Stock Photography is a thriving market that is set to register revenues of over $4 Billion by 2023. While a competitive environment – with a constant rise in photographers, videographers and illustrators all vying to stand out in the crowd and new companies or platforms forming (and oftentimes crumbling) rapidly – major vendors are still growing exponentially.
Full and part-time artists all over the world, are tapping into the idea of monetizing their creative work and extending their visibility through a myriad of cost-effective channels and online portfolios, ultimately in search of new clients, commissions and inspiration.
Here at Ingimage, we believe that the key to increasing your revenues and making your portfolio a success year after year is to narrow the gap between what you create and what the market demands. Even the most creative portfolio can fail if it doesn’t serve the demands of the latest trends, especially in commercial photography. The smallest details can make a big difference to the overall look of a picture for example the spontaneous look on a model’s face as opposed to a flat smile straight through the camera.
To help our contributors narrow this gap, we have provided our clients with a request form that they can fill in with suggestions and specific requests about content they need, whether it’s a general theme or a specific subject, and we conveniently post this information into our contributor area or via newsletters. Thus setting our contributors up for success!
When thinking about content creation, consider these points:
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Quality over Quantity
It goes without saying that the more pictures online, the more visibility. This is true as long as you don’t let quality slip and still ensure a good variation of shots.
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Be original
If you want to sell your content and beat the competition, work on something that has never been covered before. If you can’t find anything, reshape trendy themes with different perspectives and ideas. Offer a unique and recognizable style!
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Keep an eye on the latest trends
We live in a fast-paced society and the world is changing faster than it ever has before. Visual content is produced, shared and consumed everyday everywhere at the speed of light, and the need for fresh, eye-grabbing content is growing. Trends in lifestyles, tech, social causes and identity are evolving and not keeping up with it will make your portfolio look dated. You can find our latest 2019 Image Trend report here.
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Use different models
If you are a lifestyles photographer, remember to diversify your portfolio with different models (think varied gender, ethnicity etc.). It’s very common within the stock market to see the same models everywhere. Customers are unlikely to buy your image if the model has been overused by others, especially if they are after a fresh look.
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Seek for commercial value
The Stock Industry has come a long way, achieving a higher status within the creative industry. Long gone are the years of stereotyped office environment and awkward models on white flashy backgrounds. The quality and artistic value has been pivotal to the growth of the industry. Having said that, contributors should always remember that in order to sell their content, images must have a commercial value, as it were, must be usable in a commercial outlet. Most of the times it all comes down to the message the image is able to convey. A message that marketers, advertisers and media companies can use to engage with their target audience.
By following these guidelines we are confident that 2019 will be another great year for the industry and will surely bring new undiscovered opportunities for photographers and designers alike.
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