If you’re reading this you either want to know more about Wirestock or you have photography you’re interested in selling to stock photo sites. Right? Well, when I came across Wirestock, it was neither, actually. I was happy uploading some of my images to Unsplash. And on a few occasions, I’d looked at submission guidelines for stock image sites like Adobe Stock and Shutterstock but found them complicated. Selling my photography would have to wait. It became something I would do later. Let’s face it, one of those I’ll do it later tasks that I never really get to do.
Then came Wirestock!
With Wirestock, I found an easy way to submit my images to multiple stock image sites. Then I started making money from them within a few months. Something that, given my basic research into the topic, doesn’t happen quickly on larger marketplaces. Within an hour of my account being approved, I had linked my Unsplash and was on my way.
With that in mind, and knowing what a talented bunch you lot are, I thought I’d share. Especially if you’ve already started making a contribution to Unsplash. They link, so you can be submitting your images to other paid sites, immediately. This was simple enough and gave me a good start on a portfolio of images I already knew did well.
After that initial push, I focused on getting more images that the larger stock providers would accept (see the image above). These agencies are looking for exclusive photos that don’t appear online for free. This was easy enough for me. I have photos stored from 2013 onwards. So, one of the first things I did was go through my hard drives for possible images to add to my account. After blogging for all these years, I found a lot of food and drink images (a popular download for me). Some just had to be exported in larger sizes. While others I re-edited so they were less stylised.
After that search through the archives, I had something like 75 photos to upload. Which, if I had to shop them around to all the agencies individually, complete the information on each photo, would’ve been a nightmare. The best part about Wirestock is that you can add as much or as little information as you like. The biggest time sucks for me, I took the easy route, was selecting between Commercial and Editorial images*. Within a couple of weeks, I had over one hundred images available to purchase on different sites across the internet.
If you’re interested – a quick tip
It would be worth looking into the Wirestock Submission Guidelines. I think it will help you get it right the first time. So that you’re not uploading a lot of images that will be declined. It took me a while to get a handle on the Commercial/Editorial thing (I kept forgetting specific art like tattoos), but now it’s easy to separate the two. I’ve added an excerpt of the submission guidelines distinguishing between the two, below.
What I earned in my first few months
As you can see from my dashboard, I was able to secure over $30 in image sales in May increasing from $11 in April. Which had substantially increased from 30c in my first month (March). Sure, that’s not anything that you’re going to quit your day job on anytime soon. But with this kind of thing, it’s a start. Especially considering that none of these photos is from specific content shoots for stock image. All of these images were sourced from my hard drives. They haven’t cost me a cent to make!
I hope to continue to grow my portfolio with seasonal and special occasion type images. On Unsplash, I’ve always said my aim was to create more Australian based content, and that continues to be true. Stock Image sites can be so Americanised, that it’s almost impossible for us to find what we need. I want to do more of that too. You know, if you blog too, the sort of content it can be hard to find; I wish to make more of that. More plus-size people. More real-life.
Do you want to sign up for Wirestock?
Now, if you’re interested in signing up to sell your images through Wirestock, please click through my referral link here. For everyone that signs up, I will get a percentage of your sales (taken from the Wirestock end, from what I can tell) for up to two years. Which is, if you ask me, another pretty awesome way to generate a passive income for just sharing a product (app?) that I love.
…
Extract from the Submission Guidelines:
COMMERCIAL VS EDITORIAL LICENSE TYPES
Before submitting your photos, it is important to understand the difference between editorial and commercial license types, so you choose the correct one.
Commercial content can be used to commercialise, monetise, sell, promote, and advertise a product, business or service. It could be used on a billboard, a website, a blog, a brochure, a Facebook Ad, or even a television commercial. Generally speaking, commercial content requires:
Permission from every recognisable person in the image in the form of a signed and valid model release and minor release which allows the photographer (filmmaker or illustrator) to license the content commercially
Signed and valid property releases, if applicable, for recognisable private property, artwork, graffiti, and tattoos granting permission from the property owner to commercially license the content (read more about property releases for the specifics on when they are needed and what information is required)
No visible trademarks, company names or logos be present in the content.
That the image is free of any intellectual property infringements
That the location, object, or event is not restricted
Editorial is the opposite of commercial in that editorial content cannot be used to sell, promote, or monetise a business, product or service. It can contain logos, business names and recognisable people without model releases. Editorial content CANNOT be used to monetise a business but can be used for news or educational purposes. This type of editorial is referred to as documentary editorial. News organisations, such as the BBC or The New York Times, will often use stock imagery in their news feeds to illustrate a story, event, or news development.
This week’s video is all about how to take better food photos, at home. After my Easter Cook Off collab with Brittanie last week, I’m going through some basics for taking and editing better food photos. I might not have had much success with my cheesecake, but I can take a food photo or two.
The good new is that it’s simple enough you can do it at home using basic equipment, items around your house and natural light. Sure, I favour a camera with a prime lens, but if all you have is your phone, that will work too.
K.I.S.S.
Keeping it simple your food photos can be next level sooner rather than later. This video includes some Lightroom Classic CC “edit with me” footage. Walk through the simple steps I take to edit food photos in Lightroom using the basic panel, sharpen mask and more.
I’ve included some links below to Brittanie’s Cook Off video (such a lol), another editing video where I share my tips for editing my outfit photos, and my Unsplash profile link where you can download some of these shots for free. Which, some of you have already done and tag me in them over Easter weekend. So fun!
Planning a creative business photo shoot? Great! This is probably one of my favourite topics to talk about in business and easily my favourite thing to do. Making sure I have a collection of images I can tap into that are personal and filled with brand personality. That resource of creative business images is essential to managing my social media presence day in and day out.
Planning a creative business photo shoot will ensure your brand, blog or business has everything it needs to make waves on social media. All tied in a neatly branded bow. But planning it, executing it and getting to the stage where you have the images to use can be problematic. That’s where this video comes in.
In this video, I’m sharing my tips for planning your next photo shoot including;
Choosing the colours, brand story, location
Hiring a choosing a photographer, developing a relationship, doing the deal and knowing the terms
How to get comfortable in front of the camera
How to make image selections at the end
Why a business photo shoot?
I’ve used creative business photo shoots for a number of years now (see above). I love the evergreen content it creates for my businesses. I have at my disposal an archive of great images I can pull out when I need to inject a little more personality into the blog or social media. Despite numerous hair colour changes along the way (whoops), I have been able to use them year after year.
Having an archive of images improves your brand, blog or business’s overall branding. Go back to the images above and you can see the ‘brand story’ run through the photos. The black, white, blue, grey theme is there. Sometimes subtly and sometimes through obvious clothing and location choices. Consider that as you plan your clothing, prop and location choices.
Consider how much easier it would be to make your website look awesome or roll out content on your social media with these images in your pocket? That part of what you want to plan before your business photo shoot, what EXACTLY are you looking for? Are they all action shots, or are there some posed? Will you use flat lays and product shoots? Use that Pinterest board and plan out the types of images you want beforehand.
What others say.
Nikki from Styling You says in her post 13 tips for professional business photos (another good one, if you’re looking for tips). This post was the reason I started booking this kind of business photo shoot. For a long time, Kel and I had taken all my photos and they were never quite what I was looking for. With Nikki’s tips in hand, I decided to plan my own shoot. I’ve never looked back.
“Having a set of current photos available at the ready to distribute to media, event organisers and for use on your own social media networks helps you to present an image of your business that is true to you and what you represent. Basically, having headshots and creative photos of you ‘doing business’ makes you look more professional.”
Deb from Debbish used a recent milestone birthday as an excuse to have a personal photo shoot. The images from this shoot could easily be used as part of her professional portfolio as a book writer and reviewer, should she need them. She used a local photographer looking to develop her portfolio and the results are amazing.
“I’d previously contacted a local photographer, Jessica Gunn Photographer as I’d initially planned to get some new headshots done for the blog (and Linked In etc) before the Romance Writers’ Conference in August… but it just didn’t happen. Jess was recommended by a friend and I’d looked at her work and thought we’d be a good fit.”
If you have questions, make sure you leave them in the comments here or on YouTube. It loves that kind of thing. Now, on to the good stuff. Below is the PDF download of the important things to plan/book when putting together your creative business photo shoot. No sign up required, go nuts.
Answering the question, what’s in my camera bag? It’s a YouTube thing to do. Haha. But mostly I’m doing it to share what I’ve collected along the way to the do the job I’m doing now. I’m a blogger, content creator, photographer and digital marketer. All the things. Phew. It can mean one day I need to photograph a product, the next a model and the day after that my food. And what’s in my camera bag reflects that.
This video covers off on what I have and what I need. What I like, what I use and what I don’t. I talk about why I went back to a full frame DSLR after loving the mirrorless and why for the first time I’ve kept a camera when upgrading.
I’ve loved taking photos since forever. Camera gear has always been something I’ve invested in, tried new things and switched up. If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you might remember some of the changes. Haha. But right now, I’m super happy with the setup I have. It felt like a great time to share what’s in my camera bag with you. Ready?
No luck with the others. I’ll update when/if I find them. Contains affiliate links.
And there you go, team. That’s what’s in my camera bag. The links above will take you through to eBay AU. I’ve selected, where possible, stores that have great feedback and high scores. But, feel free to do your own research, I get that. But for me, eBay is THE best when it comes to camera gear, I always manage to pay less than other places you can buy online. Plus, the secondhand market on some of these items is great!
If you have any questions or want to see more photo comparisons between the Fujifilm E-X1 and the Nikon D750, let me know. I find it really interesting to compare them side by side, but maybe that is just me.
If there’s one thing I’m obsessed with at the moment it’s how to take better pictures. For business, but also for pleasure. I watch YouTube tutorials, I’ve read books and PDF downloads. All on how to take better photos. When I want to know something, I go all out for it. OB-SESSED. Improving my skills is where it has been at, for me because I love capturing a moment, and for my business.
This post isn’t about the humble brag of finding a new branch of my business. It’s about what I’ve learned in the process of getting better. And I’m a long way from great, good even, but I’m learning. So, are you ready to grab some tips to improve your photography today? Easy tips that you can put into action right now and see a change.
Ready to take better photos?
For me, the biggest factor in taking better photos is WANTING the photo. Whether you’re taking it or being in it, you really have to want to be there capturing that moment. That is what you’re doing after all. Whether it be a product to be sold or a family Christmas, these are moments to be captured.
Are you the person to do it?
For a long time, I stopped taking my camera with me to places. It stayed home and there was no chance of every capturing anything. I wasn’t that into it. Then, all of a sudden, I started bringing it along again. My camera, although often left unused, at least it was there. From there, it was a case of just taking more photos, practising and slowly but surely get better. One day it just happened, I was able to take better photos.
Practice makes perfect.
I could pretty much leave this one here and call it a day. For a while, I almost did. One of THE most effective and immediate ways to improve the photos you take is to take more of them. Try it. Take your camera on an outing or set up a flat lay. Instead of snapping a handful of photos, take hundreds. Approach it as an exercise in seeing things differently. Just make sure you take lots.
You might just be surprised at what you have in there.
But practice isn’t just about firing off a million and one pictures. It’s about looking at what you did take and seeing how you could have done it better. Did you crop off someone at a wide spot or miss focus point? Great. Now you know how to do it better. Try again. Something distracting in the background or the picture is weirdly framed? No problem, work out how to avoid that next time. Learn to see it before you hit the shutter button.
Get to know your camera.
The main thing you can do to take better photos is to take some time to get to know your camera {or device}. As soon as I got my new camera, I started hunting for tutorials on YouTube to walk me through the different settings and buttons and modes. All the things. If you’re shooting with your phone, don’t stress, there is plenty out there for you too.
The more you know, the more you can do and the faster you can get. For me, at the moment, changing back from the Fujifilm to Nikon is tricky. Even though I learnt how to use a Nikon originally, I’ve been using my Fujifilm camera for a couple of years now and it’s become second nature. That’s what you’re going for. Make those settings and buttons familiar.
Focus + Angles.
While you’re taking those million and one practice photos, take the time to try different points of focus and angles. Make your photos more interesting by looking at the subject differently. Practice using your focus points to choose what to put in and out of focus. Try standing above or below something. Trying something outside the ordinary will immediately make your photos better.
Can I say, there are more ways to take a photo than you would think.
It could be about moving around so that the lighting is better from the other side. It could be that all of a sudden that plate of food looks more interesting from above or from level to the table. Consider everything, it’s the digital age there’s no such thing as wasting film {was there ever though, really?}. Keeping moving, keep shooting and remember to keep looking. Before long, you’ll be taking better photos too.
An idea or concept.
Before you snap that picture, do you know what it is you want in it? Do you have any idea what you want it to say? That might seem like a weird idea or suggestion, but taking a moment to take better photos by knowing WHY you’re taking a photo. And sure, making memories might be part of it, but why this moment? Why right now? If you know what you’re capturing, and a little bit about the why. Trust me, it will help you see the story in the image.
In the end, the images you are taking are the story. It’s up to you to find a way to convey it to those who see them. What’s happening? Who ARE these people? What matters in this moment and why did you think it was worth saving? Start to answer those questions for yourself. Start to see the moments you capture through that and you’ll take better photos. Why? Because they’ll mean something.
Pin for later?
There you go, team. My hot tips for taking better photos. Now get out there and practice, because like I said, practice is really what makes all the difference here. I’d love to see what you come up with, feel free to tag @sugercoatit on Instagram. Happy snapping!
