Great Escape Publishing

Posted January 26th, 2014 by Bonnie Caton & filed under Travel Photography.

Jeanne Calment, the oldest person on record, lived for over 122 years. Her secret? She ate two pounds of chocolate a week. Bonnie, here, coming to you with another great excuse to eat — and photograph — chocolate: Valentine’s Day. If you’re thinking, “Oh, good grief, it’s still weeks away!” then consider this: Photo buyers look for holiday-themed images up to four months in advance. Here’s a photo of chocolate I took and uploaded to a stock site a while back. It’s now one of my top-selling stock photos: Pretty simple, eh? The chocolates are long gone (wonder where they went?), but the sales from this photo are still trickling in every week — especially before Christmas and Valentine’s Day. That’s the great thing about taking photos for online stock photo agencies. You pick the topic, you photograph it your way, you eat the props… and then a few years later, your photos are still bringing in an income… and you live to be 100!! Stock photography is fun, too. You never know where your photos will end up. I’ve found these chocolate photos on numerous blogs and websites… and even on a wood block puzzle. In the end, I spent about $12 on delicious, designer chocolates that I got to eat, and by now they’ve made me a few hundred bucks. Later today I’ll send you what else I’m doing in 2014 to ensure it’s my most lucrative year ever in photography. Knowing what I know now about my income potential, I would have done a few things differently in 2013. It was still a good year. I made money with my photos. I just know I could have made more. This year, I’ve got a plan that I’m really excited about. It’s only January, and it’s already starting to pay off. 2014 is going to be my best year, ever! And I want to take you with me. I’ll tell you how this afternoon. Stay tuned! Share on Facebook