Gone is the typical image of a family staring straight at the camera in a perfect house in a perfect neighborhood. The potential to earn passive income might be the primary draw of stock photography, but it’s also a great way to enter the business and get a feel for how the industry works. Diversity in stock photography is something we want our contributors to keep top-of-mind in any shoot they create for Shutterstock. Diversity in ages, genders, abilities, body sizes, lifestyles, cultures, and locations is key to creating sellable stock images. We want to see humanity represented in its true form, globally, in the images and videos that we accept on our network.

Shutterstock is home to more than 200 million images from global contributors, including photographers, illustrators, and more. In the case of a rights-managed license, the buyer pays a price based on how they plan to use the photo. The cost will change depending on the duration of use, the location, the image size, and more.

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Customers are no longer looking for the typical stock images that have traditionally defined the stock marketplaces. Now more than ever, customers are looking for creative stock photography images that tell stories. It’s Shutterstock” campaign, we introduce this idea of stock reinvented and reimagined.

When you shoot creative stock photography images, the first thing you should consider is niche situations that set you apart from any other photographer. These are the hardest to compete with, and your image has a higher opportunity to be featured and will be sought more frequently if it’s niche. Here are our tips on making creative stock photography images you can be proud of, while still selling to customers searching for the perfect image to tell their story. In the past few years, we’ve experienced a wave of stock photography trends, from zine-inspired collage to the return of the double exposure. Trends come and go, so the best way to keep track is by following the 500px blog. Every month, Karen Biilmann, Senior Art Director at 500px, releases a “What’s trending in Licensing?

Popular image categories

Featuring a beautiful grey/blue kitten resting next to his owner in the sun, this picture would suit any business or brand working with our feline friends. The image offers a small space for lower third text elements and works well in blogs or articles. Laughing Woman is a versatile mid-action shot of a woman laughing at something off-camera. The white costume and background with soft lighting perfectly frame the young woman without being overexposed or undersaturated. Unsplash is a popular Stock Image library that allows photographers to upload their work and users to download it for their projects. With Unsplash, you don’t have to pay for either an account or for the individual images.

You can certainly earn money from stock photography—a few years ago, 500px founder Evgeny Tchebotarev made $1,602.50 in just a few weeks—but it usually doesn’t happen overnight. You can use your kitchen counter for food shoots or your living room for a lifestyle session. Enlist friends and family to be your models, or trade time for prints with local businesses in exchange for a signed property release.

Beautiful, free images gifted by the world’s most generous community of photographers. Many stock photos will feature over-exaggerated emotions from the performers. Unless you want your post to be comedic, it’s best best free photo stocks for designers to steer clear of these types of images, as they can turn a serious topic into a joke quite quickly. This stunning aerial image features 2 cars meeting on a snow-soaked road surrounded by an endless forest.

• While most recognizable private buildings will require property releases, creating creative concepts where there are no recognizable traits may still be accepted on our network.
• Play with innovative lighting techniques when you are creating creative stock photography image.
• Relaxing on a Yacht features a young couple on their wedding day, lying barefoot on the front of a boat.
• Non-exclusive, royalty-free stock photos are popular among buyers because they’re quick and affordable.
• The grey/blue of the city buildings and the white cloudy sky would work well with most corporate brands for both posts/blogs and website/social media header images.

This list is a direct result of a data analysis on the keywords and terms that customers searched for during that time of year the year prior. We also put in new and emerging trends that are up-and-coming in the stock photography world. This should be the number one resource you bookmark and look up before you plan any stock photography shoot. Last year, Shutterstock celebrated a landmark $1 billion in contributor earnings. One of the most significant changes, he says, has come in the form of stock photography — high-quality, ready-made visuals available for licensing by clients around the world.