Great Escape Publishing

Posted February 6th, 2009 by The Photographer's Life & filed under Travel Photography.

Pop quiz: Which of these pictures do you think would be more saleable: A woman in a business suit, or a 20-something guy in a sweatshirt? Answer: For professional stock photographer Shelly Perry it’s the guy in a sweatshirt. You see, Shelly’s top-selling images have changed places over the years. Right now, her best seller on iStockphoto.com is this young man in a black hooded sweatshirt, with 822 sales:

And this photo of Shelly’s friend in a business suit is a close second, with 776 sales and counting:

So what does that tell you? ** 1. People sell. Casual people, business people, people doing everyday things like laughing, hugging, and shaking hands. And they don’t have to be model-perfect, either. All shapes, colors, and ages can make a good stock photo. In all likelihood, you have right there in your family and friends, the makings of some fast cash. ** 2. Changing times means changing photo trends. Some photo subjects, like Shelly’s businesswoman friend, are strong sellers for years. Others, like the hooded sweatshirt guy, sell less one year, and then rocket to the top the next year. Keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s hot right now can help you take shots that’ll sell more, and sell faster. Tomorrow, I’ll send you an interview with another iStock star… Jani Bryson. When she first began selling on iStock, Jani was uploading images that only sold a handful of times each. But then she got an idea… and tapped into a hot theme. Now, her top-selling shots sell thousands of times each. One’s even sold 4,704 times and counting! So stay tuned to hear all about what that hot theme is, how she discovered it, and how you can follow in her footsteps, tomorrow. — Lori Lori Allen Director, Great Escape Publishing [Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]