Here come the winter holidays… and with them, lots of opportunities to take holiday-themed stock photos.
Christmas and the surrounding festivities are the biggest sellers in the stock photo world. So whether you’ve started selling your photos on stock sites or not, right now is a great time to start.
To help you “make a list and check it twice,” here’s a handy winter stock photo shoot list. Print it out and refer back to it whenever you’re short on shoot ideas this season.
Winter Stock Photo Shoot List
Holiday Trimmings
□ Pumpkin / leaf / autumn decorations
□ Family searching for / cutting down a Christmas tree
□ Decorating the tree together
□ Finished Christmas tree – lit and decorated
□ Wrapped presents under the tree
□ Candles, wreaths, boughs, bows, bells… all the winter holiday trimmings
□ Table decor
□ Single wrapped gift
□ Hands holding wrapped gift
□ Cookies and milk with note for Santa
□ Holiday lights on homes
People
□ People in mittens
□ People playing in snow
□ Sledding
□ Drinking hot cocoa
□ Making a snowman
□ Sitting by the fire
□ Making and enjoying winter meals
□ Toasting with champagne
□ Singing carols together
□ Sporting winter sweaters
□ Skiing / skating / engaging in winter sports
□ Family reunited
□ Making Christmas cookies
□ Family praying before a meal
Holiday Foods
□ Eggnog – decorated nicely or staged on a table
□ Pumpkin pie
□ Turkey / ham
□ Entire Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, spread out on the table
□ Stuffing
□ Cranberries
□ Green beans
□ Plate filled with holiday foods – done beautifully / with purpose
NOTE: Beware of copyrighted elements. Avoid brand names, labels, logos. Remove them, place other objects in front of them, or blur them out in the background.
That should be enough of a list to get you started. I hope you’ll try a few of these, have fun, and get into the holiday spirit this season… while getting a few stock-worthy photos out of it, too!
Editor’s Note: Learn more about getting started selling your photos online in stock agencies – no matter how much or little photography experience you have – in the Breakfast Stock Club e-newsletter. It’s once a week, and it’s free to join, here.