Money can be made from several types of hobbies and crafts. One type of trend that is slowly becoming popular is photography, mainly taking pictures and selling them to stock photo sites. Microstock photographs are collections of photos that are taken by everyday people and some professional artist. The stock images that are sent into free stock photo sites are sent in by photographers that are called stock illustrators.
 
When starting out in this field it is best to start by taking photos of anything and everything. Once you have a decent portfolio built up the next thing to do is to sign up with one of the major microstock photograph sites. Read everything, the guidelines and all of the copyright laws. The way it works is the stock images that you submit are purchased by consumers for a fee to license their usage and you get paid a portion of that. There are sites that offer free photos to consumers but the most sought after photos are the ones that cost a fee. These are the ones you will make your money from.

Once you do your research and decide on a microstock photo site, start looking at the site to see what the publishers picks are or the most popular photos are and gear your collection towards these types of pictures. You can keep your style but the most popular and trendy is what sells. Try to make your stock images tell a story, and give your photos a name or title, it is always good to relate your photo with a certain type of keyword.

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you take someone’s photo it is always best to get a signed release because you do not want the model to come back later and try to sue you. Carry them in your bag and have those ready to present at all times. Most Microstock companies have their own release forms that you can download for your use. Another thing to remember is that you should upload photos on a regular basis. Always stay current and see what the trends are for that month or day.

In order to keep your photos in some kind of order or grouping it is best to download a good image editor to keep your photos in tact. Also leave the cropping or editing of your photos to the consumer, you never know what they will be using the photo for so let them decide how they want to edit the photo. Also never use brand names or even a photo of a name plastered across your photo, you can be sued by the company that owns that logo, so always be careful, add your own flavor but never plagiarize someone else’s photo.

One thing to always keep in mind is that when you pick a microstock photograph site; always choose at least two major ones that you can work with, because when you submit photos it may take days up to weeks before they decide if they would like to accept you as a stock illustrator photographer. So submit your images to a few different free stock photo sites. Quality and quantity is key when working with stock images, you want to constantly send in photos but you also want your work to be of high quality. Some photographers make a very nice living by submitting their photos to these sites, but it does take time and perseverance.

A great suggestion for staying up on what is popular to photograph is to look at what is going on at the time; the obvious would be the holidays, and local celebrations. Many people love to add photos to their articles about holiday events, like the 4th of July, fireworks are very popular and Christmas has the snowman, Santa etc. All of these should be taken into consideration when taking photos, that way you can always keep up with what is going on. Stay current with current events and develop your portfolio around things that occur constantly and on a regular basis. This is a guaranteed way to stay up on the competition.

Photos and images can be used to make money, but you have to develop your talent and your awareness of what consumers are looking for. Always do the research and sign up with a few different microstock sites, stay current and keep the quality of your work up to par. The best photos are the most creative ones that are created for the right time. Explore and photograph everything and keep a record of every photo you take, keep it in some type of grouping or category so it is easy to pull them out to send in. One last thing is that not every site is going to love your work, but that is ok, everyone’s taste is different just keep plugging ahead.