking photos of a new sports model of car, or a cute puppy. Photos of specific seasons at the appropriate time e.

Don't forget to include regional variations for images, such as "Fall" and "Autumn". Just like the popular photos above, animals, celebrities, and vector artwork are all in-demand photo categories. These categories contain the same two types of photos: cartoon vector artwork, and real-life photography.

Consumers appear to be looking for "cute" little graphics to liven up a product, service, or advertisement. Professional looking photos may be featured in magazines, tutorials, or publications. We like trees because they symbolize strength, endurance, age, and time.

Because they have all these emotions tied to them, you should include images that have trees. I am not talking about images where trees are apart of the mid-ground and are not the main focus, but trees that are the subject.

If trees are a major aspect of the image and they show character and have great light moving through them they will sell. If you have any trees from your local area that are unique in character, shape and color photograph them. Put them in your line up and you will probably have success in selling them.

Ever noticed how many antique shops are popping up these days. There is a huge market currently for rustic appeal and there is nothing more rustic than a barn. They symbolize the old west and a time forgotten. The shot of the barn from the Grand Tetons no doubt is a best seller for any galleries photographer with that image in their line up.

It has both grand majestic and rustic all in one image. This also goes for portrait photographers. I see images all the time where couples take images in front of barns.

They have character without much effort. I have taken this concept and embraced it with my own style. I don't hunt barns down, but if I find one that has great potential for a shot I try to photograph it. I may never print it but I try. Other rustic things can also be photographed with great success.

Old fences that create leading lines to interesting subjects. Ghost towns are always welcomed as well. Luckily for us photographers, sun stars are still outside the general reach of cell phone cameras. Because of this, sun stars are fascinating to general art buyers.

Literally any shot that is well exposed with a sun star will probably sell. If it is unique and includes a popular area, the better. This is the reason why Mesa Arch became so popular. This one is a bit confusing to me. I keep thinking that iconic locations are the things that will sell best. In fact as I speak to other photographers and see what they sell most often, it tends to be true. My top selling images are from locations that literally only a small portion of people have ever been too.

What makes them special is that I caught them at spectacular lighting moments. If people see something that is unique and speaks to them, they will buy it. Sell your photos online by focusing your efforts on a 4 …. Mar 12, — Today, virtually anybody can practice this genre of photography with their Stock photographers supply and sell photos that will be licensed for 5 ….

People pictures — Probably the best way to get a good idea of what kind of stock images sell is simply to look for images that have been used around 6 …. May 14, — Photographers around the world, rejoice. For even more on representing disabilities and chronic conditions of all kinds, look here:. How to 8 …. May 23, — Want to know the best places to sell photos online as a photographer?

While artistic images might be 11 …. Jul 4, — Selling photography online is both easy and tricky. Jun 5, — With the right contacts, you can make a career out of this genre alone. Good black and white photography will always sell well on stock image 14 …. Notice how the top 2 best-selling images are business-themed? Or is it? Believe it or not, many landscape photographers still sell prints these days.

Shutterstock is the most popular stock photography website and has the requirements and the kind of imagery that the brand is looking for.

Sep 15, — My day journey on how to sell stock photos, from applying to as a new Now that I know what type of photography sells best, I can shoot 20 …. Dec 16, — The individual shot. The most common type of photo, you can find these on category and product display pages.

They emphasize an individual 21 ….