Here is our latest video on Landscape Stock Photography:
Are you trying to sell your landscape or adventure photography to fund your photography passion or business? Well, I am sharing 5 tips that I have successfully used to license my photography for decades.
I am Charlie Borland and I have been shooting professionally since 1980. Thousands of my stock photos published, both by myself and the 12 stock photo agencies who have represented my work. I have been an owner and co-owner of two stock photo agencies.
Stock photography that’s successful earn money over and over. While it is nice to license an image once or twice, it’s better when an image licenses many times.
This image may be the largest selling nature photo ever. The photographer is a friend of mine and the last we talked it had earned over $1,000,000 in sales.
So, I have created a list of 5 characteristics for successful selling landscape stock photography:
1) Technical perfection. Sharpness, correct exposure, great lighting, no artifacts, low noise. These are often required for an image to be reproducible.
2) Believability: In today’s digital world, believability has become a characteristic that can make or break an image and its appeal in the markets. With the ability of Photoshop to create just about anything conceived, photographers should take note about what they do in the digital darkroom.
3) Story or Theme: Successful images often tell a story and have a strong theme about them. Clients often seek photos that tell the story to the audience they are trying to reach. This image was licensed to Backpacker magazine
4) Broad Appeal: Stock photos that have broad appeal sell many times to a diverse client base. With a strong story or theme that can carry across diverse concepts, a variety of clients might use the same image for completely different messages.
5) Unique: Not every stock photo has to be unique, but if it is, there is an increased chance it will do better in the markets. This would include images that are once-in-a-lifetime captures like events in nature such as a hurricane, lightning in an unusual place, or an adventure image that makes the viewer stop and look.
In summary, I should mention that today’s markets for outdoor stock photography are very tough but you never know who may get in touch after seeing your photo so keep in mind these characteristics for your next shoot and someday you just might be surprised with the results.