Wai's Creative Process: Selling Stock Photos

Taking photographs is my all-time favorite activity.  One day after exploring several photo albums in my computer, I got an idea to make those photos, and also a lot more photos I’ll take in the future, more productive by selling them in stock photo market.  If you don’t get used to the word ‘stock photography’, I’ll briefly tell you that it is a supply of photographs for specific uses and you can reach stock market online.  By reaching my goal, it has such a creative process to do with.

First, I brainstorm ideas about what kind of photos that is in demand of the market right now.  For example, in holiday like Christmas, photos that people want to buy the most are always a fir tree, a snowflake, Santa Clause, reindeer, pine cone, or even a ribbon.  I’ll think about what is in need for most people and plan to take that kind of photo.

Then, I organize my photographs.  First, it has something to do with the device.  Only one fine camera is okay but I prefer using the DSLR camera in order to get high-definition photos.  I check the lens and the body of the camera to be sure everything is in the right condition and is ready for use.  Then going out and taking photos is the next step.  I try to keep focusing on the theme of the photos. And finally here they are, the photos that are ready to be retouched.

Drafting is the next step, I upload my photos to the computer and retouch them with photo editor programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Photoscape.  This step takes quite a long time but it also the most important part because the more your photos look beautiful, the more you have a chance to sell them.

I review my photos by re-checking which one is good enough to upload to the online market and which one is not.  If I find any edited photo that is quite okay but still has a flaw in some point, I’ll go back to its original version and re-editing that photo until it is ready to prove its quality in the final round!

In order to sell the photos, everyone has to have a test by uploading some of their best photos to the market committee- to prove that their photos are good enough for selling.  If you fail, you’ll have a chance to have a test again in a few days and the committee will guide you why each of your photos is rejected.  I use the committee’s advice to revise my photography.  I learn from mistakes, improve the photos, send them again, if fail again then revise again, until I pass.  I was finally approved as a market contributor.

After I was promoted as a contributor, the last thing to do with selling photos is to upload and publish my photos- as much as I would like to- to the market.  I then add caption and keywords to those photos, then waiting for someone to buy them online.  Everytime the customers buy my photo, I’ll get the market share which means I’ll get the money from the photos I took.  That’s the way I can combine my favorite hobby and my job into one activity.