Is stock photography dead? I’ve heard that question a lot lately. Online stock photo agencies are overflowing with great photos of anything and everything. Gone are the “glory days” when you could snap a quick photo of any old object in your house, upload it to an online stock agency, and make a bunch of sales. To be honest, I’m very busy with other projects right now, so I spend very little time and effort on building up my own stock photo portfolios. But I still get checks from my agencies—and they’re coming more frequently now than in years past. So no, stock photography is not dead, but it certainly has changed over the years. And that’s good news for you if you’re just starting out. You’ll save a heck of a lot of time by taking the kinds of photos that sell well TODAY rather than waste your time taking photos that are going out of style. According to stock photo superstar Lise Gagne (who makes well into the six figures with her portfolio), the below photos are examples of the most popular stock photos today. These days, photo buyers want fewer generic business shots, like this: 
And more small business owners, like this: 
Less of the ubiquitous “handshake” shot: 
And more images of people connecting in real, modern ways: 
Beautiful models in staged situations are out. Authenticity and real people are in. If you can capture real situations and real people with real emotions, you’ll make a great side-income selling your photos as stock. Some folks I know take it really slowly and make a hundred dollars here and a hundred there… while others make an extra thousand here and there from it. Still, if you’d rather shoot landscapes or food or flowers or… ANYTHING but people, here’s more good news… My top two best-selling stock photos are of tulips and chocolate, with no people in them at all. I’ve got a photo of kale that’s gaining in the ranks, and a lot of other tulip photos that are selling, too. 
Of COURSE there’s a technique to it. You have to leave logos and trademarks out of your shots. And you’ve got to take well-exposed photos that are in good focus, with no technical issues… but all of that is easy to learn. Once you’ve got the basics down, it’s all about adding more photos to your portfolio. And that part is fun. Share on Facebook
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